Effect of Antenatal Counseling on Postpartum Family Planning among Women Attending Family Medicine Units in 6th of October City

Abstract

Background: Antenatal counseling provides an important opportunity to improve maternal understanding of postpartum family planning and good opportunity to make an appropriate choice of postpartum family planning method.  Objectives:  To measure the degree of satisfaction from antenatal family planning counseling and to identify its relation to PPFP adoption among women attending family medicine centers in 6th October city. Methods: A Cross sectional study was conducted on 384 married women in reproductive age attending three randomly selected family medicine centers. They should be healthymarried women in reproductive age and having at least one living child not less than one-yearold.Women with history of primary or secondary infertility and repeated abortion were excluded. Data were collected through an interview questionnaire including socio-demographic data and reproductive history, family planning method used in the postpartum period, for her at least one year old child and antenatal counseling about post-postpartum family planning done in her pregnancy in her previous one year old child. Proper postpartum family planning is defined as use of contraception within 40 days after delivery with continuation for at least one year after delivery of the last child. Results: There is statistically significant relationship between antenatal counseling service provision and use of PPFP methods among studied women P<0.05, and found that family health center number (1) had the highest preformation regarding antenatal counseling services provision (75.4%), antenatal counseling sessions regarding PPFP mentioned by (67.7%), two thirds of studied women (65.0%) were satisfied regarding antenatal counseling session and doctors providing the counseling as mentioned by 40.8% of participating women. Conclusion: There is a statistically significant relationship between adequate antenatal family planning counseling and use of PPFP methods.