The primary purpose of this study is to describe bleeding patterns on the LNG-IUS and the ENG implant following DMPA use, and to compare this with prior bleeding patterns on DMPA. Secondary objectives are to explore whether bleeding pattern on subsequent progestin LARC is associated with the duration of prior DMPA use, and will characterize ...Read more >

The purpose of this study is to assess the acceptability and feasibility, and to gain insights into content, of an electronic decision support tool integrating family planning and HIV prevention options among key stakeholders at family planning clinics in Kisumu, Kenya.  The primary research question, What are family planning clients’, clinicians’, and health educators’ attitudes ...Read more >

Background: Over 200,000 women are incarcerated in the United States, and 94% are of reproductive age.  While over 80% of women in jail report a lifetime history of unintended pregnancy, ambivalence and indifference are common attitudes toward pregnancy.  The Centers for Disease Control has recommended incorporation of Reproductive Life Planning (RLP) into all health visits, ...Read more >

Ultrasound is frequently performed prior to medical abortion in order to determine whether a woman is eligible to receive mifepristone and misoprostol to induce abortion, which is available up to 70 days from the last menstrual period. Many providers routinely use transvaginal sonography, or TVS, yet numerous evidence-based guidelines do not recommend the routine use ...Read more >

Building off of previous research that showed a benefit to self-administered lidocaine gel prior to surgical abortion (my primary fellowship project), we sought to determine if the same approach (patient-applied vaginal lidocaine gel) would help decrease pain with other similar gynecologic procedures. The objective of this study was to compare pain control at various time ...Read more >

Objectives: To compare the expulsion rate at 6 months after postplacental insertion by intrauterine device (IUD) type. Study design: This prospective cohort included participants with a postplacental IUD inserted after vaginal or cesarean delivery, aged 18–45 and ≥24weeks’ gestation. Study enrollment took place after IUD selection and insertion. Participants returned for a postpartum visit and ...Read more >

Despite their predominantly pro-choice attitudes, US primary care physicians view abortion as an “adverse outcome” and a procedure that should be “rare”. This project seeks to define the knowledge base and attitudes of US primary care physicians around abortion, and how these misconceptions and lack of knowledge translate into the pro-choice medical community’s reluctance to ...Read more >

Background Reproductive justice is defined as “the right of women to have a child, to not have a child and the right to parent that child in a safe and humane environment”. A reproductive justice framework highlights the need for all people—in particular, people of color and marginalized groups such as LGBQTI individuals—to make reproductive ...Read more >

Background: While morbidity with surgical abortion is rare, later gestational age is a known risk factor for complications. Referral to a second healthcare provider delays abortion and this delay may result in significant increases in gestational age at the time of procedure. Referral may also increase the patient-incurred costs associated with obtaining an abortion. No ...Read more >

Formative research is needed to evaluate the counseling for immediate postpartum LARC, particularly for the post-placental IUD when there is a finite and clinically significant window of time for placement. The importance of this decision-making process is highlighted by providers’ concern for the potential coercion during labor and the higher risk of expulsion that comes ...Read more >