Discontinuation pattern among IUCD users at the family planning clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan

Despite the high popularity of the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) among family planning clients at University College Hospital, Ibadan, some users discontinued its use for a variety of reasons. This study was to determine the discontinuation rate among IUCD users at UCH, Ibadan. It was a 5-year retrospective analytical study. The records of patients using an IUCD seen at the Family Planning Clinic between 1 January, 1998 and 31 December, 2003 were analysed. A total of 867 clients were seen during the study period; 258(29.8%) clients discontinued within 5 years with the highest rate at 1 year 10.1% and least after 5 years 2.8%. The most common reason for discontinuation was the desire for pregnancy (57.0%). Other reasons included: side-effects (28.3%), husband's views (7.0%) and the menopause (8.0%). The reason for discontinuation varied significantly with the age of the clients (92.5% of clients that discontinued were less than 35 years), educational status, husband coercion, number of living children and religion. The discontinuation rate for the IUCD is high inspite of the high initial acceptability of the method in Nigeria. In a country experiencing a very rapid population growth where the prevalence of contraceptive use hardly attains double figures, it is imperative that policy makers double their efforts at ensuring an appreciable continuation rate of contraceptive use in general and IUCD in particular, among Nigerian women.