BARRIERS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE AMONG MARRIED WOMEN IN SUB-URBAN GOA

India is the second most populous country in the world with over 12108 million people, more than a sixth of the world's population containing 17.5% of the world's population. In spite of cafeteria choice of a various contraceptives and all types of media campaigns, population control remains a distant dream to achieve. Early pregnancies, too many and too frequent pregnancies are the most important risk factors for maternal and child mortality. Therefore, knowledge about contraception and its use is of utmost importance for birth control, proper spacing and thereby reducing the maternal mortality. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study are to assess the awareness and practices of contraception among married women and identify barriers for use of contraception. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study design was used to interview one hundred married women in the reproductive age (15-45 years). The study was conducted in Santa Cruz, which is a field practice area of Goa Medical College, Bambolim. A predesigned questionnaire comprised of various questions on awareness, practices and barriers of contraception use was utilized for data collection. Data was compiled and analysed with SPSS 15 software. RESULTS The overall contraception use was 52%, while 48% never used contraceptives in the past. The 95% of the subjects were aware of condoms, 59% about oral pills, 53% about both cut and sterilization and 22% about the injectable contraceptives. Around 43.7% of the subjects gathered information from the health professional regarding contraception. Around 32% of the subjects were using barrier methods to prevent conception. Preference of male child, religious beliefs, family objections, ignorance and uncooperative husband are some of the reasons for not practicing contraceptive methods. CONCLUSIONS The study highlights the underutilization of contraceptive methods available to the modern women. In spite of contraceptives being freely available in the market, there remains a small section of women who are still ignorant about their availability. The male predominance in decision making is clearly demonstrated, which is the major determinant of use of contraceptive methods.