Unmet needs for family planning and its determinants among women of reproductive age in Ilesha Southwest Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Background: A high rate of unintended pregnancy is said to be driving population growth, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately half of all pregnancies are unintended, coming too soon or even unwanted. Most of these unintended pregnancies could have been prevented with effective family planning services. There, however, remains an unmet gap between the women’s reproductive intention and their contraceptive behaviour. Objectives: This study determined the prevalence of unmet needs for family planning and examined its determinants among women of reproductive age group at a tertiary health facility in Southwest Nigeria. Design: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. Methods: Two hundred eighty-five sexually active women were recruited using a pre-tested, semi-structured, validated, interviewer-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed the respondent’s socio-demographic characteristics, obstetrics and gynaecological history, and contraceptive history. Relevant clinical parameters were measured and recorded. Data were analysed using SPSS version 21. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was done using a 5% significance level to identify the determinants of unmet needs for family planning. Results: The prevalence of unmet family planning needs for prevention, spacing and limiting were 28.8%, 33.1% and 38.1%, respectively, with 58.2% overall prevalence of unmet needs. The commonest reason for the non-uptake of contraceptives among those with unmet need was the fear of side effects (66.3%). The odds of having unmet needs for family planning were higher for respondents with four or fewer children (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 7.731; 95% confidence interval (CI): 28.504–2.907, p = 0.002) and those with one partner (AOR: 2.008; 95% CI: 3.669–1.090, p = 0.025). Conclusion: A high rate of unmet family planning needs was found in the study. This requires specific interventions and policies towards increasing contraceptive uptake, such as intensified health education aimed at allaying fears related to the side effects.