Factors associated with the provision of antenatal contraceptive counseling.

Background: A chart review was conducted to evaluate patient and provider characteristics associated with having a documented antenatal plan regarding future contraception.

Study Design: A retrospective chart review of 528 parturients delivering between January and August 2002 was performed. Data obtained from chart review included demographics, antecedent pregnancy outcome, number of prenatal visits, provider type and documentation of an antenatal plan for postpartum contraception.

Results: Non-Hispanic white women, as compared to other racial/ethnic groups, were more likely to have documented counseling plans (OR 1.5, 95% CI 0.9-2.3), while non-English-speaking women were significantly less likely to have contraceptive plans recorded (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.8). Women with recorded antenatal plans attended more prenatal visits (median 10 vs. 8, p < .001). Nurse practitioners were significantly more likely to document antenatal contraceptive counseling than were residents (OR 3.7, 95% CI 2.4-5.5). In the adjusted analysis, the factors most strongly being positively correlated with antenatal documentation included attending > 10 prenatal visits (adjusted OR 6.2, 95% CI 2.9-13.2), being seen by a nurse practitioner (adjusted OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.9-7.0) and being non-English speaking (adjusted OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3-1.0).

Conclusion: The provision of antenatal contraceptive counseling is associated with certain characteristics, including the patient's primary language, the number of prenatal visits and type of provider seen.