Women’s experiences of, and preferences for, postpartum contraception counselling
Ching Kay Li A B * , Jessica Botfield A B , Natalie Amos A B C and Danielle Mazza A BA Department of General Practice, School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, Notting Hill, Vic., Australia.
B SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence, Monash University, Notting Hill, Vic., Australia.
C Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
Australian Journal of Primary Health - https://doi.org/10.1071/PY22163
Submitted: 29 July 2022 Accepted: 20 September 2022 Published online: 21 October 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Background: The lack of access to and uptake of postpartum contraception is a key contributor to an estimated 121 million unintended pregnancies worldwide. Research on counselling and women’s preferences for postpartum contraception is scarce in Australia. We therefore aimed to explore Australian women’s experiences of, and preferences for, accessing postpartum contraceptive counselling.
Method: In this qualitative study, English-speaking women of reproductive age (18–40 years) with at least one child under the age of 5 years were recruited via social media to participate in a semi-structured telephone interview. Interviews focussed on women’s experiences of, and preferences for, postpartum contraception. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded and thematically analysed.
Results: Twenty women participated. Most did not receive in-depth contraceptive counselling antenatally or postnatally, though had brief discussions with their GPs or obstetricians at the 6-week postnatal check. Participants felt some counselling throughout their antenatal and postnatal care would have been useful, particularly those who experienced medical complications perinatally. Most participants expressed a general preference for their GP or a midwife to provide such counselling, rather than an obstetrician or nurse, and they noted characteristics such as compassion, trust and care as being particularly important.
Conclusion: The provision of postpartum contraceptive counselling could be enhanced in Australia. Contraceptive uptake in the postpartum period may be promoted by ensuring consistent and routine provision of contraceptive counselling for women antenatally and postnatally by their maternity carers.
Keywords: family planning, general practice, long-acting reversible contraception, postpartum care, postpartum contraception, primary care, reproductive health, women’s health.
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