Knowledge and utilization of family planning among rural postpartum women in Southwest Nigeria

BACKGROUND: In Nigeria, contraceptive use has remained low, 12% for any modern method, despite the huge resources committed to family planning programs by stakeholders. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge and utilization of family planning and determine predictors of utilization of family planning among postpartum women attending primary health care centers (PHCs) in a selected rural area of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 325 postpartum women attending PHCs in Ibeju-Lekki local government area of Lagos State selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. A pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collate data which was analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 23. RESULT: The mean age was 29.94 ± 5.14 years. All the respondents (100%) had heard of contraceptive methods, however only 38 (11.7%) had good knowledge of family planning. About 38.5% of the respondents used modern family planning methods during the postpartum period. The most commonly used methods were male condoms (26.3%) and implants (17.0%). The significant predictors of postpartum family planning (PPFP) were non-intention to have more children [AOR = 1.88 (95% CI: 1.14–3.11)], and good knowledge of family [AOR = 2.31 (95% CI: 1.11–4.81)]. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that interventions be designed to educate and advocate for the use of family planning methods not only to stop childbearing but also to space pregnancies. Education about family planning should also be intensified to improve knowledge of family planning, and thus practice.