Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of age and education on the family planning method choices of the married women living in a rural area of Giresun.

Method: The study has retrospectively been made by analysing the data of 651 married women of 18-49 years old who applied to Giresun Dereli Şehit Er Necmettin Atik Family Health Centre between the dates of August 1st, 2012 and February 1st, 2013. The data have been taken from the 15-49 age woman follow-up forms filled by the doctors and nurses.

Results: Of the 651 women included in our study, 383 (58.8%) women preferred the modern family planning methods. The women using the modern family planning methods (34.6±7.9 years) were younger than those choosing the traditional methods (38.2±7.9 years) (p=0.001). Modern family planning method usage differed according to the age of women (p=0.001). The women using oral contraceptives and condom were younger than those preferring intrauterine device and permanent methods. The illiterate women used the traditional methods more than other women (p=0.001). The rate of using permanent methods of the women graduated from primary school was higher than the rate of those graduated from secondary school (p=0,020). The use of other modern family planning methods did not differ according to the educational status of the women (p>0.05).

Conclusion: It see ms that the age and educational status of the women have an impact on in the choice of family planning methods. The younger and more educated women prefer the modern methods.

Keywords: Family planning, educational status, age factors, rural population