Dedicated inserter facilitates immediate postpartum IUD insertion.

A specially designed inserter aims at facilitating IUD insertion within 10 minutes to 48 hours after delivery during the postpartum period when demand for, and health benefits of, contraception are high.

Revitalizing long-acting reversible contraceptives in settings with high unmet need: a multicountry experience matching demand creation and service delivery.

BACKGROUND: Contraception in many developing countries is characterized by high unmet need, irregular access, low utilization and presumed demand for long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). STUDY DESIGN: A 13-country initiative focused on increasing consumer demand and high quality services for intrauterine devices (IUDs) began in 2009. Services were provided through (a) private sector-franchised or affiliated clinics; (b) providers seconded to the public sector and (c) special "event" days. Client intake data are used to compare the profile of IUD acceptors with IUD users from representative national datasets of select countries, as well as examine trends in IUD uptake. RESULTS: During 2009-2010, 575,601 IUDs were inserted across the 13 countries. Compared to national IUD users, users in this project were slightly younger and less educated. Among IUD acceptors, 24% used no modern method at the time of IUD initiation, and 28% reported injectable use in the three previous months. CONCLUSIONS: Convenient, quality, affordable services with demand creation can result in significant uptake of LARCs in settings with low use.

Feasibility of training Zambian nurse-midwives to perform postplacental and postpartum insertions of intrauterine devices.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of competency-based training of Zambian nurse-midwives in postplacental and postpartum intrauterine device (PPIUD) insertion and to estimate learning curves for this procedure. METHODS: A pilot service-delivery project was conducted, involving 9 nurse-midwives who participated in a 10-day PPIUD insertion training course at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. US and Zambian clinicians taught the didactic and practical curriculum. Checklists were used for standardization and a pelvic model was developed to achieve PPIUD insertion competency in the classroom before moving to clinical practice. Patients were recruited during prenatal visits, in early labor, and postpartum. Informed, voluntary consent was obtained. All clinical PPIUD insertions were supervised or performed by experienced trainers. RESULTS: All 9 nurse-midwives achieved competency on the pelvic model after 3 attempts. During the training period, 38 PPIUDs were inserted in postpartum women; no complications occurred. By the end of training, 4 of the nurse-midwives were deemed competent to independently insert PPIUDs. On average, 4 PPIUD insertions were needed to achieve clinical competency. CONCLUSIONS: Concentrated, competency-based training in PPIUD insertion is feasible in an African setting. Replication of such training could increase the popularity and prevalence of PPIUD use among African women.