OB/GYN

Menopause and the drop in cervical cancer screening

Conditions

March 10, 2026

Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers we actually know how to prevent. With HPV vaccination, routine screening, and early treatment of precancerous lesions, the disease is largely avoidable. Yet every year, thousands of women still develop cervical cancer, including about 14,000 women in the U.S. alone. When people think about cervical cancer prevention, the focus is usually on younger women: HPV vaccination for adolescents and Pap smears during …

Artificial intelligence and the future of fetal heart rate monitoring

Martin G. Frasch, MD, PhD, Mark I. Evans, MD, and Philip J. Steer, MD

Conditions

March 7, 2026

For half a century, the “gold standard” of labor safety has been a single, flickering line on a screen. But as recent reporting confirms, that line is often a lie. Our obsession with isolated fetal heart rate patterns has created a surgical “false positive pipeline,” driving C-section rates to historic highs without actually reducing the incidence of cerebral palsy.

The myth of the “failed” test

The skepticism surrounding EFM often stems from …

The Dozortsev-Diamond paradigm: Is progesterone the true ovulation trigger?

Michael Allon, MD, Lina Villar, MD, and Beata Tralik, MD, PhD

Conditions

March 6, 2026

Every reproductive endocrinologist knows that ovulation is triggered by estradiol. In our textbooks, the sequence is clear: Estradiol rises, triggers an LH surge, and ovulation follows, culminating in the formation of a corpus luteum, which produces progesterone to support implantation and pregnancy. It is straightforward and reassuringly precise, and it forms the backbone of our clinical practice.

Yet, from the very beginning of training, we are instructed to use artificial ovulation …

Reproductive care for rare diseases: the missing playbook

Lyndsay Hoy, MD

Conditions

March 1, 2026

In my first week of anesthesiology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, I learned two things at once: how to keep other people breathing and how it feels to lose your own air. My chest filled with liters of lymphatic fluid. A scan showed lungs that looked like lace. The diagnosis was LAM, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, a rare, estrogen-sensitive lung disease that overwhelmingly strikes women in their reproductive years.

At …

Rural maternity care in crisis: 5 solutions to save local OB units

Jesus Ruiz, MD

Physician

February 28, 2026

Across the United States, rural maternity care is in crisis. Hospitals continue to close labor and delivery units, entire counties are left without obstetric services, and pregnant patients are forced to travel hours for routine care or delivery. These closures are often framed as inevitable, driven by low volume, unsustainable costs, and staffing shortages, but this narrative ignores both the root causes of the problem and the solutions already within …

Physician father wrestles with daughter’s post-Dobbs future [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 27, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Family physician Travis Walker discusses his article “A physician father on the Dobbs decision and reproductive rights.” Travis reflects on the glaring double standard facing his daughter compared to his sons in …

Uterine aging plays a critical hidden role in IVF outcomes [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 22, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Fertility specialist Oluyemisi Famuyiwa discusses her article “Uterine aging in IVF: Why the ‘soil’ matters as much as the seed.” Oluyemisi explains that while clinicians often focus on egg quality, the aging …

Mifepristone safety: Comparing the data to Viagra and penicillin

Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, MD and Sophia Yen, MD, MPH

Meds

February 21, 2026

As physicians, we pride ourselves on following the evidence. We weigh risks and benefits, assess data, and trust science to guide decisions about patient care. Yet, when it comes to reproductive health, lawmakers and courts too often override scientific consensus. Nowhere is that clearer than in the debate over mifepristone.

Patients deserve care rooted in evidence and science, not ideology. To provide safe and best-practice medical care, physicians need the ability …

The misuse of hormone therapy in menopause care

Kay Corpus, MD

Conditions

February 20, 2026

As an integrative and functional medicine physician, I prescribe hormone therapy. I also see its misuse daily.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), including bioidentical hormone therapy (BHRT), has re-entered menopause care with force, correcting decades of dismissal and undertreatment. That correction was necessary, but the pendulum has swung too far.

What I am seeing clinically is not thoughtful, physiology-based care. It is hormone-first medicine that bypasses stress physiology, nervous system dysregulation, trauma, metabolic …

Learning from patients: How a physician gained strength and resilience

Samantha Fernandes, MD

Physician

February 19, 2026

I remember. It is a gorgeous summer day as the sunlight streaks through the redwood canopy. My grip clenches the dangling rope. My stance wobbles on the itty-bitty circular disk. I am uncertain. Teeter-tottering, I plot my next move. It does not happen. I plummet. My harness transforms into a bucket swing, saving me from the forest floor. I sway in the pleasant breeze. I cannot finish the Level 1 …

Menstrual health in medicine: Addressing the gender gap in care

Cynthia Kumaran

Conditions

February 16, 2026

In medical school, I’ve been taught to take chest pain seriously. If a patient presents with angina, there are clear guidelines, robust evidence, and standardized protocols to follow. Yet, when a patient comes into the clinic describing mood swings, fatigue, or pain tied to their menstrual cycle, the responses of clinicians are often vague, stating, “That’s normal.” Behind that simple phrase lies decades of neglect in how we study, fund, …

Mifepristone restrictions: How bans force patients into riskier care

John Finnie-Maloney

Conditions

February 15, 2026

I will never forget the patient I met in the emergency department who was pale, trembling, and in tears, her family in distress at her side in the trauma bay. She was suffering complications after taking medication to end her pregnancy. While such side effects can occur with medical abortions, they are markedly more likely when patients are forced to use misoprostol alone, a reality in states that restrict access …

My journey with fibroids and hysterectomy: a patient’s perspective

Sonya Linda Bynum

Conditions

February 6, 2026

I am a 45-year-old Black woman. I learned in early 2025 I was going through perimenopause. As I experienced what was my new norm of mood changes, anxiety, migraines, and once again heavier periods, I found vitamins to help with some of my perimenopause symptoms, but not all. I decided to make an appointment with a gynecologist.

I made an appointment with the first available GYN since I hadn’t seen my …

Why perimenopause feels like losing yourself

Claudine Holt, MD

Conditions

February 5, 2026

Many women entering perimenopause struggle to put words to what they are experiencing. They often say, “I don’t feel like myself anymore,” even when they can’t identify a single symptom that feels concrete or diagnosable. Emotionally, something feels different. Physically, their bodies feel unfamiliar, more aches, more pains, weight changes, or a sense that it’s harder to “get back on track.” Cognitively, many notice brain fog or a lack of …

World Health Organization reframes fertility care as a fundamental right [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 28, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Fertility specialist and founder of Montgomery Fertility Center Oluyemisi (Yemi) Famuyiwa discusses her article “Infertility public health: the WHO’s new global guideline.” Oluyemisi examines the historic release of global guidelines that reframe …

How personal experience shapes perimenopause and menopause care

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Conditions

January 28, 2026

Many OB-GYNs find their views on perimenopause and menopause change once they experience these transitions themselves. Even with medical training, the symptoms can be surprising and harder to recognize than expected.

As women’s health clinicians, we understand the common challenges of this stage of life. Hot flashes, sleep problems, vaginal dryness, mood changes, weight gain, and trouble concentrating can affect daily routines in ways that many women do not expect. When …

Uterine aging in IVF: Why the “soil” matters as much as the seed

Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD

Conditions

January 26, 2026

Most clinicians know that eggs age. Fewer acknowledge that the uterus ages too.

In reproductive medicine, we often rely on the seed-and-soil analogy. The seed is the embryo. The soil is the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus where implantation occurs.

Here is the part that deserves more explicit counseling and strategic planning: Even when embryo quality is controlled, uterine age can independently influence implantation, miscarriage risk, and live birth rates. …

Why pediatricians are key to postpartum depression screening

Mikenna Reiser

Conditions

January 16, 2026

When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer changed from ballerina to teacher to everything in between. One thing remained constant: I wanted to be a mother. I have narrowed my career aspirations to becoming a physician, but my desire to be a mom has been unwavering. In a climate where maternal mental health is so misunderstood, I constantly wonder what support I will have …

The physician emotional toll of delivering bad news

Alexis Lipton, MD

Conditions

January 5, 2026

You can usually taste the excitement in the air during a first visit for pregnancy. It’s palpable. And the evidence for it is everywhere: the nervous fidgeting of hands. Do you place them on your lap or not-so-casually at your side? Paper drape sheet typically is balled up into tiny handfuls for better “grip” on this one-ply provider of modesty. And the quick glances back and forth between soon-to-be parents …

A clinician’s guide to embryo grading in IVF

Erica Bove, MD

Conditions

December 31, 2025

In the fast-paced world of reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI), even seasoned clinicians from other specialties can find themselves lost in the weeds of embryo reports. While most of us recall the basics of mitosis and meiosis from medical school, the clinical nuances of embryo morphology and grading are often not taught until fellowship.

Understanding these metrics is essential for informed decision-making. Whether you are an OB/GYN managing patient expectations or …