Psycho-social Determinants of Contraceptive Initiation in India

Abstract

India's efforts to promote family planning have produced a significant increase in the couple protection rate (CPR) which has increased by about 33 percent during the last 22 years-from 10.4 percent in 1970 to 43.5 in 1992. However, the quantum of increase has not produced a matching decline in the country's crude birth rate, which registered a decline of only about 5 percentage points during 1970 to 1988 One of the reasons for this gap is the overemphasis on the sterilisation programme, which has failed to motivate couples of lower ages and
parity to plan their families. Further, there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of women in the reproductive ages, which is unfavourable to a decline in the birth rate. It is estimated that this upward trend in the proportion of women in the reproductive ages is likely to continue till the end of the century.