Objective: This cross sectional observational study was done to asses awareness regarding family planning methods and the practice of contraceptives among rural women in Lucknow. Materials and Methods: Five hundred women between the ages of 15-45 years, living with their husbands and coming from rural area, attending gynecology OPD of integral institute of medical sciences and research, Dasauli, Lucknow were included in this study. Women who were pregnant, had a child younger than 2 years, or

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... d any medical disorder were excluded. Their knowledge, source of knowledge and practice of contraceptives were evaluated with the help of a predesigned questionnaire. The other variables used were the age of women, parity, religion and educational status. Results were expressed as percentages. Results: Out of 500 interviewed majority of women (49.2%) were between 22-25 years of age. 61% were illiterate belonging to low socioeconomic status, 63.3% belonged to Hindu religion. In the present study, it was observed that, 94.4% had some knowledge about family planning methods, and almost all (94.4%) of them were aware about Cu T and oral pills. The media and social circle were provided information of contraceptives in 46.6% women. Regarding the usage of contraceptive methods, 41.2% of the respondents were using some sort of contraception. Barrier method (condoms) was in practice by 26.8%, pills in 5.6%. Cu T users were 3.2% and 1.2% were using DMPA for contraception. 4.4% of women had already undergone tubal ligation. It was noted that awareness about pills and Copper was good, but their practices were very low. There were multiple reasons for non use like fear of side effects, no support from the husbands, low fertility, inhibition to ask about the contraceptives. Conclusion: There is need for strong motivation of couples through media and health personnel to achieve effective use of contraceptives, specially for Cu T and oral pills. How to cite this article: Nigar A. Contraceptive awareness, and practices among rural women in Lucknow. Indian J Obstet Gynecol Res. 2018;5(4):454-457.