The Effect of Access to Family Planning Services during Antenatal, Delivery and Postpartum Care on Contraceptive Use in the Postpartum Period

Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Population Council
Ricardo Vernon, Population Council

This study explores the importance of family planning services during antenatal, delivery and postpartum care on the use of a contraceptive method in the six-month postpartum period. We compare the access to family planning services during antenatal care, delivery and the postpartum period of women who are using a contraceptive method and women who would like to use a contraceptive method but are not using one. To assess the relative importance of family planning services in each of these phases, we fit a logistic regression model that controls for women’s socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and unobserved variables at the community level. Data come from a survey of 600 women who visited a health center in the six-month postpartum period in Nicaragua. Results show that family planning counseling and referral during antenatal care and offering a family planning method right after delivery increase the probability of contraceptive use.