Traditional Contraceptive Use Among Married Adolescent and Non-adolescent Women in India: More Vulnerability in Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health
摘要
Early marriage still is a problem in India. Along with modern contraception, traditional method is also increasing gradually. Although traditional practice should not be encouraged irrespective of the age of the female due to high failure rate and inability to protect from sexually transmitted diseases. This research aims to study prevalence, trend, and responsible factors in traditional contraceptive practice among adolescent married girls and non-adolescent married women in India.
MethodThis study is based on National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data. We categorized entire women data into two groups on the basis of age and marital status, i.e., 15–19 years and 20–49 years married females. Bivariate cross-tabulation, trend analysis, and binary logistic regression have been carried out.
ResultAround 13% of adolescent girls were married during the survey, and it indicates concern for their sexual health. Traditional contraceptive use is increased in both the concerned groups; 98% of married adolescents know about modern methods, but only 19% are currently using them. Therefore, having modern knowledge is not sufficient for practical use, but this gap is less in the non-adolescent group, which implies more vulnerability for adolescent girls. In traditional methods, periodic abstinence and withdrawal are highly used among married adolescents. Education and the number of living children have more influence on traditional contraceptive practice among the adolescent group.
ConclusionTraditional method brings unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, pregnancy complication, STD, and STI. Government should give more focus on acceptance and practice of modern contraceptives among presently married adolescent girls to protect their sexual reproductive health rights.