The effect of antenatal counseling and intrauterine device insertion services on postpartum contraceptive use in Nepal: Results from a stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial

Abstract

ObjectiveThere is high unmet need for family planning in the postpartum period in Nepal. The current study assessed the effects of a contraceptive counseling and postpartum intrauterine device (PPIUD) insertion intervention on use of contraception in the postpartum period. Study designWe utilized a cluster, stepped-wedge design to randomly assign two hospital clusters (compromised of six hospitals) to begin the intervention at time one or time two. From 2015 to 2017, women completed surveys after delivery but before discharge (n = 75,893), and then at one year and two years postpartum. We estimated the intent-to-treat effect of the intervention using weighted, linear probability models and the adherence-adjusted effect (antenatal counseling) using an instrumental variable approach. Outcomes included modern contraceptive use and method mix measured at one and two years postpartum in a sample of 19,298 women (year I follow-up sample) and a sample of 19,248 women (year II follow-up sample). We used inverse probability weights to adjust for incomplete follow-up and bootstrap methods to give correct causal inference with the small number of six clusters. ResultsThe intervention increased use of modern contraceptives by 3.8 percentage points [95% CI: −0.1, 9.5] at one-year postpartum, but only 0.3 percentage points [95% CI: −3.7, 4.1] at two years. The intervention significantly increased the use of PPIUDs at one year and two years postpartum, but there was less use of sterilization. Only 42% of women were counseled during the intervention period. The adherence-adjusted effects (antenatal counseling) were four times larger than the intent-to-treat effects. ConclusionsProviding counseling during the antenatal period and PPIUD services in hospitals increased use of PPIUDs in the one- and two-year postpartum period and shifted the contraceptive method mix. ImplicationsIn order for antenatal counseling to increase postpartum contraceptive use, counseling may need to be provided in a wider range of prenatal care settings and at multiple time points. Healthcare providers should be trained on contraceptive counseling and PPIUD insertion, with the goal of expanding the available method mix and meeting postpartum women’s contraceptive needs.