Postpartum Family Planning Utilization among Postpartum Women in Public Health Institutions of Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: A mother’s health has become one of the important agendas in the development of a nation. Family planning use during post-partum has the potential to significantly reduce unintended pregnancies and ensure adequate birth spacing. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess family planning use among postpartum women and factors associated with it in public health institutions of Debre Berhan town, Ethiopia. Method: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 248 women in Debre Berhan town. Simple random sampling technique was used for sample selection. An interviewer-administered structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. Data entry and cleaning were done using Epi Info version 3.5.4, and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 software. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with postpartum family planning use. Variables significantly associated with postpartum family planning use in bivariate analysis were selected for multivariate analysis. Result: Among total study subjects, about 238 (96%) women had information about family planning. Sixty three (25.4%) postpartum mothers were reported resumption of sexual intercourse. In total, 82 (41.6%) women started using contraceptive during postpartum period. Resumption of sexual intercourse [(AOR=2.01; 95% CI: (1.906-5.402)], resuming of sex before six month [(AOR=1.89; 95% CI: (1.906-5.402)] and return of menses [(AOR=1.907; 95% CI: (5.01-20.174)] were significantly associated with utilization of postpartum family planning. Conclusion: Postpartum family planning use is still low. Therefore, strengthening health education, sexual and family planning counseling, integrating with other service delivery and promoting PPFP should be recommended.