Background:  Over one million spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages, occur in the United States every year.  Despite knowing that almost half of pregnancies overall are unintended, there has been little previous research into the pregnancy intentions, future family planning goals, and contraceptive counseling preferences of women experiencing miscarriage.  Objectives:  1. Find the overall prevalence of unintended ...Read more >

Surgical abortion can provide an important opportunity to start contraception, but the most effective contraceptive methods are underused.  Structural barriers, such as clinic flow, device stocking, and insurance reimbursement, have historically limited access to post-abortion long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), which includes the intrauterine device and the subdermal implant.  In addition, patients may be poorly informed ...Read more >

For a woman seeking an abortion, an informed, timely, non-judgmental referral from a general clinician has the potential to expedite care and assist the woman in navigating a complicated and tumultuous landscape.  However, it is unclear from the currently available literature whether general practitioners have either the knowledge or willingness to make meaningful abortion referrals, ...Read more >

Background Although studies have shown that several different antibiotic regimens are effective in preventing peri-abortal infection, no research has compared the side effects and patient tolerability of these regimens. Insufficient evidence exists to recommend any one medication over another.  Azithromycin 500 mg, doxycycline 200 mg, and metronidazole 500 mg are recommended for use before abortion ...Read more >

We propose a novel use of oral gabapentin administered in conjunction with local anesthesia via paracervical block for first surgical abortion.  The use of gabapentin in the setting of abortion has never been evaluated; however, it is used routinely and successfully in several similar surgical settings as an adjunct to pain management regimens.  It is ...Read more >

Fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH) is blood mixing between fetus and mother during sensitizing events. Anti-D immunoglobulin is administered in Rh-negative women to prevent isoimmunization. Dosing guidelines differ across countries. UK and US have differing dosing schemes. Little is known about the FMH occurring with dilation and evacuation. There is a resource and cost savings incentive to ...Read more >

Patients in the United States have many methods of contraception to choose from based on their own preferences. However, with the advent of LARC, the narrative of contraception counseling has changed from generalized counseling based on preferences to more focused recommendations. Complicating this shift in contraceptive counseling is the medical field’s history of coercive provider ...Read more >

Background and Purpose: Meeting women’s need for postpartum family planning has been acknowledged as a global priority in maternal and child health. The prevention of unintended pregnancies in sub-Saharan African countries, which carry the highest global burdens of maternal mortality and HIV infection, is projected to substantially decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Many ...Read more >

Background and purpose: “Health literacy” is more than just how much a person knows about human biology or her health—health literacy is also the ability to obtain, process, and understand information about one’s health in order to make decisions about it. Health literacy has never been studied in relation to abortion care, but there is ...Read more >

Background: The oral contraceptive pill (OC) and the contraceptive ring are often prescribed in an extended manner to achieve amenorrhea, reduce menstrual-related symptoms and improve method adherence. Concerns regarding thromboembolic risk may lead providers to avoid offering the contraceptive patch as an extended contraceptive regimen beyond the label indicated use of 3 weeks. However, data ...Read more >