Women with unintended pregnancies often get inadequate counseling from their doctors about their options for either continuing their pregnancies or terminating them, according to a study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Women and Health Initiative (W&HI) and colleagues.
The study was published online and appears in the July-August 2017 issue of Family Medicine.
Researchers surveyed 3,000 primary care practitioners on how they counsel women with unintended pregnancies. Only 26% of doctors reported routinely discussing options with these patients, compared to 60% who regularly discuss prenatal care.
Lead author of the study was Kelsey Holt, SD ’17, now a postdoctoral research fellow with the W&HI. Senior author was Ana Langer, professor of the practice of public health and head of the W&HI. Other Harvard Chan authors included Elizabeth Janiak, SD ’16; Marie McCormick, Sumner and Esther Feldberg Professor of Maternal and Child Health; Ellice Lieberman, professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Jacquelyn Caglia, W&HI associate director. Sandhya Kajeepeta, MS ’15, was also a co-author.