CONTEXT Despite declining fertility in Ghana, modern contraceptive use-even in urban areas-is low for reasons that remain unclear. Few studies have explored what drives fertility decisions and contraceptive use among contemporary urban residents within a relationship context. METHODS In-depth contraceptive life history interviews were conducted among a purposive sample of 80 sexually active w...

BACKGROUND Emergency contraception (EC) can prevent pregnancy but is under-used. Advanced provision increases use but the effect on contraceptive behaviour varies. METHODS Women aged 18-45 years, using less effective contraceptives, were randomized to either advanced provision of three courses of EC (intervention) or to obtaining each course from clinic (control). EC use and contraceptive beh...

BACKGROUND Unintended pregnancy disproportionately affects young women and adolescents in developing countries. The abortion care setting offers a unique opportunity for adolescents and young women to access a full range of contraceptive services. This evaluation assesses the factors that influence contraceptive uptake among adolescents and young women seeking abortion care in health facilities...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of a mobile phone-based intervention (mHealth) on post-abortion contraception use by women in Cambodia. METHODS The Mobile Technology for Improved Family Planning (MOTIF) study involved women who sought safe abortion services at four Marie Stopes International clinics in Cambodia. We randomly allocated 249 women to a mobile phone-based intervention, which compri...

BACKGROUND Unintended pregnancy is associated with poorer health outcomes for women and their families. In Tajikistan, around 26% of married 15-24 year old women have an unmet need for contraception. There is some evidence that interventions delivered by mobile phone can affect contraceptive-related behaviour and knowledge. We developed an intervention delivered by mobile phone app instant mess...

Three main classes of contraceptive acceptance strategy may be distinguished: “fixed duration T” (women counseled to accept T months after childbirth); “postamenorrheic” (accept directly after the first postpartum menses), and “mixed T” (accept T months after childbirth or after first menses, whichever occurs sooner). Any two strategies may be compared by means of a probability model simulating...

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to examine the associations between prenatal and postpartum contraceptive counseling and postpartum contraceptive use. STUDY DESIGN The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System 2004-2008 data were analyzed from Missouri, New York state, and New York City (n = 9536). We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the associations between prenata...

OBJECTIVES To determine if integration of family planning (FP) and HIV services led to increased use of more effective contraception (i.e. hormonal and permanent methods, and intrauterine devices) and decreased pregnancy rates. DESIGN Cohort analysis following cluster randomized trial, when the Kenya Ministry of Health led integration of the remaining control (delayed integration) sites and o...

BACKGROUND The choice of a birth control method is influenced by sociocultural and personal factors. We explored the perceived influences in women's choice of a birth control method in five European countries (Germany, France, the UK, Romania and Sweden), where contraception is widely used. STUDY DESIGN This is a cross-sectional study of 1137 randomly selected women aged 18-49 years. An anony...

OBJECTIVE To investigate if continuation rates in first-time users of oral hormonal contraceptives differed between different formulations and to measure if the rates were related to the prescribing categories, that is, physicians and midwives. DESIGN A longitudinal national population-based registry study. SETTING The Swedish prescribed drug register. PARTICIPANTS All women born between ...