Abstract
Background: Postpartum intrauterine contraceptive devices (PPIUCD) are increasingly included in many national
postpartum family planning (PPFP) programs, but satisfaction of women who have adopted PPIUCD and
complication rates need further characterization. Our specific aims were to describe women who accepted PPIUCD,
their experience and satisfaction with their choice, and complication of expulsion or infection.
Methods: We studied 2,733 married women, aged 15–49 years, who received PPIUCD in sixteen health facilities,
located in eight states and the national capital territory of India, at the time of IUCD insertion and six weeks later.
The satisfaction of women who received IUCD during the postpartum period and problems and complications
following insertion were assessed using standardized questionnaires.
Results: Mean (SD) age of women accepting PPIUCD was 24 (4) years. Over half of women had parity of one, and
nearly one-quarter had no formal schooling. Nearly all women (99.6%) reported that they were satisfied with IUCD
at the time of insertion and 92% reported satisfaction at the six-week follow-up visit. The rate of expulsion of IUCD
was 3.6% by six weeks of follow-up. There were large variations in rates of problems and complications that were
largely attributable to the individual hospitals implementing the study.
Conclusions: Women who receive PPIUCD show a high level of satisfaction with this choice of contraception, and
the rates of expulsion were low enough such that the benefits of contraceptive protection outweigh the potential
inconvenience of needing to return for care for that subset of women.