Fouzia Ishaq, Shahid Mahmood, Hasnain Abid, Jovaria Mannan.
Family Planning Practices Among Parents of β-Thalassemic Children Attending Thalassemia Center, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore.
Pak Paed J Jan ;38(2):108-12.

Objectives: To assess effect of socio-demographic factors on family planning practices among parents of β-thalassemia children attending thalassemia center of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore. Study Design: Cross sectional study Settings and Duration of Study: Thalassemia Center, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore, Pakistan from February 2013 to April 2013. Patients and Methods: One hundred and forty-nine parents (149) of thalassemic children attending the thalassemia clinic for blood transfusion or chelation therapy were enrolled for this study. Information regarding socio-demographic variables and contraceptive practices were obtained using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Relationship between family planning practices and socio-demographic factors were evaluated using Pearson Chi-square test. SPSS version-18 was used for computing both qualitative and quantitative data. Results: Of 149 families, only ninety seven(65%) were using contraception, though136 (91.3%) were aware of different family planning methods. Condom was the most frequently method (52.6%) used by these study participants. Younger mothers (age <35 years) had a significantly higher family planning practices use (p=0.01). Maternal education and small family size was also found to be statistically significant (p=0.03), however, no significant association was observed between the number of thalassemic children and family planning practices (p=0.35). Conclusion: Having a thalassemic child did not affect the reproductive behavior of parents, despite the higher level of awareness about family planning methods, its availability and access.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com