Family Planning
Director: Sadia Haider MD, MPH
Mission
The mission of the Division of Family Planning is to provide access to comprehensive reproductive health care to women regardless of race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, or citizenship. In addition, the division is committed to training Ob/Gyn residents in abortion and contraception as well as cultivating interests in public health, international health, research, and healthcare policy, as integral components of family planning. Our goal is to ensure BIDMC residents are capable of providing high-quality comprehensive reproductive health care, and are developing the tools they need to become the future leaders in women’s health.
Clinical
The clinical services of the Division of Family Planning are focused on providing comprehensive, safe, and confidential reproductive healthcare. Women have full access to family planning education and healthcare services through our division and our affilation with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, including pregnancy options counseling, abortion services (medical abortion and D&E), and comprehensive contraception counseling. All hormonal, barrier, and intrauterine contraceptive methods are currently readily available, and Essure sterilization will be available in our family planning clinic in 2009. A Contraceptive Consult clinic, under the direction of Dr. Haider, caters to women with chronic medical conditions or complex psychosocial situations. Physicians in the Division of Family Planning include Dr. Shaio-Yu Lee and Dr. Boris Orkin, clinical faculty members who have been involved with resident training for the past 13 years.
Education
The family planning curriculum provides residents and students with a wide range of exposure to family planning counseling and skills. Training in family planning in the BIDMC residency program takes place during the PGY- II year. One half-day per week is spent in the family planning clinic where counseling about options for unplanned pregnancies are discussed, and a second half-day per week is spent in the operating room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Comprehensive contraceptive services are incorporated into the resident continuity clinic. The full range of options including hormonal, barrier, and intrauterine contraception are provided by our residents in these clinics. Additionally, the PGY-II family planning resident is involved with the Complex Contraception clinic, consults, and didactics. The division runs a lecture series for medical students and residents, which covers a wide-range of topics including both contraception and abortion, emphasizing the epidemiological evidence underlying current practice and new technologies in fertility regulation. As part of the Boston-wide family planning community, the division and interested residents take part in a quarterly journal club, which provides an opportunity to discuss recent research within family planning as well as an opportunity to network with the other divisions in the Boston-area. During PGY-II and PGY-III, residents have a 5- week elective block in which many have chosen to do family planning related work. Residents have the opportunity to gain more clinical training, do research with the Division Director, collaborate on research projects at other family planning sites, or do international work.
Research
The division is committed to creating an academic environment for residents and students as well as advancing the field of family planning through research. Currently, both clinical and international research is underway within the division. The Division Director, Dr. Sadia Haider, has multiple ongoing research projects. These include an evaluation of the use of internet technology to improve adolescent contraceptive use and follow-up; an evaluation of the role that male adolescents play in contraceptive decision-making; and condom use and negotiation amongst adolescents at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Within the international arena, Dr. Haider is currently conducting a long-term study evaluating the impact of family planning on maternal morbidity in Afghanistan.
The division has a strong commitment to public heath and international health and a collaborative relationship with the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical International, which allows for many interesting opportunities for our faculty and residents. The division’s collaboration with the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts also provides numerous opportunities to work with the large research unit at Planned Parenthood. Residents are encouraged to become involved with family planning research, and have opportunities to present their work at national meetings such as at the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP), National Abortion Federation (NAF), and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) meetings.
During PGY-II and PGY-III, residents have a 5-week elective block in which many have chosen to do family planning related work. Residents have the opportunity to gain more clinical training, do research with the Division Director, collaborate on research projects at other family planning sites, or do international work.
