LEVEL OF EDUCATIONAL DIFFERENTIALS IN AWARENESS OF CONTRACEPTIVES AMONG ANTENATAL ATTENDEES IN MORO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KWARA STATE

Generally, inadequate awareness of contraceptives had been responsible for the increase in population, high crime rate, insecurity in the country due to high birth rate and cases of unwanted pregnancies. This makes women susceptible to infection for which contraceptives played an important role in their prevention and control of infections thereby helping to maintain the economic growth of the society. This study, therefore, examines the level of educational differentials in awareness of contraceptives among antenatal attendees in Moro Local Government Area, Kwara State. A descriptive research design of survey type was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised all women attending antenatal clinics in Moro, Kwara State. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 230 respondents for this study. The instrument used for the study was a researcher structured questionnaire which was used for data collection from the respondents, the instrument was validated by three experts. The reliability of the study was established through a split-half method in which the reliability coefficient of 0.76 was obtained. The data generated were analyzed using Anova statistical tool. The findings for the study revealed that: Married women attending antenatal clinics were aware of contraceptives based on their educational level in Moro L.G.A., Kwara State. This is because there was a statistically significant difference at the p < .000 level in the awareness of contraceptives for the four educational level groups F (3, 226) = 5.96, p < .000. The study concluded that married women attending antenatal clinics were aware of contraceptives based on their educational level in Moro Local Government Area, Kwara State. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that religious leaders and followers should be educated by health educators on the importance of being aware of different types of contraceptives, there should be enlightenment for women to prevent them from superstitious belief against having knowledge about contraceptives.