Uptake of Modern Family Planning Among Postpartum Women Attending Postnatal Clinic in Busolwe Hospital, Butaleja District, Eastern Uganda

Abstract

Background: Family planning (FP) is key to preventing the social, economic and health consequences resulting from unintended pregnancies. Failure to control family size and child spacing has pressing negative effects on the health of women, their children, the community and the nation at large. Despite various family planning interventions such as Uganda Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (UFPCIP) and Postpartum Family Planning Action Plan (PFAP), the unmet FP need still stagnates as high as 28%. Therefore, this study determined the prevalence and assessed the factors associated with modern family planning uptake among postpartum women attending Postnatal Care (PNC) in Busolwe Hospital, Butaleja district, Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 361 postpartum mothers attending PNC. Quantitative approach was applied and data collected using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Participants recruited by consecutive sampling. Ethical considerations and approval was sought from Lira University institutional research board (IRB) and data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results: A total of 361 participants were recruited for the study. Majority of the participants 167(46.3%) aged between 17-24 years with mean age 26.01 (SD±5.877). Over all 122(34%) was the prevalence of modern FP uptake. Factors independently associated with modern family planning at multivariate analysis were; Education level (P=0.007, OR 0.048, 95% CI 0.005-0.435); occupation (P= 0.039, OR 0.432, 95% CI 0.195-0.958), Income (P=0.000, OR 0.209, 95% CI 0.088-0.494), Side effects (P=0.014, OR 3.062, 95% CI 1.249-7.508), and Perception about many children (P=0.000, OR 0.128, 95% CI 0.049-0.339). Conclusion: The prevalence of modern family planning was low in Butaleja district. This was due to inadequate education among women, unemployment, low-income status, desire for many children and the side effects associated with family planning use.