Intrauterine Contraception Use among Women Receiving Post-Abortion Care in Guangzhou, China: a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: In China, long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods are recommended mainly for married women who were reluctant to have more children. The inclusion of LARC methods (maily intrauterine device, IUD) into Post-Abortion Care (PAC) service for all women is a new concept. We aim to explore the uptake of IUD and the possible factors affecting IUD use among women receiving PAC in Guangzhou, China. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2019 and July 2020 among 945 women in Guangzhou. The Multivariate logistic regression was employed toexamine factors associated withIUD uptake. Results: The prevalence of IUD uptake was 17.4% at one month after receiving PAC in Guangzhou, China. Unmarried women were 61% significantly less likely to use IUD than married women. Immigrants were 76% significantly less likely to use IUD than non-immigrants. Women who had no children or only one child were 68% and 60% significantly less likely to use IUD compared to those who had more than two children. Barriers to the use of IUD were lack of familiarity with respect to IUD, concerns related to future fertility and women with limited decision-making autonomy regarding IUD use. Conclusions: The study highlighted the needs for policies and education programs to promote the use of IUD to prevent repeat unintended pregnancy during the immediate post-abortion period.