FAMILY SIZE DYNAMICS AND INDUCED ABORTION AMONG WOMEN IN RURAL NIGERIA

Evaristus Osita Oti (PhD), Maryjane Chidinma Mbabuike

Abstract


Induced abortion is legally restricted in Nigeria; it is permitted only to save the life of the woman. Despite the restrictive abortion law, several reports indicate that induced abortion is widespread in some countries and that it is associated with high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality. The general objective is to empirically examine the effect of family size on the incidence of induced abortion among the women in the study area. The study was anchored on the theory of Symbolic Interactionism. The survey method was adopted for this study. The population of married women aged 15 – 49 years in Ogube is estimated at 2,500. The sample size was 240 respondents drawn from the six villages in Ogube through simple random sampling method. The questionnaire was used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed through frequency tables and the chi square. The following results emerged: a majority of the respondents (69.5%) are below 32 years; a majority of the respondents are currently married (88.5%); about half of the respondents (50.0%) were Catholics; a mean age at first marriage of 23 years and  median age of 23.5 years  . there is significant association between the number of children already had and incidence of induced abortion; there is significant association between the number of sons already had and involvement in induced abortion; there is significant relationship between sex of children already had an incidence of induced abortion among married women in the study area. The study recommends greater awareness on contraception among women in the study area and a scale up of general services on reproductive health.

Keywords


Family size, Induced abortion, Women, Rural Nigeria

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