title: Postpartum contraceptive needs in northern Haiti.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the knowledge of, attitudes toward, and practices regarding postpartum contraception among healthcare providers and postpartum women in northern Haiti.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six focus groups were conducted with postpartum patients and 3 were conducted with maternity service providers; a structured questionnaire was then administered to postpartum patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 282 postpartum women were included in the present study: 249 in the survey and 33 in focus groups. Although 97.9% of women expressed a desire for family-planning counseling before discharge from the postpartum ward, only 6.0% of women received such counseling. Most women wanted to space or limit their pregnancies; 79.8% of women, including those with only 1 child, wanted to choose a contraceptive method before discharge. Providers expressed concern for the volume of induced abortions and maternal deaths within the hospital, which many felt could be averted by improving postpartum family planning. However, there was no postpartum contraceptive counseling or method provision in the present setting, and no providers had experience in initiating methods immediately postpartum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Efforts to integrate family planning into postpartum care services could help to reduce the unmet need for family planning, and help patients and providers reach their goals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, USA. elathro@emory.edu
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lathrop
authors.forename: Youseline
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Telemaque
authors.forename: Peg
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goedken
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Andes
authors.forename: Denise J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cwiak
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003267:Contraception / Q000523:psychology*; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution; D005260:Female; D006205:Haiti; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult