Assessing Pregnant Patients' Postpartum Contraceptive Plans After the SCOTUS Dobbs Decision in a Highly Restrictive State [ID 2683439

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The June 2022 SCOTUS Dobbs decision removed federal protection to abortion access. In August 2022, a Tennessee trigger law made ending a pregnancy for any reason a felony. We hypothesized that this change would result in more pregnant patients desiring highly effective (long-acting or permanent) contraceptive methods after delivery. METHODS: This retrospective cohort analysis used electronic health records to capture demographic and pregnancy data for pregnant patients admitted for delivery in one East Tennessee hospital. Documented contraceptive plans chosen during pregnancy were categorized as highly effective (long acting or permanent) or moderate/least effective. Data were extracted from July 2019 to April 2020 (baseline) and compared to July 2022 to April 2023 (post-Dobbs). Chi-squared tests and binary logistic regression were conducted in SPSS. RESULTS: One-half (50.6%) of 7,489 records analyzed were post-Dobbs; 90.4% had a documented contraception plan upon hospital admission. Record of choosing a highly effective contraception plan during pregnancy decreased significantly baseline to post-Dobbs (47.2% to 39.6%; P<.001). Logistic regression was used to further analyze the relationship between the Dobbs decision and highly effective contraception plan desired postpartum. Patients who delivered after the Dobbs decision had lower odds (adjusted odds ratio 0.726; 95% CI [0.652, 0.809]; P<.001) of having highly effective contraception plans after controlling for age, number of living children, race/ethnicity, and insurance. CONCLUSION: A lower percentage of patients from the post-Dobbs cohort desired highly effective contraception after delivery. Further investigation should explore these surprising results. Regardless, patients should participate in patient-centered contraceptive counseling during prenatal care to make informed decisions after delivery.