Abstract:
Objective:
To find out the particulars regarding contraceptive practices in the postpartum period and to
see its impact on prolonging interpregnancy interval (IPI).
Methods:
A cross sectional observational study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics &
Gynecology Unit 3, Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad from 1
st
July to 31
st
December 2018. Out of
2100 total deliveries, 398 postpartum women with second or higher order births were included. Pregnant
women, primiparas and those who were not willing to participate were excluded. They were interviewed
face to face by principal investigator and her team members and required information was collected on
predesigned Performa. Outcome variable was interpregnancy interval in months. Chi-square test was used
to see association
Results:
Postpartum contraception utilization (PPC) was 24.6%(n=398). Most of the women choose condoms
as contraceptive method (n=41, 10.3%) followed by oral contraceptive pills (n=18, 4.5%) and intra uterine
contraceptive device (n=16,4%). Method related issues were the chief reasons for discontinuation while
desire to have another child soon and spouse/family disapproval were among the reasons mentioned largely
by non-utilizers of modern methods of family planning. The average interpregnancy interval was 16.4±1.45.
Significant association was observed between interpregnancy interval and postpartum contraception use,
particularly in the users of long acting reversible contraceptive methods (P-Value 0.0001).
Conclusion:
Uptake and continuation of modern methods of contraception was low after last birth
culminating in short interpregnancy interval. Optimal IPI was observed in those utilizing modern methods
of family planning, with marked effect in users of long acting reversible contraceptive methods.
