Women’s health

869 articles · Since 2011

Articles, page 12

From cancer survivor to health care advocate: a touching tribute to an irreplaceable radiologist [PODCAST]

May 17, 2023May 17, 2023

Join us on this emotional episode as we hear the touching story of a patient's journey with cancer and the irreplaceable radiologist who played a crucial role in her care. Our guest Kim Downey, a physical therapist and three-time cancer…

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Join us on this emotional episode as we hear the touching story of a patient’s journey with cancer and the irreplaceable radiologist who played a crucial role in her care. Our guest Kim Downey, a physical therapist and three-time cancer survivor, shares her personal experience and pays tribute to her late …

Physician voices

From womb to burnout: a physician’s reflection on the impact of maternal burnout on her journey

Amna Shabbir, MD

May 14, 2023May 14, 2023

I was driving in the rain, taking in all the abundant Carolina greenery around me, reflecting on how wonderful it was to be out of the hospital and experience this current moment. I started to wonder when was the first time I ever felt burned out in my journey as a physician, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Like a scarring memory deeply suppressed, rising to …

Conditions and diseases

U.S. maternal death rate keeps climbing: Understanding root causes can help reduce maternal mortality

American Society of Anesthesiologists & Mark Zakowski, MD

May 14, 2023May 14, 2023

As we recognize Mother's Day on May 14, let's take this time to reflect on how we can help ensure all moms celebrate with us, year after year. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…

As we recognize Mother’s Day on May 14, let’s take this time to reflect on how we can help ensure all moms celebrate with us, year after year. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the U.S. maternal mortality rate rose once again in 2021 – an 89% increase for all women since 2018. Additionally, the maternal mortality rate for Black women has …

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Drugs and prescribing

Is FDA-approved Veozah a game-changer in menopause hot flash treatment?

Kevin Pho, MD

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023

The medical world is buzzing following the FDA's green light for Veozah. This is a one-of-a-kind, non-hormonal drug designed to tackle hot flashes in menopausal women. It brings fresh hope to countless women in the U.S. who've been grappling with…

The medical world is buzzing following the FDA’s green light for Veozah. This is a one-of-a-kind, non-hormonal drug designed to tackle hot flashes in menopausal women. It brings fresh hope to countless women in the U.S. who’ve been grappling with these troublesome symptoms.

Around 80 percent of menopausal women suffer from hot flashes, which bring sudden spells of sweating, flushing, and chills. This unpleasant condition is caused by a glitch …

Conditions and diseases

Breaking the silence on pelvic congestion syndrome: Diagnosing and treating chronic pelvic pain with interventional radiology

Gloria Salazar, MD

May 11, 2023May 11, 2023

One in six women in the U.S. suffers from chronic pelvic pain (CPP), yet many receive improper treatment for the condition, or no care at all. They're frustrated – and rightfully so. Their health care providers are frustrated too because…

One in six women in the U.S. suffers from chronic pelvic pain (CPP), yet many receive improper treatment for the condition, or no care at all. They’re frustrated – and rightfully so. Their health care providers are frustrated too because what their patients are experiencing has historically been very difficult to diagnose. It is estimated that about 30 percent of patients with CPP suffer from a condition that can be …

Health policy

The growing threat to transgender health care: implications for patients, providers, and trainees

Carson Hartlage

April 30, 2023Apr 30, 20238

The ACLU is currently tracking over 400 anti-LGBTQ bills this legislative session, the highest number on record. Over 150 of these pertain to transgender people, including many targeting health care for transgender youth. As of April 2023, thirteen states have…

As of April 2023, thirteen states have passed laws or policies banning gender-affirming care for youth, while more than fifteen others have introduced similar bills and policies. These actions may forbid or criminalize evidence-based medical treatment for …

Physician voices

The truth about hard cases and abortion: Separating fact from fiction

Michael McCutchen, MD, MBA

April 25, 2023Apr 25, 20235

Though celebrated by anti-abortion advocates across the country, the overturning of Roe v. Wade by no means closed the book on the abortion debate. However, it was a victory for both human rights and federalism. The decision reinforced that the U.S. is a constitutional republic composed of individual states, each with its own agenda. States are now individually empowered to enact abortion legislation anywhere along the human gestation cycle. As …

Conditions and diseases

Transforming birth: How advocacy and sharing stories can shape policy and empower families

Tiffani Marie, PhD

April 11, 2023Apr 11, 2023

Musical genius and mogul Rihanna recently graced the Oscars stage for her second performance after the birth of her son, with a baby bump indicating her second pregnancy. She described her first birth as “blessed” and “beautiful.” While many expecting parents long to describe their birthing process similarly, there are realities within the medical system that complicate this narrative for those who are not celebrities. When my partner and I …

Conditions and diseases

Why an apology matters in medicine

Amber Gipson-Fine, MPH

April 5, 2023Apr 5, 20234

March was Endometriosis Awareness Month, and my journey with the disease involved a medical error. The apology I received restored trust in my care, a pivotal moment I hope can occur between more patients and physicians. Medical error disclosure to…

Medical error disclosure to patients, where a medical professional reports and explains a medical mistake to a patient, is encouraged by the Joint Commission …

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Why an apology matters in medicine

The Podcast by KevinMD

Breaking the silence on infertility: a urologist’s journey through IVF [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

April 2, 2023Apr 2, 2023

We sit down with Lei Chu, a urologist and author of IVF Diaries: A Female Urologist Infertility Journey. Lei shares her personal journey with infertility and the heartbreak of undergoing numerous IVF cycles. She sheds light on the growing issue…

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Physician voices

From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

Stephanie Pearson, MD

March 18, 2023Mar 18, 20232

December 20, 2012, started like any other day as an OB/GYN when I was called to do a precipitous delivery. I immediately saw that the baby's heart rate was dangerously low, and I knew I had to act quickly. Several…

December 20, 2012, started like any other day as an OB/GYN when I was called to do a precipitous delivery. I immediately saw that the baby’s heart rate was dangerously low, and I knew I had to act quickly. Several nurses helped me maintain the patient’s position to get a vacuum on the baby’s crowning head. While placing the vacuum, the patient kicked me in my brachial plexus, and my …

Physician voices

The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

Catherine Hennessey, MD

March 11, 2023Mar 11, 20238

As an OB/GYN, I know that medication abortion is safe, commonly used, and effective. Women's rights, family building, and abortion are recognized in many international human rights documents. The United Nations' 1966 Human Rights Treaty states that all people have…

As an OB/GYN, I know that medication abortion is safe, commonly used, and effective. Women’s rights, family building, and abortion are recognized in many international human rights documents. The United Nations’ 1966 Human Rights Treaty states that all people have a right to the highest attainable standard of health. The ability for someone to choose when and if they want to have a child is the basis of the Reproductive Justice framework and is paramount …

Conditions and diseases

Fool women twice? Drug makers revive menopause as a “disease.”

Martha Rosenberg

March 8, 2023Mar 8, 2023

In the words of the late soccer great Pelé spoofed on Saturday Night Live, women's health has been "very, very good" for drug makers. In 2002, 61 million prescriptions were written for women in the U.S. for hormones to treat…

In the words of the late soccer great Pelé spoofed on Saturday Night Live, women’s health has been “very, very good” for drug makers. In 2002, 61 million prescriptions were written for women in the U.S. for hormones to treat the so-called “disease” of menopause (which was once treated with electroshock therapy—yes, ECT).

Until the government-sponsored Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) found in 2002 that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) …

Conditions and diseases

Uncovering the overwhelming impact of the advanced maternal age patient on nursing

Donna Barnett, RN

March 2, 2023Mar 2, 2023

Imagine you have a busy full-time job. You get married at age 31. You and your new partner travel to Italy, Ireland, and Hawaii before settling with the kids. You both make pretty good money, so you buy a house. Of course, it needs furniture. And you have to have the new I-phone that just came out. You’re finally ready to get pregnant, but after two years, it hasn’t happened. …

Conditions and diseases

A human’s a human, no matter how small

Michael McCutchen, MD, MBA

March 2, 2023Mar 2, 20232

Theodore Geisel, known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, wrote hundreds of children's stories that continue to shape young children's development to this day. Dr. Seuss was a lifelong Democrat and favored many of FDR's New Deal policies. However, an…

Theodore Geisel, known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, wrote hundreds of children’s stories that continue to shape young children’s development to this day. Dr. Seuss was a lifelong Democrat and favored many of FDR’s New Deal policies. However, an NPR article notes his widow mentioned that she did not like it when his characters were used to push particular political points of view. The book …

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A human’s a human, no matter how small

Health policy

Addressing disparities in gynecological care for women with physical disabilities

Geffen Treiman

March 1, 2023Mar 1, 2023

I recently read a story in which a woman named H. Lee, who has muscular dystrophy, details a decade-long struggle to receive adequate cervical cancer screening. Providers have been unable to find her cervix due to the curvature of her spine, examined her in her wheelchair because there were no height-adjustable examination tables, and outright turned her away for “liability reasons.”

By the time she finds an accessible provider, she …

Medical education

From studying to baby kicks: Navigating motherhood in medical school

Natalie Eichner-Seitz

February 26, 2023Feb 26, 2023

It's 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, and I'm sitting comfortably, propped up by four pillows with my feet on a medicine ball in front of the sofa. I laugh with complete delight as I stare at my belly and see…

It’s 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, and I’m sitting comfortably, propped up by four pillows with my feet on a medicine ball in front of the sofa. I laugh with complete delight as I stare at my belly and see the spunky kicks of my daughter, dancing inside my womb to the beat of her own music. The joy I feel is indescribable. But then, I look around. A UWorld …

Health policy

The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

Meghan Sheehan, MD

February 25, 2023Feb 25, 202317

Nebraska has taken another step towards effectively banning abortion and criminalizing the practice of medicine. I want to try to clarify that this bill is not supported by the medical community. It does not seek to improve the lives of Nebraskans. In truth, this bill is not what it seems, and I hope you will take a minute with me to turn down the emotional noise from both sides and …

Conditions and diseases

What does an ENT doctor know about childbirth?

Ronald Halweil, MD

February 24, 2023Feb 24, 2023

An excerpt from Fifty Years a Doctor: The Journey of Sickness and Health, Four Plagues and the Pandemic. I went to medical school for four years. I was a medical intern for one year and a surgical resident for one…

An excerpt from Fifty Years a Doctor: The Journey of Sickness and Health, Four Plagues and the Pandemic.

I went to medical school for four years.

I was a medical intern for one year and a surgical resident for one year. And finally, an otolaryngology resident for three years.

My medical license permits me to practice medicine and surgery as a general practitioner.

I never lost interest in general medicine or the history, …

Conditions and diseases

Why Black women are dying during pregnancy and what we can do about it

Fatu Forna, MD

February 12, 2023Feb 12, 2023

"Dr. Forna, I'm not going to die this pregnancy, am I?" "No, ma'am. You're not going to die this pregnancy. Not on my watch! We are going to do everything we can to keep you safe." I've had this conversation…

“Dr. Forna, I’m not going to die this pregnancy, am I?”

“No, ma’am. You’re not going to die this pregnancy. Not on my watch! We are going to do everything we can to keep you safe.”

I’ve had this conversation with pregnant women many times in my over 20-year career as an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN). Still, they have become more frequent in the last few years as more stories of Black women dying …

Women’s health

Articles, page 12

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