Abstract
BackgroundThe extended postpartum period is a one year period after delivery which is critical for women to prevent unintended pregnancy and to reduce the risk of maternal and child mortality by ensuring safe birth intervals. Studies indicate that birth intervals of three to five years reduce maternal mortality and provide health benefits to newborn babies, infants, and children. As a result, assessing postpartum contraceptive use and its determinants are an increasingly important component of global health. The objectives of the study were to determine postpartum contraceptive use and identify the variables which affect postpartum contraceptive use among women of Dabat district.MethodsAll women aged 15 to 49 years who delivered a child between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 in the Debat district were interviewed by house-to- house survey.ResultsA total of 10.3 % of the mothers reported adopting contraception in the extended postpartum period. Women who delivered with the assistance of a skilled attendant [AOR = 1.88, 95 % CI (1.01-3.51)] and attended postnatal care services [AOR = 2.19, 95 % CI (1.06-4.52)] were more likely to use contraceptives. Secondary and above level of the husband’s education was also a variable that significantly affected postpartum contraceptive use [AOR = 2.98, 95 % CI (1.49-5.97)].ConclusionsContraceptive use in the extended postpartum period was found to be low placing women at risk for a pregnancy in the extended postpartum period. Advice about contraceptives during postnatal clinic visits was limited. Improving utilization of institutional delivery by a skilled attendant and enhancing postnatal care services are important to increase contraceptive use in the extended postpartum period.
Highlights
The extended postpartum period is a one year period after delivery which is critical for women to prevent unintended pregnancy and to reduce the risk of maternal and child mortality by ensuring safe birth intervals
According to Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) in 27 countries, 92 to 97 percent of those women who did not want another child within two years after delivery, yet 35 % of them had their children spaced less than two years apart [8]
This study revealed that, the postpartum contraceptive method use was 10.3 %; this finding was much lower than the result of 2011 EDHS which reported 29.0 and 33 % for Ethiopian and Amhara region married women respectively [17]
Summary
The extended postpartum period is a one year period after delivery which is critical for women to prevent unintended pregnancy and to reduce the risk of maternal and child mortality by ensuring safe birth intervals. Studies indicate that birth intervals of three to five years reduce maternal mortality and provide health benefits to newborn babies, infants, and children. The risk of maternal and child mortality and morbidity are very high when pregnancy occurs in short intervals after childbirth [2,3,4,5,6,7]. According to Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) in 27 countries, 92 to 97 percent of those women who did not want another child within two years after delivery, yet 35 % of them had their children spaced less than two years apart [8]. Between 20 and 40 percent of women did not initiate contraception before they became at risk for another pregnancy and the percentage of women who did not adopt a method and became pregnant is highest in Kenya (31 %) and lowest in Indonesia (11 %) [14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
