Etonogestrel-Releasing Contraceptive Implant for Postpartum Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Study objective: To compare immediate postpartum insertion of the contraceptive implant to placement at the 6-week postpartum visit among adolescent and young women.

Design: Non-blinded, randomized controlled trial.

Setting and participants: Postpartum adolescents and young women ages 14-24 years who delivered at an academic tertiary care hospital serving rural and urban populations in North Carolina.

Interventions: Placement of an etonogestrel-releasing contraceptive implant before leaving the hospital postpartum, or at the 4-6 week postpartum visit.

Main outcome measures: Contraceptive implant use at 12 months postpartum.

Results: Ninety-six participants were randomized into the trial. Data regarding use at 12 months were available for 64 participants, 37 in the immediate group and 27 in the 6-week group. There was no difference in use at 12 months between the immediate group and the 6-week group (30 of 37, 81% vs 21 of 27, 78%; P = .75). At 3 months, the immediate group was more likely to have the implant in place (34 of 37, 92% vs 19 of 27, 70%; P = .02).

Conclusion: Placing the contraceptive implant in the immediate postpartum period results in a higher rate of use at 3 months postpartum and appears to have similar use rates at 12 months compared with 6-week postpartum placement. Providing contraceptive implants to adolescents before hospital discharge takes advantage of access to care, increases the likelihood of effective contraception in the early postpartum period, appears to have no adverse effects on breastfeeding, and might lead to increased utilization at 1 year postpartum.