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Labs

Payal Chakraborty

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career

Unintended pregnancies can lead to poorer pregnancy outcomes, and early evidence suggests their rates may differ by sexual orientation. Rates may also differ among subgroups of women within each sexual orientation group.

Fields

Public Health & Epidemiology

Social Science

Topics

unintended pregnancy

sexual orientation

sexual minority women

Grants
1 known grant, through Aug 2028

What they work on

  1. Quantify differences in unintended pregnancy rates by sexual orientation by combining data from two large national longitudinal cohorts.
  2. Test how state policy contexts affecting access to reproductive health care shape sexual orientation-related differences in unintended pregnancies and adverse perinatal outcomes.
  3. Identify demographic and geographic subgroups of women at particularly high risk of unintended pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

More about the research

One possible reason is where women live: state policies shape access to reproductive health care. Understanding which groups face the highest risk, and why, is a step toward policies that improve pregnancy outcomes.

Why it matters

Pinpointing which women, by sexual orientation, demographics and state, face the highest risks of unintended pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes could help public health officials and policymakers target interventions. It could also identify state reproductive health policies that promote better pregnancy outcomes.

Known grants

From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.

Differences in unintended pregnancies by state contexts

NIH · Sep 2025 – Aug 2028

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Julie Maslowsky

University of Michigan, MI·Public Health & Epidemiology

Compile state-level data on sexual and reproductive health factors, such as provider scope of practice and contraception access, for all 50 states and DC, using human-centered design with researchers to define consistent variables.

Adovich Rivera

Northwestern University, IL·Public Health & Epidemiology

Measure the prevalence and incidence of cardiometabolic conditions and cardiovascular disease by sexual orientation, using linked Kaiser Permanente Research Bank surveys and electronic health records.

Stefanie Hinkle

University of Pennsylvania, PA·Public Health & Epidemiology

Create a preconception cohort by linking NHANES national health survey data with later Medicaid pregnancy records for low-income women of reproductive age.

The school

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 72 labs on PI Pages, $1.6B a year on research, 523 research doctorates a year.

More about University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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