A Comparative Study of Mothers on Their Awareness Level about Family Planning Practices in Remote Villages of Purba and Paschim Medinipore, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Population explosion is a burning problem in our country. The objectives of this study was to 1) To compare the knowledge of mothers about family planning practices due to generation advancement.2)To find out the various factors associated with their knowledge. It was a stratified random sampling method. Data of mothers were collected from remote villages of Purba and paschim Medinipore, West Bengal for the periods of 2004-2006. The mothers of previous generation along with positive knowledge and followers of family planning practices were 20% and in present generation it was 75%. Mothers of previous generation having positive knowledge but not following the family planning practices were 35% and in present generation it was 15%. Mothers with lack of knowledge were 45% in previous generation and were found only 10% in present generation. Along with their discrepancy of education, caste and economical status, knowledge level was changed. The source of their knowledge was also different. Positive attitude of husband and other family members of mothers were more in present generation than previous generation. So, knowledge level of mothers about contraception will be increased by improvement of their educational level by which population explosion may be controlled.