The Contribution Of Modern Contraceptive Use In Reducing Induced Abortion In Geita Town,- Tanzania

ABSTRACT 

The study assessed the contribution of modern contraceptive use in reducing induced abortions among the women of reproductive age in Geita town, – Tanzania. Specifically, the study sough to identify the type of contraceptives available and accessible in the area of study. Also, to assess the extent of modern contraceptives use among women of reproductive age and to examine the rate of induced abortions in Geita town. A cross sectional study design was used in this study by which questionnaire and interviews were applied to collect data from 130 respondents, whereby 120 were women of reproductive age who were selected from three health centres. Ten (10) of the respondents were key informants selected purposively from the three health centres due to the knowledge they had concerning modern contraceptives. The data were analysed using SPSS version 16 and Microsoft offices excel which indicated that 74.6% of the respondents were aware of the modern contraceptives and knew more than two methods. Awareness of modern contraceptives among respondents was moderate due to the fact that three quarters (¾) of the contraceptives were available in Geita town. Accessibility was high in which 64.2% of respondents spent less than one hour to reach the area to obtain the contraceptives without cost. Some 71.4% of respondents showed that they obtained the contraceptives in government health centres free of charge, 10.6% obtained them from private health centres with low cost. The main reasons for not using modern contraceptives was poor perceptions in the society concerning the side-effects, lack of clear information on modern contraceptive, and some of the respondents showed that they were too young to use vii modern contraceptives. There are reasons for the persistence of the problem of induced abortion in Geita town. Because of not using modern contraceptive by women of reproductive age, there were 46.2% of unplanned pregnancies in Geita town and 23.8% ended in induced abortions.