Beyond birth outcomes: Interpregnancy interval and injury-related infant mortality.

Background: Several studies have examined the association between IPI and birth outcomes, but few have explored the association between interpregnancy interval (IPI) and postnatal outcomes.

Objective: We examined the association between IPI and injury-related infant mortality, a leading cause of postneonatal mortality.

Methods: We used 2011-2015 US period-linked birth-infant death vital statistics data to generate a multiyear birth cohort of non-first-born singleton births (N = 9 782 029).

Availability of Services Related to Achieving Pregnancy in U.S. Publicly Funded Family Planning Clinics.

Background: Recognizing that quality family planning services should include services to help clients who want to become pregnant, the objective of our analysis was to examine the distribution of services related to achieving pregnancy at publicly funded family planning clinics in the United States.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of publicly funded clinics was surveyed in 2013-2014 (n = 1615). Clinic administrators were asked about several clinical services and screenings related to achieving pregnancy: basic infertility services, reproductive life plan assessment, screening for body mass index, screening for sexually transmitted diseases, provision of natural family planning services, infertility treatment, and primary care services.

Patterns and trends in contraceptive use among women attending Title X clinics and a national sample of low-income women.

Objectives: To describe the types of contraception used by women attending Title X-funded clinics and a comparable group of low-income reproductive-age women at risk of unintended pregnancy.

Study Design: We estimated the percentage of reproductive aged (15-44 years) women using contraception, by method type and level of effectiveness in preventing pregnancy (i.e.

Side Effects and Health Benefits of Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Counseling about potential side effects and health benefits of contraceptive methods could facilitate continued method use and method satisfaction, yet no evidence-based compilation of side effects and benefits exists to aid such counseling. Among contraceptive methods in the United States, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injectables have the highest discontinuation rates, and most discontinuation is attributable to side effects. This review examines the side effects and health benefits of DMPA to inform counseling.

Short interpregnancy intervals and adverse perinatal outcomes in high-resource settings: An updated systematic review.

Background: This systematic review summarises association between short interpregnancy intervals and adverse perinatal health outcomes in high-resource settings to inform recommendations for healthy birth spacing for the United States.

Methods: Five databases and a previous systematic review were searched for relevant articles published between 1966 and 1 May 2017. We included studies meeting the following criteria: (a) reporting of perinatal health outcomes after a short interpregnancy interval since last livebirth; (b) conducted within a high-resource setting; and (c) estimates were adjusted for maternal age and at least one socio-economic factor.

Clinic-Based Programs to Prevent Repeat Teen Pregnancy: A Systematic Review.

Context: The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and evaluate the evidence on the effectiveness of repeat teen pregnancy prevention programs offered in clinical settings.

Evidence Acquisition: Multiple databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles published from January 1985 to April 2016 that included key terms related to adolescent reproductive health services. Analysis of these studies occurred in 2017.

Client Preferences for Contraceptive Counseling: A Systematic Review.

Context: Providers can help clients achieve their personal reproductive goals by providing high-quality, client-centered contraceptive counseling. Given the individualized nature of contraceptive decision making, provider attention to clients' preferences for counseling interactions can enhance client centeredness. The objective of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence on what preferences clients have for the contraceptive counseling they receive.

Good practices for the design, analysis, and interpretation of observational studies on birth spacing and perinatal health outcomes.

Background: Meta-analyses of observational studies have shown that women with a shorter interpregnancy interval (the time from delivery to start of a subsequent pregnancy) are more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm delivery or small for gestational age birth, than women who space their births further apart. However, the studies used to inform these estimates have methodological shortcomings.

Methods: In this commentary, we summarise the discussions of an expert workgroup describing good practices for the design, analysis, and interpretation of observational studies of interpregnancy interval and adverse perinatal health outcomes.

Short interpregnancy intervals and adverse maternal outcomes in high-resource settings: An updated systematic review.

Background: Currently, no federal guidelines provide recommendations on healthy birth spacing for women in the United States. This systematic review summarises associations between short interpregnancy intervals and adverse maternal outcomes to inform the development of birth spacing recommendations for the United States.

Methods: PubMed/Medline, POPLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and a previous systematic review were searched to identify relevant articles published from 1 January 2006 and 1 May 2017.

Report of the Office of Population Affairs' expert work group meeting on short birth spacing and adverse pregnancy outcomes: Methodological quality of existing studies and future directions for research.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women wait at least 24 months after a livebirth before attempting a subsequent pregnancy to reduce the risk of adverse maternal, perinatal, and infant health outcomes. However, the applicability of the WHO recommendations for women in the United States is unclear, as breast feeding, nutrition, maternal age at first birth, and total fertility rate differs substantially between the United States and the low- and middle-resource countries upon which most of the evidence is based.

Methods: To inform guideline development for birth spacing specific to women in the United States, the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) convened an expert work group meeting in Washington, DC, on 14-15 September 2017 among reproductive, perinatal, paediatric, social, and public health epidemiologists; obstetrician-gynaecologists; biostatisticians; and experts in evidence synthesis related to women's health.

Unintended pregnancy and interpregnancy interval by maternal age, National Survey of Family Growth.

Background: The relationship between unintended pregnancy and interpregnancy interval (IPI) across maternal age is not clear.

Methods: Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, we estimated the percentages of pregnancies that were unintended among IPI groups (<6, 6-11, 12-17, 18-23, 24+ months) by maternal age at last live birth (15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-44 years).

Results: Approximately 40% of pregnancies were unintended and 36% followed an IPI<18 months.

Referral Practices Among U.S. Publicly Funded Health Centers That Offer Family Planning Services.

Background: Referrals to other medical services are central to healthcare, including family planning service providers; however, little information exists on the nature of referral practices among health centers that offer family planning.

Materials And Methods: We used a nationally representative survey of administrators from 1,615 publicly funded health centers that offered family planning in 2013-14 to describe the use of six referral practices. We focused on associations between various health center characteristics and frequent use of three active referral practices.

Access to long-acting reversible contraception among US publicly funded health centers.

Objectives: Access to a full range of contraceptive methods, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), is central to providing quality family planning services. We describe health center-related factors associated with LARC availability, including staff training in LARC insertion/removal and approaches to offering LARC, whether onsite or through referral.

Study Design: We analyzed nationally representative survey data collected during 2013-2014 from administrators of publicly funded U.

Trends in Health Insurance Coverage of Title X Family Planning Program Clients, 2005-2015.

Background: The federal Title X Family Planning Program supports the delivery of family planning services and related preventive care to 4 million individuals annually in the United States. The implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) Medicaid expansion and provisions expanding access to health insurance, which took effect in January 2014, resulted in higher rates of health insurance coverage in the U.S.

Does Contraceptive Use in the United States Meet Global Goals?

Context: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to achieve health equity, and they apply to all countries. SDG contraceptive use estimates for the United States are needed to contextualize U.S.

Trends in Cervical Cancer Screening in Title X-Funded Health Centers - United States, 2005-2015.

Cervical cancer screening is critical to early detection and treatment of precancerous cells and cervical cancer. In 2015, 83% of U.S.

From theory to application: using performance measures for contraceptive care in the Title X family planning program.

Objective: The objective was to describe a Performance Measure Learning Collaborative (PMLC) designed to help Title X family planning grantees use new clinical performance measures for contraceptive care.

Study Design: Twelve Title X grantee-service site teams participated in an 8-month PMLC from November 2015 to June 2016; baseline was assessed in October 2015. Each team documented their selected best practices and strategies to improve performance, and calculated the contraceptive care performance measures at baseline and for each of the subsequent 8 months.

New clinical performance measures for contraceptive care: their importance to healthcare quality.

Objectives: The National Quality Forum (NQF) recently endorsed the first clinical performance measures for contraceptive care. We present data demonstrating that the measures meet the NQF's criterion "importance to measure and report."

Study Design: We summarized national contraceptive care initiatives, epidemiologic data documenting the reproductive health burden and the scientific literature examining the association between contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy.

Facilitating State-Wide Collaboration around Family Planning Care in the Context of Zika.

Introduction: Family planning providers have an important role to play in the response to the public health challenge posed by Zika. In the United States, there are high rates of unintended pregnancy, especially in states most at risk for mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus. This paper describes efforts by eight of these states (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas) to build capacity for quality family planning care in the context of Zika.

The Link Between Reproductive Life Plan Assessment And Provision of Preconception Care At Publicly Funded Health Centers.

Context: Federal and clinical guidelines recommend integrating reproductive life plan assessments into routine family planning encounters to increase provision of preconception care. Yet, the prevalence of clinical protocols and of relevant practices at publicly funded health centers is unknown.

Methods: Administrators and providers at a nationally representative sample of publicly funded health centers that provide family planning services were surveyed in 2013-2014; data from 1,039 linked pairs were used to explore the reported prevalence of reproductive life plan protocols, frequent assessment of patients' reproductive life plan and frequent provision of preconception care.