Approximately 45% of all pregnancies and 75% of U.S. teen pregnancies are unintended. In 2013, around 57.5% of women who gave birth stated that they had not been trying to get pregnant but only 43.4% of these women were actively using contraception (TDH Data, 2016). Additionally, of the deliveries in 2014, 22.7% were defined as short-interval pregnancies (TDH Data, 2016). These data indicate for women in Tennessee, there is an overall lack of access to effective, long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Immediate postpartum placement of long-acting reversible contraception (IPP LARC) is safe, effective, and provides a window of opportunity for women to gain access to contraception. (Committee Opinion No. 642)

As of November 2nd, 2017, a policy change has allowed postpartum women with TennCare coverage to receive IPP LARC as a means to address the gap in contraceptive access. The Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care (TIPQC) launched IPP LARC as the Maternal Quality Improvement Project under the direction of the TIPQC Medical Director, Nikki Zite, MD, MPH. The goal is to increase access to IPP LARC for all women in Tennessee by working with providers, hospitals, pharmacies, nurses, lactation consultants, and commercial insurance providers to decrease barriers and extend IPP LARC access across the state of Tennessee. Ultimately, this goal will help women have control over their reproductive choice while improving the health of infants through the lowering of unintended and short-interval pregnancy rates as well as rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome across the state.