Comparison of Effects of Sociodemographic Factors on Unmet Needs for Family Planning between Pakistani and Bengali Women

Abstract

Context:

Family planning improves child and maternal health, but an unmet need for family planning (UMNFP) still exists in developing countries.

Aim:

This review was done to compare UMNFP and its determinants between Pakistani and Bengali women.

Methods and Material:

Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) datasets of Pakistan and Bangladesh, 2017–18, were used, where women, ever-married, aged 15–49 were interviewed. Independent variables were women’s age, education, work status, household wealth, urban/rural residence, number of living children, husband’s education, and occupation.

Statistical Analysis Used:

Analysis was done on SPSS 22. Frequencies and percentages of all categories and binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses were done.

Results:

In both populations, women’s age, education, work status, family’s wealth, and number of living children affected UMNFP. In Bengalis, rural residence also affected UMNFP. Younger age had significantly higher UMNFP in both populations. Women living in rural areas had higher UMNFP in the Bengali population. Improved wealth decreased UMNFP in Pakistani women, but the richest households had the highest UMNFP in Bangladesh. UMNFP was higher with a higher number of living children in both populations. Primary education decreased the unmet need for spacing in Pakistani women, but Bengali women with primary and secondary education levels had higher UMNFP compared to illiterate and highly educated ones. Women with jobs had lesser overall UMNFP in both populations.

Conclusion:

Illiteracy and lack of jobs were prevalent in Pakistani women, and autonomy to decide about family size was lower than in Bengali women.