Center For Family Planning Research

o the development of new contraceptive methods and other techniques. The field of family planning addresses the needs and desires of women and men to control if and when they desire to become pregnant. The goal of developing new contraceptive technologies is to find ways to prevent pregnancies that are safer, easier to use, and more effective than our current methods. Much of the research we do has significant impact on the use and availability of contraceptives in developing countries. At the same time, we work to find contraceptives that also help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). In that way, we hope that women who become pregnant can do so at a time when they are able to best maximize the chances of a happy and healthy pregnancy. However, when an unintended pregnancy occurs, women still have a choice. We also strive to help those women who choose not to continue their pregnancy by developing new and potentially safer methods of terminating their pregnancy. The Center for Family Planning Research at the Magee-Womens Research Institute was created in 1994. The primary office, located in Magee-Womens Hospital, is staffed by physicians, research coordinators, a regulatory coordinator, statisticians, and several research assistants.