Swan, Cutler, Higgins in publish study in AJOG

A new article in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology uses data from a 2019 survey of UW SMPH physicians to assess physicians’ understanding of whether contraceptive methods work by causing abortion. Laura Swan, PhD, LCSW, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Population Health Sciences Green Inequality Lab, is first author on the study.

In “Physician Beliefs about Contraceptive Methods as Abortifacients”, Swan and co-authors (including UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive and Population Health and UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity Director Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH and Abby Cutler, MD, assistant professor in the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn) asked physicians whether they thought six common contraceptive methods worked by causing abortion. The authors then compared provider demographics with beliefs about contraception.

“Misconceptions about contraceptive methods were more common among male physicians than female physicians…Medical specialty was associated with the belief that IUDs and EC work by causing abortion.”

Read the whole study here!