POSTNATAL CONTRACEPTIVE ADVICE - MIDWIVES ATTITUDES

Midwives' participation in family planning services to patients on the postnatal wards of Billinge Hospital were reviewed. Ninety midwives w ere requested to complete a questionnaire about their views on the pla ce and time of the provision of contraceptive services in the postnata l period. Their confidence and competence regarding different contrace ptive methods were explored. The response rare was 74 per cent. All mi dwives who responded said that they discussed contraception with recen t mothers before their discharge from hospital. Almost all midwives (9 6 per cent) felt that they themselves were the most suitable professio nal for this discussion, as they discharged most women and they were b etter acquainted with the clients than the obstetric house officers. S imilarly, over two thirds (79 per cent) of midwives felt that the most suitable time and place for such discussion is on the postnatal wards or at the clients' home during the puerperium. An analysis of their p ractices revealed that 75 per cent of midwives directed their clients to attend a family planning clinic and 64 per cent advised them to att end their own doctor to obtain contraception. All methods of contracep tion were discussed by only half the respondents. One third of them di scussed only those methods with which they felt confident. A majority of midwives felt that they had little knowledge of the newer methods s uch as implants and female condoms, and suggested the need for regular updating.