Faculty introduction and disclosures

The public health burden of unintended pregnancy

• Epidemiology of unintended pregnancy in the United States and worldwide
• Individual and societal health consequences, including maternal mortality and morbidity trends
• Terminology distinguishing intended from unintended pregnancy

Reframing the challenge: barriers to reproductive life planning

• Why unintended pregnancy remains common despite the availability of effective methods
• How terminology and messaging shape patient understanding of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)

Matching contraceptive options to patient circumstances

• Comparative first-year failure rates across contraceptive methods
• S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (US MEC), including 2024 updates
• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendation for adolescent patients
• Patient-centered counseling to support informed, conflict-free decision-making
• Timing considerations for initiating each method

Hormonal contraceptive implant

• Mechanism of action, effectiveness, and approved duration of use
• Management of bleeding pattern changes and relevant drug interactions
• Placement and removal considerations

Intrauterine device placement: candidate selection and minimizing discomfort

• Appropriate candidates, including nulliparous patients and those with a history of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• Strategies to reduce procedural pain
• Equipment and technique to improve placement success

Copper intrauterine device

• Mechanism of action and continuation patterns over time
• Use as emergency contraception and candidacy in nulliparous patients
• Side effects and removal considerations

Levonorgestrel intrauterine system

• Available dose formulations and approved duration of use
• Effectiveness, menstrual cycle changes, and ectopic pregnancy risk by formulation
• Applications beyond contraception, including treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding

Intrauterine device follow-up, troubleshooting, and patient misinformation

• Routine follow-up care and expected bleeding patterns after placement
• Evaluating changes in string length, device malposition, and removal equipment
• Addressing inaccurate contraceptive information patients encounter online

Patient case application

• Assessed through five case-based questions in the post-activity assessment (not included within the presentation content)

Summary, conclusions, and best practice recap

By the end of the session the participant will be able to:

• Recall the individual and societal health burden of unintended pregnancies.
• Summarize challenges to the optimal reproductive life planning and strategies for overcoming them.
• Describe the ways in which a patient’s circumstances and reproductive planning impact treatment decision-making.
• Identify presently available LARC options.
• Formulate a treatment plan for a patient seeking LARC to prevent pregnancy.

ACCME Activity #202818499

ACCREDITATION FOR THIS COURSE HAS EXPIRED. YOU MAY VIEW THE PROGRAM, BUT CME / CE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE AND NO CERTIFICATE WILL BE ISSUED.

As a provider of continuing medical education, it is the policy of ScientiaCME to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. In accordance with this policy, faculty and educational planners must disclose any significant relationships with commercial interests whose products or devices may be mentioned in faculty presentations, and any relationships with the commercial supporter of the activity. The intent of this disclosure is to provide the intended audience with information on which they can make their own judgments. Additionally, in the event a conflict of interest (COI) does exist, it is the policy of ScientiaCME to ensure that the COI is resolved in order to ensure the integrity of the CME activity. For this CME activity, any COI has been resolved thru content review by ScientiaCME.

Disclosures of Faculty: Anita L. Nelson, MD, Professor and Chair Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has received financial compensation from Bayer, Exeltis USA, Sumitomo Pharma America, Myovant for consulting/advisory board activities; Dare Bioscience, Viatris, Organon, Sebela, Sumitomo Pharma America for grant/research support; Sumitomo Pharma America and Organon for honoraria/speakers bureau.

Disclosures of Educational Planners: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, President of ScientiaCME, has no relevant financial disclosures.  

Faculty WILL discuss off-label uses of a commercial product. 

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated. 

ScientiaCME adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers or others are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

Commercial Support Disclosure: This activity is supported by an educational grant from CooperSurgical. 

• Read the learning objectives above
• Take the Pre-Test (optional). Completion of the pre-test will help us evaluate the knowledge gained by participating in this CME activity.
• View the online activity. You may view this is in more than one session, and may pause or repeat any portion of the presentation if you need to.
• Minimum participation threshold: Take the post-test. A score of 70% or higher is required to pass and proceed to the activity evaluation.
• Complete the activity evaluation and CME registration. A CE certificate will be emailed to you immediately.

Cultural/Linguistic Competence & Health Disparities

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