Racial inequities in maternal health, although present over centuries, have worsened in the last several decades. Despite growing interest in racial disparities in maternal health, little research has examined disparities in abortion practice specifically. One of the challenges of tracking abortion complications is the overall low complication rate. Cited complication rates of surgical abortions range ...Read more >

Dilation and evacuation (D&E) is the safest and most common method of second trimester abortion. D&E’s safety depends largely on sufficient cervical preparation which traditionally has been done with osmotic dilation. Adequate dilation can be achieved quickly with Dilapan-S allowing for same day procedures, even in the mid-second trimester. Recently, however, the cost of Dilapan-S ...Read more >

Housing insecurity continues to be a pervasive issue throughout the United States, with numbers projected to increase due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Families in particular continue to be a growing segment of the homeless population. In New York City women are the “head of the household” in ninety-three percent of homeless families. Research shows homeless ...Read more >

The HPV vaccine has the ability to eradicate cervical cancer, but many people are making it to adulthood without completing the recommended vaccine series. A focus of public health efforts has been to vaccinate these patients when they interface with the healthcare system. We recognize the abortion visit as such a time. Education and a ...Read more >

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of virtual group contraceptive counseling for patients presenting to abortion care. Study design: Patients scheduled for induced abortion consultation and interested in initiating a contraceptive method at a University of Pennsylvania Family Planning clinic will be offered participation in virtual group contraceptive counseling. Groups of 2-10 participants will ...Read more >

Breast pain following second-trimester abortion is common. Breast engorgement and milk leakage following second-trimester perinatal loss and abortion can cause both physical pain and emotional distress. Dopamine agonists have previously been shown to be effective in lactation inhibition for third-trimester fetal/neonatal loss or contraindications to breastfeeding. In a head-to-head trial, cabergoline was more effective with ...Read more >

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) research commonly combines Asians into one entity. However, subgroup-specific interactions between cultural/religious values, health beliefs, and acculturation lead to different SRH utilization patterns and outcomes. For example, Filipinos experience some of the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy and severe maternal morbidity among Asian subgroups. Disaggregating Asian health data is therefore ...Read more >

Background: Twelve U.S. states and the District of Columbia have authorized independent pharmacist prescribing of hormonal contraception, allowing facilitated access and initiation of contraception at the pharmacy.1 Multiple barriers to pharmacists’ uptake of hormonal contraception prescribing include the need for additional pharmacy staff, required training/education, and lack of reimbursement processes/billing structures. 2 ??4 States lack ...Read more >

We propose a single-site, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial of lavender aromatherapy versus placebo for patient satisfaction in adult women having a surgical abortion before 10 weeks and 0 days gestation. We will evaluate whether lavender aromatherapy is an effective adjunct therapy for patient satisfaction during first trimester surgical abortion. We will measure satisfaction using the ...Read more >

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique opportunity to develop strategies to continue providing reproductive health services. Telehealth is an effective approach to expanding access to care, however its uptake in the United States has been limited. Exploring patient satisfaction with contraceptive counseling delivered via telehealth will provide essential data that may strengthen the argument ...Read more >