Study Examines Hotline Use Before and After Dobbs

The nation’s health care infrastructure is not meeting people’s needs. This is especially true for pregnant people. Some people are turning to health care hotlines for information and support.

A recent study from the Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE) at the Rollins School of Public Health investigates this pattern. The study, done in partnership with the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline and other academic researchers, looked at the ways phone calls and texts to the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline changed in the year before and after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

Calls to Abortion Hotlines Increased After Dobbs

They found that calls to the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline increased by 210% after the Dobbs decision, with a greater increase in states with abortion bans. But the research also showed demand for the hotline started growing well before the Dobbs decision.

“We know that when people don't have access to the full scope of pregnancy care—specifically abortion and miscarriage management care—it can lead to poor maternal and infant outcomes,” says Sara Redd, PhD, director of research translation with RISE. “The health care system is not fully meeting people's needs when it comes to managing a miscarriage or an abortion. This has led to the necessity for a resource like the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline. Regardless of where people live in the U.S., there is incredible demand for this service.”  

Caller Questions Shifted After Dobbs

Topics from callers also shifted before and after tighter abortion restrictions were passed. Before Dobbs, callers were more likely to ask questions like where to get a pregnancy test, how to read a pregnancy test, or where to get pills for a medication abortion. After Dobbs, the most common questions were about the abortion experience.  

The Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline is a free, anonymous hotline staffed by licensed medical professionals who respond to calls about miscarriage and abortion. Callers can call or text to get information from qualified medical practitioners. Or they can explore the website for information about abortion medications, miscarriage symptoms and warning signs, abortion after care, when to seek emergency care, and more.  

“This paper affirms what many of us in Georgia and across the South know," says Redd. "Barriers to care didn’t start with Dobbs, and neither did the need for reproductive health care support offered by organizations like the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline. There are huge gaps in people's ability to access the level of care that they need. We need a stronger infrastructure for reproductive and maternal health care in the United States. Period.”