Emergency contraception (EC) is an important option to prevent unplanned pregnancies after unprotected or inadequately protected intercourse. Little is known regarding provision of EC in the United States, particularly since ulipristal acetate (UPA) was FDA-approved in 2010. The Contraceptive Care Measures are validated population-level contraception measures that were introduced by the US Office of Population ...Read more >

Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs), also known as Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs), or fake women’s clinics are organizations that offer free of charge pregnancy counseling and resources. Studies have documented the inaccuracy of the information that CPCs provide to patients with regards to abortion and contraception counseling. Previous research indicates that between 2-6% of CPC clients ...Read more >

This is a prospective cohort study. We will identify women who present to Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) with pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) who desire medication abortion. For the purposes of this study, PUL will be defined as no intrauterine gestational sac visualized on ultrasound. Women with PUL who are eligible for immediate ...Read more >

We will conduct a qualitative study using a narrative interviewing approach to understand the experiences of abortion among Black women. Specifically, we aim to explore how abortion connects to other aspects of Black women’s lives, both reproductive and otherwise. We will conduct in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with Black women in the San Francisco Bay Area ...Read more >

Background: People in the United States (US) face numerous challenges when accessing abortion, including an increasingly restricted legal environment and economic costs. Previous research has demonstrated that people with low income have more abortions than people with higher income. Our study aims were two-fold: first, we examined costs of obtaining abortion care in terms of ...Read more >

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been used in pain relief since 1965, when Metzger and Walls proposed using electrical stimulation as analgesia based on the “gate control” theory of pain relief. According to the theory, neuromodulation may activate large myelinated afferent nerve fibers in the dorsal horn to inhibit transmission in primary afferent nociceptive ...Read more >

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HSS) 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 46 requires extra protections for vulnerable populations in clinical research. Subpart B of this document categorizes pregnant women as a vulnerable population. This restrictive categorization has been criticized based on the lack of evidence that pregnant women, including women seeking ...Read more >

We do not know when oxytocin receptor (OXTR) expression increases during gestation above non-pregnant levels or when the myometrium becomes responsive to oxytocin. Oxytocin is the most effective pharmacologic prophylaxis of hemorrhage in term deliveries, but utility in second trimester abortion is unknown. Prior research has indicated there is minimal oxytocin receptor expression in early ...Read more >

We conducted a prospective cohort study exploring a broadened use of ulipristal acetate as a pharmacologic cervical preparation agent with adjunct misoprostol prior to second trimester surgical abortion procedures between 16 – 18 6/7 weeks. We enrolled 13 participants. All procedures were completed in the expected time frame with no complications. We found that ulipristal ...Read more >

Abortion stigma is pervasive in the United States. This study focuses on individual-level abortion stigma, defined as the way in which stigma is internalized and experienced as guilt and shame. While abortion itself does not cause mental illness, abortion stigma, which induces secrecy, thought suppression, and isolation, may worsen psychological responses to the procedure. Few ...Read more >