Research Priorities
 

  • Understanding women's experiences with and preferences for peripartum contraceptive care
  • Identifying the scope of interventions designed to address and improve peripartum contraceptive care and patient-centered outcomes
  • Creating, evaluating, and disseminating woman-centered decision support tools to enable women to make contraceptive choices reflective of their own preferences and values
  • Developing innovative digital tools to equip and empower adolescents with the knowledge, resources and support they need to engage in their health care ­­­
 
Three black and brown women smiling into the camera

Setting the Frame

Have you noticed we’re using quotations when referring to “preconception” care?  In the upcoming year, we’re convening reproductive justice scholars, activists, public health leaders and practitioners from across the US to reframe how we think about women’s health and health care before pregnancy. We understand that “preconception” as a term frames women’s behaviors and health through the lens of their reproductive capacity, regardless of their feelings or goals related to childbearing. We want to expand how we think about meeting women’s reproductive goals throughout the life course, as well as how we address the forces in our communities and society that interfere with the realization of those goals.

We seek to create a new framework for health before pregnancy which recognizes women’s reproductive autonomy and is informed by principles of justice and empowerment. This is important to our ongoing work in “preconception” care as it will provide a theoretical framework through which we will base our continued research and community partnerships, as well as shift the national dialogue about women's health more broadly. 

Tools to Support Decision Making

We are working to adapt and pilot an existing patient-centered contraceptive decision-support tool (developed by Dr. Christine Dehlendorf) for use in the perinatal setting. The tool's goal is to improve the family planning experiences of peripartum women and meeting their post-partum contraceptive needs. Through facilitating informed decision making, this tool is designed to help women decrease their risk of preterm birth and achieve their reproductive goals. We have engaged with women and reproductive justice advocates to conduct formative research around attitudes towards and preferences for peripartum family planning care and contraceptive counseling. Findings from the California Preterm Birth Initiative’s Interventions research (Aim 2) have guided our plans to adapt the existing contraception decision support tool to peripartum-specific needs and use. 

"Preconception" Intervention Research Projects

Pediatric Clinic Survey of Maternal Preterm Birth Risk and Family Planning Needs and Preferences

Jayme Congdon, MD | Pediatrics | UCSF School of Medicine

Women interface frequently with their child’s pediatrician in the months following delivery, presenting a timely opportunity to identify and address unmet reproductive health needs during the period when women are at risk for short interpregnancy intervals, a risk factor for preterm birth. The Pregnancy, Early-Birth, and Reproductive Lives Study (PEARLS) will explore women’s preferences for addressing postpartum family planning in the pediatric clinic. We will survey women attending a preventive care visit for their 2-6-month-old infant in San Francisco and Alameda counties. Findings will inform the design of a pediatric-clinic based intervention to enhance access to postpartum family planning resources and care.

Perceptions and availability of postpartum contraception among women and health care providers following preterm birth

Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD | Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Science | UCSF School of Medicine

Pregnancy occurring less than six months after delivery puts women at increased risk of preterm birth. Access to high-efficacy postpartum contraception can help women to prevent extremely short inter-pregnancy intervals. We will conduct 30 in-depth interviews with women who had preterm births in San Francisco, Oakland, and Fresno to explore their preferences and attitudes about postpartum contraception. Additionally, we will conduct 30 clinician interviews and review hospital birth data to assess provider and system factors in contraceptive provision in maternity wards. Findings will inform the development of patient-centered interventions to improve counseling and provision of contraception.

Exploring the relationship between preconception family planning and preterm birth through a community-engaged process

Christine Dehlendorf, MD, MAS | Family and Community Medicine | UCSF School of Medicine

Poor use of contraceptives in the postpartum period can contribute to unintended pregnancy and short interpregnancy intervals, a risk factor for preterm birth. We will engage with women of color and with reproductive justice advocates to conduct formative work around attitudes and preferences for perinatal family planning care and contraceptive counseling. We will also consider contextual factors related to reproductive health experiences and preferences of women of color. We hope to use results from this formative work to create a clinic-based intervention to improve the family planning experiences of peripartum women at risk for preterm birth.

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Currently funded research projects
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Contact Us

Kim Coleman-Phox
Academic Coordinator