IMPACT OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM ON CHOICE OF FAMILY PLANNING AMONGST MARRIED COUPLES IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Family planning is one of the most important aspect of reproductive health that expected to provide couples with immense benefits in terms of regulation in their reproductive behaviors and to offer optimal quality of health among women and children. It is undeniable that one’s religious belief also plays an important in their everyday activity and decision making, therefore religious believe system plays an important role when it comes to choice of family planning amongst married couples. This study investigated the influence of religious belief system on choice of family planning amongst married couples in Awka South L.G.A. The study adopted social learning theory and social cognitive theory as the theoretical framework. Mixed research design was adopted for this study. The population of study is 189,654, target population is 75,350 and the sample size is 398 which was generated using Taro Yamane’s formula. Questionnaire and the in-depth interview were used in data collection. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution tables, percentages, mean ratings and graphic illustrations/charts. While the qualitative data was transcribed and content analyzed. The probability sampling techniques was used. The quantitative data collected for this study was processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 23). The findings show that religious teachings and religious leaders all play a vital role on utilization and choice of family planning method amongst married couples in Awka South L.G.A. the study recommended that there should an increase in sensitization on the importance of family planning especially in churches or religious gatherings and proper education and awareness amongst religious leaders as their influences on their members cannot be over emphasized.