[From the prescription of contraceptives to their application. A study of the on-going use of contraceptive methods in immigrant circles during the post-partum period].

Purpose: The research presented here aimed at establishing a possible link between the level of integration of an immigrant population and the rate of continuity following a prescription for contraception given to women on leaving the maternity clinic.

Materials and methods: From June 1995 to November 1996, a study was conducted in Valence among 71 women who came from Turkey, sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb. Out of 87 women interviewed at the maternity, 71 were seen a second time. As well as taking into consideration socio-demographical factors, the study compared the degree of integration with the use of the prescribed contraceptive method six months after leaving the maternity clinic.

Results: The study shows that there is no significant link between the level of integration and the continued use of a contraceptive method six months after birth. The only salient fact is that women who had lived less than 10 years in France systematically used a contraceptive method (P = 0.004, relative risk: 1.44, 95% confidence interval: 1.12-1.84).

Discussion: Our study would tend towards the following observation: the more recently the immigrant arrived, the more receptive they were towards proposals made by the medical personnel. We consider that rather than it being the case of either total confidence in, or distrust of, medical contraception, the cultural factor remains important and must be taken into account in any approach among this kind of population. It is more a question of community health education than of medical prescription.