Abstract:
Global contraceptive use is at 64%, Africa lagging behind at 33.4%. Kenya has
an unmet need for family planning at 23%. Hormonal injections are the most
used in Africa at 9.8% and Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Devices at 3.8%. Low
uptake of 3.4% was reported in Meru Hospital and lack of literature on immediate
Post
Partum
Intra
Uterine
Contraceptive
Device
(PPIUCD)
uptake.
Immediate
Post
Partum
Intra
Uterine
Contraceptive
Device
is
a long
acting
reversible
contraceptive
device
inserted
into
the
uterus
immediately
within
48
hours
after
delivery.
The
objective
was
to
assess
Barriers
to
Immediate
Post-Partum
Intra-Uterine
Contraceptive
Device
uptake
among
Mothers
delivering
in
Meru
Hospital.
Descriptive
research
design
was
used
and
a
population
of
289
mothers
was
targeted. Sample size of 74 respondents was selected
using
simple
random
sampling.
Questionnaires
and
interview
schedules
were
used
to
collect
data.
The
collected
data
were
entered
and
analyzed
using
Statistical
Package
for
Social
Science
windows
version
23.0.
Descriptive
analysis
was
used
to
obtain
frequencies
and
percentages.
Chi-square
was
used
to test the relationship of study variables and presented in tables. The qualita-tive data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that provider related
barriers
such
as none
provision
of
the
services
and
untimely
counseling
for
the
insertion
had
the
highest
impact
to
low
uptake
(57%).
Clients
lacked
information
where
68%
reported
that
they
were
not
counseled.
Demographic
and
reproductive
characteristics
also
played
a role
in
low
uptake.
Using
the
chi
square
test,
there
was
a
significant
relationship,
P
=
0.001
between
young
age
of
the
mothers,
unemployment
(53%),
low
parity
(56%)
and
low
uptake.
Preference
for
other
alternative
contraceptives
(25.8%)
such
as hormonal
methods was a barrier to the uptake. Therefore, barriers to PPIUCD uptake
are provider related, alternative methods of contraception and client related
such as lack of information, unemployment, young age and low parity. The findings will inform Meru hospital management on barriers to immediate
PPIUCD uptake. The study recommends an investigation on why providers
hinder PPIUCD uptake and create awareness on PPIUCD services to the
community.
