Mobile Telephony Intervention Improves Contraceptive Acceptability and Clinic Attendance among Postpartum Patients in Mumbai, India

Background:The relevance of postpartum women attending contraceptive clinics should be emphasized in efforts to increase postpartum contraception use.The impact of communication-balanced interventions using appointment cards and mobile telephony on increasing contraceptive acceptability among postpartum women was studied.Materials and methods: Two hundred postpartum women given routine appointment cards for contraceptive counseling were randomly allocated to two groups: control (no reminders) and interventional (appointment cards + text message reminders).These women were pursued to determine the percentage from the control and interventional groups who attended the contraceptive clinics.Their socio-demographic profile, contraceptive choices, and effectiveness of contraceptives were recorded.Results: Results showed that only 4% of those in the control group visited the contraceptive clinic, compared to 20% of those in the interventional group (those who received text messages).The women's top choices for contraception include the intrauterine device (IUD), progesterone-only pill (POPs), and deoxy-progesterone acetate.Contraceptive techniques were chosen by all the women who attended clinics, as opposed to just 44% of the women who did not. Conclusion:This study has identified the impact of communication interventions to increase the acceptability of contraceptive methods among postpartum women.Interventions delivered by mobile phone were effective as compared to routine appointment cards to motivate postpartum women to attend contraceptive clinics.Clinical significance: Communication-balanced interventions boosted contraceptive clinic attendance and acceptance among postpartum women.Therefore, efforts should be focused on educating postpartum women on the necessity of attending contraceptive clinics.