Background: India launched the Family Planning Programme in 1952 to accelerate the country’s socioeconomic
development and to reduce the rate of population growth. In spite of the efforts by the government,
women, especially in the rural areas are reportedly reluctant to accept any method of contraception due to
various reasons. Despite Kerala is a state in which the total fertility rates, urban-rural differences still persist
in Kerala with rural women having 0.56 children more than urban women. In the above context, the present
study was conducted to throw light on the prevalence and epidemiological determinants of contraceptive
practices among the eligible couples in Thrikkur, a rural area of Thrissur. Methodology: A community based
cross-sectional study was done among all the currently married women in the reproductive age group (n=130)
residing in Thrikkur. Data was collected using a pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule by house-to
house survey, after obtaining consent from the study subjects. Results: The contraceptive prevalence rate
among the eligible couples in this study was found to be 68.5%. The most common method of contraception
used by the study subjects was Post Partum Sterilization (43.8%). The prevalence of unmet need of family
planning in this study was 18.4%. Religion, educational status of females and parity were the factors which
were significantly associated with contraceptive practices of the eligible couples in this study. Conclusion:
The present study found a high contraceptive prevalence rate among the study subjects. But the unmet need
of family planning, among the women was found to be higher than the overall unmet need of family planning
in Kerala. There is an urgent need to fill this gap between the contraceptive need and the contraceptive
practices of the eligible couples in this area.