Hormonal Contraceptive Uptake and Socio- Demographic Pattern of Acceptors in a Family Planning Clinic of a Tertiary Health Facility in Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Hormonal methods of birth control are a safe and reliable way to prevent pregnancy for most women. Their uptake rate in comparism to other contraceptive methods in our environment has not been well documented.

Objective: To determine the uptake of hormonal contraceptives and assess socio-demographic characteristics related to the choice, among acceptors in a tertiary health facility in Rivers State.

Methodology: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was adopted. A sample size of 124 was used. New clients were consecutively recruited over a 12-month period. Demographic data (age, parity, educational level, marital status) and contraceptive-related data (choice of contraceptive method, reasons for use) were obtained and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.

Results: A total of 124 new female clients were recruited with median age of 34 years. Of these, 92(74.2%) accepted hormonal methods while 32 (25.8%) chose non-hormonal methods. Among the hormonal contraceptive acceptors, 94.6% (n=87) used implants, 4.3% (n=4) used injectable and 1.1% (n=1) used oral contraceptive pill. Bivariate analysis of socio-demographic factors and hormonal uptake among the acceptors was statistically significant for marital status, educational level and reason for contraception.

Conclusion: We found a substantial uptake of hormonal contraceptives, mainly implants. The uptake was particularly pronounced among married women with higher educational level and whose reason for contraception is completed family size.