Facilitators and Barriers to Contraceptive Use among Married Women in Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Background: Contraceptive uptake is shaped not only by knowledge but by the practical factors that make a method attractive and accessible, and by the barriers that discourage its use. This study examined the facilitators of contraceptive use, and the access-related barriers that may limit it, among married women in Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted in 2024, examining facilitators and barriers to contraceptive use among 400 married women recruited via a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Facilitator-related items were analysed among the 281 current contraceptive users. Data were analysed with IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0 using frequencies, percentages and the Chi-square test of association, with significance set at p<0.05; distributions are additionally presented as bar and pie charts. Results: Perceived effectiveness (48.4%) and convenience (30.2%) were the leading reasons users chose their method, and both the reason for method choice (X²=158.233, p<0.001) and the source of supply (X²=114.609, p<0.001) showed statistically significant patterns. Government hospitals were the leading source of supply (65.1%), and most users found contraceptives very easy (58.4%) or easy (17.8%) to access (X²=120.551, p<0.001), although 23.8% reported some degree of difficulty. Only 13.5% of users reported ever experiencing side effects, a significant pattern (X²=15.067, p=0.001). Barriers among non-users could not be quantitatively reconstructed from the dataset, as the corresponding item was captured for only a small number of respondents; qualitatively, mistrust of contraceptives was the barrier most frequently mentioned by those non-users for whom data were recorded. Conclusion: Perceived effectiveness, convenience and easy access via government health facilities are the principal facilitators of contraceptive use in this community, while access difficulty and, to a lesser extent, mistrust and fear of side effects, remain relevant barriers for a minority of women. Strengthening supply consistency at government facilities and proactively addressing mistrust could further improve uptake.

facilitators; barriers; contraceptive use; access; married women; Amassoma; Bayelsa State; Nigeria

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