Contraception and abortion misinformation among crisis pregnancy center attendees and non-attendees

To evaluate whether patients who attended a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) before initiating prenatal care hold more misinformation about contraception and abortion relative to CPC non-attendees.

We surveyed prenatal care patients who had attended a CPC during their current pregnancy before initiating prenatal care (n = 99) and a control group, matched on age and race, who had not attended a CPC during the index pregnancy (n = 99). We used bivariable linear regression to evaluate whether CPC attendees had lower knowledge scores for contraception and abortion (assessed separately) and to assess other potential correlates of poor knowledge.

Mean knowledge score was 3.9 (standard deviation [SD]=1.8; range=0-7) for contraception and 2.1 (SD=1.3; range=0-5) for abortion. CPC attendance was not associated with either contraception (ß=-0.00; p = 1.00) or abortion scores (ß=-0.06; p = 0.37). A minority of CPC attendees (40.4%) correctly identified the intrauterine device (IUD) as more effective than the pill, male condom, and withdrawal. Few attendees (17.2%) recognized that the pill, the shot, and the implant do not cause infertility. About 57.6% of attendees accurately selected the IUD from a list, consisting also of tubal ligation and vasectomy, as the reversible method. Only 19.2% of CPC attendees correctly agreed that abortion in the U.S. is safer than childbirth and only 51.5% reported that abortion does not cause infertility.

Endorsement of inaccurate beliefs about contraception and abortion was common among prenatal care patients who had attended a CPC. Findings should be used to inform interventions to address inaccurate knowledge about reproductive health.

Endorsement of misinformation about contraception and abortion was common among prenatal care patients who attended a CPC but did not differ by crisis pregnancy center attendance.