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Study Objective To examine adolescent and young adults’ priorities, values and preferences affecting the choice to use intrauterine contraception (IUC). Design and participants Qualitative exploratory semi-structured interviews with 27 females 16–25 years old on the day of their IUC insertion. Analysis was done using a modified grounded theory approach. Setting Outpatient adolescent medicine clinic located within an academic children’s hospital in the Bronx, New York Results We identified four broad factors affecting choice: (1) personal, (2) IUC device-specific, (3) health care provider (HCP), and (4) social network. The majority of the participants perceived an ease with a user-independent method and were attracted by the IUC’s high efficacy, potential longevity of use and the option to remove the device prior to its’ expiration. Participants described their HCP as being the most influential individual during the IUC decision-process via provision of reliable, accurate contraceptive information and demonstration of an actual device. Of all people in their social network, mothers played the biggest role. Conclusions Adolescents and young women choosing IUC appear to value IUCs’ efficacy and convenience, their relationship with and elements of clinicians’ contraceptive counseling, and their mother’s support. Our results suggest that during IUC counseling, clinicians should discuss these device-specific benefits, elicit patient questions and concerns, and use visual aids including the device itself. Incorporating the factors we found most salient into routine IUC counseling may increase the number of adolescents and young women who choose IUC as a good fit for them.

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Neonatal Marfan syndrome is a unique clinical entity with recurring mutation hot spots in exons 24 to 27 and 31 to 32 of the FBN1 gene. Some clinical features in this case report are unusual for neonatal Marfan syndrome. This is the third report of this T3276C mutation in the FBN1 gene with unusual clinical manifestations. We conclude that there is a genotypic-phenotypic correlation associated with this mutation.