Evaluation of family planning knowledge levels and attitudes of women with 0-12 months old children who apply to family health centers in Yenimahalle district of Ankara

Family planning enables people to have as many children as they want, when they want, and to determine the pregnancy interval. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fertility characteristics, family planning method use and family planning attitudes of women with children aged 0-12 months in the postpartum period. The research is a cross-sectional epidemiological study and was conducted with 384 women with children aged 0-12 months who applied to family health centers in Yenimahalle district of Ankara. A data collection form consisting of questions about sociodemographic characteristics, fertility characteristics, family planning, and 'Postpartum Family Planning Attitude Scale' (PFPAS) was used in the study. 67.2% of the participants are between the ages of 25-34, 60.7% are university graduates and 60.2% are not employed. 82.1% of women have never had a miscarriage, 93.5% have never had an abortion, and 62.2% do not want to give birth to more children. 10.9% of women had an unplanned/unintended pregnancy. 29.9% of women stated that they received FP consultancy. Women who received FP counseling were found to use the FP method more frequently in the postpartum period. 42.4% of the participants use the FP method in the postpartum period, and condom (59.5%), IUD (11.7%) and tubal ligation (11%) are the most commonly used methods. The mean PFPAS score of the participants was found to be 112.78 ± 11.89. In this study, it was observed that the majority of women did not use the FP method in the postpartum period and their counseling status was insufficient. It has been determined that women's educational status affects their FP attitudes.