Determinants of family planning uptake among nursing mothers attending immunization clinics in Benin City, Edo State

BACKGROUND Family planning uptake is low (10%) and is a serious public health challenge in Nigeria. This study assessed family planning uptake among nursing mothers in Benin City, Edo State with a view to improving its uptake. METHODOLOGY A descriptive cross-sectional study design was utilized to administer pretested structured questionnaires to 220 nursing mothers attending selected immunization clinics in a health facility in Benin City, Edo State. Data collected was sorted for completeness, coded and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21.0 statistical software with statistical significance set at p<0.050. RESULTS The mean (SD) age of respondents studied was 30.0 (3.5) years. One hundred and sixty (72.7%), 35 (15.9%) and 25 (11.4%) of respondents had poor, fair and poor knowledge of family planning respectively. Although, intention to use family planning 208 (94.5%) and unmet need 214(97.3%) for family planning uptake was high their current family planning uptake 30 (13.6%) was low. Male condom and contraceptive pills use accounted for 14(46.7%) and 11(36.7%) respectively with least 1(0.5%) being Intrauterine cervical devices (IUD). Marital status (p=0.014) and male partner support (p<0.001) for family planning were identified as significant factors influencing family planning uptake among nursing mothers studied. CONCLUSION This study identified a high intention to use with high unmet need for family planning and low family planning uptake among respondents studied. There is need to step sensitization campaigns on need to improve family planning uptake among nursing mothers in our communities.