A Survey on Prevalence and Knowledge of Family Planning among Women of Childbearing Age in the Provincial Settings of the Gambia: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Family planning (FP) is one of the fundamental pillars of safe motherhood and reproductive health rights. In developing countries, women with unmet need for FP constitute a significant proportion of all women of reproductive age and it is an ongoing public health challenge in the Gambia. The study aimed to determine the women's proportion of contraceptive uptake and knowledge of FP methods. METHODS: The study employed a community-based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted for 643 women of reproductive age (15–49 years) from the selected clusters in rural Gambia through a multistage sampling technique. A pretested structured interview questionnaire was used to collect data. Univariate analysis using frequencies and percentages were used to present results in this study. Data entry and analysis were done using IBM SPSS version 24. RESULTS: The overall contraceptive prevalence rate was 30.4%, while the CPR for married or in the union was 34.2%. About 86% of women reported child spacing as the major benefits of FP, while 49.5% reported amenorrhea as the most common side effect of contraceptives. Injectable (Depo-Provera, Noristerat, and ) and pills (progesterone and combined) were the two most common FP methods used at 58.5% and 44.0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The present study showed a moderately low contraceptive uptake. Thus, there is a need to focus FP services for women in rural areas, emphasizing the quality of services and gender equality. The study further recommends strengthening and mainstreaming of male involvement and religious leaders participation in FP interventions and the initiation of a communication program that explicitly promotes interspousal communication.