News
Doulas can improve health outcomes for women and babies. Insurers are taking notice.
12+ hour, 21+ min ago (275+ words) UnitedHealthcare became the first major insurer to start adding a doula benefit to plans across the country. By next year, all of the company's employer-sponsored plans will have access to the benefit. Typically, doula services have not been covered by…...
CMOs Need to Brace for More High-Risk Pregnancies. Here's How.
6+ mon, 3+ week ago (546+ words) Analysis "|By Christopher Cheney| August 28, 2025 High-risk pregnancies are increasing, and CMOs need to put resources in place to address them. "We look after two patients, the mother and the baby," Bahtiyar says. "We are seeing increases in high-risk medical conditions…...
HL Shorts: How to Provide Services for High-Risk Pregnancies
6+ mon, 1+ week ago (172+ words) High-risk pregnancies are increasing, and CMOs need to put resources in place to address them. HL Shorts: How to Provide Services for High-Risk Pregnancies High-risk pregnancies are increasing, and CMOs need to put resources in place to address them. Hospitals…...
Iowa faces a shortage of OB-GYNs. The state's abortion law may be driving some out
7+ mon, 1+ day ago (180+ words) It's still unclear whether abortion bans are driving doctors out of state. A recent study found Idaho lost 35% of its OB-GYNs practicing obstetrics two years after enacting its highly-restrictive abortion law. But another study analyzed federal data from January 2018 to…...
MS declares public health emergency over rising infant deaths
6+ mon, 4+ week ago (189+ words) Mississippi health officials have declared a public health emergency after releasing data showing the state's infant mortality rate has risen to its highest level in more than a decade. In Mississippi, 9.7 infants died for every 1,000 live births in 2024, nearly double…...
A MI program that gives new mothers cash could be a model for rest of U.S.
7+ mon, 3+ week ago (313+ words) A growing program in Michigan helps pregnant women and new moms by giving them cash over the first year of their children's lives. Launched in 2024, the program comes at a time when many voters worry over high child care costs…...
A CMO Guide to Caring for New Moms in the 'Fourth Trimester'
9+ mon, 3+ hour ago (782+ words) Analysis "|By Christopher Cheney| June 24, 2025 Adverse outcomes in maternal health are a national concern. The maternal mortality rate in the United States is significantly higher than the maternal mortality rate in other high-income countries, according to a report published by…...
Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid — Even in GOP States
8+ mon, 1+ week ago (1158+ words) Analysis "|By KFF Health News| July 11, 2025 This article was published on Friday, July 11, 2025 in KFF Health News. By Lauren Sausser and Katheryn Houghton As a postpartum doula, Dawn Oliver does her best work in the middle of the night. During…...
Rural Patients Face Tough Choices When Their Hospitals Stop Delivering Babies
10+ mon, 5+ day ago (1497+ words) Analysis "|By KFF Health News| May 19, 2025 This article was published on Monday, May 19, 2025 in KFF Health News. WINNER, S.D. " Sophie Hofeldt planned to receive prenatal care and give birth at her local hospital, 10 minutes from her house. Instead, she's driving more…...
Cancer death rates declining, new report says, but diagnosis rates are on the rise for women
11+ mon, 2+ day ago (144+ words) A new report on cancer in the U.S. shows a steady decline in overall deaths from 2001 through 2022. The rate of diagnoses among men fell from 2001 through 2013 and then stabilized through 2021 but these incidence rates among women increased slightly every year between…...