DIFFUSION OF THE CULTURE OF CONTRACEPTION - PROGRAM EFFECTS ON YOUNG-WOMEN IN RURAL BANGLADESH

This article describes a process of diffusion of family planning infor mation, ideas, and technology among an unanticipated audience of young , unmarried women in rural Bangladesh. The data are derived from a foc us-group study conducted in 1987-88 in the Maternal Child Health and F amily Planning Project in Matlab, Bangladesh. A discussion with a staf f member revealed her vivid memory of the arrival of the community-bas ed family planning worker in her village 10 years earlier, before she was married. Based on this research lead, four focus-group sessions we re held with newly married young women, and a set of questions about y oung women were incorporated into the sessions with other community wo men. The discussions showed that many young, unmarried women learn abo ut family planning from an early age from the community-based family p lanning worker, from female relatives, peers, and the media. The findi ngs of this exploratory study suggest that greater attention be paid t o the contraceptive needs of young women and that continued research b e conducted with this population of women.