Abstract:
In South and South East Asia one third of pregnancies are not plan which results from low
use of contraception, contraceptive method failure and the high unmet need for
contraception (Sebastian, 2005).
The main objectives of this study were to determine the level of knowledge, explore the
attitudes and identify the practices regarding the use of Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCPs)
among the ever married women in H.Dh.Kumundhoo.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire and the sample size
was 155 ever married women in H.Dh.Kumundhoo. The sample was selected randomly and
the study was conducted from 26th April 2014 to 30th April 2014.
The participants were interviewed about their knowledge on OCPs, their perception and
attitudes to use OCPs and the practice regarding the OCPs.
The study found that 14.2% (n=21) of the respondents were using OCPs while 85.8%
(n=127) of them were not using any type of OCPs. Most of the participants had negative
attitudes towards the usage of OCPS due to fear of side effects and husband’s disapprovals.
The majority of the women heard about OCPs and almost half of them knew the regular
intake of OCPs. However, the knowledge about the side effects and the correct period to
start OCP was low.
Despite 100% availability of OCPs at the health facility, the use of OCPs were considerably
low due to negative attitudes and low knowledge on OCPs including the side effects,
misinformation about the correct usage and other beliefs.
