The relationship of family planning attitudes and fertility of married women aged 15-49 registered to family health centers; samsun province example

Aim: Family Planning (FP) is an application that provides families with the necessary opportunities to have children when they want and as many children as they can take care of, and to individuals who cannot have children. This study aims to evaluate the attitudes of married women between the ages of 15-49, who applied to the Primary Health Care Center in Samsun, towards FP and its relationship with fertility. Materials and methods: This research is an observational, analytical and cross-sectional survey study. Our study was carried out in Family Health Centers (FHC) in Atakum, İlkadım and Canik districts of Samsun province between 16.02.2022 and 16.05.2022. FHCs were visited over a five business day period. Subjects were included in the study after a voluntary consent form. Individuals were evaluated with demographic data and FP Attitude Scale. Pearson correlation analysis, Independent Samples Test and One-Way ANOVA test, LSD post-Hoc test were used in the statistical analysis of the data. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age at marriage of 501 women participating in the study was 23,16±4,66 years. The mean first gestational age of women is 24,21±4,62 years. The mean number of pregnancies of the participants was 2,30±1,29. The mean Family Planning attitude score (FPAS) of the participants was 136,64±21,48. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the total FPAS and the age at marriage (r=0,133 p=0,003) and the first gestational age (r=0,108 p=0,019). There is a statistically significant negative correlation between the total FPAS score and the number of live births (r=-0,125 p=0,005), the number of surviving children (r=-0,122 p=0,006), and the number of desired children (r=-0,118 p=0,008). determined (F= 34,104 p<0,01). FPAS total score and sub-dimension scores were higher in the "university graduate" group compared to other graduates (F= 34,104 p<0,001). The FPAS total score was found to be higher in the "civil servant" profession compared to workers, private sector/retired and housewives (F= 17,936 p<0,001). According to the method of terminating the unwanted pregnancy, the mean FPAS scores differed statistically (p=0,013). Conclusion: In our study, it was determined that the attitudes of women towards using FP were positive but not sufficient. Significance was found between age at marriage, age at first pregnancy, number of births and children, occupation status, income level, district they live in, and FFP attitude scale. In our study, a negative relationship was found between FP attitude and fertility level. FP attitude was found to be higher in those whose unwanted pregnancies ended with abortion compared to those whose pregnancy ended with delivery. It is necessary to expand FP counseling and application services to include all women and men of childbearing age, and to provide personalized counseling by determining the most appropriate contraceptive method among various contraceptive methods. Keywords: Family Planning, attitude, fertility, women