Implementing PPIUD services requires more than just training maternal health workers.  Program managers also need to advocate for this service in order to overcome barriers to PPIUD services, policies, and country strategies. This section of the Toolkit contains a number of materials that can be adapted and used to advocate for PPIUD services.

• A recent paper published by MCHIP provides an overview of integration of PPIUD into maternal health services in several countries. This document, which outlines the rationale for providing PPIUD services, key themes from country programs, and results that indicate that PPIUD services are feasible and acceptable to clients and providers, might be helpful to senior directors in maternal and/or reproductive health. Recent programmatic experience of more than 65,000 women who have chosen PPIUDs shows that spontaneous expulsions are between 2-6%. PPIUDs are cost-effective and can be inserted by a mid-level skilled birth attendant. Policymakers are now accepting evidence that family planning is a low-cost intervention that reduces maternal, infant, and under-five child mortality.
• To advocate for PPIUD services, program managers will find these presentations helpful: Addressing Unmet Need and Increasing Contraceptive Options and Services with Postpartum Family Planning, part of a panel presentation for the FIGO conference October 2012 and Postpartum IUDs: At the Intersection of FP and Maternal Health, a presentation at a PPIUD technical conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by MCHIP and RESPOND in July 2011.
• The annotated bibliography, updated in 2012, includes an editorial from Indian colleagues that eloquently advocates for PPIUDs.
• A video highlights Bihar, India, where PPIUD is promoted as an option to meet the needs of postpartum women for family planning services. One innovative aspect of this work focuses on educating male family members on the significant impact that appropriate birth spacing and the use of family planning methods, including the postpartum IUD, can have on the health of mothers and newborns.

Do you have PPIUD experience that is not represented in this toolkit? To suggest an additional resource or share your perspective, please email us at toolkits@k4health.org or visit our feedback form.