Postpartum Contraceptive Use Among Denver-Based Adolescents and Young Adults: Association with Subsequent Repeat Delivery.

Study Objective: To determine the association of postpartum contraceptive use with repeat deliveries among adolescents and youth.

Design: Retrospective, observational analysis of electronic health record data.

Setting: Single, urban facility in Denver, Colorado, United States.

Participants: Women aged 10-24 years who gave birth between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015.

Interventions And Main Outcome Measures: Postpartum contraceptive use and time to subsequent delivery.

Results: Among 4068 women, 1735 (43%) used postpartum contraception. In adjusted analyses, characteristics associated with contraceptive use included Hispanic ethnicity (relative risk [RR], 1.1; P = .03), incremental prenatal visits (RR, 1.01; P = .047), and attendance at postpartum care (RR, 1.60; P < .001). Long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) use was higher among women younger than 15 years (reference: 20-24 years; RR, 1.12; P < .001) and lower among women aged 18-19 years (RR, 0.93; P = .009). Hispanic women had higher rates of LARC use than non-Hispanic women (RR, 1.07; P = .02). Compared with inpatient LARC placement, outpatient placement (1-4 weeks and 5 or more weeks) rates were lower (RR, 0.77 and RR, 0.89, respectively; P < .001). Time to subsequent delivery was shorter in non-LARC users (median, 659 days) and contraception nonusers (median, 624 days) compared with LARC users (median, 790 days; P < .001); non-LARC postpartum contraceptive use did not significantly alter time to repeat delivery compared with that in women who used no method (P = .24).

Conclusion: Postpartum LARC use reduced the risk of repeat pregnancy with a significant increase in time to the next delivery. Non-LARC use was not different from no contraceptive use in terms of time to repeat delivery.