title: Unmet needs and knowledge of postpartum contraception in Italian women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinic visits during pregnancy and puerperium provide a unique opportunity to counsel women on contraception practices. With the aim of evaluating postpartum contraceptive attitudes among urban women attending an antenatal care center and delivering in the same facility, a structured questionnaire was administered to assess desired and received information on contraception in the postpartum period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 436 consecutive interviews were collected during the study period. Pregnancy was unplanned in 39% of the women interviewed. Overall, 269 women (61.7%) had decided to use a method of family planning during postpartum. Among the 112 women who stated they did not want to use a method during postpartum, almost 50% stated that they "did not think they needed it", due to a perceived lack of real risk. Of the 436 women interviewed, only 5.5 % women acknowledged that they had received information on contraceptive use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study indicates a need for ante- and postpartum counseling of women even in urban areas of Italy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecological-Obstetrical and Urological Sciences, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bastianelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecological-Obstetrical and Urological Sciences, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farris
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecological-Obstetrical and Urological Sciences, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Benagiano
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecological-Obstetrical and Urological Sciences, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Andrea
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods*; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D010298:Parity; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult