Sexuality, Contraception And Unintended Pregnancy Among Female Student Nurses In Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

Background – There has been increased concern on human sexuality, especially with respect to contraception and the control of sexually transmissible infections. There is need to identify the sociodemographic characteristics that influence sexual behaviour and contraceptive use among young women. Methods – A descriptive cross sectional study that focused on the socio-demographic characteristics, sexuality, knowledge and use of modern contraceptive technology as well as interventions taken in the event of inadvertent pregnancy was conducted. A structured, close- ended questionnaire was randomly administered to 195 female nursing students with 60, 65 and 70 of them in their first, second and third year respectively. Results – Majority (76.7%) of the students were in the age bracket of 20 – 24years. While 65.6% of them were sexually active, only 54.9% had knowledge of family planning. Condom was the commonest contraceptive used (37.4%) and the main reasons were that of effectiveness (31.8%) and safety (30.3%). There was a significant relationship between respondents with multiple sexual partners and incidence of unwanted pregnancies (p=0.003). The majority (51.2%) of those with unwanted pregnancies resorted to induced abortion. Conclusion – In view of the high prevalence of induced abortion among the respondents, current nursing training programmes need to be reviewed to meet the peculiar reproductive health needs of female student nurses. Key words – Sexuality, Contraception, unintended pregnancy, school of nursing.