Health Feb 11 Watch 6:33 Why more states are requiring consent for pelvic exams on unconscious patients Medical schools, medical students and state legislatures are grappling with the little-discussed but sometimes common practice of performing pelvic exams for training purposes on unconscious patients without their knowledge. Alexandra Fountaine, a medical student in Ohio, and Phoebe Friesen, a… By Lisa Desjardins, Claire Mufson
Arts Feb 05 Watch 3:33 A Brief But Spectacular take on being a women’s healthcare warrior Dr. Donna Adams-Pickett is a practicing OB-GYN in Georgia, a state that’s known as a maternal care desert. She’s run a women’s health center there for more than two decades. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on a career… By Moe Sattar, Elizabeth Burton, Melissa Williams
Health Oct 15 Watch 6:23 Why the problem of maternity care deserts is getting worse The number of deaths due to pregnancy-related causes is on the rise, according to a new report from the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization focused on maternal and infant care. The report found that as outcomes get worse, so…
Health Sep 04 Watch 4:55 Maternity care deserts grow across the US as obstetric units shut down In many parts of the country, there are fewer places to give birth. Obstetric units have closed in New Hampshire, New York, Delaware, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Wyoming and other states — creating maternity care deserts for millions of Americans. Alecia…
Mar 16 Pregnant Californians’ access to doula care delayed as state and professionals spar over payment By Rachel Bluth, Kaiser Health News California was supposed to start paying doulas this year to help Medicaid enrollees have healthy pregnancies. But the benefit has been delayed because doulas feel lowballed by the state’s proposed payment rate. Continue reading
May 14 These 3 charts show how rural health care was weakened even before COVID-19 By Laura Santhanam Even before the emergence of COVID-19, hundreds of rural hospitals sat on the verge of closure, and vital services like obstetrics, chemotherapy and orthopedics were drying up, according to new analysis from the Chartis Center for Rural Health. Continue reading
Jun 28 Pelvic exams for healthy women have no proven benefit, U.S. panel says By Sharon Begley, STAT The US Preventive Services Task Force, which advises the federal government on preventive care, concluded that there is not enough evidence to recommend pelvic exams for healthy women. Continue reading
Jul 29 Hospitals look to laborists to fill gaps left by on-call obstetricians By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News Despite concerns about turning obstetrics into “shift” work similar to emergency physicians, the trend of employing laborists, hospitalists who handle births and obstetrical and gynecological emergencies, is growing as hospitals seek to improve patient safety and physicians increasingly recognize they… Continue reading