Contraceptive practices and awareness of emergency contraception in educated working women.
BACKGROUND
Regular contraceptive use and emergency contraception are tools to prevent pregnancies.


OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to investigate knowledge and use of contraceptive methods and awareness of emergency contraception among women working in the hospital.


METHODS
Educated workingwomen in a medical college hospital.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
The study was carried out among women belonging to three categories: staff nurses, ministerial staff and others. Married as well as unmarried employees in the reproductive age group were interviewed. A pretested mixed questionnaire containing open as well as closed ended questions was administered. The women were asked questions concerning knowledge and use of contraceptive methods and awareness of emergency or postcoital contraception.


RESULTS
Of the 284 employees 258 women consented for the interview. All the subjects were literate and majority (97.2%) had an urban background. Of the 190 married women, 154 (81.1%) practiced contraception, among them (73.3%) were regular users. Eighty respondents underwent abortions of which 46 had spontaneous and 34 had induced abortions. Among the available contraceptive methods, condom was the most popular method in 89 (57.8%) followed by Copper T in 38 women (24.7%). The use of hormonal contraception was very low 2.6%. Print and electronic media were the common source of public awareness in 149 subjects (57.7%). Twenty-nine women (11.2%) were aware and only three women used emergency contraception.


CONCLUSIONS
A high percentage of females in this literate workingwomen population used contraception; however, the awareness of emergency contraception was low.
Takkar
N
N
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India. navneet@doctor.com
Goel
P
P
Saha
P K
PK
Dua
D
D
D000328:Adult; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods*; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital