The study aimed to evaluate the effect of adding mobile phone call reminders to a postpartum family planning service on the initiation of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC).
A randomized, open-label controlled trial was carried out at a university hospital. The study comprised women who delivered a live birth at >28 weeks’ gestation and requested birth spacing for ≥one year. Eligible women were recruited and randomized into two groups. The primary outcome was the rate of initiation of a LARC method in the first six months postpartum.
The study comprised 500 participants in each group. The rate of initiation and continuation of a LARC method was significantly higher in the study group compared with the control group. In the study group, 382 women had started using a contraceptive method during the first six months, compared with 218 women in the control group.
Using mobile phone reminders as part of the postpartum service increases the frequency of women who attends family planning clinics and initiates contraception, including LARC methods and the proportion who continue LARC use through the first six months postpartum.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13625187.2020.1764528
