A Randomized Controlled Trial: Contraceptive Counseling After an Abortion

Hypothesis: Use of an effective contraceptive six weeks after abortion will be higher in the treatment group than in the control group.

Primary Aim ·To determine use of an effective contraceptive method six weeks after abortion in women who choose combined hormonal contraception (CHC) and who receive a three-week educational phone call as compared to women who do not receive the intervention.

Secondary Aims

• To describe the most common concerns and logistical problems women experience with initiating and adhering to CHC after abortion.
• To describe the concerns that lead to discontinuation or method change. *To assess feasibility of conducting a follow-up telephone call in this population This is a randomized, controlled trial to assess the effect of a three-week follow-up phone call in women who choose combined hormonal contraception on the day of their abortion at the San Francisco General Hospital Women's Options Center. Subjects randomized to the treatment group will receive an interventional phone call three weeks after their abortion; participants randomized to the control group will not receive the call. All subjects will receive a follow-up call six weeks after their abortion to assess and compare method use between the two groups. Calls will be made at three- and six-weeks post abortion in order to give subjects enough time to initiate CHC and to assess continuation into the second month of the method. Data will be collected at baseline, during the intervention for the treatment group and during the final follow-up call for both groups. The primary outcome is use of an effective contraceptive six weeks after abortion.