Objective:

Contraception in breastfeeding mothers is an important public health issue. Intermittent and planned pregnancies decrease neonatal, maternal morbidity and mortality. It has been proven that maternal death in the case of birth intervals of 27-32 months, bleeding in the third trimester, endometritis and the frequency of anemia decrease. Postpartum contraception is more important in terms of health of women and children. We aimed to determine contraceptive preferences in breastfeeding women who applied to family planning policlinic in the last 3 years.

Material and Methods:

571 breastfeeding women who were referred to family planning policlinic at Health Sciences University, Umraniye Training and Research Hospital, between 1 January 2014 and 1 January 2017 were screened retrospectively.

Results:

The mean age of the 571 patients aged 17-44 years was 28.35±5.9 years (min-max, 17-44 years). Gravida 2.6±1.35 (1-8), parity 2.3±1.5 (1-7) and alive 2.3±1.07 (1-6). 65.2% of the women who participated in the survey had normal vaginal delivery and 34.9% of them were delivered with cesarean section. The most common method that women prefer before referral is coitus interruptus (50.6%), condom (28.2%), depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (2.5%), intrauterine device (RIA) (1.2%) respectively and 2.1% were using any methods. After consultation who applied to the family planning policlinic, 74.4% preferred the RIA method and 25.6% preferred the condom method.

Conclusion:

Contraceptive method selection and timing in breastfeeding mothers can affect breastfeeding patterns and child growth curves. Hormone-free methods are the most commonly used methods for women who are breast fed and barrier (intrauterine insemination) devices, and which do not affect breastfeeding, frequency and milk intake. Contraceptive methods should be explained during pregnancy and counseling should be given in the postpartum period. Prevention of unintended pregnancies and pregnancy with short intervals can be achieved with a reduction in maternal and fetal mortalities.

Keywords: breastfeeding, contraception, method