| Abstract: | The first family planning clinic in Louisiana was started in 1965 in Lincoln Parish, offering services to medically indigent residents. 719 women of the total 1055 eligible residents were contacted and 57% attended the clinic. Only 12% of the clinic patients come to the clinic on their own initiative, showing the importance of outreach. 74% of clinic attendees were aged 24 or younger. 44.9% had had 1 birth, 18.4% birth, and 36.7% had had 3 or more birth. Over 43% had experienced more than 1 out of wedlock birth. Between 1966 and 1967 there was a 21.6% decrease in births to medically indigent women 19 or younger, a 52.1% decrease for those 20-24, and 37.5% for those 25-29, compared with 16%, 7.9% and 7.7% for control parishes. There was a 30% drop in total out of wedlock births in 1967 in the study area. In 1967 the illegitimacy ratio dropped from 156.6 per 1000 to 121.4. The woman of second or higher parity were the most affected by the program since only women who had ever been married or pregnant were allowed to participate in the program. |
