Unplanned pregnancy rates in South Africa are high. Effective use of contraception is therefore an essential public health intervention to prevent unplanned pregnancies. Researchers did this study to describe contraception use and its impact on pregnancy in women participating in HIV prevention research and its implications for public health practice.
Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of sociodemographic, behavioral, contraception use, and pregnancy incidence data amongst women participating in the MDP 301 trial conducted in Durban, South Africa. Log-rank tests were carried out to compare the pregnancy incidence between women who reported using injectable contraceptive methods and women using oral contraceptive pills, using condoms, and other ways.
Of the 2018 women enrolled, injectable contraception was the most commonly used method compared to pills, condoms for pregnancy prevention, and other methods. Injectable contraception use was associated with a lower crude pregnancy incidence of 4.4 per 100 woman-years compared to women using pills, condoms, and other methods. This effect remained significant when adjusted for age, level of education, condom use at last sex act.
The study concluded that Injectable contraception offered a high level of protection against pregnancies among women in Durban.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/42/1/5
