Contraceptive choices amongst women in Kano, Nigeria: A five (5) year review

Abstract

Background: Contraception has been identified as an effective means of combating the problem of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. It is equally an effective means of family planning and fertility control and  therefore an important tool in promoting maternal and child health. The contraceptive prevalence in most developing countries remains very low.
Objective: To evaluate the trend of contraceptive usage the preferred method and the source of information on contraception among the new clients attending family planning clinic at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.
Materials and Methods: Records of the new clients attending family  planning clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano from January 2005 to December 2009 were reviewed and analyzed. Information extracted included type of contraception, age, parity, and source of information. All information was analyzed using Epi. info 8.0.
Results: A total of 3484 new clients accepted various forms of  contraceptive methods during the period of study. There was a steady
increase in the number of new acceptors of contraceptives over the period of study from 449 (12.9%) in 2005 to 1096 (31.5%) in 2009. The mean age and parity were 28.0}5.8 years and 3.6}2.4, respectively. The most common method of contraception accepted by the clients was injectable 1451 (41.6%), followed by intrauterine device 1124 (32.3%), then oral contraceptive pills which was 749 (21.5%). Bilateral tubal ligation was the least accepted method of contraception, with only 2 (0.6%) women. The
predominant source of information on contraceptive methods was through the clinic personnel (97.6%).

Conclusion: There was a steady increase in contraceptive acceptability in our center. The injectable methods of contraception were the most  commonly accepted method, while bilateral tubal ligation was the least preferred method.