Contraceptive access and infant health outcomes

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Reproductive Health
• Perinatal Epidemiology

Background:

• Access to contraception is a key component of reproductive health services.
• Unintended pregnancies can be associated with adverse infant health outcomes.
• Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are highly effective methods of birth control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of increased access to LARCs on infant health outcomes.
• To quantify the effect of a large-scale family planning initiative on adverse birth outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a synthetic difference-in-differences analysis.
• Examined data from a large family planning initiative in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
• Focused on changes in rates of extremely preterm births and infant mortality.

Main Results:

• The LARC initiative led to a significant reduction in adverse infant health outcomes.
• Specifically, extremely preterm births decreased by 2.18 per 1,000 live births.
• Infant deaths were reduced by 1.74 per 1,000 live births, a ~20% decrease for both outcomes.
• Reductions were observed for both Black and White mothers, with smaller percentage effects for Black mothers.

Conclusions:

• Expanding access to LARCs has a positive, unintended consequence of improving infant health.
• Family planning initiatives can be a powerful tool for reducing infant mortality and morbidity.
• Further research is needed to understand disparities in effects across racial groups.