Family planning in grand multiparous women in Diyarbakir, Turkey, 1998: the factors affecting contraceptive use and choice of method

Family planning is an important service for preventing maternal deaths. A 3-year project on children and maternal health was conducted in suburban areas of the Diyarbakir province of Turkey. In this project, volunteer women told women resident in the area about family planning as well as other maternal and child health-related subjects. Within 3 years, all women were visited at least five times and changes in contraceptive use were recorded. A cross-sectional study was planned to understand the factors affecting contraceptive use in grand multiparous women. A total of 200 grand multiparous women were selected from visit cards and various characteristics of these women were evaluated. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression analyses. The use of contraceptives had increased from 33.5% to 59.5% by the end of the 3 years in the 200 women. The main factors affecting contraceptive use were misconceptions and concerns about health-related risks, having a child younger than 14 years working outside the home to contribute to the household income, religious opposition, a gap between the desired and actual number of sons, number of previous deaths of children and discussion with the husband about family planning.