Background: Dilation and evacuation is the most common method of second trimester abortion procedures. Adequate cervical preparation is required prior to second-trimester dilation and evacuation procedures to minimize the risk of uterine and cervical trauma. Studies have reported a strong preference by women for same-day dilation and evacuation procedures and for a pharmacological method (misoprostol) ...Read more >

Background: Obstetrician-gynecologists are rarely an adolescent’s first contact with the health care system. Most adolescent visits are with pediatricians and family practitioners. A large number of uninsured adolescents have no primary care provider and rely on emergency departments for routine care. These providers, termed “frontline adolescent providers”, who have routine contact with adolescent patients have ...Read more >

Background: In 2011, Texas cut its family planning budget, resulting in a patchwork system of access to family planning services, and increased contraception costs for many patients. Although much of this budget was restored in 2013, multiple barriers to care still exist, including a decreased number of clinics providing contraceptive services and the exclusion of ...Read more >

An intrauterine device placed immediately following a delivery can serve as an effective and safe contraceptive strategy in the postpartum period. There is limited evidence that the levonorgestrel intrauterine system may have a higher rate of expulsion compared to the copper intrauterine device; however, rates of expulsion for these 2 intrauterine device types have not ...Read more >

Modern contraceptive use by HIV-infected women prevents maternal morbidity, economic disparity, and perinatal HIV infection. Despite the clear benefits of hormonal contraceptives, there continues to be significant unanswered questions about contraceptive safety in women living with HIV on anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Specifically, hormonal contraceptives are metabolized in the liver by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and ...Read more >

Background: Women with cystic fibrosis (CF) now have a median age of survival of 38.3 years, and for the first time in history, may require contraception on a population-based level. Additionally, it appears that female CF patients are prone to a more severe disease course than their male counterparts. This CF “gender gap” may be ...Read more >

Background Highly effective, long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods have the potential to decrease unintended pregnancies and reduce health disparities. These include the copper-containing intrauterine device (Cu-IUD) and the levonorgestrel-containing IUD (LNG-IUD). The LUCID Study (long-term utilization and continuation of intrauterine devices) sought to describe long-term continuation of the LNG- and Cu-IUD at 48 and 60 ...Read more >

This pilot study will evaluate the ability to recruit and retain participants for a larger, planned cohort to examine clinical contraceptive failure (positive pregnancy test) after quick start LNG IUD insertion when a woman reports unprotected sex 6-14 days prior to insertion with a negative pregnancy test. If this study demonstrates recruitment and high retention ...Read more >

Diabetes affects 2% of all pregnancies, and this number is only expected to rise. Diabetes can lead to major complications during pregnancy affecting both the mother and baby. The risk of these complications is higher in unplanned pregnancies. In the past, studies have shown that women with diabetes are less likely than women without diabetes ...Read more >

This study on abortion referral evaluated how patients navigate the medical system when they desire an abortion and how providers participate in that process. The study had two arms: 1) a patient arm assessing the influence of clinician referral on the time it took a woman to obtain an abortion, and 2) a provider arm ...Read more >