Perception Du Planning Familial Dans Le District De Sante De Mokolo/Région De L’ Extrême-Nord Cameroun

Introduction: Cameroon is a country where maternal mortality continues to grow in recent decades from 511 ‰ live births in 1998 to 782 ‰ live births in 2011. Family planning can prevent at least 25 % of these deaths by training couples and individuals on how to space or limit births, avoid unwanted and high-risk pregnancies and abortions. However its utilization rate is low. If at the national level, 24 % of women of childbearing age use it, in the Far North, the most populous region of the country, 3.7 % of women use it.Objective: This study aimed to describe the perception of family planning by the people of the Mokolo Health District.Methodology: A KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) and a mixed (quantitative and qualitative) descriptive and analytical study were conducted in Mokolo Health District located in the Far North region from October 2014 to April 2015. Quota sampling was done. Data were collected through questionnaire and interview. The analysis of quantitative data was performed using the software Epi-Info version 3.5.4 and Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Qualitative data were collected and systematically transcribed. The content analysis was carried out on the basis of the matrix of the dimensions and colour code. Verbal data from direct observation were returned per verbatim.Results: There were 240 subjects recruited aged between 15 and 49 years with an age average of 29.78 ± 8.63 years. More than half of the participants (62.60%) were couples (married and cohabiting). Most participants (77.10%) had more than five children and almost half (41.70%) of them had the desire to space out or limit births.The majority of subjects studied (80.42 %) were able to list at least one method of contraception, but they had insufficient or poor knowledge (71.20 %) on family planning. Their level of knowledge was illustrated for instance by the following verbatim: « le planning familial c’est, c’est contre les grossesses précoces » (Under educated woman).Although most of the respondents (86.30 %) believed that family planning was important, 13.70 % said the opposite. For them, family planning was a source of social discrimination (45.50 %), divorce / separation (36.40 %). The majority of the subjects considered family planning for married people and thought that: « si non tu es une fille, ou bien une fille chez ton papa, tu vas faire le planning familial avec qui? » (Educated women). Some interviewees felt that family planning promoted prostitution (8.30 %) and could be used for abortion (6.70 %). Also, half of the participants (52.90 %) stated that contraceptive methods impacted the health of the woman: « quand on avale un produit, de toutes les manières il a un effet sur l’organisme » (Educated man). Following religious values, 48.10 % of muslins wrongly declared that, Islam was against any method of contraception. Most traditional practices of contraception stated in the studied population were separated after delivery (57.60 %), traditional potions (26.10 %), «the reversal of the woman’s belly » (12.10 %), and« the blacksmith hits the back of the woman » (7.90 %).The majority of the studied population (73.30%) did not practice family planning. The reasons given for this were fear of side effects (38.10%), religious (33.00%) and traditional (17.00%) beliefs, refusal of spouses (16.50%). %) illustrated as follows « ils veulent beaucoup des héritiers, (…), au village surtout les enfants c’est une grande richesse, quand tu as beaucoup d’enfants, on te respecte au village » (Educated woman), « ils sont contre l’espacement, le planning familial, sinon ils ont beaucoup des femmes à la maison ; c’est pour pondre comme les poulets » (Educated woman), « ici chez nous, tant que tu as l’argent, il faut accoucher beaucoup d’enfants en pagaille, tu n’as pas tu t’abstiens, c’est ça le planning sauvage qui est appliqué ici » (Educated young man). In 1⁄4 of cases among those who practiced family planning, man was the decision maker. For others «c’est d’abord la femme et puis elle s’entend avec son mari, s’il refuse tu prends en cachette » (Under educated woman).Conclusion: Despite the real need to space out and limit births, the population of the Mokolo Health District has a low level of skills in family planning. Approximate knowledge of modern contraceptive methods maintains wrong attitudes and promoting the use of traditional methods at the unproven efficacy