Correlates of visit regularity among family planning clients in urban Yemen

Contraceptive discontinuation has been an important issue in low contracept ive prevalence countries like Yemen. Religious and cultural factors might p lay a large role in barriers against contraceptive acceptance. This study r evealed the characteristics of women who accepted contraception and the fac tors related to the regularity of visits to a clinic in Yemen. Women perceived that accepting contraception was against neither Islam nor their husband's attitudes. They rather paid attention to mother and child h ealth. Regularity of visits was not related to socioeconomic or demographic factors, but was related to satisfaction with family planning services. Th is implies that different approaches are needed to promote 'continuation' a nd 'regular visits'. A population policy which promotes birth spacing for maternal health in acc ordance with cultural contexts should be an effective and acceptable strate gy in Yemen. Regular visits could be prompted by increasing the quality of services, including communication between clients and providers about side- effects and alternative choices of methods.