Abstract
Objective
Missed period pills (MPP) are uterine evacuation medications used for treatment of
delayed menses without prior pregnancy confirmation. This study explores potential
interest in missed period pills in two US states.
Study design
We enrolled people seeking pregnancy test services at nine health centers in two US
states between June 2015 and October 2017. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire
containing closed- and open-ended questions about background characteristics, reproductive
practices, pregnancy feelings and intentions, abortion attitudes, and MPP interest.
We used ordered logistic regression to identify factors associated with MPP interest
and inductive content analysis to identify recurring qualitative themes related to
MPP interest or disinterest.
Results
In all, 678 people completed the survey and 286/678 (42%) indicated interest in missed
period pills. Interest was greatest (129/185 or 70%) among those who would be unhappy
if pregnant. Variables associated with interest in the multivariate analyses were
age ≥ 35, nulliparity, prior abortion and contraceptive use, recent use of emergency
contraception, pregnancy feelings and intentions, and abortion attitudes (p < .05). Variables not associated with interest included state of residence, educational
attainment, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and frequency of religious attendance.
Key reasons for interest were to prevent, avoid or terminate pregnancy; and psychological
or emotional benefits, including management of abortion stigma. Reasons for non-interest
included concerns about safety or side effects, desire to be pregnant or have a baby,
and not wanting to abort or hurt the fetus/baby.
Conclusion
If missed period pills were available in the United States, demand might be substantial
and wide-ranging across demographic groups.
Implications
Our findings suggest that some people with missed periods do not desire pregnancy
confirmation before taking medications that might disrupt a pregnancy. As a result,
provision of missed period pills in the United States would expand reproductive service
options and could improve the delivery of patient-centered care.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 08, 2020
Accepted:
August 26,
2020
Received in revised form:
August 26,
2020
Received:
December 16,
2019
Footnotes
☆Funding: This work was supported by two anonymous donors. The funders had no role in the design, collection, analysis and interpretation of the data; or the decision to submit this manuscript for publication.
☆☆Declaration of interest: none.
★Data statement: Data available upon request.
★★Disclaimer: The interpretations of the findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the study sites.
☆☆☆Declaration of interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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