Does Counseling on Family Planning at Maternity Care Points Increase the Uptake of Postpartum Family Planning? Insights from 2017-18 Bangladesh DHS

M Moinuddin Haider, Icddr,B
Md Mahabubur Rahman, icddrb
Shusmita Khan, USAID/Bangladesh
Mizanur Rahman, Data for Impact, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Background: We explore the prevalence and correlates of postpartum family planning (PPFP) counseling during antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) and investigate whether PPFP counseling during ANC and PNC increases PPFP initiation. Methods: We used nationally represented 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data to analyze whether women having the last live birth in the past three years received PPFP counseling during ANC or PNC visits using descriptive and logistic regression. We analyzed the 12-month PPFP initiation by PPFP counseling during ANC and PNC visits. PPFP initiation analysis used contraceptive calendar data, life table technique, and proportional hazards model. Results: PPFP counseling during ANC and PNC were 12% and 22%, respectively. Three-fourths of the women initiated 12-month PPFP. PPFP initiation was higher for women receiving PPFP counseling during PNC than those who did not receive it during PNC. We did not find evidence of increased PPFP initiation among women receiving PPFP counseling during ANC. Discussion: Higher PPFP initiation among women receiving PPFP counseling during PNC is encouraging. We do not find evidence supporting increased PPFP initiation among women receiving PPFP counseling during ANC. Further investigation on the quality of counseling during ANC may guide this necessary intervention’s implementation.

Keywords: Family Planning and Contraception, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

See paper.