Characterizing how people discuss contraception during the postpartum period, across r/BeyondTheBump and r/NewParents (2020–2025).
This is a working prototype built for you to shape. The axes below are a first pass — which ones are useful, what's missing, and where the categories feel wrong is exactly the feedback that will drive the next version.
2,980posts analyzed (keyword-screened)
1,310postpartum-contraception relevant
44%passed the relevance gate
982report weeks postpartum (75%)
Weeks postpartum
Self-reported time since birth — the strongest postpartum-specific signal, present on 75% of relevant posts.
6–12 wk32225%
3–6 mo29022%
6–12 mo20616%
0–6 wk1018%
12 mo +635%
Contraceptive method
Methods discussed (a post can mention several).
Hormonal IUD38329%
Pill (unspecified)27321%
Mini-pill (POP)21516%
Sterilization20816%
Copper IUD20215%
Condoms16012%
Combined pill1179%
Implant (Nexplanon)957%
No specific method907%
FAM / NFP685%
Withdrawal655%
LAM / breastfeeding645%
Plan B554%
Depo shot504%
NuvaRing272%
Patch111%
Phexxi / spermicide91%
Other60%
Postpartum topics
What the contraception conversation is entangled with.
Family planning / spacing96874%
Menses / cycle return55442%
Breastfeeding41031%
Mental health33826%
Hormone shift31524%
Sex / intimacy25820%
Pregnancy anxiety23818%
Social support type
Cutrona & Suhr framework. Note: instrumental support and the offering side barely appear in posts — they live in comments, which aren't loaded yet.
Appraisal76158%
Informational71955%
Advice46535%
Emotional41732%
Seeking vs. offering support
A key finding for the study design.
Seeking support122293%
Offering support474%
Neither222%
Both191%
Posts are almost entirely people seeking help. The offering half of the research question — how peers respond and support each other — is nearly invisible at the post level and requires pulling the comment threads. That's the top candidate for the next data expansion.
Breastfeeding status
Self-reported where stated.
Unclear / not stated82763%
Breastfeeding38029%
Not breastfeeding1038%
Non-use of contraception
Explicit mention of not using anything.
Mentions non-use1068%
Rare in posts (8%). May be genuinely uncommon, or expressed more in passing / in comments — worth deciding how central this category should be.
Post explorer
Relevant posts, ranked by engagement. Concerns are paraphrased (no verbatim text is stored or shown); follow the link to read the original on Reddit. Showing top 150.