Problems for discussion on contraception for women after childbirth
Frolova, O.G.; Volgina, V.F.; Pugacheva, T.N.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiia 1995(6): 43-47
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0300-9092 PMID: 8779355 Document Number: 450624
Questionnaires were administered to 300 postpartum women in 3 delivery wards in Moscow to determine their opinions about contraceptives. Similarly, 100 gynecologists-obstetricians were queried in 2 wards, at 2 counseling sites for women, and at regional seminars of gynecologists-obstetricians. 52% of the physicians recommended the condom to nursing mothers whenever sexual activity was resumed and the IUD from the 3rd and 4th month on. 60% of the doctors thought that women who were not breast feeding could similarly start using the condom and from the 3rd and 4th month either the IUD (82%) or oral contraceptives (36%). 71.1% of the women were under 30 years of age, and were relatively well educated. 68% of them had their first birth, 28.3% had their second, only 3.7% had their third or higher order of births. 35% of the women did not plan the present pregnancy. 81% of the women were using contraception up to the time of the present pregnancy, and the most popular methods were coitus interruptus (36.3%), the rhythm method (35.3%), the condom (28.3%), the IUD (13%), and hormonal methods (10.6%). Although 46.3% of the women preferred the IUD after birth, only 7.3% of them preferred hormonal preparations. In this study 71.5% of the mothers were breast feeding their infants. 13.5% of the women had gestosis in the 2nd half of the pregnancy, 5.8% had anemia, and 21.3% experienced the threat of miscarriage. In 12.9% of the cases there were other pathologies unrelated to pregnancy, and 14% of the births were accomplished by means of cesarean section. Only 12.1% and 13% of the women, respectively, received information about postpartum contraception at the women's counseling sites and delivery wards. 46.3% of the women wanted to use IUDs, but only 7.3% wanted to use hormonal preparations. Only about half of the women expressed their opinion about sterilization: 23% were against it, while 29.7% were for it. The results indicated that the preparation of women for postpartum contraception should already start at the counseling place during pregnancy.