ASSESSING THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE UPTAKE OF BILATERAL TUBAL LIGATION AS A METHOD OF CONTRACEPTION AMONG WOMEN ATTENDING FAMILY PLANNING IN PLATEAU STATE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, JOS

Bilateral tubal ligation (BTL) is a permanent method of female sterilization, which involves the surgical interruption of the fallopian tubes to prevent fertilization. It is one of the most effective forms of contraception, boasting a failure rate of less than 1% (Sweeney et al., 2021).Despite its efficacy, the uptake of BTL varies significantly across different populations and regions, influenced by a complex array of factors including demographic, socio-cultural, economic, and medical. The study examined the factors that influence the uptake of bilateral tubal ligation among women attending family planning clinic of plateau state specialist hospital, Jos. The research design employed for this study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. Data was collected through administration of questionnaires to the target population. Questionnaires were collected and analysed manually using frequency distribution tables. The result obtained from the research showed that one factor that will affect the uptake of BTL was fear,48.5% of respondents were afraid of side effects,23.2% feared that it was a major surgery, while 20.2% and 8.1% feared been put under general anaesthesia and religious prohibitions. Socio-cultural factors such as the desire for large family was a factor that will influence the update of BTL. 68 respondents desired to have 4 or more children while 52 desired 3 or less than 3 children. The result obtained also shows that only 40% of respondents will have spousal support to take BTL as a method of contraception while the remaining 60% will not have it. It is recommended that counselling on BTL be enhanced by health care providers to involve spouses. Furthermore, there is a need to empower women educationally and socioeconomically in order for them to take control of their family planning needs.