[Differences on postpartum family planning among nursing professionals.]

Abstract

Objective: In Spain, a total of 95,149 voluntary terminations of pregnancy (VTP) took place only in the year 2019, 90% of them requested by the woman, 53% of whom had at least one child. This situation highlights the relevance of postpartum family planning (PFP) and the work of the professionals in charge of its promotion. The aim of this study was to establish whether midwives and the rest of the nursing professionals regard PFP as an activity to perform within their professional role and how they implement it, as well as to identify their knowledge on it.

Methods: Study performed through an ad-hoc questionnaire between March 2017 and June 2019 in three groups of Nursing professionals dedicated to woman care (n=153) made up of: 1) Nurses specialized in Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing (Midwifery) of the Delivery suite Department; 2) midwives in Primary Care; 3) Nurses in Postpartum Unit from 3 different hospitals and 37 associated health centers. Analysis by labor group and the comparison of the different professional activities were performed through Pearson chi-squared test or a likelihood ratio, depending on sample size in qualitative variables, and in quantitative variables, by Kruskal-Wallis' test.

Results: Not all professionals regard PFP as an activity within their professional role, and there is no consensus regarding its implementation (P<0.001). Concerning their level of knowledge, there are differences among professionals regarding the timeframe when the woman should receive the information on PFP (P=0.002), only 13% of them know that PFP should be started from day 21 of postpartum, and although 95% of them know about the incompatibility of breastfeeding with some contraceptive methods, this knowledge is higher among midwives than among general nurses (P=0.012).

Conclusions: Although midwives are the most aware and knowledgeable professionals on PFP, the responsibility of informing women on postpartum contraception does not always fall on them, and this situation could have an effect on the woman's health and reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancies.