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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Tracy Weitz, MPH PhD(c), Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy, University of California, San Francisco, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, 655 13th St., Raymond House Ste 201, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 836-2128, weitzt@obgyn.ucsf.edu and Diana Greene Foster, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy, 655 13th Street, Suite 201, Oakland, CA 94602.

Obesity rates are increasing in the United States. Providing care for obese patients is often difficult for abortion providers working outside hospital-based settings. In many circumstances obese women are denied care due to concerns about medical risk or simply because the clinical facility does not have the necessary equipment. This paper explores the experience of obese women who ultimately end up receiving care at a tertiary hospital-based abortion practice in Northern California. Qualitative analysis examines the words women use to describe their health care trajectory from first receiving a positive pregnancy test through denial of care at other facilities to finally reaching the hospital center. Complementing these stories is an investigation into the debates within the abortion provider community regarding how best to care for obese patients. In particular we examine the extent to which providers engage in risk avoidance out of concern about heightened scrutiny on abortion providers. Of public health concern is that the rates of obesity are often highest in states with more restrictive abortion laws and few abortion providers. Further explored in this paper is the intersection between class, race, and abortion access and how obesity further complicates this relationship. In conclusion we explore the ultimate public health collision between a growing need for abortion care by obese patients and a reduction in providers willing and/or able to provide such care.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the current rates of obesity among women of reproductive age in the U.S.
• Learn about the experiences and trajectory of obese women who are initially denied care by abortion providers
• Explain the dilemmas of abortion providers trying to care for patients while practicing medical risk avoidance
• Explore the pending public health collision between rising obesity rates and reduced access to abortion services

Keywords: Abortion, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation