Studies of Family Planing among Teachers on Primary and Middle Schools

Abstract

The author maae an investigation on birth control among the teachers of primary and middle schools in Nagano Prefecture as of January, 1958. The investigation was made from various points on 4648 men who married for the first time and whose wives. were not teachers. The results were summarized as follows.
1. Marriage: The averge age at the marriage was 27.5 in husbands and 23.8 in wives. As for the age difference between husbands ane wives, both were at the same age in 6.2%, husbands were older in 87.3%, and wives were older in 6.5%.
2. Childbirth: The number of children was 0 in 10.9%, 1 in 20.8%, 2 in 28.5%, . 3 in 21.3% and 4 in 11.0%. The average number was 2.2, and that in those who had passed more than 20 years after the marriage was 3.7. The average was 2.5 in those who had experienced artificial termination of pregnancy and 2.1 in those who had not. experienced it, and thus the number of children was more in the former.
3. Opinions on the population problem in this country : Those who thought that this country was overpopulated were 95%, and those who thought underpopulated were 3.4%. As the measures to counter overpopulation, 71.2% recommended birth control, 50.2% immigration, and 43.0% industrial reconstruction. It seemed characteristic of the intellectual class that the opinion for industrial reconstruction was strong. The desired number of children was three in 58.2%, which was the highest percentage.
4. Education for children: The desired education for children was university education in 99%.
5. Opinions on birth control: Those who were for birth control were 93.7%, and those against it were 4.3%. The reasons of the affirmative side were in the following order: overpopulation, better living, protection of mothers, hard living, and birth plan, and the reasons of the opponents were unnaturiness and underpopulation. As for the methods ofbirth control, those who knew them were 90.9%. Most of them learne them by mass communication, and only 12.5% learned them at health centers.
6. Practice of birth control: Those who had practiced birth control were 57.1%, and the dominant reason for the practice was the protection of mothers. The rate of failure in birth control was 43.7% and was unexpectedly high. The dominant method in failure was the use of condoms, and the reason of failure seemed the incomplete use. The most favored method of brith control was the use of condoms, Ogino's method the second, and the measurement of body basal temperature the next. It wrs noteworthy that the measurement of body basal temperature was practiced in 17.2%.
7. Artificial termination of pregnancy : Those who had experienced artificial termination of pregnancy was 25.8%, and the average number of the termination was 1.5. The reason of the termination was mothers' heal 'h in 71.7%, which was he highest percentage. The influences of the termination were observed in 51.5%.
8. Contraceptive operation : Among those who were above the age of 30, 120 had contraceptive operations, and they were 5.2% of this age group.
The bad influences of the operation were observed in 10.8%.
These results revealed that the teachers were well aware of family plan, and many of them were practicing birth con. rol. However, the facts that there were many who had experienced artifical termination of pregnancy or failed in birth control because of the incomplete practice suggested that although there was hardly any necessity of popularizing family plan to these teachers, sufficient and concrete guidance for the practice of the methods was necessary. The author believed that this study made the opinions and actual conditions of family plan of a teachers' group fairly clear.