Abstract
BACKGROUND: Postpartum family planning (PPFP) is associated with health, social and economic benefits to a woman and her family. Its uptake, particularly of the more effective, long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), is low. The role of parity in PPFP uptake is inconclusive. The aim of this study was to compare the uptake of PPFP and LARCs between primiparous and multiparous women accompanying their children for the first measles vaccine, which is at 9 months after delivery, in Webuye County Hospital, Kenya. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. Study participants were recruited using a systematic random sampling method and data were collected using a pretested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. The collected data were analysed using an independent t-test to compare PPFP uptake between primiparous and multiparous women, whereas chi-square tests (for categorical data) and independent t-tests (for numerical data) were used to compare the various socio-demographic characteristics and occurrence of various predictors of PPFP uptake between the two groups of postpartum women. Factors that were significantly different between the two groups were controlled for using logistic regression. RESULTS: There was a significant difference on PPFP uptake (22.0%; 95% CI: 11.8-32.3; p 0.001), but none on LARC use (OR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.46-1.66) between the two groups of women. The unadjusted and adjusted OR for the effect of parity on FP uptake was 3.48 (95% CI: 1.88-6.42) and 2.32 (95% CI: 1.15-4.67), respectively. CONCLUSION: There is a significant difference in the uptake of PPFP, but not LARCs, between primiparous women and multiparous women accompanying their children for the 9-month measles vaccine in Webuye County Hospital. Primiparous women are less likely to initiate the use of PPFP compared to their multiparous counterparts.