Awareness on Emergency Contraception among Reproductive Age Women in selected Community, Chennai

Abstract

One of the biggest and most life-changing experiences for a woman is becoming a mother. Contraception ensures that parenting is a deliberate, well-timed decision by empowering women and families to decide when they choose to get pregnant. Objective:  The study aims to ascertain the level of awareness of emergency contraception among women of reproductive age. Methodology: To find out how much 200 women of reproductive age knew about emergency contraception, a descriptive correlational study was done. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of the samples. The data was gathered through self-administration utilizing pre-tested, validated, and pre-planned instruments, including a structured knowledge questionnaire and a demographic variable proforma. Results: The majority of women (93.5%) fell into the needs improvement category, with intermediate awareness (6.5%) coming in second. They were all not sufficiently informed on emergency contraception. Women of reproductive age had a mean and standard deviation of 1.34 ± 1.19 in ideas and 2.53 ± 1.51 in usage and safety, with a global score of 3.81 ± 1.90 for emergency contraception awareness. Conclusion: The study's results showed that, similar to other fundamental knowledge, emergency contraceptive understanding is crucial for preventing unintended births. Education can be extremely important in raising reproductive health professionals' awareness of emergency contraception.