Is provision of contraception at discharge following delivery associated with postpartum visit attendance

Abstract Objectives We examined whether provision of contraception at discharge following delivery was associated with lower rates of postpartum visit (PPV) attendance. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of women who received pregnancy care at a Midwestern medical center in 2013. Attendance at the postpartum visit was compared for women with sterilization, contraception initiated prior to discharge (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate or levonogestrel implant), hormonal contraception prescription, or no contraception provided at postpartum discharge. Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were used to estimate the relative risk of postpartum visit attendance controlling for age, race, and parity, insurance status, and histories of both depression and drug abuse. Results Of the 1,015 women who met inclusion criteria, 55% had been prescribed contraception, had initiated contraception prior to discharge, or were sterilized at the time of discharge following delivery. After adjustment for confounders, there was no association between receiving contraception and PPV attendance (relative risk for prescribed contraception = 1.09 [95% CI 0.85, 1.39], for contraception initiated prior to discharge = 0.83 [95% CI 0.67, 1.03], for sterilization = 0.86 [95% CI 0.63, 1.17] compared to no contraception). Conclusions We found no evidence that prescribing or administering contraception post-delivery was associated with lower rates of return for postpartum follow up. Implications This single site study suggests that providing effective contraception at discharge following delivery does not appear to impact PPV attendance.