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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Sep;98(3):223-227.
doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2018.05.010. Epub 2018 May 18.

Comparison of an additional early visit to routine postpartum care on initiation of long-acting reversible contraception: A randomized trial

Caitlin Bernard  1 , Leping Wan  2 , Jeffrey F Peipert  3 , Tessa Madden  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Comparison of an additional early visit to routine postpartum care on initiation of long-acting reversible contraception: A randomized trial

Caitlin Bernard et al. Contraception. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether an early 3-week postpartum visit in addition to the standard 6-week visit increases long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) initiation by 8 weeks postpartum compared to the routine 6-week visit alone.

Study design: We enrolled pregnant and immediate postpartum women into a prospective randomized, non-blinded trial comparing a single 6-week postpartum visit (routine care) to two visits at 3 and 6 weeks postpartum (intervention), with initiation of contraception at the 3-week visit, if desired. All participants received structured contraceptive counseling. Participants completed surveys in-person at baseline and at the time of each postpartum visit. A sample size of 200 total participants was needed to detect a 2-fold difference in LARC initiation (20% vs. 40%).

Results: Between May 2016 and March 2017, 200 participants enrolled; outcome data are available for 188. The majority of LARC initiation occurred immediately postpartum (25% of the intervention arm and 27% of the routine care arm). By 8 weeks postpartum, 34% of participants in the intervention arm initiated LARC, compared to 41% in the routine care arm (p=.35). Overall contraceptive initiation by 8 weeks was 83% and 84% in the intervention and routine care arms, respectively (p=.79). There was no difference between the arms in the proportion of women who attended at least one postpartum visit (70% vs. 74%, p=.56).

Conclusion: The addition of a 3-week postpartum visit to routine care does not increase LARC initiation by 8 weeks postpartum. The majority of LARC users desired immediate rather than interval postpartum initiation.

Clinical trial registration: Clinicaltrials.govNCT02769676 IMPLICATIONS: The addition of a 3-week postpartum visit to routine care does not increase LARC or overall contraceptive initiation by 8 weeks postpartum when the option of immediate postpartum placement is available. The majority of LARC users desired immediate rather than interval postpartum initiation.

Keywords: LARC; Postpartum LARC; Postpartum contraception; Postpartum visit.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Bernard & Ms. Wan report no conflicts of interest.

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