Objectives: In the last few decades, Egypt suffered major socioeconomic consequences of the overpopulation problem. This study aims to assess the quality of family planning services, measure the contraceptive dynamics (discontinuation- switching-failure) rates among the users, assess the role of follow-up counseling to decrease the discontinuation rate.
Methods: The study was a community prospective study with control conducted in two primary health care facilities in Suez governorate on married women aged 15-49 years coming to receive contraceptive methods for the first time after the end of puerperium.A reliable pre tested questionnaire was developed .Data collection was made over the period of the first 3months of the study. Tailored family planning counseling tools based on the WHO and the ministry of health were designed and applied for both the intervention and non-intervention groups for proper informed choice of contraceptive method.
Results: More than one-third of the study participants were late to use contraception for the 1st time after delivery (>2-9) month. The mini pill was the commonly used method in the 1st counseling and 1st and 2nd follow-up practices. Dysfunctional uterine Bleeding (DUB) was the commonest side effect reported .After counseling, there is a dramatic shift towards the LARCs (IUD- Implanon)( 26.5%-3.8%) in the interventional group.. The reuse of contraception after discontinuation was significantly high in the intervention group.
Conclusion: Counseling is essential for women to sustain their use of contraceptive methods, and adequate training for the providers on effective counseling can also help women to have better choices.