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Obstetrics

Toward more optimal birth outcomes
Newborn baby with finger in its mouth swaddled in a blanket.

Toward more optimal birth outcomes

A new study from Penn Nursing is the first to assess hospital vaginal birth rates rather than cesarean rates, which can further quality improvement initiatives that focus on encouraging vaginal birth rather than on decreasing the cesarean birth rate.

From Penn Nursing News

I’m a pregnant doctor. Should I get the COVID vaccine?
The New York Times

I’m a pregnant doctor. Should I get the COVID vaccine?

Michal Elovitz of the Perelman School of Medicine said it’s possible that an mRNA-based vaccine could potentially cause harm to a developing fetus, but that there’s not enough data to know for sure. “To avoid having pregnant people guess, we should be advocating for more preclinical and clinical research focused on pregnant patients,” she said.

Can spending time in nature prevent or lessen postpartum depression?
Landscape photo of a park, with a sign that reads "Welcome to Historic Clark Park, University City, Established 1895"

The aim of the pilot project, Nurtured in Nature, was to get new mothers to spend more time outdoors in spaces near their homes, like Clark Park in West Philadelphia.

Can spending time in nature prevent or lessen postpartum depression?

Nurtured in Nature, a pilot project in Black communities conducted by Penn Medicine’s Eugenia South, aims to find out.

Michele W. Berger

Penn Medicine birth marks a milestone in uterus transplant clinical trial
uterine transplant baby close up

Born in November 2019, Benjamin Gobrecht’s arrival was a “perfect miracle” for his parents, Jennifer and Drew, and a medical milestone for researchers at Penn Medicine. He was the first baby born as part of Penn’s uterus transplant clinical trial.

Penn Medicine birth marks a milestone in uterus transplant clinical trial

The birth is Penn’s first as part of its uterus transplant clinical trial, and second in the United States following a deceased donor transplant.

Katie Delach