Effects of Hybrid Family Planning Counseling on Postpartum Maternal Health

This research aims to examine the effects of hybrid family planning counseling on maternal health in the postpartum period. The study is unique and innovative in that it evaluates the effectiveness of hybrid counseling models, which are gaining importance in the literature but have been the subject of a limited number of studies, particularly in Turkey. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum interval of 24 months between births, and it is known that early postpartum pregnancies have negative effects on maternal and neonatal health. In this context, the hybrid family planning counseling model to be developed will contribute to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity by supporting women in making informed and correct contraceptive choices. Furthermore, it is predicted that the findings of the study will be directly related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, namely gender equality, healthy living, and quality education. The research is planned as a randomized controlled longitudinal study. Data collection is planned for August 2026 at the Adana City Training and Research Hospital antenatal clinic. The sample will consist of a total of 96 pregnant women, 48 in the experimental group and 48 in the control group, determined by power analysis. A counseling module will be created by gathering expert opinions. The module will consist of 3 sessions. Each session will last 45 minutes, including 30 minutes of interactive presentation and 15 minutes of question and answer. The module sessions will have a dynamic structure that takes into account the needs of the mother during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The first meeting will be held face-to-face in the hospital at 34-38 weeks of pregnancy, the second meeting will be online within the first 4 weeks postpartum, and the third meeting will be online at 6 weeks postpartum. During the implementation phase, quantitative measurements of the research will be carried out using the "Antenatal Pregnancy Information Form", "Postnatal Mother Information Form", "Postpartum Family Planning Attitude Scale", "Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale" and "Sexual Life Quality Scale".

Research hypotheses:

H0: Longitudinal hybrid family planning counseling (antenatal-postpartum period) does not affect maternal health. H1: Longitudinal (antenatal-postpartum) hybrid family planning counseling affects maternal health.