Trends in family planning practices of women in child bearing age: a community based survey in Northern peri-urban areas of Lahore

Background: Pakistan being the sixth most populous country in the world needs to control its population explosion as well as understand the importance of family planning practices and its inherent relationship with improved maternal health

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Objectives: This study was conducted with the aim to assess the family planning practices in the Northern Peri-Urban areas of Lahore, Pakistan

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Subjects and Methods: Community based survey was conducted on 852 households by interviewing married females aged 15 - 49 years with the help of a pretested structured questionnaire. Every third household was selected by employing systematic random sampling

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Results: Mean age of the women was 19 +/- 3.54 years with mean number of pregnancies 4.05 +/- 2.50. Contraceptive prevalence rate was 36%. Most preferred method of contraception was tubal ligation 37% and condoms 29% vasectomy being the least preferred. Tubal ligation 10%, condoms 6.5% and intrauterine contraceptive device 2.6% was the choice for females aged 15 - 20 years. Women having four to six pregnancies were opting for tubal ligation 10.3% [p-value <0.0001]

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Conclusion: In the Northern Peri-urban areas of Lahore, contraception is being practiced at the same rate as in the rest of the province. It is pertinent for improved maternal health to ensure maximum utilization of family planning services within this community