Abstract
BackgroundNigeria has an annual population of ~ 200,000 women who are both pregnant and HIV-positive. High unmet need for family planning in this population could lead to unintended pregnancies, along with the increased risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT). To identify modifiable barriers and facilitators in effective family planning, we examined correlates of modern contraceptive use among HIV-positive women enrolled in the MoMent prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) implementation research study in rural North-Central Nigeria.MethodsIn this prospective cohort study, HIV-positive pregnant women were enrolled at 20 Primary Healthcare Centers and followed up to 12 months postpartum. Baseline socio-demographic, clinical and obstetric data were collected at enrollment. Participants were to receive routine family planning counselling from healthcare workers during postnatal visits. Analysis utilized baseline data linked to available family planning information collected from each woman at the first postpartum visit. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine factors associated with modern contraceptive use.ResultsOut of 497 women enrolled, family planning data was available for 399 (80.3%) women, of whom 349 (87.5%) received family planning counselling, and 321 (80.5%) were 30 years old or less. Two-thirds (268, 67.2%) of the cohort analyzed had 1–2 children at baseline; 24.8% (n = 99) had 3–4 children, and 8.0% (n = 32) had > 4 children. Approximately half (199, 49.9%) of the women reported no modern contraceptive use in the postpartum period. Male condoms (116, 29.1%) were the most reported method of contraception; other methods reported included oral hormones (71, 17.8%) and intrauterine devices (13, 3.2%). Only disclosure of HIV status to male partner or relative (aOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.2–3.3; p = 0.01) and receipt of family planning counselling (aOR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1–4.8; p = 0.03) were positively associated with reported modern contraceptive use. Age, marital or educational status, religious affiliation, employment status, gravidity and parity were non-correlates.ConclusionsFamily planning counselling and disclosure of HIV status are modifiable positive predictors of contraceptive use among our cohort of postpartum HIV-positive women in rural Nigeria. Rates of unintended pregnancy and concomitant risk of MTCT could be significantly reduced through strategies that facilitate these correlates.Clinical trials registrationClinicaltrials.gov registration number: NCT 01936753; registered September 3, 2013.
Highlights
Nigeria has an annual population of ~ 200,000 women who are both pregnant and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-positive
We further found that women who received family planning counselling or disclosed their HIV status to male partners or others were more likely to use contraception
Our results support the strengthening of interventions for increasing access to family planning and improving rates of disclosure among women living with HIV, especially in rural Nigeria
Summary
Nigeria has an annual population of ~ 200,000 women who are both pregnant and HIV-positive. High unmet need for family planning in this population could lead to unintended pregnancies, along with the increased risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT). Nigeria has an annual population of nearly 200,000 HIV-positive pregnant women, representing the second-largest prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) burden globally [2, 3]. The female-predominance in Nigeria’s HIV epidemic, large PMTCT burden and high unmet need for family planning demonstrate the need to include effective modern contraception as a component of comprehensive HIV care to women of reproductive age (MTCT) [5,6,7]. Nigeria’s adoption of lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for PMTCT (Option B +) in 2016 [8] creates further urgency for providing effective contraception for increasing numbers of women on HIV treatment who wish to avoid unintended pregnancies.
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