Title: Overview of postpartum, post-abortion and permanent family planning methods
Course: Level 3 - Family Planning > Section: Overview of postpartum, post-abortion and permanent family planning methods

The postpartum period is defined as the year after childbirth. It is a time of transition, adjustment, and adaptation along with significant biological, social, and psychological changes.

Regarding variations in the woman's body, the postpartum period starts from the first minutes after delivery of a baby and placenta (you will see this in detail in your postnatal module).

Postpartum contraception is the initiation and use of family planning methods in the first year after delivery to prevent unintended pregnancy particularly in the first 1-2 years after childbirth when another pregnancy can be harmful to the mother or a breastfeeding baby.

Post-abortion contraception is the initiation and use of family planning methods, most often immediately after treatment for abortion - within 48 hours, or before fertility returns (2 weeks post-abortion). The objective is to prevent unintended pregnancies, particularly for women who do not want to be pregnant and may undergo a subsequent unsafe abortion if contraception is not made available during this brief and vulnerable interval.

Permanent / voluntary surgical contraception are methods that make it almost impossible for a man or a woman to have any children. Since these operations are permanent, they are only suitable for those women or men who are confident that they do not want any more children.