Research Collaboration Addresses Barriers to Family Planning and Contraceptive Care for Postpartum Women in Ghana

By: Anam Noor and Iris Pan

A research partnership between the University of Michigan (UM) in the U.S. and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana, announced on November 10, 2025, received a five-year grant worth $2.9 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The collaboration was established due to a gap in family planning and contraceptive usage for postpartum women; 84% of women who wish to family plan, use contraceptive care, and avoid unwanted pregnancy are unable to reach their goals.2 Despite significant investment into bridging this gap, low uptake of contraceptive care persists due to health concerns and side effects.2 Moreover, without proper guidance and matching of contraceptive care, adverse outcomes continue to escalate. Previous research on contraceptive care in Ghana has been led by quantitative methods, such as structured surveys, that overlook the nuanced experiences of postpartum patients. The purpose of this initiative is to gain qualitative insight into the barriers to contraception to aid postpartum women in Ghana in identifying and reaching their contraceptive and family planning needs.

Contraceptive care in Ghana

Despite many postpartum women in Ghana intending to limit or delay future pregnancies, only a small percentage are actively using contraception, including condoms, emergency contraception, and birth control. Even with investment in the quality and supply of contraceptive care, this gap remains. Interviews with 48 postpartum women in urban Kumasi, Ghana identified lack of counseling and education, along with word-of-mouth misinformation, as the primary barriers to contraception.3 Some perspectives suggest that emergency contraceptive pills are subject to misuse, potentially as a result of inadequate guidance.5 Many families in Ghana lack access to proper counseling and guidance on what types of contraceptive care will work best for their particular situation, resulting in dissatisfaction and discontinuation of the birth control method. Oftentimes, those open to contraception are deterred by stories of side effects and misconceptions from their social networks.

While existing quantitative research has investigated barriers to accessing contraceptive care, it may overlook the lived experiences that can discourage women in Ghana from utilizing these services. As a result, some women turn to alternative practices, such as the withdrawal method and following calendar rhythms, which may increase the risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.2,6,8 These outcomes highlight the reasoning behind the KNUST–UM research team’s intention of utilizing qualitative analytical tools—interviews, case studies, focus groups, and more personal tools—to better understand why women might be hesitant to use contraception.3, 7

How will the NIH grant be utilized?
Over the past 16 years, the international project team has been modifying a tool called My Family Planning Ghana. This is an application that supports families in Ghana in making family planning decisions through informed conception method selection and improved instruction.1 The team has been working to develop this decision-support tool for use among low-literacy women in Ghana, and recent testing of the tool has shown improvement in knowledge about family planning.2

The grant’s purpose is to broaden the tool’s impact by funding the development of a study to help postpartum women in meeting their desired contraceptive needs. The partnership will work to diminish misconceptions and educate on contraceptive care by assessing whether developing a patient-centered approach will lead to more informed decisions and allow women in Ghana to match the method they use with their family planning needs. In addition to this objective, the study’s investigative parameters are being expanded to include child health outcomes, such as nutrition, healthcare utilization, growth, and the impact on adolescent mothers. This expansion will facilitate comprehensive analysis of the research project’s downstream impacts.3 The efficacy of this initiative—and the tool—will be tested using a clustered-randomized trial by granting women access to the technology during routine visits to child immunization and health clinics. The project team will monitor the postpartum period for two years after delivery to measure the impact on both child and maternal health outcomes.

The analytical tool places greater emphasis on qualitative over quantitative analysis. It is investigating the role of sociocultural dynamics on the perception of contraceptive care in support of the group’s primary goal of ensuring women in Ghana can make educated decisions about family planning and contraceptive care.

What is going to happen in the future?

While this international partnership is making significant strides towards bridging the educational and access gap of contraceptive care, there is still a lot of work to be accomplished. Collecting research is only the first step; meaningful systemic change is needed to address the root causes of misconceptions about contraception. Some evidence suggests that increasing healthcare workers’ literacy in the world of family planning would be effective in improving education for women in Ghana about contraceptive care.4 Initiatives like group health education for healthcare workers could discuss contraceptive care, the benefits of family planning, and the risks of pregnancy.4

There are also policy developments underway through Ghana’s Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (GFPCIP) 2024–2030, which aims to ensure that by 2030, all people of reproductive age will have access to quality family planning information and services.9 This objective is being achieved through government funding for family planning resources, increasing insurance coverage, modern contraceptive prevalence, promoting reproductive education among adolescents, and implementing targeted social change.9

The future of contraceptive care for women in Ghana should include unbiased, comprehensive information on all methods, alongside supporting informed choice to best match each family’s fertility goals.2 However, reaching this goal will require changes at the local, systemic, and institutional levels.

Works Cited:

[1] Sonalkar, S., Maya, E., Adanu, R., Samba, A., Mumuni, K., McAllister, A., Fishman, J., Schurr, D., Schreiber, C. A., Kolev, S., Doe, R., & Eluned Gaffield, M. (2021). Pilot monitoring and evaluation of the WHO postpartum family planning compendium mobile application: An in-depth, qualitative study. International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 153(3), 508–513. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.13631

[2] Guzman, N. M., Nakua, E., Moyer, C. A., Lori, J. R., Dzomeku, V., Otupiri, E., & Compton, S. D. (2025). Unmet need for contraception? Understanding postpartum family planning desires and use in Kumasi, Ghana. Frontiers in reproductive health, 7, 1625242. https://doi.org/10.3389/frph.2025.1625242

[3] International Research Team Secures $2.9 Million NIH Grant to Improve Postpartum Contraceptive Care in Ghana. (2025). https://globalhealthequity.umich.edu/news-events/news/international-research-team-secures-29-million-nih-grant-improve-postpartum

[4] Wuni, C., Turpin, C. A., & Dassah, E. T. (2017). Determinants of contraceptive use and future contraceptive intentions of women attending child welfare clinics in urban Ghana. BMC public health, 18(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4641-9

[5] Kalamar, A., Bixiones, C., Jaworski, G., Lerma, K., Mwansa, M., Lawerh, R., & Adjei, S. (2022). Supporting contraceptive choice in self-care: qualitative exploration of beliefs and attitudes towards emergency contraceptive pills and on-demand use in Accra, Ghana and Lusaka, Zambia. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 29(3), 198–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2022.2045065

[6] Ogum, D., Maya, E. T., Modey, E., Manu, A., & Torpey, K. (2025). Family planning and abortion service availability and utilisation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Reproductive Health, 22(Suppl 3), 234–1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-025-02122-x

[7] Tenny, S., Brannan, J. M., Brannan, G. D. (2022). Qualitative Study. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470395/

[8] Biney, A. A. E., Kayi, E., Atiglo, D. Y., Sowah, L. R., Badasu, D., & Ankomah, A. (2023). COVID-19, relationships, and contraception: Qualitative perspectives from emerging adults during the COVID-19 lockdown in Accra, Ghana. SSM. Qualitative Research in Health, 3, 100216-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100216

[9] Ghana. Family Planning 2030. (2024). https://www.fp2030.org/commitment-maker/ghana/#:~:text=The%20Republic%20of%20Ghana%20has%20committed%20to,targeted%20social%20and%20behavior%20change%20communication%20plan

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