Patient acceptability, continuation and complication rates with immediate postpartum levonorgestrel intrauterine...

Immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) has been shown to reduce unintended pregnancy but uptake of this type of contraception in Australia is low compared to European counterparts.

To assess self-reported continuation rates, complications and satisfaction in patients having immediate postpartum hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) inserted at caesarean section (CS) or after vaginal birth (VB).

Retrospective cohort study of all patients with immediate postpartum hormonal IUD insertion over three years at a tertiary maternity service. Primary outcomes were patient satisfaction, continuation and expulsion rates. Secondary outcomes were reason for discontinuation, patient-reported complications, attendance for postpartum check with a general practitioner (GP) and rate of unplanned pregnancy. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data.

One hundred and ninety-three women had a hormonal IUD inserted and 143 consented to involvement (CS n = 79; VB n = 64). Six and 12 months continuation rates for CS were 60.8% and 54.4%, and VB were 46.9% and 39.1%. The most common reasons for removal were: pain (34.5%), heavy or irregular bleeding (25.9%) and partial expulsion (24.1%). Expulsion was more likely after VB (34.1%) than CS (10.1%), (odds ratio 2.72; 95% CI 1.07-6.90; P = 0.036). There were 60.8% of women post-CS and 56.3% of women post-VB who were satisfied with their decision to have immediate postpartum insertion and most women attended routine postpartum follow-up with their GP (89.5%).

Immediate postpartum hormonal IUD insertion in this cohort is associated with higher rates of expulsion and lower satisfaction rates compared to those documented in the literature for delayed postpartum insertion cohorts.