ATTITUDE OF LITERATE AND ILLITERATE WOMEN TOWARDS FAMILY PLANNING (A CASE STUDY OF OBIO AKPOR L.G.A IN RIVERS STATE)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Family planning is defined by World Health Organization as “a way of thinking and living that is adopted voluntarily, upon the basis of awareness or
familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation, attitudes and responsible acts taken by individuals and couples, in order to promote the health and welfare of family groups and thus contribute effectively to the social growth and development of a country”. In recent years, the need for studies in family planning to understand the factors determining the fertility, acceptance of the concept of family planning, has been on the upbeat. Acceptance and practices by the people has been felt so strong, that gaining of more specific knowledge about factors determining family planning, its acceptance by mass has
facilitated the developing of a suitable program for them. This study has been made to find the reasons for these unmet needs and factors acting
the outcome of family planning program and to have a better understanding of the situation in order help the Government in formulation of polices and modify
its approach in this field. In the latter area, the best linear association between the modernity variables (predictor set) and the family planning variables
(criterion set) resulted when the criterion set was so weighted that it involved a large amount of adoption and a moderate amount of contraceptive
knowledge and attitudes. Overpopulation is a big problem in most countries of the world especially in Nigeria which is a threat to good living and education
as a result of limited facilities. Government has intensified campaign for population control through family planning education, yet there is increase in the
population at high rate and educated people seem to be conforming. Growth increase seems to be associated with people living in the slum where most
illiterate women dwell. It might be that uneducated women lack knowledge or good practice of family planning method, or due to the negative eect
it had on their fellow married women, or its acceptability due to religious beliefs, age, family type, and economic challenges. A continuous practice of this may lead
to unregulated child bearing which portend problem for the nation’s economic challenges, the health of the woman and well being of the children given birth
to. It is therefore necessary to actually situate the knowledge and choice of family planning methods used by these illiterate women and also their attitude towards family planning method generally
