Persistently high rates of unintended pregnancy in the US suggest a need for new patient-centered approaches to contraceptive acceptability and promotion. A critically understudied aspect of contraceptives are their sexual acceptability, or how methods influence women’s sexual experiences, which can in turn influence family planning clients’ preferences and practices. Moreover, despite professional enthusiasm about long-acting ...Read more >

Catholic health networks have expanded substantially in recent years. These facilities follow the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services, which prohibit abortion, contraception, sterilization, and certain treatment for obstetrical complications or miscarriage. Yet, little is known about patients’ awareness of religious restrictions on care. Defenders of institutionally-based conscience rights assert women can simply ...Read more >

Objectives: 1) to describe contraception counseling and bleeding complaints among women starting chemotherapy; 2) to estimate the satisfaction and bleeding patterns associated with a levonorgestrel containing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) in women receiving chemotherapy. Methods: We performed a chart review of women 14-40 years old receiving chemotherapy from July 2008 to June 2013 at our institution. ...Read more >

Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, claims that abortion damages women’s mental health have been used to implement abortion regulations in the US. While studies demonstrating that abortion does not lead to negative mental health outcomes have important policy implications, they tend to control for the effects of income and exposure to violence, and in-depth ...Read more >

Objectives: To test an algorithm for determining IV sedation dosing that takes individual factors into account during first trimester surgical abortion. Methods: We conducted a randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial, comparing pain scores in patients undergoing first trimester surgical abortion, who receive IV sedation according to standard practice or an algorithm that determines dose based on ...Read more >

Objective: To evaluate adjunctive misoprostol or mifepristone versus overnight osmotic dilators alone for cervical preparation before dilation and evacuation at 16-23+6/7 weeks. Methods: This double-blind, three arm multicenter randomized trial compared osmotic dilators alone, dilators plus 400 mcg of buccal misoprostol 3 hours preoperatively and dilators plus 200 mg of oral mifepristone during dilator placement ...Read more >

Background: In both legally restricted and less restricted settings in Mexico, women purchase misoprostol in community pharmacies without a prescription and use it at home. Because these abortions occur outside the health-care system, little is known about how women learn about misoprostol, assess their eligibility, know appropriate dosing regimens, and recognize complications. Identifying and assessing ...Read more >

Harvard Medical School is currently undergoing major curriculum reform, which provides a unique opportunity. Increased student exposure to abortion patients and science has the potential to improve understanding within the whole graduating medical school class, eventually increasing abortion sympathy of future physicians entering all medical specialties. This, in turn, may lead to expanded abortion provision ...Read more >

Though it is widely held that the restrictive policies regulating obtaining sterilization under Medicaid must be revised, no previous studies have proposed new process models. Our study addresses a critical gap in knowledge regarding Medicaid sterilization restrictions by developing a revised model of regulations grounded in the experiences of the very women impacted by current ...Read more >

Worldwide, concern about side effects and health risks is a key barrier to contraception use. Among women with an unmet contraceptive need in Latin America and the Caribbean, 35% reported contraception nonuse because of these concerns. These concerns often involve myths about contraception safety. Debunking these myths can be difficult as people have cognitive functions ...Read more >