Measuring cervical length using transvaginal ultrasonography is a useful tool to predict the risk of preterm birth in low- and high-risk pregnancies. Management of a short cervix poses a significant dilemma for clinicians. Different management plans have been proposed and studied, with mixed results in different clinical settings. This article reviews the various management options in the diffe...

BACKGROUND In Uganda, abortion is permitted only when the life of a woman is in danger. This restriction compels the perpetuation of the practice in secrecy and often under unsafe conditions. In 2003, 294,000 induced abortions were estimated to occur each year in Uganda. Since then, no other research on abortion incidence has been conducted in the country. METHODS Data from 418 health facilit...

STUDY OBJECTIVE The main aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of adolescent pregnancy in the future contraceptive choices. A secondary aim is to verify whether these choices differ from those made after an abortion. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Adolescent Unit of a tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS 212 pregnant teenagers. INTERVENTIONS Medical records review. MAIN OUTCO...

PURPOSE The decline in U.S. adolescent fertility has accelerated since 2007. Modeling fertility change using behavioral data can inform adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts. METHODS We used data on sexual activity and contraceptive use from National Surveys of Family Growth for young women 15-19 years of age, and contraceptive failure rates, to estimate a Pregnancy Risk Index (PRI) for the...

CONTEXT Contraceptive knowledge and use at first sex have increased over time among Jamaican adolescents, yet high unintended pregnancy rates persist. More information on risk factors for adolescent pregnancy is needed to inform programs. METHODS Structured interviews were conducted with 15-17-year-old females-250 who were currently pregnant and 500 sexually experienced, but never-pregnant, n...

PURPOSE To determine the effectiveness of the Marquette Method (MM) of natural family planning (NFP) as a method of avoiding pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS This was a 12-month retrospective evaluation of the MM system of NFP. Two hundred and four women (mean age, 28.6 years) and their male partners (mean age, 30.3 years) who sought to learn a method for avoiding pregnancy with the MM fro...

BACKGROUND The long-term safety of surgical abortion in the first trimester is well established. Despite the increasing use of medical abortion (abortion by means of medication), limited information is available regarding the effects of this procedure on subsequent pregnancies. METHODS We identified all women living in Denmark who had undergone an abortion for nonmedical reasons between 1999 ...

Because of the potential link between the ongoing Zika virus outbreak and a surge in the number of cases of congenital microcephaly, officials in Latin America have recommended that women postpone pregnancy until this association is firmly established or the outbreak subsides. However, in all these countries a large proportion of babies are still born out of unplanned pregnancies. Teenage girls...

OBJECTIVE To describe the occurrence, dynamics and predictors of intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy, including links with HIV, in urban Zimbabwe. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of 2042 post-natal women aged 15-49 years was conducted in six public primary healthcare clinics in low-income urban Zimbabwe. An adapted WHO questionnaire was used to measure IPV. Multivariate logistic...

The Evaluation of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Approaches (PPA) is a major federal effort to expand available evidence on effective ways to prevent and reduce pregnancy and related sexual risk behaviors among teens in the United States. The eightyear (2008–2016) evaluation is being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and its partners, Child Trends and Twin Peaks Partners LLC, under cont...