Awareness and Attitude of Married Women toward Emergency Contraception

Abstract

Introduction: Emergency contraception (EC) refers to contraceptive methods that a woman can use in her last chance after unprotected sexual intercourse (UPSI) whether consensual, as result of sexual assault or after failure or incorrect use of other methods to prevent unintended pregnancy. Aim of this study: Assess the awareness and attitude of married women toward emergency contraception. Subject and method: A descriptive research design was utilized in this study. Six hundred women were recruited for the study. Data were collected from El Minia University Hospital for women and children from Obstetrics, Gynecology department in El Minia City using structured interviewing questionnaire. Result: the study revealed that near two third (62.9%) of the women had a poor knowledge about emergency contraception and more than half (53.5%) of them had positive attitude toward EC. Conclusion: in spite of a greater percentage of women heard about emergency contraception they had a poor knowledge about it and near half of the studied women had a positive attitude regarding it. Recommendation: There is a need to raise awareness about emergency contraceptives as an option with other contraception methods and revitalizing of the family education program for disseminating similar information.