Her Choice
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Opinion: Pregnancy and parenting require serious physical and emotional work. It’s time we start compensating parents. Some of the most important work in this country is happening every day, right before our eyes, and it rarely gets acknowledged. This Labor Day, U.S.
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And it's probably not what you'd expect.
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Mullin is far from the first Trump administration official to suggest restricting pregnant women from entering the U.S.
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It’s vital that Yvette Cooper’s taskforce acts on the Amos and Ockenden reports – and puts the needs of women and families at the heart of maternity services It is hard to find the words to describe the agony for those who have experienced preventable baby loss, injury or maternal death.
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This is not the first “bumpvestigation” targeting a powerful woman in the public eye.
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Readers add to a guide for handling tricky situations on public transport Re your article on travel etiquette ( The ultimate guide to travel etiquette: how to handle 36 tricky situations, from manspreaders to smelly armpits, 4 August ), it’s totally wrong to advise people not to give up seats for a
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Congratulations! Giving birth is one of life’s biggest and most sacred miracles. A newborn baby brings an infinite amount of joy, gratitude and pure marvel. That new life can also cause sadness, anxiety and fear.
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This page tracks recent state actions to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage, including approved and pending 1115 waivers, legislation that will require the state to seek federal approval through a SPA or 1115 waiver, submitted and approved SPAs, and coverage financed solely with state funds.
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This story was reported in partnership with LA Public Press , an independent nonprofit newsroom advocating for a better Los Angeles. When Areli Ramos arrived for her appointment at the women’s health clinic Tia in June 2022, she was showing signs of pregnancy.
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“I got plummeted into Hell and realized I was in perimenopause,” Halle Berry tells ESSENCE exclusively. Without warning, the rest of her body felt the changes, too. “I had vaginal dryness and it felt like I had razor blades in my vagina and my sex life just came to a screeching halt,” she says.
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"Not Penélope Cruz being better educated in the menopause than the myriad of male doctors I’ve seen over the past five years."
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When Serena Williams stepped away from tennis in 2022, she refused to use the word retirement. Instead, in a farewell essay , she said she was “evolving away from tennis.” She wanted to expand business ventures and grow her family — her second daughter was born a year after her last professional mat
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Click to expand Image A woman and her daughter in Revere, Massachusetts, US, December 11, 2020. © 2020 Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images On June 4, the United States House of Representatives passed the 2027 agriculture appropriations bill.
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Texas is considering whether to continue one of its most important tools for preventing maternal deaths. The state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC), which investigates pregnancy-related deaths and identifies ways to prevent them, is currently undergoing Sunset review—a routine process th
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The condition formerly known as polycystic ovarian syndrome, commonly referred to as PCOS, has a new name: polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome. PMOS, as it’s now called, is a set of signs and symptoms that often go together, including irregular, extra-long menstrual cycles that can be 35 or mor
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Today, Dr. Josephine Urbina, an ob/gyn in California and Fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, is testifying before the Democratic Women’s Caucus in a hearing titled “The Assault of Women By Trump’s ICE & CBP.” The post Dr.
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Before CARE, “care packages” didn’t even exist. A term coined by the humanitarian organization in 1946, the first-ever care packages (15,000, to be exact) were sent to starving civilians in […] The post Isan Elba’s New Beauty Forward Partnership Is Serving Black Maternal Health appeared first on Ess
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Navigating life when Aunt Flo is visiting can be a pain in the you know what. It causes a shift in our day-to-day life, from pain management to the burden […] The post What Is Period Poverty? 5 Ways To Promote Menstrual Equity appeared first on Essence .
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Black motherhood ain’t for the weak. Between the infuriating Black maternal health crisis, the horrible job market and the depressing economy (Have you purchased a tank of gas lately?), the […] The post Rihanna’s Liberating Approach to Motherhood: What She’s Taught Us appeared first on Essence .
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America seems very worried that women are not having enough babies. The headlines ask why women are opting out of motherhood. Cable news debates falling birthrates and the rising costs […] The post America Wants More Mothers, Just Not All Of Them: The Black Maternal Health Crisis appeared first on E
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In a House hearing for the Committee on Education and Workforce titled “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to acknowledge the well-established, shameful statistic that Black women in the United States are
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“What is going on?” I asked, my eyes welling with tears. I had just set my phone down in exasperation, my stomach knotted, after reading about Shamar Elkins, the man […] The post Femicide Against Black Women Is A Public Health Crisis appeared first on Essence .
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According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. While data from California found the richest Black mothers and their […] The post New Moms Share How Their Relationships To Beauty Have Evolved Postpartum appeared first on Essence .
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I was walking through the San Francisco airport, heading home from a weekend that felt like a rare exhale—good food, deep laughter, uninterrupted rest. The kind of ease Black women […] The post Black Mothers Deserve More Than Survival. We Deserve To Live. appeared first on Essence .
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With Black maternal mortality rates remaining alarmingly high, a new wave of tech-driven solutions, including real-time advocacy app Pregnant and Black, is transforming how Black mothers navigate the healthcare system.
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Long before I understood the systemic consequences of abortion stigma on Black women and girls, I felt its harm. I had an abortion after an unintended pregnancy at 17. The […] The post Black Maternal Health Week Isn’t Complete Without Our Abortion Stories appeared first on Essence .
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Happy Black Maternal Health Week! We are celebrating the 10th year of Black Mama’s Matter Alliance hosting a week committed to the strength and resilience of Black-led perinatal, maternal, and reproductive health organizations.
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Consider what is actually lost when a Black mother dies. Almost four out of five Black mothers serve as the sole or co-breadwinner for their families. More than half are […] The post Black Maternal Mortality Is A Financial Crisis. And The Threats Are Getting Worse appeared first on Essence .
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Pregnancy should be a time of joy, anticipation, and care. For Black women, pregnancy often comes with an added layer of vigilance. As we continue doing the work to alleviate […] The post Prevent And Protect: How To Build A Black Maternal Health Dream Team appeared first on Essence .
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During Black Maternal Health Week 2026, Rewire News Group is highlighting our reporting on the hurdles Black people face in getting adequate care during pregnancy and birth—and how communities are taking their health into their own hands.
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Plus: Birth workers in Georgia challenge state restrictions who can deliver care to pregnant patients, and Florida obfuscates maternal death data. The post Trump Administration Redirects Family-Planning Grants toward Fertility Awareness, ‘Family Formation’ appeared first on Rewire News Group .
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Chemotherapy and surgery were long assumed to be dangerous for the fetus, but the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine now says that cancer treatment should not be withheld just because a patient is pregnant.
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MIAMI — Midwife Sheila Simms Watson leaned to gently press on the pregnant woman’s belly. Me’Asia Taylor lay on a bed fitted with tie-dyed purple printed sheets in the corner of the RV. Far from a typical camper, this RV houses a mobile midwifery clinic for prenatal, postpartum and women’s general h
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Hammersmith Apollo, London The sitcom star and Taskmaster stalwart is on commanding form as she embarks on Older Than Jesus, her first – and deeply daft – standup tour That staple realisation of early midlife, that one has now lived longer than Jesus did, usually hits ar...
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Excerpted from Stuck: How Money, Media and Violence Prevent Change in Congress by Maya L. Kornberg (published March 10) The post How Personal Loss Drove Rep. Lauren Underwood to Take On the Black Maternal Health Crisis appeared first on Ms. Magazine .