Society of Family Planning

Last updated
Society of Family Planning
AbbreviationSFP
Formation2005
President
Angela Dempsey
President-Elect
Sadia Haider
Website societyfp.org

The Society of Family Planning (SFP) is an international non-profit [1] professional organization established in 2005 specializing in "abortion and contraception science" [2] [3] composed of physicians, nurses, sociologists, public health practitioners and trainees in these fields. [4] The majority of member physicians include specialists of obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, and adolescent medicine. [4]

Contents

The organization sponsors the Society of Family Planning Research Fund that provides grants for research in abortion and contraception. [4] This funding source was established in 2011. The Society of Family Planning supports the Fellowship in Complex Family Planning, previously known as the Fellowship in Family Planning. The fellowship is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG), member of the American Board of Medical Specialties, as a subspecialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology. [5]

Background

The Society of Family Planning was created in 2005 by 18 founding members and 33 charter members, initially focusing on grant support for rigorous family planning research. [4] [6] Membership has expanded to almost 800 members as of 2017. [4] As of 2020, the scope of the organization includes education based on clinical guidelines, research and grants, and advocacy through clinical guidelines and research. [4] [7] [8] The organization holds an annual meeting called the North American Forum on Family Planning (the Forum). [9]

There are three categories of membership: Fellow, Junior Fellow, and Affiliate Fellow. [10] In order to apply for membership, a potential applicant must be referred by a current member. [11] Members connect to the Society and collaborate with each other through Society of Family Planning Connect. [12]

Contraception published by Elsevier is the official SFP medical journal. [13] As of 2019, the journal has an Impact Factor of 2.819.

Governance and committees

The Society of Family Planning is managed by staff members including an Executive Director and an elected Board of Directors. [2] The organization is also made up of Committees, Subcommittees and Working Groups including the Executive, Governance, and Finance Committees; Complex Family Planning Council; Annual Meeting, Clinical Affairs and Research Affairs Subcommittees; Abortion Clinical Research Network Working Group; and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group. [2]

Research and grants

The Society of Family Planning was originally created to provide grant support for family planning research. While the Society's scope has expanded, it has continued to provide significant research support, funding over $2.6 million dollars in grants in 2019. [14] After an analysis of the impact of a decade of grantmaking, [15] [8] the Society of Family Planning Research Fund transitioned to funding targeted grant opportunities, published in the spring and awarded in the fall. SFP also supports the Abortion Clinical Research Network, a multi-site research network including independent clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, academic practices, patients, and researchers. [16] [8]

Fellowship in Complex Family Planning

The Fellowship in Complex Family Planning (CFP) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as a two-year fellowship after completing specialty training in obstetrics and gynecology. [17] [5] [18] The fellowship focuses on further clinical training and research on complex abortion and contraception. SFP's Complex Family Planning Council partners with ABOG to provide programmatic oversight of the fellowship. [19] Many academic institutions offer this fellowship training including Columbia University; [20] Johns Hopkins University; [21] University of California, Davis; [22] University of Michigan; [23] University of Southern California; [24] and Yale University. [25] [18]

Legislative advocacy

Together with other medical and reproductive health organizations, the Society of Family Planning filed amicus briefs in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby, [26] [27] later Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, [28] to support increased access to the full range of contraceptive methods approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. In her dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg highlighted the importance of contraception to women in whom pregnancy may pose life-threatening risk and non-contraceptive benefits including cancer prevention and treatment of menstrual disorders and pelvic pain. [28]

The American Civil Liberties Union filed Chelius v. Wright on behalf of Dr. Graham Chelius, the Society of Family Planning, and other organizations against the restricted access to medical abortion. [29] [30]

The Society of Family Planning joined other medical organizations in the amicus brief ACOG v. US Food and Drug Administration against the in-person dispensing requirement of mifepristone in medical abortion. [31] [32] [33]

Collaborations

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and Society of Family Planning jointly developed clinical guidance on medical abortion up to 70 days' gestation. [34] SFP endorsed ACOG's Practice Guideline on second-trimester abortion. [35]

After a workshop entitled "Reproductive Services for Women at High Risk for Maternal Mortality", ACOG, SFP, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), and the Fellowship in Family Planning, now known as the Fellowship in Complex Family Planning, [17] issued an executive summary [36] and consensus statement [37] regarding assessment, counseling, and training on reproductive health services for women at high risk for maternal morbidity and mortality. [38] [39] To promote development of evidence-based guidelines for reproductive health services associated with high-risk pregnancies, SFP and SMFM are partnering to offer the SMFM and SFP Bridge Builder Award for research funding. [40] SMFM refers to SFP guidance on contraceptive provision when there is restricted healthcare access during the COVID-19 pandemic. [41] [42]

The Society of Family Planning released a statement to preserve timely access to abortion services during the COVID-19 pandemic, in collaboration with ACOG, ABOG, American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology, and SMFM. [43]

Related Research Articles

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of all pregnancies. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word abortion generally refers to an induced abortion. The most common reasons women give for having an abortion are for birth-timing and limiting family size. Other reasons reported include maternal health, an inability to afford a child, domestic violence, lack of support, feeling they are too young, wishing to complete education or advance a career, and not being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest.

Dilationand curettage (D&C) refers to the dilation of the cervix and surgical removal of sections and or layers of the lining of the uterus and or contents of the uterus such as an unwanted fetus, remains of a non viable fetus, retained placenta after birth or abortion as well as any abnormal tissue which may be in the uterus causing abnormal cycles by scraping and scooping (curettage). It is a gynecologic procedure used for treatment and removal as well as diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, and is the most commonly used method for first trimester abortion or miscarriage.

Obstetrics and gynaecology is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics and gynaecology. The specialization is an important part of care for women's health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family planning</span> Planning when to have children

Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marital situation, career or work considerations, financial situations. If sexually active, family planning may involve the use of contraception and other techniques to control the timing of reproduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maternal death</span> Aspect of human reproduction and medicine

Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pregnancy, underlying conditions worsened by the pregnancy or management of these conditions. This can occur either while she is pregnant or within six weeks of resolution of the pregnancy. The CDC definition of pregnancy-related deaths extends the period of consideration to include one year from the resolution of the pregnancy. Pregnancy associated death, as defined by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), are all deaths occurring within one year of a pregnancy resolution. Identification of pregnancy associated deaths is important for deciding whether or not the pregnancy was a direct or indirect contributing cause of the death.

Late termination of pregnancy, also referred to politically as third trimester abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by inducing labor during a late stage of gestation. In this context, late is not precisely defined, and different medical publications use varying gestational age thresholds. As of 2015 in the United States, more than 90% of abortions occur before the 13th week, 1.3% of abortions in the United States took place after the 21st week, and less than 1% occur after 24 weeks.

Dilation and evacuation (D&E) or dilatation and evacuation is the dilation of the cervix and surgical evacuation of the uterus after the first trimester of pregnancy. It is a method of abortion as well as a common procedure used after miscarriage to remove all pregnancy tissue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maternal–fetal medicine</span> Branch of medicine

Maternal–fetal medicine (MFM), also known as perinatology, is a branch of medicine that focuses on managing health concerns of the mother and fetus prior to, during, and shortly after pregnancy.

Reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) is a surgical subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology that trains physicians in reproductive medicine addressing hormonal functioning as it pertains to reproduction as well as the issue of infertility. While most REI specialists primarily focus on the treatment of infertility, reproductive endocrinologists are trained to also test and treat hormonal dysfunctions in females and males outside infertility. Reproductive endocrinologists have specialty training (residency) in obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn) before they undergo sub-specialty training (fellowship) in REI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osmotic dilator</span> Medical device to dilate the uterine cervix

Osmotic dilators are medical implements used to dilate the uterine cervix by swelling as they absorb fluid from surrounding tissue. They may be composed of natural or synthetic materials. A laminaria stick or tent is a thin rod made of the stems of dried Laminaria, a genus of kelp. Laminaria sticks can be generated from Laminaria japonica and Laminaria digitata. Synthetic osmotic dilators are commonly referred to by their brand names, such as Dilapan. Dilapan-S are composed of polyacrylonitrile, a plastic polymer. The hygroscopic nature of the polymer causes the dilator to absorb fluid and expand.

Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) are methods of birth control that provide effective contraception for an extended period without requiring user action. They include hormonal and non-hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs), and subdermal hormonal contraceptive implants. They are the most effective reversible methods of contraception because their efficacy is not reliant on patient compliance. The failure rates of IUDs and implants is less than 1% per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birth control</span> Method of preventing human pregnancy

Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unintended pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only became available in the 20th century. Planning, making available, and using human birth control is called family planning. Some cultures limit or discourage access to birth control because they consider it to be morally, religiously, or politically undesirable.

Birth spacing, pregnancy spacing, inter-birth interval (IBI) or inter-pregnancy interval refers to how soon after a prior pregnancy a woman becomes pregnant or gives birth again. There are health risks associated both with pregnancies placed closely together and those placed far apart, but the majority of health risks are associated with births that occur too close together. The WHO recommends 24 months between pregnancies. A shorter interval may be appropriate if the pregnancy ended in abortion or miscarriage, typically 6 months. If the mother has had a prior C-section, it is advisable to wait before giving birth again due to the risk of uterine rupture in the mother during childbirth, with recommendations of a minimum inter-delivery interval ranging from a year to three years. Pregnancy intervals longer than five years are associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia. The global public health burden of short inter-pregnancy intervals is substantial. Family planning can help increase inter-pregnancy interval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists</span> US professional association

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is a professional association of physicians specializing in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States. Several Latin American countries are also represented within Districts of the organization. It is a 501(c)(3) organization with a membership of more than 60,000 obstetrician-gynecologists and women's health care professionals. It was founded in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ipas (organization)</span> International non-governmental organization

Ipas is an international, non-governmental organization that seeks to increase access to safe abortions and contraception. To this end the organization informs women how to obtain safe and legal abortions and trains relevant partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America on how to provide and advocate for these.

A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion or non-surgical abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical abortions are more common than surgical abortions in most places around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maternal healthcare in Texas</span>

Maternal healthcare in Texas refers to the provision of family planning services, abortion options, pregnancy-related services, and physical and mental well-being care for women during the prenatal and postpartum periods. The provision of maternal health services in each state can prevent and reduce the incidence of maternal morbidity and mortality and fetal death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined hormonal contraception</span> Form of hormonal contraception combining both an estrogen and a progestogen

Combined hormonal contraception (CHC), or combined birth control, is a form of hormonal contraception which combines both an estrogen and a progestogen in varying formulations.

The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology is a non-profit organization that provides board certification for practicing obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1927, incorporated in 1930, and is based in Dallas, Texas. It is one of 24 medical boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. ABOG's mission is to define the standards, certify obstetricians and gynecologists, and facilitate continuous learning to advance knowledge, practice, and professionalism in women's health.

Ebony Carter is an obstetrician, reproductive health equity researcher and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Carter is the Director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at University of North Carolina School of Medicine. As a physician-scientist, Carter is known for her research and implementation of community-based interventions to improve health equity among pregnant patients. Carter is the inaugural Associate Editor of Equity for the academic journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

References

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