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EVERYTHING
One Problem in Women’s Health Investment? Reimbursement Rates
What: Investor Leslie Schrock has a piece on the five “bosses to beat” in women’s health, including traditionally poor reimbursement rates for women’s health providers.
Why it matters: “Medicaid now reimburses doulas, but there aren’t enough to go around, and they make more money going cash-pay. In-demand doulas are better compensated for childbirth than the ob-gyns. Poor reimbursement rates, along with burnout, difficult working conditions, and complexity related to reproductive rights, are driving ob-gyns to leave the specialty in droves. Startups must understand these policy issues and better lobby for change within the system.”
Source: Second Opinion
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
NIH Announces Postpartum Diagnostics Winners
What: The NIH announced eight winners of an $8 million prize competition to develop diagnostic tools for postpartum women in regions that have limited access to maternity care. Among the winners were two wearable monitors for cardiovascular health, a rapid at-home test for UTIs, and a smartphone app to detect postpartum anemia.
Why it matters: “’In the United States, most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. Equitable access to diagnostics can lead to timely interventions and potentially life-saving treatments,’ said Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., director of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which co-sponsored the challenge. ‘Through this challenge, NIH encouraged innovative, easy-to-use technologies that monitor common postpartum health problems, including hemorrhage, anemia, urinary infections and depression.’”
Source: NIH
Considering the History of Pregnancy Loss
What: Historian Lara Freidenfelds writes about pregnancy loss, starting with October being designated as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness in 1988—and how that was tied in with so-called “post-abortion syndrome.”
Why it matters: “Flash forward 36 years and the meaning of pregnancy, and ended pregnancies, is very much on the ballot, and at the forefront of many Americans’ concerns. News stories of complicated pregnancies and criminalized miscarriages have piled up, while anti-abortion legislators continue to insist, as Reagan did in his proclamation, that every ended pregnancy is a tragedy to be mourned. …This national conversation about ended pregnancies opens the door for another long overdue conversation. Is there only one right way to feel about the miscarriage of a hoped-for pregnancy? Is it beneficial to encourage every pregnant person to bond with her expected baby from the moment of conception? This expectation is relatively new historically, and it creates a source of distress and can discourage people from building the families they want.”
Source: Time
ABORTION ACCESS
The State Supreme Court Seats Potentially Shaped by Abortion
What: The New York Times chronicles state supreme court races that are shaped by abortion access, with campaigns to oust or replace justices in Arizona, Texas, and Montana with candidates who will protect or grant abortion protections.
Why it matters: “For decades, the issue of abortion powered conservative efforts to remake the federal judiciary. This time, progressive candidates and their backers are betting that it can be the driving force in state court races — but this time, to their benefit.”
Source: New York Times
MENOPAUSE
Menopause in Documentary Form
What: Vogue reviews The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause, a documentary premiering on PBS on October 17. It “is the first documentary of its kind to include 12 of the top doctors and advocates on the subject (including Sharon Malone, Lisa Mosconi, Mary Claire Haver, and Heather Hirsch).”
Why it matters: “’We go through puberty, and everybody is happy, then pregnancy, and it’s all parties and gifts and gender reveals,’ says Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Women’s Brain Institute, in the film. ‘When you go through menopause, suddenly no one wants to hear about it.’”
Source: Vogue
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