Keywords: family planning, Madagacar, mortality rate, cross-sectional survey
Background: Madagascar is among the countries with high crude birth rate (33 per 1000, WPDS, 2016) and high maternal mortality ratio (353 per 100,000 live births, WHO, 2015). While easy access to family planning methods has been shown to improve the use of family planning methods, the main objective of this study was to examine the influence of opinion regarding the impact of family planning on natural resources, financial stability, health of women and children and sterility in women on the use of family planning and maternal health indicators in Madagascar. Repeated cross-sectional surveys with structured questionnaires were conducted by Blue Ventures in Madagascar in 2009 and 2011. Descriptive statistics and simple and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to describe the characteristics of the samples and to examine the association between each of the explanatory variables and the use of family planning. The belief that the use of hormonal contraceptives can cause sterility in women and that family planning has an unfavorable effect on the health of women and children was found to be a barrier to the use of family planning in Madagascar.