Leah Sparks’ Post

Today is Day 4 of National Women’s Health Week — "Talk About It: Reducing Women’s Health Stigma." 🗣️ Addressing the stigma around #WomensHealth is crucial for better care and support. Together, we can normalize conversations about menstruation, fertility, breastfeeding, and more. Remember, talking openly about women’s health isn’t just for women; it’s for everyone. https://lnkd.in/g9atNrG #NWHW #BreakTheStigma

#transcript Kristen Helton, CEO & Co-Founder of Herself Health, provides comprehensive primary care designed specifically for women over 65, considering the unique health challenges these women face. The emphasis is on the importance of addressing women's health beyond reproductive health & need for tailored treatment & screening for conditions that affect women differently than men. Kristen notes the underrepresentation of women, especially older women, in clinical trials & the need for further investigation. They aim to reduce bias & improve the quality of care for older women by adopting a person-centric approach, listening to patients' concerns, & building trust. herself-health.com https://lnkd.in/gxnYZ98S

Women's experiences are shaped by their broader connections and community. Understanding this is key to understanding how to better serve women during childbirth and postnatal care.      Today, we're highlighting another paper from a recent BMJ Global Health special issue on positive postnatal experiences. In this one, researchers analyzed papers that evaluated the role of family members—fathers, partners, and other relatives—on postnatal care. The papers shows that these populations can have significant influence on women accessing postnatal care resources. The results suggest that health providers design inclusive approaches that include access to services for both parents and more "family-friendly" information that applies to all.     Congratulations to Kenneth Finlayson, Emma Sacks, Vanessa Brizuela, Nicola Crossland, Sarah Cordey, Daniela Ziegler, Etienne V. Langlois, Dena Javadi, Liz Comrie-Thomson, Soo Downe and Mercedes Bonet on this contribution to our understanding of PNC!     Learn more from this paper, and the other papers published in this special issue at: https://lnkd.in/etC8-YQ6. 

#transcript Kristen Helton, CEO & Co-Founder of Herself Health, provides comprehensive primary care designed specifically for women over 65, considering the unique health challenges these women face. The emphasis is on the importance of addressing women's health beyond reproductive health & need for tailored treatment & screening for conditions that affect women differently than men. Kristen notes the underrepresentation of women, especially older women, in clinical trials & the need for further investigation. They aim to reduce bias & improve the quality of care for older women by adopting a person-centric approach, listening to patients' concerns, & building trust. herself-health.com https://lnkd.in/g9CjZce9

For Women's History Month, as we honor the crusade and achievements of the pioneering women who came before us, we will also spotlight Carrumites making a difference today. Featured here is Annabel Allen, our Senior Director of Provider Operations & Account Management. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲? As a mother of two, during my pregnancies and postpartum phases, I experienced firsthand the less than optimal experience many of us women have with the healthcare system. I was told I’d be induced at 39 weeks for my first child, but given no additional context as to why. Both my baby and I were healthy. So I pushed back, did the research, and questioned why. When I eventually went into labor, I was put on pitocin (to stimulate uterine contractions) even though I didn’t want it, as a precaution. It was a special time in our lives, but I had to deal with these challenges without insights from my care team. With my second baby, I had a scare postpartum with excessive bleeding, so they did a biopsy, didn’t get it right the first time, so they had to go back in a second time. Both times, I was given no pain medications for the procedure and told to take over-the-counter meds later. My provider apologized and said it sucked that we don’t have pain meds for such women’s procedures. But it more than sucked, we should have options for what we go through. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡? Transparency, period. Across the choices we are offered, in the prices we pay, why certain things need to be done. Context matters so much. I wish I had had the blessing of being treated like a person rather than a number. I remember talking to my doctor about options postpartum and it would have helped, even with the finite amount of time we have with our physicians, to just have the full picture. It’s what I do with our team here, because transparency is so important across the board. Photo: Annabel with her baby and toddler #womenshistorymonth #postpartum #womenshealth #womenshistorymonth2024 #transparency

Women's health is not just maternity. It is a much bigger story than just pregnancy and fertility. Please take a look at the below story about common misconceptions about women's health as well as ways our experts in the field in our company subsidiary Advisory Board suggests we can improve it. Improving women's health is vital today in health care.

It's Women's Health Wednesday. This week, we are featuring Congresswoman Lauren A. Underwood. Rep. Underwood is a registered nurse and the first woman, first person of color, and first millennial to represent Illinois' District 14 in Congress. When it comes to women's health, Rep. Underwood is dedicated to solving the Black maternal health crisis in our country. The United States ranks last place compared to other developed countries on maternal mortality. Black, American Indian and Alaska Native women are THREE to FOUR times more likely to die of pregnancy complications than white women, irrespective of income or education. In 2019, Rep. Underwood, along with Rep. Alma Adams, co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus to advance policy solutions that would improve maternal outcomes and end disparities. This work "elevates Black maternal health as a national priority and emphasizes the need to reduce maternal mortality and achieve maternal health justice" Members of the caucus have introduced the Momnibus Act. This legislation would address every leading cause of maternal death in the United States. Portions of the bill have been signed into law, but much of it remains under negotiation. Rep. Underwood remains optimistic because "the American people are united behind this as a priority, a shared value, and we've had broad bipartisan support from Congress to solve this problem." We are so grateful to Rep. Underwood for her leadership in improving maternal outcomes and health equity. Learn more about the Momnibus Bill here: https://lnkd.in/gNbeYFD7 And, you can take action now - fill out this form from MomsRising.org to ask your member of Congress to support this important piece of legislation:  https://lnkd.in/dvMVfjtM #womenshealth #maternalhealth #healthequity

Only 4% of global R&D funding goes towards women's health products and services This chronic underfunding not only stifles innovation, but holds back progress for half the population. Plus, women's health concerns are often not taken seriously or are quickly dismissed Diseases like endometriosis, affecting 1 in 10 women, remain severely underfunded and under-researched The siloed nature of women's healthcare is fragmented and frustrating, with different specialists handling different aspects of care What's missing? A personalized, holistic model that accounts for each woman's circumstances and provides adequate education and support. Too many women feel uninformed and unsupported when it comes to reproductive health, menopause, chronic conditions, etc. 💪🏻 I applaud and stand behind the trailblazers and leaders working to change this narrative through investments, advocacy, integrated care models, and a strong focus on the patient experience 𝙒𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 - 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚. #Healthcare #WomensHealth #HealthcareEquity

The White House and Jill Biden have announced that they are convening a committee to decide on the most significant issues affecting #womenshealth, including cardiovascular disease and #menopause. While I support further research expansion to include studies that focus on women rather than purely white males, I think we have much bigger priorities if we are going to solve issues relating to #holistichealth for women. 1. BODY AUTONOMY: the stress of not being able to make decisions regarding our own bodies is killing us, literally. Women are dying from pregnancies that cannot be terminated due to state laws. Until women have the freedom to decide when and whether to be pregnant, there will be no advances in women's health. 2. #blackmaternalhealth: Black women are 2.6x more likely to die in childbirth than white women. That is absurd. Let's focus on that. 3. #caregiving burdens: 81% of the unpaid labor of caregiving in this country is provided by women, who spend 50% more of their time on this task. Unsupported and excessive caregiver burden is directly correlated to increased risk of CV disease and some cancers. As COVID-era subsidies for childcare end, women are more likely to have to return to the home to care for children, and give up their careers and productivity. This can also cause significant financial strain on households, also absorbed primarily by women. 4. #postpartumcare and #maternalleave: Bonding with one's child postpartum increases oxytocin levels, which protects the health of women and their children. Women who return to the workplace with young infants juggle the increased stress of managing childcare, feeding schedules, and potentially pumping for a breastfeeding woman. If I haven't said it enough, Stress is the leading cause of heart disease and some cancers. Let's focus on simple ways to reduce stress for women if we want to see real improvement in women's health. Let's support a universal mandatory 6-month minimum #maternityleave. These are just a few simple areas that need to be focused on and where immediate federal action could directly improve the lives of millions of women. Research improvement can be a long-term play, but we must first focus on the clear and present dangers to the health of women in this country. Carolyn M. Mazure https://lnkd.in/guP4vN9Z

While the U.S. leads in many areas of healthcare innovation, it also lags behind much of the industrialized world in providing care for some of its most vulnerable populations. When it comes to maternal health, March of Dimes reports that a woman dies every 12 hours from pregnancy-related causes, deaths that show huge disparities and could be prevented. As an international leader in healthcare innovation, Philips is investing billions of dollars every year to advance R&D and help tackle health disparities. Jennifer Luo Law, Philips’ recently appointed Maternal Health Leader, joins the latest episode of the #MedtechImpactPodcast to share how they are partnering with customers to increase productivity and deliver better care for more mothers across the world. Jennifer shares insights into some of the technology that is shaping improved outcomes, helping to reach people in new places, and with enhanced intelligence. From #AI to tele-health solutions, the underpinning factor is an inclusive approach that has a personal touch. Tune in to learn more about how Jennifer is helping guide Philips’ mission in maternal health, a story packed with passion that is sure to leave you informed and inspired. Listen in via your favorite podcast channel to learn more - https://lnkd.in/e4Nq_M7Z #MaternalHealth #WomensHealth #HealthDeserts #HealthcareAccessibility #Collaboration #Community #Medtech #KeepInnovating Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance (MMHLA), Wilson Center | Maternal Health Initiative, Alliance for Maternal Health Equality, Theresa Shaver, Nosa Orobaton, Marleen Temmerman, Zulfiqar Bhutta, María Fernández Elorriaga, Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, Kelsey Mayo, Nikki Bruce, Nicole Shugrue, Frank Khan Sullivan, Andreia Trigo, Silvie Casanova, Kyle Kruse 🚀