Enhancing Uptake and Significantly Reducing Missed Opportunities in Family Planning – The Immediate Post-partum Family Planning a More Effective Option than the Traditional Six-week Post-partum Timing

Abstract Objective: Traditionally in Nigeria, family planning is offered to recently delivered women when they come for the six-week post-natal visit. This work set out to find out how this timing affects family planning uptake and if there is a better alternative. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study where consenting women attending antenatal clinic in our centre in Abakaliki, Nigeria, were given structured, pre-tested self-administered, questionnaire on family planning and immediate post-partum family planning. The answers got were analysed. Results: All the study participants had heard of family planning. While majority, i.e. 127 (57.2%) received their family planning methods when they came for the traditional six-week post-natal visit, 94 (42.5%) received it at other times, later than the six weeks scheduled for post-natal visit. About one-third, i.e. 122 (34.8%) did not come for their six-week post-natal visit and did not receive any family planning method then. Conclusion/Recommendation: There were women who did not come for the six-week post-natal visit. Though this could be as a result of there not being counselled properly on what to do among many other reasons, the bottom line was that such non-attendance directly or indirectly reflected on non-uptake of family planning no matter the reason for non-attendance. About one-third of women who came in contact severally with our health facility missed getting their preferred family planning method after delivery with the attendant disastrous consequences. There is a need to consider changing the timing of offering recently delivered patients their family planning method immediately after delivery or before discharge from the hospital to prevent this missed opportunity since this method has been found effective, safe and cost-efficient.