Top in women’s health: Improving OB/GYN diversity; self-care for female athletes

Black women tend to prefer to see Black obstetric providers during pregnancy due to past experiences of racism and discrimination, according to a presenter at The Pregnancy Meeting.

“Black birthing people are facing blatant bias and racism in our health care systems on a regular basis and, as a result, fear for their lives,” E. Nicole Teal, MD, MPH, maternal-fetal medicine fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Healio.

To improve care for Black pregnant women, Teal suggests that “health care systems should work to diversify their workforces, increasing the number of Black obstetric care providers, including OB/GYNs and midwives, as well as nurses.”

“Additionally, there should be concerted efforts to eradicate discrimination and racism throughout health care systems across the country,” she added.

It was the top story in women’s health last week.

In another top story, two experts discussed proper care and fueling for female athletes.

Female athletes “receive constant messaging around restricting intake, especially carbohydrates, without consideration of their energy expenditure,” ReBecca McConville, RD, LD, CSSD, CEDS, a sports dietitian and eating disorders specialist, told Healio. “It is important to focus on a positive nutrition approach by discussing what they can add in to help with their performance, not what they need to avoid or cut out.”

Read these and more top stories in women’s health below:

Black pregnant women prefer obstetric providers of same race due to racism, discrimination

Black women tend to prefer to be cared for by Black obstetric providers during pregnancy due to past experiences of discrimination and racism, according to a presenter at The Pregnancy Meeting. Read more.

Q&A: Proper care and fueling for female athletes

Susan Weiner, MS, RDN, CDCES, FADCES, spoke with ReBecca McConville, RD, LD, CSSD, CEDS, a sports nutrition and eating disorders specialist, about fueling for performance and practical self-care. Read more.

Pairing podcasts with discussions in medical curriculums improves menopause knowledge

Curriculums that paired several podcast episodes with case-based classroom discussions improved preparation and knowledge on menopause among OB/GYN, family medicine and internal medicine specialists, researchers reported in Menopause. Read more.

Naltrexone use in pregnancy ‘reasonable’ for opioid use disorder option

Current data support naltrexone use as medication for opioid use disorder in pregnancy, with encouraging perinatal outcomes, according to a systematic review published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Read more.

Increased breast pump market innovation, competition after Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act introduced policies to increase access to maternal health care that were associated with a rise in innovation and competition in the breast pump market, according to a research letter published in JAMA. Read more.