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Practice of healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy (HSTP), experience from a low resource setting
Abstract
Context: Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy (HTSP) refers to the optimal time that a woman should conceive for the healthiest outcomes for the mother and the baby.
Objective: This study assessed the adherence by Nigerian women of childbearing age to the WHO recommendations of optimal time to be observed by women before embarking on another pregnancy after child birth or a miscarriage.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 400 consecutive women attending the antenatal clinic of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital. Interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect information relating to healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy. The data was analyzed using SPSS windows version 20. Chi square test was used to test for associations between categorical variables with the level of significance set at p<0.05.
Results: Two hundred respondents (50%) had birth to pregnancy interval of less than 24 months, while 14(3.5%) had birth to pregnancy interval of greater than 60 months. Overall, 249(62.2%) of women had an unhealthy timing or spacing of their pregnancies. Three hundred and forty (85%) were aware of at least a modern method of contraception but only 42(10.5%) had used contraceptives in the past. Awareness of normal inter-pregnancy interval of at least 24 months was seen in 271 (67.8%) women.
Conclusion: Non-adherence to WHO's concept of HTSP is high in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory. Awareness of the benefits of contraceptive use and HTSP amongst women of child bearing age needs to be stressed.
Keywords: Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy, Antenatal Clinic, Abuja.
