Diffusion of the culture of contraception: program effects on young women in rural Bangladesh.

This article describes a process of diffusion of family planning information, ideas, and technology among an unanticipated audience of young, unmarried women in rural Bangladesh. The data are derived from a focus-group study conducted in 1987-88 in the Maternal Child Health and Family Planning Project in Matlab, Bangladesh. A discussion with a staff member revealed her vivid memory of the arrival of the community-based family planning worker in her village 10 years earlier, before she was married. Based on this research lead, four focus-group sessions were held with newly married young women, and a set of questions about young women were incorporated into the sessions with other community women. The discussions showed that many young, unmarried women learn about family planning from an early age from the community-based family planning worker, from female relatives, peers, and the media. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that greater attention be paid to the contraceptive needs of young women and that continued research be conducted with this population of women.