ObGyn | Penn Medicine In the News

Penn Study Seeks to Effectively Treat Unexplained Infertility While Reducing the Risk of Multiple Births

pennmedicinenews — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:02:31 +0000

Kurt T. Barnhart, MD, MSCE, professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, associate chief of Penn Fertility Care, director of the Women's Health Clinical Research Center and assistant dean of Clinical Research for the School of Medicine, is featured in an NBC10 story highlighting a current NIH-funded trial at Penn. Penn is one of only seven sites in the US currently conducting a study investigating...

Mindfulness Classes Help Women With Hot Flashes

pennmedicinenews — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:44:28 +0000

According to a Reuters article, a new study shows women with severe hot flashes said their quality of life improved with mindfulness classes of meditation and stretching exercises. The findings suggest that such classes could also improve quality of sleep, and reduce stress and anxiety levels in women during menopause. Since the 2002, Women's Health Initiative study found that hormone therapy...

Annual Flu Vaccine: The Shot That Saves But Isn’t Used to Its Fullest Potential

pennmedicinenews — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:26:19 +0000

The CDC estimates the flu vaccine prevents 80 percent of flu-related deaths in the highest-risk patients, typically the elderly, the very young, and pregnant women. An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer contemplates why this relatively cheap and effective vaccine – which protects against a virus that kills more people than homicide each year – is so underutilized. Penned by Alex Friedman, MD, a...

Yaz and Yasmin Birth Control Pills - Pose No Greater Risk

pennmedicinenews — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:26:16 +0000

Alexander Friedman, MD, a fellow in Obstetrics and Gynecology, penned an op-ed piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer about the “swarm of negative attention” over the last two years over the popular birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin. The most serious allegations against the pills are that they cause increase risks of dangerous blood clots. Dr. Friedman, goes on to explain why the “best current...

Birth Control Doesn’t Have to Mean the Pill

pennmedicinenews — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:27:22 +0000

According to an article in The New York Times about the increasing popularity of intrauterine devices – or IUDs – many women struggle to find a birth control strategy that is effective given their particular circumstances. They tend to choose a form of contraception for any number of reasons: reliability, convenience, familiarity and while the pill is the most frequent choice, it is not always...

Home Births Examined

pennmedicinenews — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:54:55 +0000

Joshua Johannson, MD, medical director of Labor and Delivery at Pennsylvania Hospital commented to NBC10 yesterday about home births in response to a recent study expressing concerns for the safety of babies delivered at home. "The important thing is to have an informed discussion about the harms and risks," says Dr. Johannson. Home births have been thought to be safe for low-risk moms, but Dr....