OB-GYNs Urge More Insurers To Follow UnitedHealthcare’s Lead On Doulas
Some physicians say insurance coverage for doulas should be the norm. UnitedHealthcare was the first major insurer to offer the benefit nationwide, NBC News reported. Studies suggest doulas can reduce the rates of preterm births, cesarean sections, and postpartum depression. Separately, researchers see a link between midwife care and lower childhood vaccination rates.
NBC News:
Doulas Can Improve Health Outcomes For Women And Babies. Insurers Are Taking Notice
Like many first-time moms, Nathalia Marin Torres was excited when she found out she was pregnant last August, but she was also a bit nervous. The 33-year-old Colombia native didn’t click with her OB-GYN and felt like she needed more support navigating the health care system in the United States. “When you’re kind of far away from family and from your culture, it’s a little bit overwhelming,” Torres said. (Kopf and Essamuah, 3/21)
CIDRAP:
Midwife-Led Perinatal Care Tied To Lower Childhood Vaccination Rates
Children whose mothers received most of their perinatal care from midwives were less likely to be fully vaccinated on schedule and more likely to have delayed or refused routine immunizations than those cared for primarily by physicians, according to an observational study published this week in Vaccine. (Bergeson, 3/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Has One Of The Highest IVF Birth Rates In The US. Here's Why
San Francisco has one of the highest shares of babies born through in vitro fertilization in the country, a Chronicle analysis found. At least 9.4% of babies born in San Francisco in 2024, the latest available data, were born from pregnancies that used assistive reproductive technologies, which by definition includes in vitro fertilization as well as the rarely used gamete intrafallopian transfer, according to CDC data collected from birth certificates. That puts San Francisco just behind three counties in New Jersey. (Echeverria, 3/21)
CIDRAP:
Newborns Protected From E Coli Infections By Microbes From Mom, Study Suggests
Mothers share so much with their babies, from favorite lullabies and bedtime stories to clothes and toys from their own childhood. But some of the most important things that moms share with their babies are transferred before birth, in the form of antibodies that protect newborns from disease. Maternal antibodies equip newborns with a ready-made shield against infection during the first few months of life, when an infant’s immune system is still under development. (Szabo, 3/20)
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Jackson Hole Community Radio:
As Court Battle Brews, Wyoming Women Are Again Sent Out-Of-State For Care For Abortion Access
As soon as Wyoming banned abortion, the state’s providers and those seeking care quickly changed course. At the state’s lone clinic, almost a dozen appointments had been delayed or referred out of state after the first five days. By the end of week two, that number was roughly 20, said Katie Knutter, executive director of Wellspring Health Access in Casper. (McMurtry, 3/20)
