August 2019: Power Updates Edition
There are plenty of articles, publications, and stories published every month. In an effort to help you distinguish fact from fiction, save time in your already busy day, and share news you may not have otherwise seen, here are six stories from the last month we thought you might find interesting:
Shoring Up Reproductive Autonomy: Title X’s Foundational Role
This article gives a brief overview of the Title X program. It makes the case for the importance of the program while acknowledging that it is one piece of a larger picture for people’s ability to have the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child. The authors write, “Title X’s responsibility to promote reproductive autonomy must be upheld and expanded.”
Births in the United States, 2018
The CDC has released a data brief featuring 2018 birth data from the National Vitals Statistics System. Highlights of the report include: a 2% decline in the US fertility rate from 2017; a 7% decline in the teen birth rate from 2017 to 2018; an increase in the percentage of vaginal births after previous C-section in 2018; and an increase in the percentage of births delivered preterm and early term from 2017 to 2018.
Characteristics of immigrants obtaining abortions and comparison with US-born individuals
To fill a gap in existing data, this study pooled two national samples of people who obtained an abortion from 2008-2009 and 2013-2014. It found that most immigrants who obtained an abortion were in their 20s, were low-income, and had graduated from high school. In addition, 45% were uninsured.
We know that the further away a person is from an abortion facility the greater their out-of-pocket costs will be, and that they have a higher chance of delaying care and getting follow-up care at an emergency department. This study found that nearly one-fifth of people who had an abortion traveled more than 50 miles each way to do so and that distance was the most important determinant of which clinic they chose.
The authors of this article found that web- and app-based methods to obtain birth control reduce the geographic and logistical barriers for people living in rural areas and for low-income populations. But they caution that because these prescription services are not available to teens under 18, the impact on access for young people is likely to minimal. The authors also suggest that increased telemedicine use may reduce rates of screening for things such as intimate partner violence, STIs, and cervical cancer.
Contraceptive use by women across different sexual orientation groups
Using data collected from more than 118,000 women, this study found that while some sexual minority groups such as bisexuals were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to use any method of birth control, including LARCs, lesbians were least likely groups to use any method. The study authors suggest that many sexual minority patients would benefit from contraceptive counseling and that providers should offer counseling to all patients, regardless of sexual orientation.
