Access to and uptake of contraceptives among pregnant women with disabilities in the Central Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia: community-based cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Accessing quality and equitable contraceptive services is significant for reaching the recently announced Sustainable Development Goals. In Ethiopia, women with disabilities continue to confront several barriers to accessing adequate contraceptive services. Nevertheless, little is known about contraceptive uptake and associated factors among pregnant women with disabilities in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the contraceptive uptake and associated factors among pregnant women with disabilities in the Central Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted, with 562 study participants recruited using a multistage random sampling procedure. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using the Kobo Toolbox. A bivariate and multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify variables associated with contraceptive uptake. At p < 0.05, the association of variables was found to be statistically significant.

Result: In this study, only 38.1% (95% CI: 33.5, 42.3) of study participants used contraceptives. The significantly associated factors were: women's age (≥ 35 years, AOR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.46, p < 0.0001), marital status (AOR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.64, p < 0.0001), women education (tertiary and above, AOR = 8.44, 95% CI: 4.2, 13.2, p < 0.0001), number of pregnancies (AOR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.45, p < 0.0001), lack of contraceptives awareness (AOR = 0.12. 95% CI: 0.06, 0.24 p < 0.0001), contraceptive service accessibility (AOR = 6.02, 95% CI: 3.8, 9.54, p < 0.0001), and spousal support to use contraceptives (AOR = 4.52, 95% CI: 2.85, 7.2, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: This finding concludes that there is a significant unmet need for contraceptive services among pregnant women with disabilities in the Central Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia. To enhance contraceptive uptake, it is suggested to engage husbands in health promotion initiatives, implement community-based awareness campaigns, train healthcare providers on the unique needs of women with disabilities and design disability-friendly health facilities.