Obesity among women of reproductive age using contraceptive methods in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Obesity predisposes pregnant women to increased risk of pregnancy complications for mother and fetus. Avoiding unintended pregnancy among obese women is therefore of major importance, given the increased risks associated with pregnancy. This study determined the prevalence of obesity among female contraceptive users in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. This was a cross-sectional study among randomly selected married non-pregnant women of reproductive age attending the Family Medicine clinic. Data was collected using a specially designed structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 20. The p-value of less than 0.05 was used as the criterion for significance. A total of 422 randomly selected participants who satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria were studied. Their age range was 15-49 years with a mean of 32.86 ± 6.85 years. Majority of the respondents (60.7%) had 13-18 years of formal education. The contraception prevalence among obese participants was 37.2%. The barrier method was the most commonly used (32.6%). There was no association between contraceptive use and the participants’ Body Mass Index (p= 0.730). The prevalence of obesity among contraceptive users was 37.2%. The barrier method was the most commonly used method. Although there was no association between contraceptive use and obesity, primary care providers including family physicians should educate women on the adverse effect of obesity on the general health of women.