Objectives: We explored the role that reproductive stigmas play in decision-making when faced with an unintended pregnancy among young low-income women in Birmingham, Alabama. Methods: We conducted six focus groups with low-income women aged 19-24 attending health department clinics and a community college (n=34). Using the focus group findings and our existing abortion stigma survey ...Read more >

Objectives: Women have several timely options to obtain emergency contraception (EC) by prescription to increase their chances of preventing pregnancy. Little is known about population-based EC utilization and reproductive health outcomes. Methods: Data was abstracted from electronic health records to compare characteristics and reproductive health outcomes of 24,547 women age 15-44 who obtained at least ...Read more >

In recent years, the US has seen a decrease in both the number of abortion clinics and annual incidence of abortion. Reasons for this include increased use of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods, closing of abortion clinics, and restrictive laws preventing some women from accessing desired abortions. Recent studies demonstrate that Targeted Regulation of Abortion ...Read more >

In today’s web–first world, the first source that many patients turn to for information and perspective on abortion is the internet. The internet is an easily accessible, unregulated source of information as well as a public space to disseminate messages and opinions. In the case of abortion, distortion, misinformation, and bias permeate through the digital ...Read more >

Many incarcerated women report interest in starting birth control while in jail or soon after release. Unfortunately, few correctional health facilities routinely provide contraception on-site. In a prior study, members of this research team found that almost all women interviewed at Rikers Island Jail thought contraception should be available at the jail, but many were ...Read more >

A major health care goal in the US is to increase the proportion of pregnancies that are planned. Research shows that women frequently report ambivalence about pregnancy, complicating expectations about planning pregnancy. However, we may not have a full picture of pregnancy intention, broadly construed, because of the narrowness of populations studied: usually poor, young, ...Read more >

New research suggests that sexual minority women have an increased risk of unintended pregnancy compared to their heterosexual peers. Little research, however, has investigated the pathways that lead to these disparities, including sexual orientation disparities in contraception counseling and use. Sexual minority women may face several unique barriers to receiving adequate contraceptive counseling, including both ...Read more >

The overarching goal of this study is to provide reliable, rigorous and scientifically grounded evidence on the need for safe abortion services in refugee settings, including as a result of rape and incest, and to use this evidence to inform the development and delivery of programs and policies for millions of refugee women worldwide. More ...Read more >

Given the high out-of-pocket cost of IUDs, insurance coverage has a strong effect on IUD uptake. For many young adults insurance coverage is absent, unstable, or incomplete. Evidence that cost and insurance-related barriers persist is provided by the Contraceptive CHOICE Project whereby women were provided their desired method at no cost; 58% chose intrauterine contraception ...Read more >

Background: Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA, Depo-Provera) is a progesterone-based drug used for contraception by up to 50 million women world-wide. DMPA has been shown in animals to be a potent down-regulator of the immune system. Autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are related to high levels of immune activation, as measured by analytes ...Read more >