Implementing postpartum LARCs into your institution

Matthew Zerden, MD:

I'm Matthew Zerden, MD. I am OB lead at Wake Med Hospital where I'm an ob-gyn hospitalist. And I'm also the associate medical director at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

Can you recap your session at the 2023 Society of OB/GYN Hospitalists Annual Clinical Meeting?

Zerden:

So, it was my pleasure to present here at SOGH 2023. I'm also partnering with the ACOG Postpartum Contraception Access Initiative. And we work together to try and promote immediate postpartum IUD and implant insertion throughout the country. So, I got to participate and present to this great group on the benefits and needs and some of the direct implementation of starting a immediate postpartum LARC program.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

What were the biggest takeaways from your presentation?

Zerden:

We know that in some populations, as many as 60% of patients will not return for any postpartum visit. So, our time to capture them, especially for many of these patients, they want contraception, they just there's so many obstacles for them to get back to clinic. And we have great evidence to support immediate post placental IUD insertion as well as immediate postpartum implant insertion. So this was a talk about how there's a patient need, and ob-gyn hospitalists can serve as that conduit to help make sure that we deliver the contraception that patients need.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

What role can hospitalists play in access to postpartum contraception?

Zerden:

A lot of folks think that right, ob-gyn hospitalist, we're just in the hospital, we don't deal with any of these clinic issues. We don't deal with postpartum contraception, but the reality is, it is safe and effective to place IUDs and implants in the hospitals. And as long as you have the patient's consent, and they can be educated, then we should be doing that. And so this talk was about educating my peers, many of [whom] are doing this already, but to help promote programs, there were a select few that were here and that were here remotely, that aren't able to place them now. So, what are the barriers, helping them talk through that so that we can align the incentives and make sure that we're delivering the contraception that patients want, and we're able to do that during the hospitalization of their delivery.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

Anything else you would like to add regarding your presentation at SOGH?

Zerden:

Just that there are great resources that actually can come to you, but I do work with ACOG as part of Contraceptive Access Initiative, and they can both remotely as well as bring resources, talks, and help anyone who's interested in ensuring that patients have access to this critical resource. We'll come to you.