Background: Postpartum contraceptives use offers a distinctive opportunity to maintain appropriate birth spacing for health benefits to both mother and child. However, the concept of postpartum family planning (PPFP) is poorly understood and contraceptives use during the postpartum period remains low in Nepal. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the factors affecting the utilization of family planning (FP) methods among postpartum mothers in the Kailali district, Nepal. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between September and October 2013 among postpartum mothers in Kailali district. Simple random sampling was applied to select a total of 427 study participants. A pre-tested standard semi-structured questionnaire was used for gathering data. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Results: Overall, 32.8% of the postpartum women used different types of contraceptives. Condoms (37.1%) followed by Depo-Provera 29.3% were the most used postpartum contraceptives. Half (50%) of the postpartum women had an unmet need for family planning. Multiple logistic regression model revealed that the occupation of husband [AOR=3.2 (95% CI: 2.0-6.00], past use of family planning methods [AOR=4.0 (95% CI:2.4-6.5)] and resumption of menstruation [AOR=2.5 (95% CI:1.6-4.1)] were significantly associated with the use of modern contraceptives during the first year of the postpartum period. Conclusion: Contraceptive uptake within the first year of postpartum was found to be low among women in the Kailali district, Nepal. Previous experience with the use of family planning methods, occupation of the husbands, and resumption of menstruation are important factors in the PPFP decisions of women in this population. Therefore, the family planning program should work on improving couples' knowledge of the risk of pregnancy, fertility returning time and modern contraceptives use during the postpartum period targeting women whose husbands are in migrant occupations, who are not menstruating and who have not used FP before.

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