FP use among married women in Nigeria remains low with CPR for any method and an unmet need for FP at 17% and 19% respectively (NDHS, 2018). While a number of studies have reported mixed findings on the effects of education on contraceptive use, little is known about how educational attainment is influencing contraceptive uptake among married women in rural regions of Rivers State.
A mixed-method cross-sectional study was employed using data from a population-based Omnibus survey conducted in Rivers State. The data was analyzed using STATA-18. Descriptive analysis was done to examine the variables' frequency distributions and bivariate analysis was employed to determine the relationships between explanatory variables and contraceptive use.
This study revealed that the mean age and number of children born to these women were 29.0±9.3 and 1.8±2.4 years respectively. The majority were aged 18-24 years (36.18%), and 96% of them have ever attended formal school. Out of those who have ever attended formal school, majority (53.9%) had secondary education.
A majority (73%) were aware of contraceptive methods. There was a statistical relationship between respondents' level of education and current use of contraceptives (p=0.047). The findings revealed that women who have had secondary education were more likely (OR=2.17.; C.I=1.20 – 3.92, p< 0.05) to currently use contraceptives than women who have had a primary level of education.
However, even though there is increased knowledge and awareness of contraception, low contraceptive use was recorded in this study and clearly demonstrated that a high level of education acting alone does not ultimately lead to high contraceptive use. Therefore the recommendations from this study are that while designing policies and programs to improve contraceptive uptake, there is a need to put into perspective the combined effect of varying factors in promoting a positive behavioral response to fertility.
