“A federal advisory panel recently set off a controversy by recommending that most women without special risk factors delay breast cancer screening until they turn 50, not 40, and that mammograms take place only every other year,” Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago writes in a New York Times opinion piece…
Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) deserves “[k]udos” for supporting Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s (D-Md.) amendment to improve women’s access to preventive care under the Senate health reform bill (HR 3590), Robin Smith, board member of Planned Parenthood of Alaska, writes in an Anchorage Daily News opinion piece. Smith notes that Begich opposed an amendment by Sen…
Although new breast cancer screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force have “shocked and angered” women across the country, the debate over the risks and benefits of cancer screening has been ongoing for over a decade, according to experts, USA Today reports…
In the Senate’s first day of floor debate on its health care reform bill on Monday, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) introduced an amendment intended to guarantee insurance coverage of cancer screenings and other preventive care services for women at low or no cost, the New York Times reports…
Pregnant women continue to be more seriously affected by 2009 H1N1 influenza than the general population. In the first 4 months of the H1N1 pandemic, at least 28 pregnant women have died and 100 have been admitted to the ICU.
CDC has updated its H1N1 treatment guidance in intrapartum and postpartum hospital settings at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/obstetric.htm.
Ob-gyns can still become H1N1 vaccinators in many states. As a pregnant patient may not have access to the H1N1 vaccine other than by their obstetrician, some states are still enrolling ob providers. See your state’s plan and contact information at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/statecontacts.htm. You can also check with your local or state health department.
Here is a decision tree with some suggestions for doctors for other plans of action at http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/vaccination/decisiontree.htm.
If you are pregnant and are being vaccinated for H1N1 and/or seasonal influenza you are invited to participate in a nationwide study on vaccine safety by CDC and Johns Hopkins University, at http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/myflushot-P-info.htm. Pregnant women are of specific interest and one of the study’s objectives is to enroll as many women as possible. If you are interested, please send an email to flustudy@jhsph.edu with the subject “ACOG H1N1″ .
The safety profile of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine is anticipated to be no different than that of previous seasonal influenza vaccines for pregnant women. CDC is closely monitoring safety of influenza vaccination in pregnant women through numerous systems. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national voluntary reporting system, collecting information about possible side effects and adverse events that occur after the administration of vaccines licensed in the United States. If you suspect that a vaccine-related adverse event has occurred, you are encouraged to report to VAERS via your doctor. Detailed information about VAERS, including examples of adverse events and mechanisms for your doctors to report them can be found at http://vaers.hhs.gov/professionals/index.
ACOG’s H1N1 webpage has numerous resources for both ob-gyns and pregnant women on H1N1 and seasonal influenza. Visit the webpage regularly for new resources and updated guidelines at http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_notice.cfm?recno=20&bulletin=4866.
See CDC’s H1N1webpage of Resources for Obstetric Health Care Providers at http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/clinician_pregnant.htm.
See CDC’s H1N1 webpage of Resources for Pregnant Women at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/pregnancy.
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