Very few postpartum women want to become pregnant within the next tow years, but approximately 60% of postpartum women in low- and middle-income countries are not using contraceptive methods. The World Health Organization recommends that women receive postpartum family planning (PPFP) counseling during antenatal, immediate postpartum, and postnatal services.
The researchers’ objective was to establish whether PPFP counseling is being provided in antenatal and postnatal care services in SNNPR, Ethiopia and whether receipt of PPFP counseling improved uptake of postpartum family planning use by 6 months postpartum.
Integration of postpartum family planning counseling into postnatal care services is an effective means to increase postpartum contraceptive uptake, but significant gaps in coverage, particularly in the delivery and postnatal period, remain.