Webinar: Update on Birth Control: Options for the Postpartum Period

March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 LA Best Babies Network

Home visitors often serve clients who have recently given birth, so they are keenly focused on postpartum recovery. Part of the recovery process is avoiding pregnancy at least six months after giving birth. Closely spaced pregnancies might not give a birthing person enough time to heal, and research suggests there are risks associated with closely spaced pregnancies, including low birth weight and preterm birth.

The postpartum period is an ideal time to talk about contraception and to explore what’s available. Parent Coaches and Registered Nurses in the Welcome Baby program are available to help their clients learn about birth control (and many other things!), so they can make informed choices about their health.

We (LA Best Babies Network) hosted the webinar below on March 5, 2024, for Welcome Baby Parent Coaches and other staff of our network’s home visiting organizations and Welcome Baby hospitals. (We also hosted a similar webinar for Registered Nurses and others in December.)

In the presentation, Leslie Fung, a Certified Nurse Midwife at Eisner Health:

Reviews importance of postpartum birth control
Examines birth control options appropriate for the postpartum period
Discusses elements of birth control counseling and how individual priorities can influence choice of method
Shares available resources that can be shared with patients

Contraceptive options

Female and male sterilization
Intrauterine devices
Progestin-only contraceptives
Combined hormonal contraceptives
Emergency contraceptive pills
Barrier contraceptive methods
Fertility-awareness based methods
Lactational Amenorrhea method
Coitus Interruptus (withdrawal)

Watch the webinar recording here, and don’t miss the links to related resources below:

About the presenter:

Leslie Fung, CNM, joined Eisner Health after completing the Nurse Midwifery program at Columbia University. Before becoming a midwife, she worked in public health research and then as a nurse in primary care clinics embedded in homeless shelters throughout New York City. She’s committed to providing compassionate care and building trusting relationships with individuals throughout their reproductive health, pregnancy, and birth journeys.