How well do we support whānau with postpartum contraception? Comparison of two Auckland maternity hospitals

To compare the rates of recall of contraceptive discussion and provision of chosen contraceptive method before discharge among patients who recently birthed in two tertiary maternity units in Auckland, New Zealand.

A cross-sectional survey of recently postpartum patients at tertiary and associated primary birthing units aligned with Auckland and Counties Manukau maternity services was undertaken in 2019 and 2020.

Five hundred and seventy-one patients took part in the survey. Overall recall around contraceptive discussions was low, as was the number of patients leaving hospital with their preferred method of contraception. Compared to Counties Manukau, almost twice as many patients at Auckland were unable to recall either an antenatal or postpartum discussion with a health professional about contraception (77% vs 39%, p<0.001). Those birthing at Counties Manukau were also more likely to recall seeing a hospital contraceptive brochure than those at Auckland (42% vs 20%, p<0.001). Twice as many patients at Counties Manukau left hospital with their chosen method compared to those at Auckland (31% vs 14%, p<0.001). In addition, long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) were more often chosen for contraception at Counties Manukau (31% vs 22%, p=0.01) and more patients left hospital with their LARC compared to Auckland (13% vs 7%, p=0.03).

These differences between two large tertiary maternity services suggests an opportunity for quality improvement around contraception provision.