Practices and perceptions on intrauterine contraception among Latvian obstetrician-gynecologists.

BACKGROUND

To investigate the professional activity and perceptions of intrauterine contraception among Latvian obstetrician-gynecologists.

METHODS

A questionnaire was completed by 122 Latvian obstetrician-gynecologists attending an annual meeting. Statistical analysis was done with the Epi-Info 2002 statistical package.

RESULTS

Every day contraceptive consulting was done by 91.8% of physicians and 98.4% reported ever having inserted intrauterine contraception. The majority of doctors reported careful selection of intrauterine contraception candidates, including screening for sexually transmitted infections before insertion. Intrauterine contraception insertion was definitely excluded in women without a stable monogamous relationship only by 9.8%. A causal relationship between intrauterine contraception and pelvic inflammatory disease was believed by 52.5%. Many doctors sometimes prescribed prophylactic antibiotics before or immediately after intrauterine contraception insertion. However, antibiotics were never prescribed before intrauterine contraception insertion by 50.8%. Younger doctors had significantly more often themselves used combined oral contraceptives than had older doctors, whereas older doctors more often had been intrauterine contraception users. Of current and former intrauterine contraception users, 93.4% were satisfied with this contraceptive method.

CONCLUSIONS

Latvian obstetrician-gynecologists have wide experience in contraception counseling of intrauterine contraception, but some gaps in the theoretical knowledge of doctors about intrauterine contraception were identified. We could not find any significant differences in attitudes to and personal experience with contraceptive methods between older and younger generations, nor were there any differences between genders of obstetrician-gynecologists.