Abstract:
Background: A short inter-pregnancy interval increases the risk for maternal and neonatal
deaths in addition to other pregnancy complications including: preterm delivery, low birth
weight, anaemia and premature rupture of membranes. However, only one half of Kenyan
women, who have no desire to conceive immediately after birth, are using contraception one
year after delivery.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of uptake of post-partum family
planning (PPFP).
Setting: The study was conducted among post-partum women accompanying their children
for their first measles vaccination at Webuye County Hospital (WCH), in western Kenya.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 259 randomly sampled post-partum
women, accompanying their children for their first measles vaccination. A structured,
interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Logistic regression was used
to identify correlates of PPFP uptake.
Results: The uptake of PPFP among women at 9 months post-partum at WCH was found to
be 78.4% ± 5.0%. The odds of PPFP uptake among women living with their sexual partners
was 88.2% less than among those not living with their partners with the true population effect
between 97% and 51% (OR = 0.118; 95% CI: 0.028–0.494; p = 0.003).
Conclusions: Not living with her sexual partner in the same house is the key predictor of a
woman’s PPFP uptake in WCH. This study recommends that any programme aimed at
improving post-partum contraceptive use in WCH should target women who live with their
partners in the same house.