Uptake and Early Removal of Hormonal Implant Contraceptive Among Women Attending the Family Planning Clinic at a Tertiary Institution in a Low -Middle Income Country

OBJECTIVES: Hormonal implant is one of the long-acting contraceptive methods which has been shown to be very effective. However, studies have shown that the uptake of long-acting contraceptive seems is low as revealed over the study period. The objective of this study is to determine the uptake of subdermal implants and factors influencing early removal.

METHODS: This was a retrospective descriptive study. A structured form was implored in extracting data from an urban tertiary center. These data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20. Statistical significance was with Pearson’s chi square and P value was at 0.05.

RESULTS: A total of 698 women had subdermal contraceptive implants among a total of 3784 women who had various forms of contraception giving a prevalence rate of 18 percent. Forty five percent had early removal of their implants. The reason ranged from desire to conceive, side effects and poor counseling.

CONCLUSIONS: The importance of effective contraception in women’s healthcare cannot be overstated. This study highlights the low uptake of hormonal implants, which are influenced by factors such as level of education, parity, and side effects. However, in Nigeria, there is a significant disparity between the number of women who need contraception and those who actually use it. This is known as unmet need for contraception and is a major issue in the country. According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) of 2018, the country has a high fertility rate, with an average of five children per woman in her lifetime. This corresponds to one woman per five or six children.