International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014 1 ISSN 2250-3153 www.ijsrp.org Contraception: Perceptions and practices of women in an urban slum community of Delhi Bani Tamber Aeri and Santosh Jain Passi Department of Food and Nutrition, Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India Abstract- Aim: This paper aims to highlight the contraception related perceptions and practices of the women from an urban slum of Delhi. Methods: Data were gathered from a total of 201 pregnant women (belonging to lower income group) enrolled from a government run maternity clinic by the interview technique . Results: Data revealed that, at the time of conception, as high as 34% of the pregnancies were unwanted. Although the subjects had knowledge of contraception, the usage was very low (33%); and they considered contraception only as a means of limiting the family size which should be adopted once the family is ‗complete‘. Son preference, ignorance regarding importance of child spacing, limited control over personal lives and inhibitions/ fallacies regarding contraception were the main reasons behind far lower usage of the contraceptives. Also, lack of knowledge regarding the appropriate methods of contraception, their side-effects (if any), and the authentic source of obtaining also emerged as the hindering factors. Conclusions: It seems that education, even the basic family life education, is the key to solve many of the problems relating to reproductive behaviour of women as it will empower them to make decisions governing their lives. Efforts to change the behaviour, knowledge and attitude of men are also integral to the reproductive health status of women. Index Terms- contraception, unwanted pregnancy, family planning, education, women‘s empowerment, Delhi I. INTRODUCTION he estimated population of India is 1·21 billion individuals and is projected to be 1·48 billion by 2030, surpassing China as the world's most populous nation (1). India was one of the first countries in the world to have initiated the family planning programme soon after its independence (in 1952). Thereafter, the promotion of maternal and child health through safe motherhood programmes within the wider context of reproductive health and reducing the fertility levels have been the agenda of India‘s Family Planning Division ( 2). Currently, the total fertility rate in India is 2·1 (replacement level) in urban areas, and 3·0 in rural areas; down from 3·4 (1998 – 99), implying that women are bearing lesser number of children (3,4). They are also adopting more contraceptive measures. In 2005 - 06, 56% of the married women were using contraception (3) as compared to 41% in 1990 - 92 (4) and 48% in 1998—99 (5). Though these are encouraging figures, the unmet need for contraception, among young married women, both for child spacing and termination, is still higher; it being 27% and 21% for women aged 15—19 years and 20—24 years, respectively (3). Despite emphasis of the reproductive and child health programmes being on client choice and use of non-terminal methods, female sterilization accounts for about half of the contraception rates in India, a proportion that has not changed ever since 1990 (2). Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons for the high proportion of unwanted births in our country because women do not like to opt for this terminal method till the time they feel that their families are complete (3, 6). In the present paper an attempt has been made to gain an insight about the family planning practices of the women residing in an urban slum of Delhi, with an emphasis on their opinion, perceptions and the methods of contraception adopted by them. The data presented here are part of a larger study conducted on pregnant women and the factors affecting their pregnancy outcome. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was carried out in an urban slum of South Delhi. Locale: The study was carried out in the Sriniwaspuri Maternity Center (a government run maternity center), which was randomly chosen out of the eight Government centers in South Delhi. This center acted as the nodal point for enrolment of the subjects residing in the four slum clusters in its vicinity. Sampling: Purposive sampling was used to identify and enrol the subjects. Thus, pregnant women (between 16-20 weeks of gestation without having any obstetric complications) belonging to poor economic status and residing within 5 kms of the Center who were expected to attend the ANC clinics and deliver the baby at the Center were enrolled for the present study. In case of the primipara, though the Centre was providing all the maternity services, for delivery, these women were referred to the Safdarjang Hospital (a major Government Hospital in South Delhi); and, therefore, they were not included in the study as data collection could have some posed problems. All pregnant women who complied and were willing to participate in the study constituted the sample. A total of 201 pregnant women residing in the selected slum clusters and were registered at the maternity centre for antenatal services were enrolled for the study. Only those subjects who gave their informed consent for participation were included in the study. In case of the women staying in joint families, consent was also obtained from their husbands and mother-in-laws. Anonymity of the subjects has been preserved throughout the study. Permission was also sought T