Abstract:
Background Postpartum family planning (PPFP) addresses the needs of those who wish to have children in the future, as well as those who have reached their desired family size and wish to avoid future pregnancies. Despite the considerable risk of untimed pregnancy within two years of delivery, many mothers do not pay attention to post partum contraception. Short inter pregnancy interval results in an increased risk of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. In view of the serious adverse consequences associated with short inter pregnancy interval, this study aimed to determine the prevalence, types of contraceptives used and factors influencing use of modern contraceptives among mothers with children less than 12 months old. Methodology This hospital based cross sectional study was conducted where mothers bringing their children who were less than 12months old to the child health clinic were recruited till the sample size was reached. The proportion mothers who used PPFP was obtained from women who used modern contraceptive among all the women interviewed. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to identify independent risk factors associated with use of PPFP. All analyses were conducted using SPSS version 20. Results The number of women recruited was 500 from which the obtained proportion of mothers who used PPFP in this study was 60.4%, the most used type of modern contraceptive was implant followed by injectables, IUD, Condoms and pills was the least used. The factors that were associated with increased use of contraceptive were age group (OR=3.040, CI 1.203-7.681), previous history of contraceptive use (OR=5.464, CI 2.256-13.234), resumption of menses (OR=26.383, CI 12.315-56.521), partner’s approval (OR=4.596, CI 1.800-11.738), choosing FP during ANC (OR=2.812, CI 1.447-5.467) and counselling on FP after delivery (OR=19.919, CI 5.256-75.484). Conclusion The prevalence of modern contraceptive methods use in Mnazi Mmoja was higher than the expected. The results show that age group 26-30years, previous history of contraceptive use, having resumed their menses, having their partner’s approval, chose FP during ANC and had counselling after delivery have higher likelihood of using PPFP. To ensure adequate inter pregnancy interval, this factors need to be considered so as to increase uptake of PPFP.
