Reproductive health knowledge of rural mothers of Hisar district, India.

Abstract

The present study aimed at assessing levels of reproductive health knowledge of rural mothers. Reproductive health covers various aspects such as family planning, STD, AIDS, infant mortality, contraceptives, antenatal care etc. The sample consisted of 300 rural mothers, from Hisar district of Haryana state, having children below 5 years of age. The knowledge was assessed using Reproductive Health Knowledge Checklist developed under All India Coordinated Research Project, ICAR. The checklist categorized the knowledge levels as low, average and high. Information on personal variables of the respondents viz. education level, family income, husband’s occupation, caste, number of children and newspaper subscription was obtained using a self- structured interview schedule. Frequencies, percentages, correlation and chi-square were used to analyze the data. Monthly income of most of the respondent was Rs.5000-Rs.20000. Most of them were educated up to matric or 10+2, belonged to SC/ST community, had four children and subscribed no newspaper. The level of reproductive health knowledge of majority of rural mothers was high and it was found to be positively and significantly correlated with their education level. Chi square test revealed that there was no significant association between reproductive health knowledge of mothers and their personal variables except their education level. So, it can be concluded that educated rural women have better knowledge of reproductive health.