Khalida Kazmi, Sumera Naz.
Fertility and choice of family planning practices in rural Islamabad.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;44(4):149-52.

Aims: To determine the level of family planning knowledge, practices and the reasons for the use of less effective methods in the rural areas of Islamabad. Design and setting: A cross sectional descriptive study based on demographic survey of house hold members in a convenient sample population. Subjects and methods: Information on family planning was collected from the child bearing age married couples practicing family planning. Data was collected through a questionnaire in Urdu. Information was collected on household composition, education level of the couple, family planning knowledge and its use. The interviews conducted were on voluntary bases and thirty females declined the interview. Results: The study was done on 138 ever-married couples aged 50 or younger to know their family planning knowledge and practices. There were 309 married women of child bearing age out of whom 239 (78%) had the knowledge of family planning and 185 were practicing family planning methods. In uneducated women the total fertility rate was 5.0, while in women with secondary or higher education the total fertility rate was 4.0 lifetime births per women .The most commonly used contraceptive was the condom 39%, followed the IUD 33%. oral pills 10%, indictable 10% and tubal ligation 8% The preference of using less effective methods of family planning was mainly influenced by the desire of a male baby and pairing of a male child. Sixty two percent of the couples with no male child used condoms while there was not a single case of tubal ligation in this group. About 38% couples with two male children used condoms and 15% also had tubal ligation. Overall, 80% of users obtained the method from the near by family planning units, while 20% got it from the pharmacies, markets, private hospitals or clinics. Conclusions:

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