The Penn Pregnancy Early Access Center (PEACE) 

Reproductive care is often urgent, but it isn’t always clear to patients where to seek treatment. The Penn Pregnancy Early Access Center, or PEACE, was established to provide timely care for patients experiencing miscarriage or concerning early pregnancy symptoms, as well as those seeking abortions, family planning support, and contraception counseling.

The Center welcomes all patients, including those with disabilities or medical complexities, and accepts all types of insurance, including public and private.

“PEACE is an integrated family planning and urgent pregnancy care center that bridges a major gap for people who can become pregnant or who are pregnant,” says Sarita R. Sonalkar, MD, an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine.

Dr. Sonalkar recently took part in a Penn Medicine Physicians Podcast (see links below) to discuss how the program is benefiting patients.

Urgent pregnancy care

One in five early pregnancies end in miscarriage, and many patients don’t know where to turn for help. Patients experiencing unplanned pregnancies are also unsure where to get family planning help free from stigma.

PEACE was designed to help patients in the early stages of pregnancy, including those who need urgent care. The program offers services including:

• Pregnancy counseling
• Early ultrasound to evaluate concerning symptoms like bleeding
• Abortion care
• Miscarriage management

Contraception counseling

For patients who want to prevent pregnancy, PEACE offers timely appointments for patient-centered contraception counseling and services, including contraceptive options to treat problems such as painful periods or endometriosis.

The program provides access to all methods of female contraception, including IUDs, implants, pills, patches, rings, and injectables. PEACE also offers surgical permanent contraception using laparoscopic bilateral salpingectomy. Providers counsel patients on the use of other approaches, such as condoms and fertility awareness, as well.

“When it comes to contraception, there are a lot of options, and it can be confusing for patients to know where to start,” Dr. Sonalkar says. “Our approach is generally a very careful balance of person-centered and evidence-based counseling. We know that each patient has personal and unique values around their reproductive lives, and there's no one overall gold standard method for contraception.”

Supportive, compassionate care to address specific patient needs

PEACE emphasizes shared decision-making and was designed with patients’ physical and psychological comfort in mind, Dr. Sonalkar says. This includes a discussion about pain management options for patients undergoing procedures. “We take a trauma-informed approach to our pelvic exams and procedures, addressing patients’ psychological, emotional, and physical needs,” she says.

“We're really happy to see any patient who is in their reproductive years and would like information or services related to family planning—whether that's contraception care, early pregnancy evaluation, abortion, or miscarriage,” Dr. Sonalkar says. “Any person in their reproductive years who has a uterus has the potential to become pregnant, and we’re happy to see them all.”

Clinical consult and patient referral

For a provider-to-provider consultation with Dr. Sarita R. Sonalkar, call 877-937-7366, or refer a patient online. Patients can make an appointment at PEACE by calling 800-789-7366.