Assessment of family planning practices in a rural block of Haryana

Introduction: The continuous increase in population is a serious global concern. Control over fertility is very important not only because of its far-reaching implications on prosperity and overall growth of the nation, but also because of its impact on the freedom of young women to lead life of their own choice. Objective: To assess the family planning practices among married rural women. Material and Methods: The present study was community based cross-sectional study conducted in rural area of Haryana from September 2015 to August 2016 among 500 currently married women (18-49 years). Results: 54.6% of the participants were using contraceptives among which female sterilization was the commonest. Health worker/AWW (49.8%) were the commonest motivator. The commonest reason for not using contraception was desire to get pregnant (28.2%) and not considering it necessary (15%). Conclusion: Though there is sufficient awareness regarding contraception but its usage still continues to be low. Extended efforts are required to make people understand the importance of contraception to achieve greater prosperity.