The provision and use of contraception amongst antenatal and postpartum women in a rural area of the Eastern Cape

• Main Author: Hani, Andiswa
• Other Authors: Cooper, Di
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Subjects: Public Health
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9352

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-61). === In South Africa's public sector maternity services injectible progestogen-only contraceptives (POCs) have typically been administered after delivery to women choosing to use these methods. A series of studies arose in response to the draft South African National Contraceptive Guidelines (1999), which recommended that women wishing to use the POC as their contraception method postnatally be advised to delay use of the POCs until six weeks postpartum. This recommendation followed the international guidelines of the WHO and the IPPF, which were based on theoretical concerns that the early transfer of small amounts of hormones to the infant through breastmilk may affect its growth development. The studies sought to investigate the feasibility of recommending this delay in POC administration, taking into account both the mother's risk of pregnancey in the early postpartum period and her ability to return to a health service at six weeks post-delivery, to initiate a method of contraception.