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Published on: February 28, 2013
Preconception care and contraceptive use among Australian women with diabetes mellitus
Emily J Hibbert1, Santhi Chalasani2, Pinar Kozan3
1MBBS(Hons), MClinEd, FRACP, Associate Professor in Medicine (Endocrinology), Nepean Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW; Head of Dept Endocrinology and Endocrinologist, Nepean Hospital, Penrith, NSW. emily.hibbert@sydney.edu.au
Background And Objective:
Effective contraception is important for pregnancy planning and reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to explore preconception care practices and contraception use among women with DM.
Methods:
The study used a cross-sectional structured questionnaire to survey women with DM aged 16–49 years in Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD), a Western Sydney tertiary referral centre.
Results:
A total of 107 of 215 (49.7%) women completed the questionnaire. While 80.4% were aware of DM-related pregnancy risks, preconception advice was reported by only 46.8% of the 47 previously or currently pregnant women. Most women had used condoms (87.2%) and/or the combined oral contraceptive pill (74.4%). Many did not know if intrauterine contraception (61.7%) or contraceptive implants (43.7%) were safe in DM.
Discussion:
Despite being aware of the risks of DM in pregnancy, less than half of the women had sought preconception care, and many had poor knowledge of the most reliable contraceptive methods.
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