Background: Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, fourth in Asia & 2nd Muslim nation. Pakistan's population is growing by around two per cent a year but the economy has failed to keep pace with the population growth. Even though family planning programme was started in 1951 but rates of contraceptive use are low particularly in rural Pakistan, which is home to two-thirds of the about 180 million people in the nation. There is a wide range of contraceptives including traditional and modern methods. Lack of knowledge about contraceptive methods is the major constraint of acceptability among rural women in Pakistan. The study was intended to explore the choice and source of knowledge of family planning methods among married women in a rural area of Pakistan. Material & Methods: A quantitative descriptive study of awareness and use of family planning methods among 120 married women aged 18-45 years, attending Reproductive Health Services-A Center (RHS-A) at Taluka Hospital, conducted in Panoaqil, Sindh, Pakistan, between August 2015 to Feb 2016 is reported.Data was collected by trained data collectors through a standardized structured questionnaire.The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 and Microsoft excel. Results: The study sample was young with mean age 29.48 ± 5.05 years. Almost half of the study respondents (44.2%) were illiterate, while 39% were educated up to primary only. Three forth (73%) respondents were housewives. Majority 91.7% of respondents belonged to rural areas having lower socio-economic status. About 80% of respondents heard about at least one method of contraception but only 26% have used one. Current use of family planning methods was low (9.2%) among them. Most preferred method (37.5%) was intrauterine device (IUD), followed by condoms (31.3%), oral contraceptives (25%), injectable contraceptives (15.6%), sub-dermal birth control implants (21.9% ) and withdrawal (12.5%). The sources of knowledge for family planning identified by participants included 38% as Reproductive Health Service (RHS-A) centre, 34% as family planning clinic & 28% as lady health visitor (LHV). Conclusion: The current study concludes that the knowledge of contraception was high among the women interviewed (80%) although only a small percentage (26%) has used one and even a very low percentage (9%) is currently practicing contraception. Most preferred method of choice was intrauterine device (IUD), followed by condoms, oral contraceptives, injectable contraceptives, sub-dermal birth control implants and withdrawal. Reproductive Health Service (RHS-A) centre, family planning clinic & lady health visitor (LHV) were the most popular sources of knowledge for family planning. Our research suggests that improved educational strategies are needed not only to improve the utilization of family planning among Pakistani women especially rural women but also make them aware of modern, more efficient long term methods for child spacing. The findings of the present study can¬not be generalized due to the limited sample. Still, the study provides evidence and guideline for future research to formulate compelling public health interventions.
