Why do women discontinue contraception and what are the post-discontinuation outcomes? Evidence from the Arusha Region, Tanzania

In Africa, high discontinuation of contraceptive use is thwarting goals for healthy birth spacing or limiting childbearing. This paper investigates how well the contraception program is addressing the needs of women and couples in the Arusha region, Tanzania by studying contraceptive use continuation. We measured the overall and method-specific discontinuation rate, reasons for discontinuation, post-discontinuation reproductive behaviours/outcomes, and examined the determinants of contraceptive discontinuation. We used data from a household survey conducted in Arusha from January to May 2018. Information on contraceptive use during the 31 months preceding the survey was recorded in a monthly calendar. Using the single- and multiple-decrement life-table approach, we calculated the overall and cause-specific discontinuation of contraceptive methods. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the determinants of discontinuation. The 12-month overall discontinuation of contraceptive use was 44.6%. Discontinuation was lowest for implants (12.3%) and highest for male condoms (60.1%), the most common reason being side effects (11.7%). 59.8% of women who discontinued did not switch to another method within 3 months following discontinuation and 20.9% experienced pregnancy. Longer distance to a health facility is associated with higher discontinuation of hormonal methods such as injectables, but lower discontinuation of non-hormonal methods such as condoms. Discontinuation due to side effects is not explained by most of the women’s background characteristics other than the method they used. Discontinuation of contraception is high among Arusha women. Effective contraception programs, especially improved counselling, need to address the reasons for the discontinuation of contraceptive use.