Examining Early Postpartum Contraceptive Utilisation among Women Living with HIV in the Context of Family Planning and HIV Services Integration in South Africa

Anthony I. Ajayi, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Oladele Adeniyi, Walter Sisulu University
Oluwaseyi Somefun, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

The study analysed data on early postpartum contraceptive utilisation obtained from 1617 women living with HIV in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Adjusted and unadjusted multinomial regression was used to examine the main determinants of short-acting, long-acting reversible and irreversible contraceptive methods. The analysis revealed that 93.2% of parturient women living with HIV initiated one form of contraceptive immediately after childbirth, with injectables (75.3%) being the mostly used contraceptives. Women diagnosed with HIV during their index pregnancy were less likely to adopt any form of contraceptive compared to those previously diagnosed with HIV before their index pregnancy. Caesarean birth was associated with a higher likelihood of using long-acting reversible method and permanent contraceptive methods. High rate of early postpartum contraceptive utilisation among women living with HIV in our study setting is a strong indication of the effectiveness of HIV care and maternal services’ integration.