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Socio-Cultural Barriers to Contraceptive Use: An Analysis of Couple’s Contraceptive Behaviour in West Bengal

Aditi Kundu, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Bhaswati Das, Jawaharlal Nehru University

The taboo associated with sex and contraception acts as barriers leading to misinformation, wrong perception and thoughts of perceived side effects in the user’s mind hindering proper usage. These type of barriers are more to an unmarried couple than those in legal sexual union and more to a couple in extended/joint family than in a nuclear family. Taboos not only prevent a woman discussing about contraceptives to her parents or in-laws but also to her partner or even peers. All these add up to the list of not being able to choose the right contraceptive method and use it when needed. The aim of this paper is to analyze these socio-cultural barriers to contraception in an inter-generational Bengali society and examine whether it manipulates the contraceptive pattern of West Bengal. Bengal being one of those states having a significant use of traditional contraceptives coupled with a low TFR of 1.8. The study is conducted at different sub-centres of the chosen district, at the district hospital and the private clinics. Interviews are taken from family planning counsellors, obstetricians and gynecologists' on their perspective on the present contraception scenario of West Bengal. The study is descriptive and observational with cross-sectional design.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Family planning and contraception, Population geography, Qualitative data/methods/approaches

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session 71. Barriers to Contraceptive Use