Ideas worth spreading

Why is it so hard to get effective birth control in the US?

996,074 views |

Mark Edwards |

TED2023

• April 2023

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, the result of millions of people being unable to get the birth control method that works best for them. Reproductive health advocate and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Mark Edwards discusses Upstream USA's nationwide effort to expand access to high-quality contraceptive care by integrating it into primary health-care settings -- a crucial shift towards increasing equal health opportunities and empowering people to decide when and if they want to start families. (This ambitious idea is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, the result of millions of people being unable to get the birth control method that works best for them. Reproductive health advocate and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Mark Edwards discusses Upstream USA's nationwide effort to expand access to high-quality contraceptive care by integrating it into primary health-care settings -- a crucial shift towards increasing equal health opportunities and empowering people to decide when and if they want to start families. (This ambitious idea is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Have a conversation with your primary provider on how they're set up to provide their patients with the full range of birth control methods. Impact starts with helping to change the conversation around contraceptives.

About the speaker

Mark Edwards

Reproductive health advocate

See speaker profile

Mark Edwards is the cofounder and CEO of Upstream USA, a nonprofit working to expand contraceptive access in the United States.

Brittni Frederiksen et al. | kff.org, 2021 | Article

"Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: Key Findings from the 2020 KFF Women's Health Survey"

KFF | kff.org, 2022 | Article

"2022 Women's Health Survey"

Upstream USA | YouTube, 2017 | Watch

"Upstream USA and The Door"

Upstream USA | YouTube, 2019 | Watch

Jennifer Block | St. Martin's Press, 2019 | Book

Everything Below the Waist: Why Health Care Needs a Feminist Revolution

J.C. Hallman | Henry Holt and Co., 2023 | Book

Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Have a conversation with your primary provider on how they're set up to provide their patients with the full range of birth control methods. Impact starts with helping to change the conversation around contraceptives.