Background: There is a paucity of research on access to and provision of family planning services in the rural United States, and specifically little attention has been paid to rural adolescents and their family planning needs. Rural women face general and reproductive health care disparities, which have previously been described. Most available family planning data ...Read more >

Background: Over 3% of pregnancies are complicated by a fetal abnormality, of which, approximately 80% are terminated. Despite early screening options, women often present at the cusp of legal limits for termination. Study Design: A qualitative study was conducted with women terminating pregnancies for fetal abnormalities. Semi-structured interviews explored reasons for termination timing. Analysis utilized ...Read more >

Objectives: Unplanned pregnancy is a public health problem in the United States, including in rural areas. Primary care physicians are the main providers of health care to women in rural areas, and are uniquely positioned to help reduce unplanned pregnancy in rural women. This study documents provision of contraception by rural primary care physicians, focusing ...Read more >

While previous studies provide interesting insights into baseline knowledge and attitudes towards the IUD, no research to date has examined factors leading to actual IUD initiation in adolescents. The role of the provider and peers in choice of IUDs is also not known. This study will attempt to examine actual predictors of IUD initiators in ...Read more >

Introduction: Over 100,000 bariatric procedures are performed yearly in the US. Women account for the majority of cases. Current clinical guidelines recommend women avoid pregnancy preoperatively and 12 to 18 months after surgery. This survey aimed to identify the family planning knowledge, attitudes, and practices of bariatric providers in the perioperative period. Methods: We conducted ...Read more >

We conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey of US abortion providers who insert dilators prior to second-trimester dilation and evacuation procedures.  Providers were contacted via electronic mail through relevant professional organizations and in person at national conferences during 2011.  Respondents (n=271) were mostly female (74%), and OBGyn physicians (76%), with a median age of 40 years, ...Read more >

Background: Immediate postabortal intrauterine device (IUD) insertion decreases rates of repeat abortions. However, only one third of high-volume, non-hospital abortion providers in the United States offer immediate postabortal IUD placement. Study Design: We conducted a cost analysis from a public payer perspective to evaluate the potential cost savings associated with a policy of immediate postabortal ...Read more >

While most states have enacted legislation requiring that commercial insurance cover telemedicine, only a few require that payers reimburse telemedicine services at the same rate as in-person services. Because ‘reimbursement parity’ laws may remove financial disincentives for offering telemedicine, providers in states that require parity are likely better positioned to respond to the unprecedented demand ...Read more >

Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) is a critical safety net provider, delivering > 42,000 contraceptive visits per year across the state. Starting in March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to maintain patient access to care while reducing in-person contact, PPIL consolidated its in-person sites and began implementing rapid innovations in ...Read more >

I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, where I am able to balance my passions for women’s health care and medical education. I came to Wake Forest just after completing an OB/GYN residency and Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship at the Mayo ...Read more >