Addressing Gaps in Reproductive Health Data That Affect Practice, Policy, and Research

Reproductive health data are foundational to understanding health trajectories across the lifespan, yet persistent gaps in availability, measurement, and linkage constrain clinical care, public health surveillance, and research. In this column, I examine barriers to the collection of comprehensive reproductive health data, including structural and political constraints, privacy and consent challenges, inconsistent documentation practices, and recent disruptions to publicly available datasets. I review how these gaps affect the assessment of menstrual health, contraception, pregnancy, postpartum outcomes, and midlife reproductive transitions, and disparities in morbidity and mortality. I present an agenda for strengthening reproductive health data infrastructure through standardized measurement, improved linkage across systems, and coordinated leadership to support evidence-based practice, policy, and research across the reproductive lifespan.