Elective Induction at 39 Weeks Reduces Need for Cesarean Deliveries

In the News

Why is it so hard for black women to get diagnosed with endometriosis?

Diana Atashroo, MD, along with other experts in SHAPE'S online magazine, breaks down the barriers inhibiting Black women from receiving accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment.


Elizabeth and Bruce Dunlevie donate $80 million to improve the health of mothers and babies

The gift will help advance the science and practice of maternal-fetal medicine and fund new facilities to increase access to care at Stanford Medicine.


Names on surgical caps boost communication during C-sections, study finds

A team of Stanford Medicine obstetricians led by Kay Daniels, MD, and Laura Brodzinsky, MD, tested whether communication during C-sections improved if everyone wore surgical caps labeled with their name and role.


Stanford Health Care affiliates highlight gaps in LGBTQ+ health care delivery

Stanford Health Care leaders highlighted health disparities among LGBTQ+ individuals in a Thursday webinar about the emerging LGBTQ+ Health Program designed to serve gender and sexual minorities in the Bay Area and beyond.


Protecting Your Birth: A Guide For Black Mothers

Dr Erica Cahill's research is featured in the New York Times, focusing on how racism can impact pre- and postnatal care — and advice for speaking to your Ob-Gyn about it..


Immigrant Women are Essential: Sociocultural Factors Clinicians Should Know During Times of Crisis

As health care and economic resources are diverted to what is deemed "essential" during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jonathan Shaw, MD, discusses unique sociocultural challenges faced by immigrant women that contribute to health disparities on KevinMD's blog.


Guidance Helps Clinicians Counsel Transgender Patients on Contraception

More research is needed about contraceptive needs and health effects on transgender and gender-diverse people.


Self-Managed Abortion is a Safe, Effective Option Amid COVID-19

Erica Cahill, MD, MS, and Jennifer Conti, MD, MS, (adjunct clinical professor) were quoted in a Stanford Daily article.


Period Blood May Be as Effective as Systemic Blood for Diagnosis of Disease

Paul Blumenthal, MD, MPH, and his work on the use of menstrual blood for disease diagnosis were featured in The Stanford Daily.


Post-Abortion and Postpartum IUDs Can Help Prevent Rapid Repeat Pregnancy

Lisa Goldthwaite, MD, and fellow, Sarah Petersen, MD, and their publication in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology were featured in The Stanford Daily article "Post-abortion and postpartum IUDs can help prevent repeat pregnancy, Stanford researchers say" .


Family Physicians Must Provide More Reproductive Care

New research by Jonathan Shaw, MD, associate professor of Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology (by courtesy) was covered in The Stanford Daily.


Behind the Scenes with the Co-Director of the PRIDE Study

In our "Behind the Scenes" series, Stanford Medicine physicians, nurses, researchers and staff members share a glimpse of their daily lives. For Stanford obstetrician/gynecologist Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, there is no typical day. Part of what she loves about her job is that every day is different.


Old Human Cells Rejuvenated with Stem Cell Technology

In a report first published in Nature Communications and now in Stanford Medicine's News Center and the New York TimesStanford researchers and their colleagues have found old human cells can become more youthful by coaxing them to briefly express proteins used to make induced pluripotent cells.


MCHRI Awards a Clinical Educators Grant

Kay Daniels, MD; Amy Judy, MD, MPH; and Katherine Bianco, MD, received a Clinician Educators grant from MCHRI to measure the effectiveness of a training program developed at Stanford called Global Outreach Mobile Obstetrics Medical Simulation (GOMOMS).


"We Will Fight for Your Baby"

A New York Times advertorial explains how a hospital saved a child before he was born — and again at age 2.


LGBTQ+ Doulas Help New Parents Thrive, No Matter How They Identify

For expectant and new parents, queer doulas can provide lifesaving patient advocacy, affirmation, and harm reduction, filling in crucial healthcare industry gaps.


Expanding Access to Postpartum Contraception

Stanford’s Family Planning researchers continue to investigate barriers to postpartum contraception access, and their discoveries have the potential to shift current best practice in post-delivery IUD insertion.


New Mothers on the Brink

They are dying at alarming rates in the United States. Treating mental illness, an often overlooked cause, could save many lives. Elliott Main, MD, is quoted.


Mom Braves New Territory to Give Daughter with Spina Bifida Her Best Shot

A fetal surgery at Stanford Children's Health Fetal and Pregnancy Health program gives a baby with spina bifida the best chance of a healthy life. Yair Blumenfeld, MD, and Yasser El-Sayed, MD, are quoted.


U.S. Birth Rates Drop by More Than Half

A recent report by the CDC shows birth rates in the U.S. are at a record low. Lynn Westphal, MD, emerita professor obstetrics and gynecology, is quoted about the possible reasons for the decrease and the long-term impact.


For Transgender Men, Pain of Menstruation is More than Just Physical

Safety concerns and a lack of access to menstruation products are among the issues trans and gender-nonconforming people face during "that time of the month." Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is quoted in NBC story.


Study: Young Women Getting Pelvic Exams They Don’t Need

A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that more than 2 million girls and young women receive a Pap test each year—and nearly three-quarters of them may not be needed. Paul Hillard, MD, is quoted.


Pilot Evaluation Study of Simulation-Based Training to Improve Emergent Obstetric Procedures in Low Resource Settings within the United States

Clinician Educators grant from Stanford’s Maternal & Child Health Research Institute, Drs. Kay Daniels, Amy Judy and Katherine Bianco will be able to validate this educational program in the USA and gather important preliminary data in order to apply for larger funding from the NIH to train additional teams and implement the program on a larger scale.


5 Questions with Stanford's Transdiscplinary Preeclampsia Research Team

Adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially preeclampsia, appear to have long-term effects on cardiovascular health. We designed the EPOCH (Effect of Preeclampsia On Cardiovascular Health) study to look at potential pathways that might link preeclampsia during pregnancy to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke decades later.


The Truth About the Hormonal IUD and Weight Gain

Leah Millheiser, MD, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Leah Millheiser, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, discusses the many factors you have to weigh when considering using birth control.


Why Painful Sex Can Plague Women at Any Age

Leah Millheiser, MD, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is quoted in this article that discusses how social taboos can get in the way of diagnosis and treatment.


Stanford Obstetricians Take Medical Simulations to Central America

Stanford obstetricians are using simulation training to help colleagues in Central America learn new techniques to treat childbirth emergencies.


California's Model for Reducing C-Sections Can Help the Rest of the Country

Elliot Main, MD, heads the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, which aims to improve the state’s maternal health care and outcomes.


New Ways to Streamline Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Anna Girsen, MD, PhD, is piloting better ways to manage research studies, with the goal of increasing the throughput, quality and impact of research conducted in the department.


The "All of Us" Cohort - Progress Report

In The New England Journal of Medicine, with more than one fifth of the target enrollment completed, the investigators report on progess and challenges. 


7 Symptoms of Endometriosis Every Woman Should Know

In Prevention, Jennifer Conti, MD, discusses how endometriosis is incredibly hard to live with—but there are ways of coping.


The PRIDE Study

In the Journal of Americal Medical Informatics Association June 2019 issue, Dr. Juno Obedin-Maliver's national research study focused on a digital health research platform for community engagement, recruitment and retention of sexual gender minority adults.


Trans Dads Tell Doctors: 'You Can Be a Man and Have a Baby'

Transgender men say they face misinformation, bias and a lack of understanding from the medical establishment when they decide to start a family.


Trump’s Military Ban Ignores Science to Inflict Harm

Trump's transgender military ban becomes reality: openly transgender people cannot join the military — and many who are already within its ranks can face discharge if they receive a gender dysphoria diagnosis while serving.


‘The V Word’ Podcast: Stanford Doctors’ Podcast Tackles Topics Some Women Don’t Talk About

From sex to politics to tragedy, Drs. Cahill and Conti tackle it all.


Opening the OB/GYN Door for Sexual and Gender Minority Patients

In Contemporary OB/GYN, Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS, found that OB/GYNS who are open, accepting and supportive of the SGM community can help eliminate critical health disparities and also reap benefits for their practices.


Predicting and Preventing Preterm Births

Over the last decade, Stanford’s top obstetricians, neonatologists, geneticists, microbiologists, immunologists, epidemiologists, health policy experts and bioengineers have been investigating the basic science of preterm birth. They’re explaining how it is triggered and what factors put a pregnancy at risk for ending early.


$6 Million Grant to Support Study of Preeclampsia, Atherosclerosis Links

Mark Hlatky, MD, and Virginia Winn, MD, PhD, were recently awarded a $6 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study the links between preeclampsia in pregnant women and the subsequent risk of atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in and on artery walls, in women as they grow older.


Visible and Valued: Stanford Medicine’s First-ever LGBTQ+ Forum

A “chosen family” is how some of the speakers described their colleagues here during the first-ever Stanford Medicine LGBTQ+ Forum.


Symptoms of Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause can be Safely and Effectively Treated with Laser Therapy

According to preliminary results from a small study led by Eric Sokol, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology.


A Look at How California Lowered Maternal Mortality Rates

Elliott Main, MD, the collaborative’s medical director, explains how his team identified and changed the approach to preventable maternal deaths.


Reproductive Choices Facing Women with Disabilities Require Careful Consideration

Paula Hillard, MD, wrote an editorial in Obstetrics & Gynecology, in conjunction with two papers related to reproductive rights of those with disabilities. 


Grant Provides Hope for Children with DiGeorge Syndrome

Vittorio Sebastiano, PhD, and Katja Weinacht, MD, PhD, were awarded $850,000 from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to apply stem cell technology to treat children who have no functioning thymus.


Paul Blumenthal on Contraception in India

Stanford researchers and their colleagues have tested a new contraceptive device that they say could provide broader access to long-acting contraception in developing countries.


Grant Awarded to Study Whether Stem Cells Can Treat Urinary Incontinence

Bertha Chen, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, will receive nearly $6 million from the state stem cell agency to support research into the use of stem cells to treat urinary incontinence.


Blood Test for Pregnant Women Can Predict Premature Birth

A Stanford-led team has shown measuring RNA fragments in a pregnant woman’s blood gives a reliable estimate of the baby’s due date and can predict if the baby will arrive prematurely.


What Everyone Should Know About HPV

During a recent talk, Lisa Goldthwaite, MD, PhD, a clinical assistant professor at Stanford, told the truths of HPV, sharing practical insights and lessons that are important to everyone's health.


Contraception: An Evolution and History

At the recent Stanford Women's Health Forum, Kate Shaw, MD, a clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, spoke about the evolution and history of birth control.


Funding Awarded to Create 3D Human Placental Development Model

Stanford’s departments of obstetrics and gynecology and bioengineering will be able to combine their expertise in human embryology, placental development, clinical infertility, biomaterials and tissue engineering to generate an in vitro model system to characterize the earliest steps in human placenta formation.


Sheila Dolezal Wins Amy J. Blue Award

Sheila Dolezal, director of finance and administration in the department of obstetrics and gynecology, was honored May 15. 


The V Word

Drs. Jennifer Conti and Erica Cahill host The V Word, a new women’s health podcast that’s tackling all kinds of relevant health issues in an edgy, hilarious way.


For Pregnant Soldiers, Recent Deployment Linked to Higher Risk of Premature Delivery

Giving birth soon after military deployment is linked to greater risk of premature delivery, a Stanford study of U.S. servicewomen found, but deployment history itself does not raise prematurity risk.


Sleep Quality Improves with the Help of Incontinence Drug

A drug used to treat incontinence in women also shows promise in decreasing poor sleep.