This SFP award enabled me to effectively expand the patient-oriented research program at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) and mentor my graduated fellows as they transition in their academic careers to completely independent researchers. I am very proud of the productive, patient-oriented research program that I have built at PPLM. This research program has ...Read more >

Objective: To evaluate the impact of timing of postpartum depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) initiation on breastfeeding and effective contraceptive use over 28 weeks. Methods: We enrolled antepartum (n=86) and postpartum (n=98) women planning DMPA use for postpartum contraception. Women became ineligible if they did not initiate breastfeeding, decided against DMPA, or refused randomization. Participants were ...Read more >

Objective: To determine the timing of insertion of the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS), post-placental versus interval, that results in the highest rate of LNG-IUS in place by exam at 6-months. Materials and Methods: A randomized control trial of women >36 weeks gestation who underwent vaginal delivery of a singleton and desired LNG-IUS for contraception. Women ...Read more >

US adolescents have high rates of pregnancy, childbearing, and sexually transmitted infections (STI) highlighting the need to identify and implement effective programs that will help improve their reproductive health. Improving adolescents’ reproductive outcomes is a high priority for the City of Philadelphia, where half of the priority areas in the Health Department’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan ...Read more >

Objectives: To develop a community-wide contraceptive expansion initiative and assess the change in contraceptive method uptake when cost and access barriers are removed in established family planning clinics. Methods: HER Salt Lake is a prospective cohort study examining three 6-month periods, nested in a quasi

Objectives: The unintended pregnancy rate among active-duty women is 72/1,000 women compared to 52/1,000 women in the general population. Despite this, there is little information about servicewomen’s contraceptive and abortion decision making, use, and access. We sought to understand servicewomen’s experiences accessing contraceptives and abortion care and perspectives on military abortion policy. Methods: Servicewomen who ...Read more >

Objective: To describe common barriers faced by physicians initiating second trimester inpatient abortion services and strategies used to overcome them. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with physicians who initiated or attempted to initiate second trimester inpatient abortion services at US hospitals. Interviews explored participants’ motivation and processes for implementing services, logistics of program implementation, ...Read more >

Background: American adolescents are at higher risk for pregnancy than adolescents in other industrialized nations. Most know how to obtain and use contraceptives and deny they want babies. However, many do not use contraception because they are either ambivalent or indifferent about pregnancy. These states can develop in two different situations: when young women feel ...Read more >

In 2002, there were 1.29 million induced abortions in the US. Indeed, induced abortion has been cited as the most common surgical procedure in the US. Because of its commonality, clinicians who provide this service are sometimes faced with the dilemma of performing a surgical procedure on women who are anticoagulated. While first trimester surgical ...Read more >

This study examines the impact of state parental involvement laws on pregnant minors who seek abortions, focusing on the laws’ effect on fetal gestational age at the time of the procedure. The study uses a regression discontinuity design to analyze individual-level data on induced abortions reported to the National Center for Health Statistics by 14 ...Read more >