Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Determinants of Current use of Contraceptive Methods among Women in an Urban Community in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Contraceptive use is the intentional desire of an individual to prevent or limit pregnancy and it is one of the major components of family planning, an important pillar in the prevention of over-population, which has become a most pressing global problem.

Materials and Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional design that aimed at identifying the prevalence and determinants of current contraceptive use among women aged 18-49 years in a community in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 216 women recruited from two clusters chosen randomly out of six clusters in the study area. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Chi-square test was used to test for association between socio-demographic variables and contraceptive use. Logistic regression was used to identify determinants of uptake.

Result: One hundred and five women (55.22%) were currently using contraceptive methods. Older than 29 years, being married/cohabiting, and having two or more living children were significantly associated with contraceptive use (P<0.05).

Conclusion: This study identified a high proportion (55.22%) of women in our locality to be current users of modern contraceptive methods when compared to national average (27.0%). The male condom was the commonest used modern method (30.5%). The withdrawal method and prolonged breastfeeding were the preferred traditional methods (20.0% and 7.6% respectively). Older age of women (above 29 years), living with a partner, and having at least two living children were positive determinants of current contraceptive use.