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contraception

Nov 14

A Win! ACGME Guidelines Now Include Family Planning

Back in April the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education–the organization that sets the training standards and accredits all residency training programs in the United States–updated the training standards for Family Medicine. Instead of making the training requirements in women’s health stronger, they weakened them! Training in contraception was no longer required. In fact, family…

Apr 30

A History: the Diaphragm

The concept of cervical barriers has been around for a long, long time. Some of these (pretty creative) objects have included partially squeezed lemon halves, oiled paper disks, algae and seaweed, sponges, and even balls of opium, just to name a few. However, the first official cervical barrier was invented by German gynecologist Friedrich Wilde,…

Jan 17

A History: the Progestin Implant

Nexplanon/Implanon is a type of birth control that lasts three years and is over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. A health care professional inserts the implant in your arm, and it is thin plastic rod that releases progestin. Over the 30 years since the implant was introduced, it has gone through many phases and several…

Dec 11

IUD Evangelism

Apparently IUD users love their IUD so much they can’t help themselves from spreading the word about how great a contraceptive option it is.  New York Magazine is calling this phenomena “IUD Evangelism.” Why is getting an IUD an almost spiritual experience?   “..learning about the IUD is like discovering that some benevolent God has been listening to…

Nov 29

Setting the Record Straight About Contraception

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Reproductive Health Access Project friend and supporter, Mary Joan Murphy, recently published an article blasting common contraception myths in Advance for Nurses.  The article was written with help from RHAP’s education director Dr. Ruth Lesnewski and RHAP’s board president Barbara Kancelbaum. In the article, Mary Joan highlights the role nurses can…

Nov 14

IUDs: The Other Side of the Speculum

I’m a single, white, sexually-active young woman with no significant medical history and I want an intrauterine device (IUD).  Yet after four months of trying to get an IUD, I still have an empty uterus.  At the end of my last visit to the doctor, I turned to my friend exasperated and exclaimed, “Why does…

May 16

Who Reads the Contraceptive Pearls?

Every month, the Reproductive Health Access Project writes and sends the Contraceptive Pearls,  an evidence-based e-publication containing clinically up-to-date contraceptive information, to thousands of clinicians across the country. These monthly emails cover a wide range of clinical topics such as Non-Prescription Birth Control Methods, IUDs for Teens, and Fertility Following IUD Use.  (Access the full…

Mar 02

Medicaid, Pharmacies and Unintended Pregnancy

This week I saw my third patient with an unintended pregnancy as a result of New York State’s new Medicaid formularies.  New York State recently gave over its widespread coverage of medications for Medicaid recipients to the managed care Medicaid plans, allowing their more restrictive formularies to decide which medications are covered, which aren’t, and…