Family planning knowledge and use among women in camps for internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Objective: To describe family planning awareness and needs among internally displaced women residing in the Mugunga camps in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of women aged 14-45 years residing in the Mugunga camps was conducted during March 2014. The verbally administered survey assessed participants' obstetric history and their family planning knowledge, interest, and use. Descriptive statistics were obtained.

Results: Of the 155 participants, 145 (93.5%) had been camp residents for 2 years or less. Previous receipt of information on contraception was reported by 130 (83.9%) women, of whom 65 (50.0%) had received information during prenatal care. Fifty-four (34.8%) women knew at least two contraceptive methods. Overall, 47 (30.5%) of 154 women reported ever using contraception. Women who never used contraception cited lack of interest (66/107 [61.7%]) or knowledge (22/107 [20.6%]) and religious opposition (13/107 [12.1%]) as reasons. In the cohort overall, 33 (21.3%) women reported having had an induced abortion; 20 (60.6%) of these abortions were self-induced.

Conclusion: Contraceptive knowledge among female camp residents was moderate, actual usage was low, and a considerable proportion reported a history of induced abortion. Efforts must be made to improve access to contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy, and to provide safe abortions and postabortion care.