In this chapter, the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of married women in respect of family planning, abortion, sterilization, and government population policies will be examined. The source of data for this study is the First National Survey on Family Planning conducted in 1973 on a sample basis. By means of a two-stage stratified sample design, a slightly less than 1 per cent sample of 2,167 married women aged 15 to 44 were selected for the survey which was conducted from 7 to 29 September 1973. During this period, 2,078 of the selected women were successfully interviewed and the remaining 89 were refusals and non-contact cases, giving a response rate of 96 per cent, which is quite satisfactory as compared to similar surveys conducted in other countries. During the data processing stage, a few completed questionnaires had to be rejected for various reasons and the number finally accepted for tabulation amounted to 2,076. A wealth of information pertaining to these 2,076 married women was published in the report, but only the more important features that are relevant to this study will be discussed here.

FAMILY PLANNING

In the survey, the respondents were asked the number of birth control methods they had heard about but need not necessarily know how to use. Some 97.4 per cent of the 2,076 married women replied that they had heard of at least one contraceptive method. This was a very satisfactory figure as compared to the corresponding proportion of 94.7 per cent in Japan (1973) and 84.5 per cent in Peninsular Malaysia (1970).The almost universal knowledge of contraceptive methods among Singapore women was not surprising in view of the continuous clinical, information, and educational activities of the Family Planning Association since 1949 and subsequently the Singapore Family Planning and Population Board (SFPPB) since 1966. In addition, there was the high literacy rate and excellent mass communication channels in a small compact cosmopolitan community.

The detailed figures in Table 7.1 show that contraceptive knowledge had indeed permeated all strata of the community. The married women in each of the three main races had equally high levels of contraceptive knowledge, above 97 per cent, and so did the married women in each of the three age groups.