ABSTRACT

Background: Contraceptive knowledge and practice has been found to be limited among persons in developing counties around the world some of whom face difficulties having access to reproductive health services despite the rise in reproductive health. The use of Contraceptive methods has shown not only to reduce Infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, abortion and young pregnancies but improve in schooling, economic outcomes and women empowerment. Aim: This study was aimed at Investigating Knowledge among Women of Child bearing Age (19-49years) on the use of Contraceptives in Great Soppo Community, Buea with specific objectives to investigate knowledge on Contraceptives, reasons for use and challenges faced in using Contraceptives. Method: A descriptive cross sectional design was used with a closed ended questionnaire and a convenient sampling technique among 120 participants at the Great Soppo Community Buea. Results: The findings revealed that, majority(76.1%) had a good knowledge on contraceptives, as they could identify that contraceptives helps to prevent pregnancy and STIs 33.3% responded their main source of information on contraceptives were from health personel,25% from peer groups,16.6% from health facility,12.5%  . Also, 79.1% of the respondents reported to have used contraceptive before with the majority using implants (25%), condoms (16.6%), pills (12.5%) ,injections and calendar method (10.0%). The most prevalent reasons for the use of contraceptives was its importance in preventing pregnancy and STIs (34%), 21% on the fact that it does not interrupt sex and based on partner’s acceptability. 34% of the participants experience no side effects however, some of the challenges faced were menstrual irregularities (29%),17% experienced mood swings and 11% weight gain. Conclusion: It can be said that women of child bearing age within the Great Soppo community have a good knowledge and practice towards contraceptives, however the usage can further be improved by structures put in place by health institutions, schools and religious institutions. This can be because if these institutions promote the usage of contraceptives then unwanted pregnancies, infant and maternal mortality and morbidity will greatly be reduced within the great soppo Community.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Contraceptive use helps couples and individuals realize their basic rights to decide freely and responsibly if, when and how many children to have. The growing use of contraceptive methods has resulted in not only improvement in health-related outcomes such as reduced maternal mortality and infant morbidity (Admed et al 2012) but also improvement in schooling and economic outcomes, especially for girls and women (Canning et al 2012).Contraceptives are used by the majority of married or in union women in almost all regions in the world. In 2015, 64% of married or in union women of reproductive age worldwide were using some form of contraception .However; Contraceptive use was much lower in the least developing countries (40%) and was particularly low in Africa (33%) for reasons such as inadequate knowledge, accessibility, among others. Modern Contraceptive methods constitute most contraceptive use.

According to Lule et al in 2007, Contraceptives also known as Birth control is the intentional prevention of Contraception through the use of various devices, sexual practices, chemicals, drugs or surgical procedure , Also Singh  et al 2014 defined contraceptives as a product or medical procedure that interferes with reproduction from acts of sexual intercourse. Contraceptives are aimed at spacing out deliveries and preventing unwanted pregnancies. There are different methods of contraceptives with each having its side effects and risk with some being more reliable than others. These methods of Contraceptives can be classified broadly into; Natural methods, Hormonal methods, Barrier methods and Permanent sterilization

1. 1 Background

According to Adinma, 2012 the rate of modern contraceptive use worldwide has resulted in the reduction of maternal and infant mortality rates and other adverse outcome.

Over the past five decades, the use of contraceptive methods has markedly increased such that nearly two in three married or in union women globally in 2015 were using some form of contraception. The growth in contraceptive use was especially rapid in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean while it has increased at a much slower pace in several regions of Sub Saharan Africa. The use of Modern Contraceptive method Accounts for the vast majority of use, although the mix of methods used varies widely across regions and countries. Despite the development of a range of effective methods, in at least one in four countries just one  method account for 50% or more of all contraceptive use among married or in union women(Admed,2012)

Contraceptive prevalence almost doubled in the world between 1970 and 2015 from 36% in 1970 to 64% in 2015 with most of the increase occurring prior to the mid 1990 (Admed et al 2012)

In India a study was carried out to access the knowledge and use of contraceptives among currently married adolescent women (CMAW), a very high proportion of girls get married at a very young age and immediately are exposed to the risk of bearing children. Women often shy away from using contraception mainly because they lack knowledge and are afraid of sterilization; or pills; or injection is not available, thereby have to carry the burden of unwanted pregnancy or go for abortion which is mainly unsafe (Jejeebhoy, 2000).

In Africa, the annual rates of changes in modern contraceptive prevalence among women of reproductive age varied from as low as 0.77% in Lagos Nigeria to 8.64% in Ghana. The rate of change was also high in Burkina Faso, Kaduna and Uganda. These changes were due to improvement in knowledge and accessibility (Ahmed et al 2012).

According to a research carried out in Ibadan Nigeria 2002, it was accessed that in developing countries especially Africa, Reproductive ill health that have been a great concern to many stakeholders as maternal mortality and morbidity are very high compared to the developed world .Also, reproductive health knowledge and access to quality of care, maternal health services in Africa are poor with significant health consequences (Adinma, 2002).

Despite the benefits of contraceptives to reproductive health, contraceptive use has been found to be limited among many displaced persons in the world, some of whom face difficulties having access to reproductive health care services (Ngum, 2014)

Moving to Cameroon, general contraceptive use has increased from 16% in 1991 to 32% in 2011 and is still unsatisfactory. Main reasons for nonuse or poor use of contraceptives in Cameroon by those in need include health concerns, infrequent sex, opposition from others and lack of knowledge. According to Ajong et al, Reasons for use of a particular contraceptive method in Cameroon include the effectiveness of the method, its financial and geographical accessibility, its ability to prevent STIs and whether or not it is prescribed by medical personnel. The promotion of family planning or contraception has shown to reduce hunger, reduce poverty, infant and maternal mortality rates, it also contributes to women empowerment.

1.2 Statement of Problem

In Cameroon, general contraceptive use has increased   but there are still cases of unwanted pregnancies (Nchinda 2015).No or low use of contraceptives leads to increase house hold populations, with Cameroon as a developing country  the rate of unemployment is high , some families might not have enough finance to support children and give them proper education, this may lead to hunger, school drop outs, homeless children and subsequently high crime rates among the community, also high cases of unwanted pregnancy, Infant and maternal mortality, STIs may increase as well.  This study therefore seeks to find out the level of knowledge women of child bearing age in Great Soppo Community have on contraceptives, reasons for the choice of contraceptive they use and challenges faced in using it.