Postpartum contraception in Australia: opportunities for increasing access in the primary care setting

Rhea Singh; Jessica R. Botfield

doi:10.1071/PY23101

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Postpartum contraception in Australia: opportunities for increasing access in the primary care setting

Rhea Singh ^A ^B ^* and Jessica R. Botfield ^A ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A SPHERE NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

^B School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Department of General Practice, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic. 3004, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: rhea.singh1404@gmail.com

Australian Journal of Primary Health 30, PY23101 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY23101

Submitted: 24 May 2023 Accepted: 10 October 2023 Published: 26 October 2023

© 2024 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

In Australia, 20% of pregnancies occur within the first year after birth and most are unintended. Both unintended pregnancies and short interpregnancy intervals (<12–18 months) can have adverse effects on maternal, infant, and child health. Access to postpartum contraception reduces the risk of unintended pregnancies and short interpregnancy intervals, and supports women in pregnancy planning and birth spacing. In this forum article, we describe how postpartum contraception is currently provided in Australia and highlight opportunities for improving access in the primary care setting.

Keywords: family planning, general practice, long-acting reversible contraception, patient-centred care, postpartum care, postpartum contraception, primary health care, public health: practice, reproductive health services, women’s health services.

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