Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether oral contraceptives (OCPs), Levonorgestrel (LNG) intrauterine devices (IUDs), and Copper IUDs block the up-regulated expression of the L-selectin ligand to determine if this mechanism of action makes feasible a non-hormonal, highly effective “on demand” contraceptive. Methods: We studied L-selectin expression in the endometrium of women ...Read more >

Background: The 2010 elections in Myanmar installed the country’s first civilian-elected government in more than 50 years, and subsequent growth and change have been rapid. However, reproductive health indicators are generally poor and reflect significant regional and geographic disparities. Rural populations are increasingly migrating to urban centers, like Yangon, in search of better economic opportunities ...Read more >

Objectives: Describe the experiences of leaders of abortion services. Define the leadership role and explore leaders’ motivations, challenges, sources of resilience, impact of stigma on their lives and work, and impressions of the future of abortion care leadership. Methods: In-depth interviews with 29 US abortion-care leaders in diverse practice settings. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and ...Read more >

Women with intellectual disabilities (ID) face significant barriers to accessing reproductive health care options, including contraception and abortion. Though reducing health disparities for adults with ID has emerged as an important public health priority, disparities in reproductive health care access remain largely unaddressed, and somewhat taboo, even among disability researchers. The existing literature has focused ...Read more >

Objectives: To explore the underlying reasons why women profess happiness about unintended pregnancies and how these reasons relate to their motivation to avoid pregnancy. Methods: Between September 2013 and February 2014, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 women (8 White, 19 Latina) selected from a longitudinal study measuring prospective pregnancy intentions and feelings among ...Read more >

There are few sites that have developed a more productive family planning research program with fewer resources in a shorter period of time than the University of Utah. In 2007 I began to devote a considerable amount of time to developing a multi-disciplinary Family Planning Research Group. We met biweekly and initiated investigations into increasing ...Read more >

Women in Catalunya (an autonomous nation often seen by outsiders as part of Spain) currently have legal access to publicly funded abortion care for any reason in the first trimester, and under a set of qualifying circumstances in later trimesters, within a public health system. This makes Catalunya a rare departure from the overwhelming example ...Read more >

Objective: To identify whether early placental and endometrial biomarkers that can indicate intrauterine versus ectopic pregnancy can be detected in cervical mucus samples from women in early pregnancy and with pregnancy of unknown location. Methods: This study will be conducted at Oregon Health and Science University and Planned Parenthood of the Colombia-Willamette sites in Portland, ...Read more >

Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) individuals face multiple barriers to accessing health care, including higher rates of discrimination in health care settings, denials of care, limited provider knowledge, and lower rates of insurance coverage than the general US population. Further, transgender individuals report high rates of delaying care due to discrimination or lack of financial ...Read more >

Reproductive coercion and partner violence are associated with unwanted pregnancy and abortion globally. In Bangladesh, women reporting partner violence are more likely to access abortion outside the health system and less likely to access post-abortion contraception, especially if accompanied to the clinic by their partner, which suggests additional intervention is needed to support clients’ reproductive ...Read more >