Latest KFF Health News Stories
Eric Swalwell’s Tweet About Georgia’s New Abortion Restriction Only Slightly Off-Key
The claim by Democratic presidential candidate Eric Swalwell is correct but could use more context and clarification.
Is It A Feminist Right To Want More Sex? One Company Thinks A Pill Is The Answer
The savvy “Right to Desire” campaign relies on feminist messages and social media to raise patient awareness about low libido. Addyi, the only drug currently approved to treat it, has shown limited effectiveness.
Will Ties To A Catholic Hospital System Tie Doctors’ Hands?
Doctors at the University of California’s flagship San Francisco hospital are sharply divided over a proposal to join forces with a Catholic-run system that restricts care on the basis of religious doctrine — part of a broader public debate as Catholic hospitals expand their reach.
Planned Parenthood’s ‘Risky Strategy’ To Update Its Image
The nation’s largest reproductive health services provider is in the midst of a high-stakes effort to showcase what it considers its vital role in providing community health care.
‘Heartbeat Bills’ Give State Lawmakers Pause On Anti-Abortion Tactics
Ohio is the latest Republican-led state to pass a ban on abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. But Tennessee last week backed off on a similar bill, fearing costly legal battles. What now?
Despite 1991 Ruling, Foes Of New Family Planning Rules See Law On Their Side
Lawyers seeking to block the Trump administration’s decision to alter rules for the Title X family planning program say their efforts will not be stymied by the Supreme Court’s approval of similar rules 28 years ago. They point to new protections enacted in the Affordable Care Act and language in funding bills that shifts the legal calculus.
A Parent-To-Parent Campaign To Get Vaccine Rates Up
Kim Nelson started the group South Carolina Parents for Vaccines after learning that religious exemptions from vaccine requirements were way up in her community.
Women Applaud Michelle Obama’s Decision To Share Her Trauma Of Miscarriage
The attention may help women understand that miscarriage is common but still not easily talked about.
FDA Allows Food Makers To Fortify Corn Masa To Halt Birth Defects, But Few Do
The decision aimed at adding folic acid — a vitamin that can prevent devastating defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord — to flours, chips and tortillas hasn’t caught on with many makers of widely used corn products.
‘Contraception Deserts’ Likely To Widen Under New Trump Administration Policy
Federal family planning funds, known as Title X, will soon fund for-profit women’s clinics that bar condoms, hormonal birth control and IUDs and offer only “natural family planning.”
Pediatricians Put It Bluntly: Motherhood And Marijuana Don’t Mix
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not use marijuana because of serious concerns about neurological consequences for children, the American Academy of Pediatrics said on Monday.
Battle Lines Drawn As Abortion-Rights Activists Leave Their Mark Outside Clinics
Armed with poster board and catchy advertising slogans, abortion-rights activists in California and elsewhere are taking to sidewalks, buses and mobile phone apps to fight a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of crisis pregnancy centers.
Biorhythms And Birth Control: FDA Stirs Debate By Approving ‘Natural’ App
Critics worry about the message federal officials are sending by approving a new birth control option, which uses a mobile phone app for women to track their body temperature and menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy. But the more choices the better, some reproductive health experts say.
Babies Dependent On Opioids Need Touch, Not Tech
One doctor in Kansas works to make sure every hospital in the state can provide the soft start, ideally with their mothers, that babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome need.
If High Court Reverses Roe V. Wade, 22 States Poised To Ban Abortion
As with current abortion policies, a woman’s access to the procedure would continue to be determined by where she lives.
Trump’s Next High Court Pick Likely To Target Abortion. Is That What The Public Wants?
Findings from a new poll build on other recent surveys to suggest that Americans might not want the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, but opinions vary when examined by party affiliation.
‘Where The Need Is:’ Tackling Teen Pregnancy With A Midwife At School
While U.S. teen pregnancy rates overall have trended steadily downward in the past decade, they remain high in some communities, particularly for black and Latina teens. In one part of Washington, D.C., a high school midwife program is a novel approach that’s showing promise in tackling the problem.
For The Babies Of The Opioid Crisis, The Best Care May Be Mom’s Recovery
Research is just beginning on infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, and doctors are optimistic that normal development is possible. Monitoring the families and making sure parents are treated for addiction is key.
Make Room For Baby: After Giving Birth, Duckworth Presses Senate To Bend Rules
The Illinois Democrat is the first sitting senator to give birth. She’s using the opportunity to call for adjusting Senate rules to accommodate new parents.
Tele-Monitoring Can Reduce Medical Appointments For Low-Risk Pregnancies
In a program called OB Nest, Mayo has been using a telemedicine program in its obstetrics clinic in Rochester, Minn., that allows low-risk expectant mothers to forego some standard prenatal visits.
