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PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Maternity Wards Have a Money Problem
What: Time has a deep dive on why hospitals are closing OBGYN units throughout the country, and the answer isn’t the fall of Roe making obstetrical care legally dangerous. It’s far simpler than that: money.
Why it matters: With so much of health policy, the devil is in the details: “There are a number of reasons why the U.S. health care system is falling short when it comes to maternity care. All of them are about money. Insurance reimbursement rates are set in large part by a committee that critics say undervalues ob-gyn care relative to other, high-profit specialties. A large proportion of births in the U.S. are reimbursed through Medicaid, which pays hospitals less than other insurers.”
Source: Time
MENOPAUSE
Menopause’s Doctor Problem
What: The Washington Post’s Leana Wen digs into menopause, and specifically how “the medical field is failing menopausal women.” Wen breaks down a 2019 survey that found less than 7% of physicians in relevant fields said “they felt adequately prepared to manage women experiencing menopause.”
Why it matters: Wen asked the study author whether “medical training has improved since her study was published. ‘I don’t think we are making a lot of progress,’ she replied.”
Source: Washington Post
ONCOLOGY
Cancer Society Launches Study of Black Women
What: The American Cancer Society launched a study that aims to identify why Black women are at a higher risk of getting and dying from certain cancers. The organization wants to enroll 100,000 Black women, ages 25-55, who would then be followed for 30 years.
Why it matters: As one woman interviewed in the story put it – “Johnes recalled being the only Black woman in the room for most of her treatment. Her experience led her to become an advocate for women of color receiving cancer diagnoses. ‘For me it looked different,’ she said. ‘I was young, I was Black.’”
Source: WRAL
Remembering Kris Hallenga
What: The New York Times has an obituary for Kris Hallenga, who died from breast cancer this week at age 38. Hallenga was first diagnosed at 23, and turned her shock over getting cancer so young into a nonprofit that reached thousands of young women to educate them about breast cancer.
Why it matters: “’Survival was never enough,’ she said during a publicity tour in 2021. ‘I don’t just want to survive, I want to be able to really look at my life and go, ‘I’m glad to still be here, and I’m getting the most of what I want from life.’”
Source: New York Times
ENDOMETRIOSIS
Endometriosis Is Having a Moment, But Not Soon Enough for Many Patients
What: An essay from Lucy Pasha-Robinson opens with one of the most gripping depictions of endometriosis pain I’ve ever read (spoiler alert: far worse than labor in her experience), but then quickly gets to the point: “there have been no new endometriosis treatments made available to patients for 40 years.”
Why it matters: “Why do breakthroughs in healthcare take so long to trickle down to the people living with these conditions? Probably for all sorts of good reasons. Gold-standard research takes time. But there’s a frustration as a patient in knowing there could be a solution to your suffering just around the corner, except you probably won’t get there in time to benefit.”
Source: The Guardian
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