Post-abortion contraceptive adoption in Ethiopia

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effect of couple counseling on modern contraception adoption among women receiving abortions.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2019 and May 2020 at the abortion clinic of Saint Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Women receiving abortion care were interviewed using Open Data Kit. Logistic regression was used to assess predictors of modern contraception adoption.

Results: During the study period, a total of 326 women receiving abortion care were interviewed and 112 (34.4%) received couple counseling. Of the 112, 89 (79.5%) adopted modern contraception. The odds of using a modern contraceptive method were 2.34 times higher among women whose partner approved (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-5.22) compared with those without partner approval. The odds of using a modern contraceptive method was 1.78 times higher among women who believed they had partner support (aOR 1.78; 95% CI 1.03-3.10) compared with women without support.

Conclusion: Few women received couple counseling for contraception. Partner approval and a woman's belief that her partner supports her contraception decision were associated with contraception adoption.

Keywords: abortion care; adopted contraception; comprehensive abortion care; contraception; family planning counseling; partner counseling; post-abortion care; used contraception.