Document Type
Brief
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
The World Health Organization recommends that women receive information on family planning (FP) during antenatal care (ANC), immediately after birth, and during postpartum and well-baby care. However, few studies have assessed the effect of information during each of these stages on women’s use of contraceptive methods. Data collected by FRONTIERS in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua have been analyzed to answer this question. Use of maternal care services, exposure to FP information, and use of postpartum contraception varies among countries. All women interviewed in the Dominican Republic attended ANC services and delivered in a facility; ANC use and institutional delivery were lower in Haiti and Nicaragua. Researchers divided the women into subgroups according to use of services, comparing those who attended ANC and those who did not. Later they examined subgroups—use of ANC with and without institutional delivery, and institutional delivery without ANC care. Women were more likely to use postpartum contraception if they had received ANC services than if they had not. According to this brief, providing FP information during the postpartum period has a greater effect on contraceptive use in the six months following delivery than information given during ANC.
Recommended Citation
"Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua: Promoting family planning during the postpartum period can increase contraceptive acceptance," FRONTIERS OR Summary. Washington, DC: Population Council, 2008.
DOI
10.31899/rh14.1008
Language
English
Project
Frontiers in Reproductive Health
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, International Public Health Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Women's Health Commons