If guilt were an Olympic sport, mothers would win every medal. We worry we should have prevented our children’s problems or might have even caused them. Mothers tiptoe through a minefield of complex personal, family, and societal expectations tha…
Category: OB/GYN
Abortion debates need to happen, but both sides need some ground rules
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 to uphold Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act and 5–4 to overrule Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The political temperature was already heightened because Politico released a leaked draft o…
These are the women who are being told they are not a priority
There are situations where I have told a patient they had no options: a cancer recurrence not responding to any treatment, detecting no heartbeat in a 37-week pregnancy, or telling someone their family member coded and didn’t survive. The worst part of…
Roe v. Wade: Share our experience and be part of the solution
Although this is a politically charged topic in our space in medicine, this isn’t political. For many of us, it’s doing our job — taking care of a patient’s mental and physical health. Making sure they are safe and doing no harm…
Physicians and patients are now pawns in a political game
This morning I had a migraine. I should have known it was coming. I now have complex migraines and was having word-finding difficulty yesterday, which is a harbinger for me. How could I have known that my soul had known before my mind had, that it had …
If it’s not clinically pertinent, then stay out of my uterus
“Stay out of my uterus” is a rallying cry for women defending reproductive rights. But it’s more than just that. Patient 1: Female went to urgent care for back pain, had a negative pregnancy test, and saw a physician who prescribed a …
When the music stopped
For a long time, I have known that I do not need Beethoven, Bach, or A. R. Rehman. No offense to these extremely talented artists, but music to my ears will always be hearing the baby’s heartbeat on the doppler, hearing the baby’s first cry…
Supporting a new mom: my experience and some helpful tips
I recently came across a number for the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. It took me back to my first pregnancy and postpartum experience. I belong to a traditional family where there is an expectation of bearing a child after a year of marriage…
Gender inequality is making burnout worse [PODCAST]
“If we want to alleviate the fatigue and frustration women physicians are experiencing, we can always start by solving two old problems: (1) All doctors need fewer bureaucratic tasks forced upon them, and (2) women physicians must be able to work…
Shift from fighting for reproductive rights to fighting for reproductive justice
Although feminist movements include the fight for reproductive rights, they tend to forget to center on justice. Historically, the protection of women’s reproductive rights has not been a priority for governments; however, the drive and the act o…
