Obstetrics

Lissette “Mitzy” Liriano sits at a desk with a computer, wearing a face mask, holding a binder that reads “Medical and mental health resource binder.”

A mental health specialist is helping underserved moms find their way

Lissette “Mitzy” Liriano, Chester County Hospital’s maternal mental health specialist, leads a support group called Moms Supporting Moms, in addition to dividing her time between the hospital and the mental health clinic, where she monitors a largely Hispanic population for mental health needs.

From Penn Medicine News ・

A doctor talking with a patient.

Key to detecting ovarian cancer early may be in the fallopian tubes

A lack of early detection or prevention strategies for ovarian cancer is a major cause of poor outcomes for patients, and most do not have a family history or inherited genetic risk, so there is a pressing need for the development of earlier detection methods.

Caren Begun ・

Helen O. Dickens in a white coat at her work desk.

Helen Octavia Dickens: An expanded view of a trailblazing OB-GYN

Helen Octavia Dickens was not only the first African American woman faculty member in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn, but a vital leader in the community advocating for preventive health for women and teen girls of color.

From Penn Medicine News ・



In the News


The New York Times

What to know before getting an IUD

Sarita Sonalkar of the Perelman School of Medicine says that IUDs are safe and effective.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn Medicine’s first living-donor uterus transplant leads to new life and new friendship

Penn Medicine personnel performed a successful live-donor uterus transplant. “How you define success is not if the organ is surviving transplant, like other transplants,” said Nawar Latif. “The outcome we need is to have a healthy baby at the end.”

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Today

Uterus transplant enables woman to have a baby after doctors said she couldn’t

Kathleen O’Neill of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about a Penn Medicine uterus transplant trial. “These women have ovaries, they have eggs, they just don’t have the uterus to gestate the pregnancy,” said O’Neill. “So once we are able to give them that uterus, the vast majority get pregnant and have babies.”

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The Washington Post

2019 was the safest year for women to give birth globally. Then, the pandemic hit

Elizabeth Howell of the Perelman School of Medicine co-wrote an op-ed about global maternal mortality rates, which have risen dramatically since the pandemic began. “Reversing the trajectory of maternal mortality requires action on a global scale,” she said.

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The New York Times

The White House issues its first-ever proclamation on Black maternal health

Elizabeth Howell of the Perelman School of Medicine said that severe maternal morbidity, in which women experience severe complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, impacts more than 50,000 U.S. women each year. “Similar to maternal mortality, Black and brown women have elevated rates of maternal morbidity,” she said.

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The New York Times

I sang through labor to manage the pain

Veena Graff of the Perelman School of Medicine weighed in on how singing may be able to aid the birth process. “Mechanistically, the act of singing helps with breathing and is a great distraction method, which in turn can relax a woman while experiencing labor pains,” she said.

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