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About the Centre

Established in 2019, the Centre for Reproductive Research & Communication (CRRC) at BPAS exists to develop and deliver a research agenda that furthers access to evidence-based reproductive healthcare and choices. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. We draw directly on BPAS’ own work as a reproductive health provider to inform our agenda and work in collaboration and through strategic partnerships to achieve our mission. 

As a research team, we have experience of conducting research on abortion, contraception, pregnancy, and public health. We have expertise in clinical practice, medical ethics and law, epidemiology, evaluation research, and the social sciences.

The work of the CRRC is overseen by our Steering Committee

Recent Publications 

"Safeguarding for reproductive coercion and abuse"

Read the full article here.

"Improving experience of medical abortion at home in a changing therapeutic, technological and regulatory landscape: a realist review"

Read the full article here.

"WRISK voices: A mixed-methods study of women's experiences of pregnancy-related public health advice and risk messages in the UK"

Read the full article here.

"Randomised trials of medical abortion provide some but not all the answers"

Read the full article here.

"From self-to other-surveillance: a critical commentary on the English policy framework for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)." 

Read the full article here.

"Using meconium to establish prenatal alcohol exposure in the UK: ethical, legal and social considerations."

Read the full article here.

News 

  • “From Knowledge Production to Clinical Practice: risk and pregnancy”: We are hosting a public webinar to showcase the findings of the WRISK Project! The webinar will take place on Zoom on 14th February 2023, 3-5pm. Featuring Professor Marian Knight (University of Oxford), Professor Julia Sanders (Cardiff University), Ms Clare Murphy (BPAS) and Ms Rebecca Blaylock (BPAS-CRRC). More information to follow soon! 
  • We are delighted to announce that our article “Efficacy of a low-sensitivity urine pregnancy test for identifying ongoing pregnancy after medication abortion at 64 to 70 days of gestation” was selected for the 2021-2022 Daniel R. Mishell, Jr, MD Outstanding Article Award. This award honours outstanding articles in the journal Contraception. Based on nominations from an editorial board committee, The Editor and Deputy Editors selected three papers most deserving of this award. The selection criteria focus on articles that best demonstrate high quality methodology, an excellent presentation of results, and a discussion that showed an exceptional understanding of the impact of the article relative to other literature and clinical practice.

 

CRRC Team

Patricia Lohr – BPAS Medical Director and Director of the CRRC

Patricia trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center followed by a Fellowship in Family Planning & Contraceptive Research and Masters Degree in Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been Medical Director of British Pregnancy Advisory Service since 2007 and Director of the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication since 2020. Her research interests include quality in abortion care, novel methods of medical abortion service delivery, and cervical preparation for second trimester surgical abortion. She has published a number of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on family planning and has contributed to evidence-based guidance produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, and Society of Family Planning. Patricia serves as an Associate Editor for the journal BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. In addition to service development and research, she has passionate about education in abortion and advises the RCOG and British Society of Abortion Care Providers on training and curricula. She worked with the RCOG to update their advanced skills module in abortion care and is currently overseeing the creation of related e-learning materials.

Rebecca Blaylock - Research and Engagement Lead

Rebecca is a multidisciplinary researcher with an MPH from Imperial College London and BA in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge. Her current research encompasses several projects on abortion, contraception, and public health and pregnancy. Rebecca’s interdisciplinary training means she uses wide a range of methods. Recent projects include a systematic review of abortion in low-and-middle income countries, a quantitative evaluation of telemedical abortion services in the UK, and a qualitative exploration of what ‘quality’ of care means to abortion service users. Rebecca also leads WRISK, a research-engagement project funded by the Wellcome Trust aiming to improve our understanding of the way that pregnancy-related risk is communicated.

Teaching and Mentoring
  • Rebecca has previously supervised MPH students at Imperial College London on projects related to abortion, and would welcome enquiries from students wanting to work in this area
Service and Membership

Kate Whitehouse - Head of Clinical Policy and Evaluation

Originally trained as an obstetrician-gynaecologist, Kate went on to specialise in abortion and family planning. She aims to perform robust research to answer clinical questions and ultimately improve patient care. She has a special interest in abortion complications and second trimester surgical abortion. Through her former role at the World Health Organization and her position at BPAS, she has extensive experience in translating research into pragmatic clinical guidance. Kate has experience performing randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, database analyses, patient and provider surveys, and qualitative interviews. She also has a passion for medical education and has provided both didactic and hands-on training to learners across various disciplines.

Service and Membership

Rachel Arkell - Research and Project Officer

Rachel is a qualitative researcher with an LLM in Medical Law and Ethics, MA in Methods of Social Research, and LLB in European Legal Studies from the University of Kent. Her current research focuses on social and policy regulation of behaviour and maternal consumption during pregnancy, with a strong focus on bio-ethical and socio-legal methods. Rachel is currently a SeNSS (ESRC) funded socio-legal PhD candidate at the University of Kent, exploring the communication of risk with regards to medication use during pregnancy, post- Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015]. Current projects include a legal and ethical analysis of the use of biomarkers to establish prenatal alcohol exposure, and After Choice: FASD and the ‘managed woman’, a collaborative project with Professor Ellie Lee, University of Kent.

Teaching and Mentoring
  • Rachel has experience guest lecturing for postgraduate LLM courses at the University of Kent
ORCID iD iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5796-1070

Hannah McCulloch - Evaluation Researcher

Hannah is a mixed methods researcher with an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has almost five years’ experience in the evaluation of innovative sexual and reproductive health service provision in the UK and in Kenya. Recent evaluations that she has conducted include a service evaluation examining the safety of remote chlamydia treatment services across England, a mixed methods study exploring the accuracy of self-reported blood pressure and BMI given by those obtaining the combined pill from an online service in South East London, and a cross-sectional study exploring patient compliance with advice provided by a WhatsApp-based contraception service in Nairobi, Kenya. She joins the CRRC as an Evaluation Researcher, conducting service evaluations of BPAS' clinical services.

ORCID iD iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5006-967X

Pam Lowe - Visiting Researcher

Pam is a senior lecturer in Sociology and Policy at Aston University, Birmingham. She has been awarded a British Academy Innovation Fellowship (2021-22) to work with BPAS to examine issues surrounding reproductive coercion within reproductive health services, with a particular focus on telemedicine abortion care. The aim of the project is to enhance policy understandings and good practice in identifying and supporting those at risk of reproductive coercion by drawing together national and international expertise on the issues. Pam has extensive experience in the areas of reproductive and sexual health. Her most recent projects include a longitudinal ethnography on UK anti-abortion activism, exploring the sexual health needs of online sex workers and managing early pregnancy endings in the workplace. Pam’s research has been used in both national and international policy contexts including the World Health Organisation. It has been used in legal cases such as in the High Court of Australia. 

ORCID iD iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5933-453X

Collaborate with us

If you are a student or a researcher with a project you would like to undertake and looking for a host organisation, do get in touch.

 

We have previously accepted students and fellows from Imperial College London, Kent University, Sussex University, Princeton University, Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.

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Events

Find out about upcoming and past events at the CRRC.

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Research Projects

Read more about our ongoing, completed and collaborative research.

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CRRC Resource Centre

Learn about our research by reading publications and research briefings.

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Awards, grants and prizes

The Heather Trickey Essay Prize

This prize encourages work reflecting the contribution and commitment of Dr Heather Trickey to finding common ground in the field of women’s reproductive health and women’s rights.

By bringing together those of differing perspectives, we’ll develop innovative, practical policy solutions to difficult problems.

 

Peter Huntingford Memorial Prize

BPAS has endowed the Peter Huntingford Memorial Prize to mark the late Professor Peter Huntingford’s contribution to obstetrics and gynaecology. 

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