Factors Affecting Women's Role in Family Planning Decision Making: Gender Norm Barriers to Family Planning in Addis Ketema Sub-city, Addis Ababa

Family planning is a decision made by an individual or couples about how many children one would like to have ,when to start having children, when to stop having children and how long to rest between each pregnancy(MOH,2007). A significant number of useful studies have been conducted which account for aggregate fertility trends or explain individual fertility behaviors with some degree of power. It can be firmly asserted that the weakness of fertility research to date is not one of the poor theoretical formulations but its failure to place fertility within its local socio cultural and economic context. This study is an attempt to examine the possible socio-cultural and economic factors affecting women?s role in family planning decision making with specific reference to Addis Ketema Sub-City, Addis Ababa. The findings indicate that socio-cultural and economic factors interact on fertility and women?s fertility behaviors is greatly influenced by the socio-cultural values attached to child bearing.