Child and family health nurse provision of postpartum contraceptive care: What do women think?

To support pregnancy planning, all women should receive information and resources regarding fertility return and available contraceptive options as part of their routine postpartum care. Child and family health nurses are well-placed to provide this information and support, as they often have regular contact with mothers and can support maternal health and wellbeing, including in relation to postpartum contraception information and services – yet this is not part of routine practice. A qualitative study will be undertaken with women to explore their views, experiences and preferences regarding provision of postpartum contraception information and support by child and family health nurses, to better understand the role they could play in increasing access to postpartum contraception in Australia. This project sits within a program of research being undertaken by Professor Mazza in SPHERE, a NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women in Primary Care. This is the first dedicated Centre to lead research that is aimed at improving the quality, safety, and capacity of primary health care services to achieve better outcomes in women’s sexual and reproductive health. Students working within SPHERE will be supported by Professor Mazza's research team, which consists of Post-docs, PhD students, academic registrars and Honours students. Students will be part of a large, multidisciplinary, collaborative team of investigators, which includes prominent national and international researchers and experts working in women’s health, general practice, pharmacy, nursing, epidemiology, knowledge translation, health economics, and policy development. For more information about this project, please feel free to contact Jessica Botfield to discuss further: jessica.botfield@monash.edu