“I thought of her with each miscarriage I saw in COVID+ mothers, and during each delivery of premature rupture of membranes due to infection. I thought of her every time I gave steroids, increased the oxygen flow for someone struggling to breathe…
Category: OB/GYN
Why air pollution is making us infertile
The fertility rate in the United States, and globally, has been on a steady decline. This is the sixth consecutive year that there has been a reduction in the fertility rate, which has decreased by an average of 2 percent. Numerous factors contribute t…
What does it even mean to work through the unimaginable?
When the Delta variant hit Mississippi, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published alarming statistics for maternal and perinatal deaths. Pregnant women were dying at three times the pre-COVID baseline rate. These young, healthy women w…
I loved my job yesterday, but I don’t love it every day
I complain about my job all the time. The frustrations are endless. For example, EMR changes that seem pointless and create more clicks, instead of fewer, the constant barrage of patient emails in my inbox that start with “I have a question about…
There is no other body part that has filled me with such a roller coaster of emotion
Their absence makes me feel sad, I look around at my peers, envious and curious, Obsessing over when they will show up. When they do, they never seem to live up to expectations, Too small, too uneven, but what’s sure is it’s a sign I’m no longer a chil…
Women physicians with infertility [PODCAST]
“Many of us suffer in silence for myriad reasons. Being a physician with infertility presents a perfect storm of stress, anxiety, guilt, and shame – all of which we know don’t contribute to managing any medical problem. Consider what it’s like to…
An obstetrician recommends midwifery care [PODCAST]
“By denigrating midwifery care, pathologizing the natural process of birth, and instilling fear of complications and pain, doctors persuaded women to give birth at the hospital under their care. By touting the benefits of anesthesia, forceps deli…
The voices of women physicians with infertility
“I wish I had known how common this is. I would have started sooner.” It is currently estimated that one in four women physicians has infertility (compared to one in eight in the general population). Why do I care? Because I’m one of …
We’re not OK, but we know you are
The day just felt weird. I had this feeling of impending doom over me that morning as I sat in bed studying, waiting to get dressed for afternoon clinic. Once I got there, I was cramping, and I knew things were not OK. It was so intense throughout that…
Stratified reproduction in medicine
Shellee Cohen defines “stratified reproduction” as the practice in which society assigns value to offspring and, therefore reproductive capacity of different groups of people. While commonly race or socioeconomically based, this can be base…
