Pattern of contraceptive use at a family planning clinic in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Contraception is very important in preventing unwanted pregnancies thereby reducing maternal and child mortality as well as improving the lives of women and their families. This paper aims to determine the pattern of contraceptive usage, uptake rates of the contraceptives, the socio-demographic characteristics and sources of information on contraceptive use at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) during the study period.Methods: This was a retrospective study of clients’ records in family planning clinic at RSUTH over a period of ten years. Their records were retrieved, reviewed; data extracted, coded and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) IBM version 25.0.Results: There were 1893 contraceptive acceptors attending family planning clinic between 1st January, 2008 and 31st December, 2017 in the centre. The uptake rate of the contraceptives throughout the study period was on the downward trend. Over half of the clients (60.7%) were within the age range of 30-39years and 6 (0.3%) were below 20 years. Age range for the study was 19-51years. Majority of the users (66.1%) were multipara. Modal parity was para 3 and 1862 clients (98.4%) had formal education. Most of the clients were married 1814 (95.8%) and of Christian religion 1813 (95.7%). Most preferred contraceptive method was the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD), 814 (43%). Clinical personnel were the commonest source of information accounting for 1425 (75.3%).Conclusions: There was a downward trend in the use of contraceptives during the study period. Most clients were in their thirties, married, educated and multiparous.

Family planning clients at a Tertiary hospital in Niger Delta, Nigeria: Where they on any contraceptive method prior to first visit?

“…Multiparous women formed the highest group that used previous contraceptives and nulliparas were the least. This is similar to other studies [5,15,17,18]. Most women who used prior contraceptives were Christians.…”

“…The least age group was less than 20 years. This is in keeping with the studies done in Ilorin, Port-Harcourt and Kaduna [5,14,17,18]. Only two single teenagers (0.2%) used contraceptives throughout the study period.…”

“…Most women who used prior contraceptives were Christians. This is not surprising because majority of the population in southern Nigeria are Christians and this finding is in keeping with other similar studies done in southern Nigeria [17,18] but not in keeping with a similar study done in the northern part of Nigeria where Moslems are dorminant [5,19].…”

“…Only two single teenagers (0.2%) used contraceptives throughout the study period. The low usage among the adolescents is an issue of concern in Nigeria where more than 60% of teenagers are sexually active, accounting for 60% of 600,000 induced abortions in Nigeria [18,20]. These teenagers especially single ones who might be shying away from getting the contraceptives from the family planning clinics resort to buying them from the pharmacy and drug shops.…”

“…It could also be due to abstinence from sex which is preached at this age or they may be afraid of the side effects of the drugs. The uptake of contraceptives by teenagers could also be affected by the discouraging attitudes of health care givers towards them [18,20]. Therefore family planning clinics should be youth friendly and encourage teenagers and young unmarried women to visit the clinic for contraception.…”