Dr. Jim Shelton's Pearls

"Pearl" for the week of October 19, 2009

Family Planning in Post Abortion Care

Q:In our hospital we provide post abortion care. But most women seem to go home without being offered contraception. Is there something we can use to help persuade our administrator, doctors and nurses that we should make contraception more readily available?

A:Yes. The International Federation of OB/Gyn (FIGO), the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and USAID have recently issued a joint statement that makes a compelling case for the provision of voluntary family planning along with post abortion care. A key message is "The provision of universal access to post abortion family planning should be a standard of practice for doctors, nurses, and midwives in public and private health care." It also provides some insight on organizing services to make it more practical, including providing FP at the point of service delivery. You can use the document as an advocacy tool at a variety of levels including national, district and facility level.

Reference:

FIGO, ICM,ICN, USAID. Family planning: A key component of post abortion care. 25 September, 2009.



The "Pearls" offer answers to commonly asked questions about family planning. These "Pearls" are prepared by Dr. James D. Shelton, Senior Medical Scientist, Office of Population, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

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Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Government or The Johns Hopkins University.