Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Women Mistreated By Medical Staff During Pregnancy, Survey Finds
NPR: 1 In 5 Women Experienced Mistreatment From Medical Staff In Their Last Pregnancy
One in five women experienced mistreatment while receiving medical care for their most recent pregnancy, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The women reported signs of mistreatment, such as being verbally abused, having their requests for help go unanswered, having their physical privacy infringed upon and receiving threats to withhold treatment. (Archie, 8/22)
USA Today: As US Maternal Death Rate Jumps, Women Report Negative Doctor Visits
"This is unacceptable," Dr. Debra Houry, chief medical officer for the CDC, said on a call with reporters. "We know mistreatment and discrimination can have a negative impact on the quality of maternity care. We have to encourage a culture of respectful maternity care. This should be part of greater efforts to improve quality by standardizing care to reduce complications and deaths related to pregnancy and delivery." (Cuevas, 8/22)
Axios: Maternal Deaths Doubled In California Over Two Decades
Maternal mortality rates in California more than doubled over the past two decades, according to a recent JAMA study that provides the first state-level breakdowns by ethnic group. Though California has one of the lower maternal death rates nationally, the worsening impact is especially stark for people of color. (Murphy, 8/22)
In other reproductive news —
The Washington Post: More Young Women Are Getting Breast Cancer. They Want Answers
Kelsey Kaminky first noticed a small lump in her left breast in November. It felt like a misshapen marble. Given her young age, her doctor suspected it was a benign cyst and told her further testing wouldn’t be needed. But Kaminky, 32, couldn’t shake a bad feeling. She insisted on getting a mammogram. “I advocated for myself because I knew, I just knew,” she said. The lump was breast cancer. (Morris, Bever and Malhi, 8/22)
Iowa Public Radio: More Than 160 Rape Victims' Plan B Reimbursement Requests Pending
More than 160 reimbursement requests for rape victims’ emergency contraception are pending at the state attorney general’s office as the state’s long-standing practice of covering this cost remains on pause. According to records obtained by IPR, the reimbursement requests total around $7,500. The reimbursement requests come from hospitals and pharmacies across the state. Around three-fourths are from this year, but several date as far back as 2021. One is from August 2020. Another is coded for child abuse. (Krebs, 8/22)
North Carolina Health News: NC Pharmacists Emerge As New Prescribers Of Hormonal Contraceptives
A 31-year-old Asian American woman hopped into an Uber on a mission — to head to a pharmacy in New Bern to get birth control. Because of her family’s cultural and religious beliefs, she was not allowed to go to doctors’ appointments alone nor to ask for contraception. But pharmacists’ new ability to prescribe hormonal contraception in North Carolina gave her the opportunity to get connected to the pregnancy prevention method for the first time. (Crumpler, 8/23)
CNN: Mediterranean Diet During Pregnancy Improved 2-Year-Olds’ Cognitive, Social Abilities
Mothers who followed the Mediterranean diet while pregnant improved their children’s cognitive, social and emotional development at age 2 compared with children whose mothers did not follow the diet, according to a new randomized clinical trial. (LaMotte, 8/22)
The New York Times: The Unending Indignities Of ‘Vaginal Atrophy’
When Heather Corinna started a Facebook support group in 2019 for people going through menopause and perimenopause, one phrase came up again and again. Members of the group had read about it online, heard it from their doctors and seen it in their medical notes. “Everybody had a bad reaction to it,” said Mx. Corinna, a queer sex educator and founder of the sex education site Scarleteen. The phrase? Vaginal atrophy. (Gross, 8/22)
In abortion updates —
NPR: High-Risk Patients Head To Illinois Hospitals From States With Abortion Bans
Since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, who can get an abortion and where has been complicated by medically ambiguous language in new state laws that ban or restrict abortion. Doctors in those states fear they could lose their medical licenses or wind up in jail. Amid these changes, physicians in abortion havens like Illinois are stepping up to fill the void and provide care to as many patients as they can. (Schorsch, 8/23)
