ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND India is the second most crowded nation in the world. India will become the most populous country in the world in near future if it follows the current growth rate. Family planning is one of the best methods to tackle this problem. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of family planning among married women in reproductive age group in an urban area of northern Kerala. METHODS A community based cross sectional study was conducted in Kandangali, the field practice area coming under Urban Health Training Centre of a tertiary care Centre from June, 2016 - July, 2017.A total of 491 married females in reproductive age group were studied. A semi-structured pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information. . Data was analysed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Out of 491 married females, 98.4%, 0.8% and 0.8% were Hindus, Muslims and Christians respectively. Majority (57%) of them belongs to a family size of less than or equal to 4 members. Majority (97.4%) of women had an educational qualification more than high school and most of the study participants (35.2%) were graduates. Majority (71.5%) of the women were housewives. Most of the study participants have average knowledge (62.3%) about family planning methods. Still there are misconceptions regarding condom and male sterilization. The main source of information about family planning was from health workers. Majority (95.7%) of them had heard of condom (95.7 percent) and the least heard method was injectable (10.6%). CONCLUSION: Majority of women had average knowledge towards family planning; still there are misconceptions especially about male sterilization and condom. Continuous health education program have to be conducted about family planning methods.