Women's Health

Rachel Dalthorp, MD, discusses how zuranolone (Zurzuvae) can improve postpartum depression when compared with previous treatment approaches.

Aetna has become the first major US insurer to expand access to fertility services by covering intrauterine insemination as a medical benefit for all eligible plans, marking a significant move toward greater equity in family-building options for people of all backgrounds.

While the evidence demonstrating the poor state of American women's health is not new, the nation's trends of maternal fatality may reflect broader failures in the approach to women's health care.

While resources and strategies to combat social determinants of health do exist, effectively leveraging them requires a coordinated approach involving supportive policies, technical assistance, community governance, and sustainable financing.

Screening for postpartum depression while patients are pregnant is a crucial step to ensuring they get access to treatment if they need it postpartum, according to Rachel Dalthorp, MD, of LifeStance Health.

The Commonwealth Fund scorecard ranks Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma among the poorest-performing states overall for women’s health care access, quality, and outcomes, while Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island rank at the top.

The 2025 Physician Fee Schedule includes a conversion factor reduction, expanded behavioral health services, extended telehealth waivers, new Quality Payment Program pathways, and measures to address suspect billing, alongside a Biden administration initiative introducing federal maternal health standards for hospitals.

Rachel Dalthorp, MD, explains that zuranolone is recommended as the first-line medication, alongside psychotherapy, to effectively manage postpartum depression (PPD) and mitigate long-term impacts.

Douglas Weber, MD, explains how zuranolone has changed the landscape for postpartum depression treatment, addressing a gap in care within maternal health.

"As a health care provider and as a psychiatrist, it's something that I think about first—instead of step therapy, when I have a patient with postpartum depression, this is what they need to be on," Rachel Dalthorp, MD, explains.

This cross-sectional analysis of commercially insured delivering mothers suggests that greater out-of-pocket spending is incurred when pregnancy spans 2 years, causing them to face out-of-pocket limits twice.

In a joint letter addressed to Congress, Healthcare Across Borders, Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action called out the resurgence of the Comstock Act, urging immediate action to repeal this century-old law that threatens reproductive rights and public health in the US.

The senate hearing held by the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vermont), chairman of the committee, and ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (R, Louisiana), addressed the critical issue of physician and health care worker shortages, as well as the maternal health crisis, in the US.

In a presentation at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health Women’s Health Summit, Shelly Lanning, cofounder and president of Visana Health, addressed the need for comprehensive approaches in women’s health care and their coverage options.

A presentation at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health's 2024 Women’s Health Summit discussed how payers, including employers and public entities, can strategically influence health care purchasing to prioritize maternal health and equity.

The HHS Office for Civil Rights is investigating whether patient data were exposed in the cyberattack on Change Healthcare; a new study claims that the US’ high maternal mortality rates are the product of flawed data; HHS secretary is open to drug testing recipients of welfare.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus is urging insurers to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contraception requirement to cover birth control without cost sharing.

David Adamson, MD, emphasizes the need for continuous education and building relationships with colleagues to navigate the complexities of reproductive rights and evolving care standards.

David Adamson, MD, founder and CEO of ARC Fertility, discusses how physicians should consider moral and ethical variations of patients when adhering to professional guidelines in fertility care.

"It’s time for our industry to recognize the consequences of the lack of investment in maternal health and come together to bring forward innovations," Charlotte Owens, MD, stated.

A record low of 7.7% of Americans had no health insurance at the start of 2023; the American Academy of Pediatrics renewed its backing of gender care for children while requesting a research review; 2 lots of an oral contraceptive were recalled for possible reduction in effectiveness.

Project CARA, a perinatal substance exposure clinic, has implemented a contingency management program that targets appointment attendance for patients with any use disorder, regardless of substance or urine drug screen results.

Lawyers were questioned in a federal lawsuit intending to overturn approval of a drug used for medication abortion; during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, US maternal mortality increased for the third year in a row; the Alzheimer’s Association is lobbying Congress to push for Medicare coverage of new Alzheimer drugs under early access.

Findings of a meta-analysis showed that women with epilepsy were at increased odds of miscarriage, stillbirth, and maternal death, and risk of poor perinatal outcomes increased with greater use of antiseizure medication.

Online communities are important for individual’s facing infertility, but they should be carefully managed by professionals, a review finds.