Background: Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA, Depo-Provera) is a progesterone-based drug used for contraception by up to 50 million women world-wide. DMPA has been shown in animals to be a potent down-regulator of the immune system. Autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are related to high levels of immune activation, as measured by analytes ...Read more >

Background: Epilepsy affects an estimated 800,000 women aged 15-44 in the US, making it the most common neurological disorder in women of reproductive age. Informed family planning decision making is a critical component of this population’s overall health and quality of life because some medications used to treat epilepsy can reduce the efficacy of popular ...Read more >

Background and Rationale: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) complicates 3-7% of pregnancies in the US and increases affected women’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of GDM is increasing in tandem to rising rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Since unintended pregnancy in women with pre-diabetes and diabetes imposes substantial maternal and fetal ...Read more >

Objectives: Unsafe abortion is common in Ghana and unmet need for family planning is high. Research in Ghana shows that men’s support influences women’s use of family planning and safe abortion services. The aim of our study was to understand what motivates men to support their partners to seek an abortion or use family planning. ...Read more >

Objectives: Observational data suggest depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) and pregnancy increase HIV susceptibility. We compared proportions of immune and HIV target cells in the female reproductive tract from women using hormonal or intrauterine contraception, no hormonal or intrauterine contraception, and pregnancy. Methods: We collected samples from the cervical transformation zone, endocervix, endometrium and blood from ...Read more >

Objectives: We compared two doses and intervals of buccal misoprostol for cervical preparation before surgical abortion at 13 to 16 weeks’ gestation. Methods: This blinded randomized trial compared 400 mcg misoprostol administered 3 hours and 600 mcg administered 1.5 hours before surgical abortion. We analyzed results for the primary outcome (procedure time) using a non-inferiority ...Read more >

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the distance that low-income women travel to obtain an abortion in California, and how the distance they travel influences their post-abortion care – both follow-up and emergency department visits. Methods: We utilized a dataset from California’s state Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, containing claims from every fee-for-service abortion covered in 2011 ...Read more >

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of women, presenting for an abortion, who could accurately determine whether their pregnancy was =13 weeks gestation using a gestational wheel. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with women attending four facilities in Ghana. Interviewers administered a questionnaire and then women were seen by ...Read more >

Objective: To determine the feasibility and effect size of an emergency department (ED)- based intervention using text messaging (TM) to improve contraception initiation among underserved adolescent females at high risk of pregnancy. Methods: This was a prospective pilot randomized controlled study. Eligible females were 14–19 years old, sexually active, presenting for reproductive health complaints and ...Read more >

Background: Some women must travel substantial distances in order to access abortion services, and this can present a barrier to care. This study assesses how far abortion patients traveled to a provider in 2008 and which groups were more likely to travel farther. Methods: We used data from a national sample of 8,338 abortion patients ...Read more >