Opportunities to enhance postpartum contraception care in Australia

In Australia, 20% of pregnancies occur within the first year of a birth and most are unintended. Unintended pregnancies and short interpregnancy intervals (<12-18months) can have adverse effects and increased risk of complications. Women are often unaware of fertility return after pregnancy, optimal pregnancy spacing, or the safety of contraception postnatally. Whilst contraception enables women to attain the number and spacing of births they desire, there is no routine provision of postpartum contraception information or services during pregnancy or after birth in Australia and access can be challenging. This PhD will investigate key policy opportunities to enhance postpartum contraception care in Australia through exploring models of care, and legislative, regulatory and professional requirements, from key informant and stakeholder perspectives. 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.