Abstract

Abhimanyu Kumar1*, Satya Paland Anshu Taunk

The State of Uttarakhand has experienced fertility decline significantly among couples residing both in rural and urban areas irrespective of their socio-economic conditions. In search of factors influencing fertility decline in the State, this study tries to explore family planning use, reasons of differentials in general and sterilization use it correlates in particular among rural women in Uttarakhand. Data collected from a random sample of 800 women, in the reproductive age group drawn through a random sampling based on the female literacy rate spread over four district of Uttarakhand. It was revealed that the major reasons perceived by rural women for using family planning were ‘less income and high expenditure’ and ‘desire for quality of children.’ The sterilization use was more by the women with good socio-economic conditions as compared to their counterparts. The different factors which are positively associated with sterilization use are – membership in mahila -sangtan (clubs for rural women), professional desire for sons and daughters, educational aspiration for sons and daughters, desire to have house and economic constraints for having children.