article · BMC Women s Health
Providing modern contraceptives following post-abortion care helps address unmet family planning needs, lowering the likelihood of unintended pregnancies and repeat abortions. A study evaluated the factors influencing modern contraceptive uptake among 234 women attending a comprehensive post-abortion care unit at Mbagala Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, between October 2020 and March 2021. Overall, 67 percent of the women adopted modern contraception, with injectables representing the most common choice at 35.9 percent. Contraceptive uptake was notably higher among younger women aged 15 to 24 and individuals who were self-employed. Conversely, women who had never given birth or had given birth only once showed lower likelihoods of using modern methods. While every patient received counselling, one-third still left without modern contraception, highlighting an ongoing service gap.
Post-abortion care provides an essential window of opportunity to prevent unintended future pregnancies and reduce maternal health risks. Identifying the specific demographic groups less likely to use modern contraceptives, such as women without prior births, enables healthcare facilities and public health authorities to adapt counselling and clinical workflows to better meet the needs of underserved patients.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercial application pathway, as it reports findings from a clinical and behavioural observational study relevant to public health programme design and hospital service delivery.
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BACKGROUND: The uptake of modern contraceptives post-abortion care bridges the gap of unmet need for modern contraceptives which can reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies and recurrent abortion, thus improving women's health. Studies have demonstrated variations in the uptake of modern contraceptives, even within the same country. OBJECTIVE: To assess the factors associated with the uptake of modern contraceptive methods among women who received care at a comprehensive post-abortion care (cPAC) unit at Mbagala Hospital in Temeke, Dar es Salaam. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional analytical study involving 234 post-abortion women was conducted at Mbagala Hospital in Temeke, Dar es Salaam, from October 2020 to March 2021. The convenient sampling technique was employed to collect data using a pretested structured questionnaire. Subsequently, the data was cleaned and analyzed using SPSS Version 23. A Chi-square test with a significance level set at P-value < 0.2 was used to test associations, and multivariable analysis was employed to identify independent factors associated with the uptake of modern contraceptives, with a P-value of less than 0.05 being significant. RESULTS: The uptake of modern contraceptives post-abortion was 67% among 234 post-abortion women, with the most commonly used method being injectable (35.9%). Higher uptake of modern contraceptives was observed in those aged 15 to 19 years with an Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) of 5.97 (95% CI 1.24-28.58), and in those aged 20 to 24 years, with an AOR of 3.55 (95%CI 1.54-8.18). Self-employed individuals also showed higher uptake with an AOR of 2.59 (95%CI 1.13-5.91). On the other hand, nulliparous and primiparous women were less likely to use modern contraceptives, with AORs of 0.12 (95%CI 0.02-0.60) and 0.22 (95% CI 0.16-1.70), respectively. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: All the women who attended the clinic for post-abortion care received counseling on contraceptive methods, and two-thirds of the women (67%) received modern contraceptives as part of post-abortion care. However, there was a missed opportunity to prevent unwanted pregnancies in 33% of the women who received care. Greater efforts should be made to reach out to women (aged 25 years or older), self-employed, and women with four or more children in order to increase the uptake rate.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12905-025-03570-0
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