Use and Determinants of Postpartum Contraception among Women in Malawi

Martin E. Palamuleni, North-West University, South Africa
Ayo S. Adebowale, University of Ibadan
Mercy Palamuleni, Gustavus Adolphus College

The period after child birth is associated with many challenges some of which may affect future childbearing and contraceptive use. This study examines the factors influencing postpartum use of contraception (PPUM) in Malawi based on the data from the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey. The study employed the bivariate and multivariate regression models to investigate the association between the outcome variable and several independent variables. Overall, 49.5% of women used a modern method of contraception during the postpartum period and injections, condom, pills and withdrawal were the popular methods. The significant predictors of PPUM include age, region, education, children ever born, type of marriage and exposure to family planning messages through health facility and family planning worker. The findings suggest that contraceptive use among postpartum women will increase substantially if more women use maternal health care services, especially for antenatal care and postnatal care.