FAMILY PLANNING 5
Awareness and usage of contraceptives
Knowledge concerning contraceptives plays a significant role in the choice of
contraceptive methods. However, research indicates mixed results as some indicate an
inverse association while others show a positive association concerning contraceptives and
unintended pregnancy.
Section 3
The country has made lots of progress concerning unplanned pregnancies especially
for teenagers, and it has been discovered that the number of unintended pregnancy has
reduced. There are two reasons as to why unplanned pregnancy can reduce; having less sex or
more use of contraceptives. However, research indicates that the use of better contraceptives
has been the significant driver of the decline in unintended pregnancy. In teenagers, for
instance, 615,000 teenagers were reported pregnant, translating to 57 pregnancies for every
10000 women, with 82% of them being unplanned. This is a 51% decline compared to the
1990 peak. The reasons behind the decrease include education programs, which helped in
reducing sex frequency, delaying sexual debut, reducing the number of partners and
awareness on contraception use. Also, the country’s AIDS crisis played a role in persuading
teenagers on the importance of condoms. Through public consciousness, the AIDS epidemic
was addressed increasing condom use.
The use of family planning is getting better as women are ensuring that they are being
autonomous, accessing the preferred contraceptives for family planning. This is because it
reduces infant mortality by preventing ill-timed and closely spaced pregnancies, helps in
preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS by using protection, provides protection against STIs,
reduces teenage pregnancies, empowers and enhances education and slows population
growth.
