Talking to pregnant women about using family planning is an effective strategy for increasing their contraceptive use after they give birth, according to a study examining a change in Mexico’s national guidelines for prenatal care.

To improve maternal health by helping women plan and space their births, Mexico requires providers to offer family planning counseling during all prenatal care visits at public clinics. The policy takes into account the fact that most women do not want to get pregnant again immediately after giving birth and are therefore more receptive to information about contraception.

The article, "Family Planning Advice and Postpartum Contraceptive Use Among Low-Income Women in Mexico," by Sarah L. Barber of the University of California, Berkeley, appears in the March 2007 issue of International Family Planning Perspectives.

Barber analyzed 2003 and 2004 surveys of more than 2,200 women who had recently given birth in urban Mexico and found that about half—47%—were using contraceptives. Women who had received family planning counseling during prenatal visits were more than twice as likely to use a contraceptive method after they gave birth as women who had not received this information. Prenatal family planning counseling was particularly effective in encouraging women to begin using the IUD; women who had received counseling were five times as likely as those who had not to use this method. They were also more likely to rely on condoms or sterilization.

This study underscores the need for policies to support integration efforts, including training prenatal care providers to help women choose appropriate contraceptives after giving birth.

Also in this issue:

"Factors Affecting Vasectomy Acceptability in Tanzania," by Arwen Bunce of Family Health International, et al.;

"Family Planning Programs in 2004: New Assessments in a Changing Environment," by John Ross of Constella Futures, et al.; and

"Inconsistencies in the Relationship Between Contraceptive Use and Fertility in Bangladesh," by Unnati Rani Saha of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, and Radheshyam Bairagi of Fordham University.