Abstract

Background: In India, the study of permanent sterilization is still a neglected area. It is required to understand the level of knowledge and attitudes of women toward permanent sterilization and makes them more responsible toward meeting their reproductive goals.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding permanent sterilization and also to find out the factors influence it, among women of reproductive age group (15–45) living in a slum of Kolkata.

Materials and Methods: It is a community-based observational study conducted among 157 married women aged 15–45 in a slum of Kolkata for 2 months of duration (May–June 2017). Analyses were conducted with the SPSS software version 16.0.

Results: Among 157 women, 59.9% had poor knowledge and 61.1% had unfavorable attitude toward permanent sterilization. 75.8% told that permanent sterilization is applicable for both male and female. According to 24.2%, it is only applicable for female. Women’s occupation (OR = 3.9 [1.7–8.6]); duration of marriage (OR = 11.7 [4.6–29.9]); age at first childbirth (OR = 2.63 [1.8–3.8]); history of abortion (OR = 2.6 [1.2–5.8]); and use of contraceptive (OR = 2.24 [1.2–4.4]) were strongly associated with poor knowledge. Women’s occupation (OR= 5.9 [2.6-13.9]); husband’s occupation (OR = 3.2 [1.6–6.4]); history of abortion (OR = 2.4 [1.29–5.4]); and use of contraceptive (OR = 6.6 [3.1–14.3]) were associated with unfavorable attitude toward permanent sterilization.

Conclusion: Knowledge and attitude regarding permanent sterilization were far from satisfactory among the study participants. As the influence of husband is significant in family planning issues, they should also be involved in family planning counseling as envisaged in RMNCH + A.

Key words: Perception; Permanent Sterilization; Reproductive Age Group