Contraceptive use at the family planning clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria BC Ozumba 1 * and PC Ibekwe 1 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria During the ®ve year review period (January 1993 ± December 1997), 19,470 clients visited the family planning clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. Of these, 2402 clients (12%) were new patients and 17,068 (88%) were old patients. Among the new clients, 2262 (94%) eventually accepted a contraceptive method. The majority of the women (60%) chose the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD), 20% chose the injectables, while bilateral tubal ligation and norplant were chosen by 8% and 7%, respectively, of the clients. The oral contraceptive pill was the least popular (1%). Variations in the pattern of contraceptive use among clients at the family planning clinic were discussed. Measures to increase the contraceptive prevalence, and particularly strategies to meet the speci®c contraceptive needs of clients at the clinic, were also examined. Public Health (2001) 115, 51±53. Keywords: contraception; family planning clinic; Nigeria Introduction Nigeria has one of the lowest contraceptive prevalence rates in Africa, currently at 6%, 1 and also one of the highest maternal mortality rates (3 per 1000) 2 in the world. These ®gures illustrate the need for a pervasive family planning programme not only in Nigeria, but in other developing communities. It has been opined that, if family planning services were more widely available, up to 42% of maternal deaths could be averted in developing countries. 3 The total fertility rate is still high in Nigeria and is above 6.0 in the area of study. 4 A notable contributory factor to this low contraceptive prevalence and high birth rate is that a large proportion of the population reside in the rural areas where awareness and availability of family planning ser- vices are usually poor. The low socio-economic status of the rural areas, combined with the high infant mortality rate, as well as religious and cultural factors, may all negatively in¯uence motivation. 5±7 This study has been undertaken to elucidate acceptable contraceptive methods in our populace and determine factors which will improve the currently low contraceptive prevalence rate. Materials and methods A retrospective review of the records of clients seen at the family planning clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital over a ®ve year period (January 1993± December 1997) has been done. The biosocial data of age and parity were noted as well as the period of attendance. The contraceptive choice of each client was studied and the variations in the pattern of choice analysed by simple percentage. Results During the study period a total of 19,470 clients attended the family planning clinic of the teaching hospital. Of these 17,068 (88%) were old clients while 2402 (12%) were new. Table 1 There was no de®nite direction in the trend of patronage at the family planning clinic. There was a very low turn out of clients in 1994 due to staff strike action in the teaching hospital lasting seven months. Table 2 This shows the contraceptive choice of new clients. Most of the ®rst-time attendees chose the IUCD (60%) with a range of 59±71%. The injectables were the second choice in popularity (19%) with a range of 16±20% over the ®ve year period. The injectables were not available for 9 months in 1997, possibly accounting for the low number of clients who used it that year. 7% of new clients chose bilateral tubal ligation as a method of family planning during the period of review. Norplant was chosen by 7% of new clients. It was out of stock for eleven months in 1997. The oral contraceptive pill was the least popular, having been chosen by 1% of the new clients. *Correspondence: Dr BC Ozumba, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. Accepted 27 April 2000 Public Health (2001) 115, 51±53 ß R.I.P.H.H. 2001 www.nature.com/ph