Background: The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS), Mirena, which prevents pregnancy for 5-7 years, has been determined to be highly effective, safe and well tolerated in the majority of users. Acceptability studies of the LNG-IUS in Zimbabwe have not been completed. Zimbabwean women have a need for access to long-term contraception that is safe, effective and ...Read more >

Reproductive health service providers, community-based organizations and women’s health and rights advocates in the US have become increasingly aware of the use of misoprostol to self-induce abortion outside of the clinic setting. Abortion self-induction has been reported predominantly among immigrant women, particularly those from Latin America and the Caribbean, but anecdotal reports suggest that US-born ...Read more >

Abortion patients, by definition, represent a population at high risk for additional unintended pregnancies and abortions: among women having abortions in the US in 2002, about one-half had already had a prior abortion. Abortion patients continue to have difficulty using contraceptive methods consistently and effectively. Improving providers’ efforts to provide contraceptive services during abortion care ...Read more >

Provision of effective contraception in the postpartum period is a vital component of pregnancy care. The intrauterine device (IUD) is an excellent method of contraception and is appealing for use in the postpartum period. Immediate postplacental insertion of the IUD (insertion within 10 minutes of delivery of the placenta) has been studied for decades, and ...Read more >

This project is a randomized controlled trial of two methods of cervical preparation before second trimester surgical abortion at between 14 and 16 weeks. During this period of pregnancy, cervical preparation is usual, but not uniform, and there are two methods of cervical preparation commonly used. One is the insertion of osmotic dilators, usually performed ...Read more >

The US has the highest unplanned pregnancy rate of any developed country (49%). Even women using birth control can experience an unplanned pregnancy. The number of US women taking oral contraceptives (OC) who experience an unintended pregnancy amounts to half a million over a year’s time. Many of these birth control failures occur because of ...Read more >

Background: Ultrasound in the context of abortion care has been the target of many state level regulations. At the time of this report 14 states are considering bills that would require abortion providers to perform ultrasounds and/or offer fetal images and heart tone sounds to patients. Already 19 states have enacted such laws, with the ...Read more >

There are several benefits of offering implantable etonorgestrel (“the implant”) in the post-abortion population, and its availability may significantly decrease repeat unintended pregnancy. Our prospective cohort study evaluated acceptability of post-abortion implant placement, its effect on post-abortion bleeding, and an ongoing evaluation of one-year continuation. In addition, supplemental funding made recruitment of more implant subjects ...Read more >

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of using a patient-operated computer program to assist with provision of hormonal contraception in urgent care settings. Methods: Between January and July 2011, while seeking non-contraceptive urgent or emergent care, women aged 18 – 45 were invited to use an interactive computer program to learn about their contraceptive options and ...Read more >

In the US, the majority of first trimester abortions are performed using vacuum aspiration under local anesthesia, commonly with a paracervical block. Most women are given a pre-operative anti-inflammatory agent such as ibuprofen. We propose that pain management can be optimized using a paracervical block of combined lidocaine and ketorolac, eliminating the need for pre-operative ...Read more >