May 10 Too many American women die during pregnancy By Michael Ollove, Stateline The Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits health care organizations and programs, calls maternal deaths “sentinel” events. “For every woman who dies, there are 50 who are very ill, suffering significant complications of pregnancy, labor and delivery,” Dr. William Callaghan,… Continue reading
Apr 18 Watch 5:48 Is a perfect storm of Zika virus conditions coming to the Gulf Coast? By PBS News Hour In the wake of the CDC’s revelation that Zika virus causes microcephaly in infants, doctors are grappling with the thorny issue of whether they should recommend that women in high-risk areas avoid getting pregnant this summer. Hari Sreenivasan talks to… Continue watching
Mar 27 Watch 1:41 Tennessee discontinues controversial fetal assault law By PBS News Hour Tennessee representatives voted to discontinue a controversial law that explicitly allowed prosecutors to charge a mother with fetal assault for using drugs while pregnant. NewsHour's Megan Thompson reports. Continue watching
Feb 26 CDC: Zika virus linked to ‘series of miscarriages’ in pregnant women By Nsikan Akpan Today, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention gave updates on their virus response efforts, U.S. cases involving pregnant women and 14 investigations into sexual transmission of the virus. Continue reading
Feb 23 Struggling rural hospitals close labor and delivery units By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News About 500,000 women give birth each year in rural hospitals, yet access to labor and delivery units has been declining. Continue reading
Feb 05 Watch 5:51 Brazil grapples with Zika health emergency as Carnival begins By PBS News Hour The Centers for Disease Control have released new guidelines for combating Zika virus, including a recommendation that men refrain from unprotected sex with women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Judy Woodruff talks with science correspondent Miles O’Brien,… Continue watching
Feb 01 WHO declares international emergency over Zika virus By Larisa Epatko The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus, and its possible link to an explosion of birth defects in Latin American countries, a public health emergency in need of a coordinated international response on Monday. Continue reading
Jan 29 How does Zika virus shrink a baby’s brain and other FAQs By Nsikan Akpan What is Zika virus? How early can a doctor spot microcephaly? Did you know the U.S. already has a virus causing thousands of microcephaly cases each year?… Continue reading
Jan 28 Watch 3:01 WHO to consider declaring international emergency over Zika virus By PBS News Hour The World Health Organization offered a powerful new warning about the rapid spread of the Zika virus, which apparently causes birth defects such as microcephaly and neurological problems. Officials estimate that there could be 3 to 4 million cases in… Continue watching
Jan 28 Watch 6:04 Why is Zika virus spreading so quickly? By PBS News Hour Weeks ago, hardly anyone in the U.S. knew what the Zika virus was. Now the mosquito-borne illness is raising serious fears, especially for pregnant women. Judy Woodruff talks to Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health about the… Continue watching