Objective: To identify whether early placental and endometrial biomarkers that can indicate intrauterine versus ectopic pregnancy can be detected in cervical mucus samples from women in early pregnancy and with pregnancy of unknown location. Methods: This study will be conducted at Oregon Health and Science University and Planned Parenthood of the Colombia-Willamette sites in Portland, ...Read more >

Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) individuals face multiple barriers to accessing health care, including higher rates of discrimination in health care settings, denials of care, limited provider knowledge, and lower rates of insurance coverage than the general US population. Further, transgender individuals report high rates of delaying care due to discrimination or lack of financial ...Read more >

Reproductive coercion and partner violence are associated with unwanted pregnancy and abortion globally. In Bangladesh, women reporting partner violence are more likely to access abortion outside the health system and less likely to access post-abortion contraception, especially if accompanied to the clinic by their partner, which suggests additional intervention is needed to support clients’ reproductive ...Read more >

Background: Significant enthusiasm about immediate postpartum placement of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods has prompted concerns about the line between active promotion of LARC methods and coercion, particularly when caring for vulnerable or minority groups. A patient decision aid (DA) on postpartum contraception that women use during pregnancy may be an effective strategy for improving ...Read more >

The number of women seeking medication abortion and alternative methods of self-induction is increasing rapidly around the world, particularly in contexts where abortion is highly restricted or where abortion is legally available but inaccessible, such as South Africa. Despite these trends, there is a lack of understanding of women’s experiences with informal sector abortion; furthermore, ...Read more >

Objectives: Define a set of developmental milestones to measure progress through the family planning fellowship and determine readiness for independent practice based on consensus from a majority of fellowship program directors. Methods: Three rounds of surveys were conducted using the Delphi method: Round one solicited both quantitative and qualitative responses concerning the number and content ...Read more >

Objectives: To compare pain control during cervical dilation between two paracervical block (PCB) techniques among women undergoing first trimester surgical abortion. Our research group established the benefit of a specific PCB technique: 20mL 1% buffered lidocaine (2mL at tenaculum site, 18mL paracervical at 4-sites), with a 3 minute wait prior to cervical dilation (PCB 20/4/3). ...Read more >

Background: Abortion stigma is a complex issue, and understanding its manifestation and perpetuation is challenging. However, abortion stigma may have profound social and health consequences for women and it is important for us to better understand it. When faced with unplanned or unhealthy pregnancies, fear of stigma may prevent women from seeking early safe abortions, ...Read more >

Objective: To determine whether manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) or electric vacuum aspiration (EVA) improves physicians’ ability to accurately identify products of conception (POC) in abortions at less than 6 weeks’ gestation. Methods: 498 pregnant women presenting for surgical abortion with mean gestational sac diameter of

Inducing fetal demise before abortion in the later second trimester is a common practice despite its unproven utility. Digoxin is the most commonly used feticidal agent among family planning subspecialists, with intrafetal administration more effective at achieving fetal demise than the intra-amniotic route. Reasons for inducing fetal demise before abortion in the later second trimester ...Read more >