Dashboard Global PPFP – HIPs India: Postpartum Family Planning Services

India Toolkit: Services & Supply

Increased Postpartum Family Planning Services Results In Improved Maternal And Child Health

Purpose: Facility-based childbirth services offer an ideal opportunity to reach women and their partners with family planning (FP) information and services. Postpartum Family Planning (PPFP) thus has an important role to play in strategies to reduce the unmet need for FP. This tool coaches on the implementation of PPFP services for offering family planning basket of choice, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and spacing methods, at urban primary health center (UPHCs), other higher order public facilities and private sector health facilities.

Audience:

General Manager (GM) FP and Urban
Joint Director/Additional Director (JD/AD)
Chief Medical Officers (CMO)/Additional Chief Medical Officer (ACMO)
Chief Medical Superintendents (CMS)
Divisional Urban Health Consultant (DUHC)/Nodal Officers – Urban Health and Family Planning/District Program Manager (DPM)/Urban Health Coordinator (UHC)
Medical Officer In-Charge/Medical Officers (MOICs/MOs)/Persons In-Charge of Private Facilities/Staff Nurse-In-Charge District Hospital
District facility Counsellor

Background: Evidence suggests that 61% of women do not use effective contraception within 24 months postpartum to avoid an unintended pregnancy. Because unintended and closely spaced births are associated with increased maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality, postpartum women are among those with the greatest unmet need for FP. However, providers, women and their support networks cite concerns about contraceptive side effects, especially related to effects of hormonal contraceptives on breast milk and the child’s health as reasons to avoid contraception during the postpartum period.

It is, therefore, critical to address this grave public health concern so that PPFP can help women decide which contraceptive they want to use, initiate that contraceptive and continue its use for two years or longer, depending on the reproductive intentions of the woman or couple.

Evidence of Impact

Investing in family planning reduces the maternal mortality rate (MMR) by 30% and the postpartum period is the most opportune time when a woman is actively seeking family planning to avoid a quick and unwanted pregnancy. TCI India conducted whole-site orientation (WSO) efforts through master coachees, the Chief Medical Superintendents’ (CMS) of the district women’s hospitals who oriented all facility staff on the family planning basket of choice methods and also became intentional on tapping PPFP. They started reviewing and seeking periodic reports on total delivery load and PPFP acceptors from the district women’s hospital (DWH) counsellor and ensured timely and correct reporting over HMIS. With these efforts, the government witnessed a 39% increase in total PPFP acceptors from the previous year ending in June 2021 (33,613 in June 2021 and 46,762 in February 2022), from the total delivery load.

Guidance on Implementing PPFP

PPFP should not be considered a “vertical” program in isolation. Rather, it should be integrated with existing maternal and child health and family planning programming efforts. A successful PPFP implementation strategy keeps people at the center of health care. Listed below are steps to implement an effective PPFP strategy:

Step 1: Understand the Health System and Current Government Policies

As a first step, devise a clear understanding of how the health system is organized and identify existing gaps and opportunities for offering FP to postpartum women. Understand which providers at what levels of facilities can provide PPFP and make sure to review all existing policies that are relevant to PPFP.

Step 2: Make PPFP Data Visible by Estimating the Unmet Need for FP Based on Available Data

To amplify how health systems must focus on and prioritize PPFP. Data from district facilities – such as reported delivery caseload vs. reported family planning uptake – should be analyzed and discussed with Chief Medical Superintendents (CMS) and then at other appropriate city- and state-level FP monitoring meetings. FP uptake data disaggregated by age, parity and method choice is critical for a city to plan its PPFP strategy to reach women with unmet need for FP.

Step 3: Integrate PPFP across Contact Points

Design PPFP interventions to reach women at an opportune time when they come in contact with the health system. This includes:

Antenatal care (ANC)
Labor and delivery, including pre-discharge
Postnatal care (PNC)
Immunization and child health care visits

Step 4: Ensure Facility-based Counseling and Intrapartum Services

At all the contact points listed in step 3, the MOIC, CMS, facility-in-charge of private facilities should ensure counseling and services for PPFP. They should emphasize that counseling include the expanded choice of FP methods, including LARCs. They should assign responsibilities to ensure that commodities, supplies, equipment, human resource, requisite reporting forms and information, education and communication (IEC) materials are available for PPFP counseling.

Step 5: Strengthen Human Resource Capacity

Strengthen policies and practices to address staff development and retention to ensure that providers with PPFP skills are available within ANC, labour and delivery and PNC. This includes:

Introducing and strengthening a comprehensive RH education curriculum that addresses safe motherhood, family planning, and neonatal and child health training issues.
Integrating PPFP within pre-service education and ensuring that PPFP and healthy timing and spacing (HTSP) are well-covered in teaching curricula, practical training and examinations.
Dispatching mobile outreach teams (while linking referrals to a static facility) to facilities in the short term to provide services while building staff capacity for the long term.
Focusing on community-based PPFP interventions, including EBF, LAM, pills, injectable and condoms, while addressing provider capacity needs at the facility level

Step 6: Ensure Adequate Trained Staff, Equipment and Supplies, and If Possible, Ensure their Availability 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week

The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) scheme has resulted in an increased number of institutional deliveries at facilities across India. This has provided the opportunity to provide long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) such as PPIUCD to women who desire to use these methods. However, many of these opportunities are missed because providers in the facilities lack the necessary skills to provide immediate postpartum IUCD insertion. Training a core group of providers at the district women’s hospital and in medical colleges can create the necessary technical capacity among nurses and other doctors to provide this service. Funding is available through the Program Implementation Plan (PIP) to train doctors and nurses from each public facility conducting deliveries.

Wherever feasible, ensure systematic 24/7 PPFP counseling through PPFP-trained providers and their availability during odd hours and on weekends. In addition, CMS should conduct whole-site orientations to ensure that staff nurses, traditional health workers or dais, janitors and cleaning staff are properly trained to support PPFP. In addition, preposition supplies and organize client flow through labor, delivery and postnatal wards to identify appropriate space for counseling. For more details, please refer to these whole-site orientation training guidelines.

Step 7: Ensure Clinical Safety for the Desired Method

An important consideration when planning a PPFP intervention is clinical safety, that is, which methods can be used at what point in time following birth and given the mother’s breastfeeding status.

According to WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (2015), women can safely use contraceptive implants alongside most of the other contraceptive options in the immediate postpartum period. This is further broken down for breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding women.

FP options for breastfeeding women: Intrauterine devices (IUD), implants, progestogen-only pills, lactational amenorrhea method (LAM), condoms, male sterilization and female sterilization.
FP options for non-breastfeeding women: IUDs, implants, injectables, condoms, emergency contraception, combined oral contraceptives (commence 21 days after delivery), male sterilization and female sterilization.

Step 8: Mobilize the Community

Orient Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) on PPFP, including messages on healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy (HTSP), exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and LAM with referral for other FP methods as a routine part of care.
ASHAs should promote early PNC visits for home births to provide essential newborn care and EBF/LAM.
Focus on LAM as a gateway method to the use of other modern contraceptives.
Discuss women’s reproductive intentions for spacing or limiting and provide information on contraceptive methods and where to get them.
Use community-based integrated MNCH/FP services

Step 9: Update National Service Delivery Guidelines and Clarify the Role of Service Providers

This is particularly critical if existing guidelines reflect delayed start of progestin-only methods, like implants, which are now an option for immediate PPFP use according to WHO’s 2015 Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (5th edition). Guidelines as well as job descriptions should clearly articulate that all antenatal and maternity care providers have a role in PPFP, and that it is not just the responsibility of a few trained providers. The role of community health workers in promoting PPFP can also be specified.

Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
GM FP and Urban	Review PPFP data of urban facilities – UPHCs, higher order facilities and private facilities Issue guidance to all the districts/cities to refer to this tool as one of the guidance documents for implementation of PPFP for all methods at all public and private sector health facilities
JD/AD	Review PPFP data of the cities of the division to take decisions and provide guidance Replicate best practices of performing cities with other cities to strengthen PPFP data of the division
CMO/ACMO	Send a directive to the persons in charge of all public and private facilities to share facility-wise PPFP counseling and services data and to approve and allocate resources accordingly Encourage all private facilities to provide PPFP counseling well in advance, starting from first ANC and 24/7 service provision Ensure that empaneled providers are available for PPFP services, whenever needed Monitor quality and outputs of each facility Review PPFP method-wise data by facility in district level review meetings
CMS/ MOIC/Facility In-Charge (in the case of private facilities)	Establish PPFP counseling and service provision teams 24×7 and ensure facility readiness Ensure informed choice and method-specific counseling as per guidelines through trained counsellor or designated counsellor Analyze PPFP data by method and by year/month and present in review meetings Monitor the quality of PPFP services and ensure correct reporting Ensure wage loss compensation for sterilization clients Minimize waiting time for clients at the facility for PPFP services
Nodal Officer – Urban Health and FP/DUHC/DPM/UHC	Lead in planning and organizing 24/7 PPFP counseling and service provision in the district Manage the PPFP service provision, including team deployment and logistics Analyze PPFP data by method and by year/month Coordinate and oversee all quality parameters and work as an interface between district leadership and facilities Ensure methods are provided with appropriate quality of care, including recommended infection prevention practices Ensure a smooth supply of commodities and supplies Monitor PPFP services for quality and ensure data validation and reliability Ensure client verification for private facilities
Staff Nurse/Facility Counsellor	Establish PPFP teams for 24/7 counselling and service provision Supervise facility-based counselling and intrapartum service delivery Provide informed choice and method-specific counseling to clients Do post-procedure follow-up of clients
Community Health Worker (ANMs, ASHAs, etc.)	Generate awareness and mobilize clients for PPFP through home visits and group meetings Prepare potential client list for PPFP services Use IEC materials to provide information to men, women and community leaders about PPFP and specific contraceptive methods Use handbills to provide information on availability of PPFP services Accompany clients to the facilities to help them access services Share client’s feedback with the facility-in-charge on services Support post-procedure follow-up of clients

Monitoring PPFP Services

PPFP counselling and services can be monitored by including this as a regular agenda item for discussion in the meetings convened by the CMS and CMO. The following indicators should be reviewed:

# of facilities providing PPFP
# of service providers capacity built (trained) on PPFP
Number/percentage of ANC clients who received information and counselling regarding PPFP
Number/percentage of ANC clients who have chosen a FP method in the postpartum period, and mark it on their ANC card/client card
Proportion of women who select a method during ANC and receive it prior to discharge
Proportion of maternity clients who request a method during early labor or pre-discharge counselling and receive their desired method before leaving the facility
Number of FP clients served through PPFP, and their method-mix distribution
Percentage of FP clients served through PPFP vis-a-vis total FP clients served, by method and by month
Client-provider ratio for sterilization (to ensure that client safety and quality of care is not compromised)

Further, spot checks from client records and exit interviews by the CMS/CMO/ACMO-Nodal/DUHC/UHC and by in-charge of private facility to identify the reasons for which women who did not chose a family planning method post-delivery can provide important information on quality of care and provider-driven barriers to services.

For data quality purposes, it is recommended to maintain separate records for PPFP services. A summary of uptake of PPFP services vis-à-vis delivery case load must be maintained in the routine FP register.

Cost Elements

The elements required for PPFP are mentioned below along with their PIP codes for easy reference. They may be covered under existing budget line items (Refer to Financial Management Report (FMR) codes of PIP of 2016-2017, NHM-UP), but if not, they should be incorporated through the Program Implementation Plan (PIP) process. Any additional support can also be sought from the flexi-pool. Specific costs include the following:

Cost Element	FMR Code	Source
Counselor hiring	HSS.9.184.C.S0522	ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
Training Laparoscopic Tubectomy Induction Training PPML (Postpartum Minilap)Training Comprehensive IUCD & PPIUCD for MOs, SBA Trained Ayush Comprehensive IUCD & PPIUCD for CHOs/SNs/ANMs	RCH.6.42.CB.1 RCH.6.42.CB.3 RCH.6.44.CB.2 RCH.6.44.CB.1	ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
FP Corner		ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
Incentives Sterilization, PPIUCD		ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
Performance-based incentives for providers	HSS(U).5.143. OOC.1	ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
Performance-based incentives for counsellors	HSS(U).5.143.OOC.3	ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
Compensation to client on PPFST At govt facility At private facility At HS facility for both beneficiary and motivator	6.42.DBT.01.a 6.42.DBT.01.B 6.42.DBT.03.A	ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
Incentive to clients on PPIUCD	6.44.DBT.2	ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP
ASHA incentive towards motivating PPIUCD client	6.44. ASHA.1	ROP UP 2017-18, NHM-UP

This table is indicative and illustrates the manner in which cost elements are provisioned in a government PIP, thus giving guidance to the audience on where to look for elements related to a particular task.

Sustainability

Sustainability of PPFP can be achieved through the following measures:

Providing family planning counseling and offering modern contraception as part of childbirth services and prior to maternity discharge increases postpartum contraceptive use.
Understanding barriers to PPFP uptake and tailoring programmatic approaches to address those barriers can improve uptake.
Consider home visits for covering PPFP adoption among home births and first-time, young parents.
Consider leveraging antenatal care visits to educate clients on contraception. Doing so allows women to fully explore their intentions and to make an informed decision about contraception before delivery. Counseling earlier during a pregnancy may be particularly helpful if introducing IUD or sterilization as women often need more time to consider and discuss these options with their partners.
Male involvement during and after pregnancy can reduce the occurrence of postpartum depression and improve use of maternal health services, such as skilled birth attendance and postnatal care. Providing men and women the opportunity to engage in family planning discussions as part of maternity care – together or separately – can directly address these inequitable norms and create space for joint decision-making for effective use of family planning.
Ensure that providers have the skills and knowledge to provide all methods. Ensure periodic refresher training of service providers on method techniques.