Contraceptive Technology Update
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FDA’s Change to Emergency Contraception Labeling Is Good News for Women
In a move that expands access to contraception, the FDA announced that it was changing packaging labels for Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pill that is available over the counter. The box no longer will carry the baseless claim that the pill may prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.
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Social Media Trends Are Moving Against Contraception Access
Reproductive health advocates and providers should be aware of a disturbing social media trend that appears to be moving in the same direction as the early anti-Roe efforts in the 1980s. Decades of attacks on abortion changed enough people’s opinions on abortion to lay the groundwork for the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.
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Fully Funded Access to Contraception Can Change an Entire Population’s Lives
The results of Colorado’s contraception expansion experiment are in, showing a dramatic improvement in women’s lives during the period in which Title X programs were fully funded through a grant. The Colorado Family Planning Initiative profoundly affected adolescent girls and young adults, resulting in a 6% to 12% increase in women obtaining their college degrees compared to earlier cohorts that did not benefit from the expanded contraception program, according to study results.
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What Will Happen to the Reproductive Healthcare Workforce?
Months after Roe v. Wade was overturned, reproductive healthcare providers and patients are experiencing enormous — and sometimes disastrous — changes. For instance, state abortion bans are expected to affect where OB/GYNs and other reproductive health clinicians choose to study and practice. These bans also will affect how and whether medical students and residents are fully educated in contraceptive care and counseling, abortion care, miscarriage care, ectopic pregnancy treatment, and high-risk pregnancy care.
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Reproductive Health Workforce May Look Different in 10 Years
The reproductive health workforce has changed considerably in the past few years. It is possible it will continue to evolve over the next decade. COVID-19 placed an incredible strain on the workforce, and it is facing a second huge strain because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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Too Many Physicians Lack Accurate Information About Contraception
New research revealed that a significant number of physicians hold erroneous beliefs about how contraceptives work. Many believe emergency contraception causes abortions, and some doctors believe IUDs and other forms of birth control also work as abortifacients, according to a study of Wisconsin physicians’ beliefs about contraception.
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When Lawmakers Make Medical Decisions, Patients and Providers Suffer
Recent suggests a future in which doctors in abortion-ban states will have to ask how much of a threat of death is needed before they can give patients the care needed to prevent their death or serious morbidity.
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Legality and Chilling Effect of Abortion Care in Dobbs Era
In this Q&A about how state abortion bans are affecting women with both planned and unplanned pregnancies, Contraceptive Technology Update addresses some of the legal issues raised by state laws and bans.
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More Research Needed on Link Between Hormonal Contraceptives and Stress
Reproductive health clinicians and their patients need more information about how hormonal contraceptives may affect people’s mood changes and depression, according to the authors of a recent paper.
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Study Reveals Real-Time Data on STIs by Following Reddit Posts
Recent research shows that using the social media platform Reddit can help investigators gain insights into sexual risk behaviors and symptoms of STIs in real time. Anonymous Reddit posts were leveraged by investigators to better understand people’s sexual behaviors and experiences with STIs before and during COVID-19.