Postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device use and its associated factors in Ethiopia: systematic review and...

The intrauterine contraceptive device, a type of long-acting reversible contraception, is one of the most effective and safe contraceptive methods. In Ethiopia, intrauterine contraceptive device is little known and practised to delay pregnancy. Therefore, this study aimed to assess post-partum intrauterine contraceptive device utilisation and its associated factors among women in Ethiopia.

In the current meta-analysis, variables were searched from different electronic database systems, including PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, HINAR, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Grey literature. Data were extracted using a standardised data collection measurement tool. The data were also analysed by using STATA 16 statistical software. I² tests assessed heterogeneity between the studies. A random-effect model was used to forecast the pooled utilisation of postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device.

Twelve full-article studies were included. The pooled prevalence of post-partum intrauterine contraceptive device among women in Ethiopia was 21.63%. Occupation (OR = 4.44, 95% CI, 2.24-8.81), educational level of college and above (OR = 5.93, 95% CI, 2.55-13.8), antenatal care (OR = 2.09, 95% CI, 1.4-3.12), age (OR = 4.8, 95% CI, 2.3-10.04), good knowledge (OR = 4.16, 95% CI, 1.65-10.49), counseling (OR = 3.05, 95%CI, 1.41-6.63), husband support (OR = 11.48, 95% CI, 6.05-21.79) and awareness about IUCD (OR = 3.86, 95% CI, 1.46-10.2) were positively associated with utilization of postpartum intrauterine contraception device.

Utilisation of post-partum intrauterine contraceptive device was significantly low. Scaling up women's educational status and ANC use has paramount importance in increasing post-partum IUD use, which further improves maternal and child health in general. This finding may be useful in both reproductive health promotion at an individual level and policy-making regarding this issue.