A reporter learned how to gather her own data as a building block for her narratives, which she brought to life through interviews with mothers, doctors, and women’s health leaders.
Women's and Maternal Health
In rural Virginia, a woman had a better chance of beating addiction and saving her baby by violating probation than she did getting help by the healthcare system.
Pregnant people are more likely to die by homicide than any obstetric-related cause — particularly if they are young or Black. These three women are seeking justice for their daughters.
Very few rural localities have accessed funds for programs that serve pregnant and parenting women.
Also this week: Studies find birth weight impacts infant mortality more than physician's race; and transgender youth "highly satisfied" with gender-affirming care.
Also this week: Fresh reporting puts a spotlight on how AI can both perpetuate and avoid embedded biases in health care.
The closure of El Centro's maternity ward strains Imperial County's lone hospital, forcing many to seek care far away, highlighting rural healthcare challenges and urgent need for more resources.
In the last six years, five maternity units have closed down across rural Virginia, impacting access to prenatal care. However, with the closures have come new models of care.
A growing body of evidence suggests that an important public health tool intended to give women agency over their bodies is at times deployed in ways that take it away.
Fourteen states now have total or near-total bans. Yet the recorded number and rate of abortions is the highest it’s been in a decade.