FACTORS INFLUENCING MODERN CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN KINSHASA

Abstract

Family planning enables individuals and couples to appropriately schedule and regulate the timing and number of births. Women who carry unplanned pregnancies are susceptible to postnatal complications, which directly impact their well-being, making them a burden to society. There were 27,600 adolescent abortions recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), accounting for about 19% of abortion cases in Kinshasa in 2021. The reproduction rate remains one of the highest in the world at 5.7% and there is a low contraception prevalence across all methods (28%) in 2022. This study aims to determine the factors that influence modern contraceptive use among women in Kinshasa city in the DRC by using data from the PMA 2020 cross-sectional survey to assess the association between predictors and modern contraceptive use through logistic regression analysis (OR and 95% CI). The findings show that older women are more likely to use modern contraceptives than younger women (15-22) and their sensitivity diminishes as they age. This likelihood is also high when women do not discuss this topic with their partners. As household size increases, women’s use of modern contraceptives is positively affected. The same is true for women who have given birth at least compared to those who have never given birth. Wanting fewer children makes women more likely to use contraceptives than when they want more children. Male condoms for their partners, emergency contraceptives, and pills are the more common contraception methods resorted to by women aged 15-31, while the most common contraceptive method used by older women is female sterilization. In a country with rapid population growth such as the DRC, the strategy should focus on raising awareness among young women through school programs, health facilities, community outreach, and other means to achieve optimal use of modern contraceptives based on commonly used methods and involving adult men and women. Key words: family planning, modern contraceptive, young women, Kinshasa.