Findings: A total of 655 pregnant women were recruited. The mean age, gravidity and parity of the
women were 27.48 6.25 years, 2.81 2.15 and 1.40 1.77, respectively. High-risk pregnancy indications
included 207 (31.6%) maternal, 396 (60.5%) foetal and 52 (7.9%) uterine factors. All postpartum
contraceptive choices except for combined oral contraceptives (COCs) usage were significantly different from
preconceptional contraceptive preferences (p < 0.001). High-risk pregnancy indications, future child bearing,
ideal number of children, income and education levels were the most important factors influencing
postpartum contraceptive choices. While the leading contraceptive method in the postpartum period was
long-acting reversible contraceptive methods (non-hormonal copper intrauterine device Cu-IUD, the
levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) (40%), the least preferred method was COCs use
(5.2%) and preference of COCs use showed no difference between the preconceptional and postpartum periods
(p = 0.202). Overall 73.7% of the women wanted to receive contraceptive counselling before their discharge.
Conclusion: A high-risk pregnancy condition may change the opinion and preference of contraceptive
use, and also seems to affect the awareness of family planning methods.