Access to Women’s Health Care

Why is contraception one of the most important issues in global health care and development?

Watch Melinda Gates' TEDx, "Let's put birth control back on the agenda." (5) - (25m)

How can access to menstrual products improve health and education among young women?

Check out the PBS report "How access to period products removes a barrier to education." (6) - (7m)

Geographies of Interest

Washington Heights and Inwood, NYC

The population of Washington Heights and Inwood is 72% Hispanic, 17% White, 7% Black or African American, 3% Asian, and 1% Other. Almost 50% of residents are foreign-born, and 37% have limited English proficiency. In Washington Heights and Inwood, 20% of residents live in poverty, with an unemployment of 12%, compared to the NYC unemployment rate of 9%. 6.1% of Washington Heights and Inwood residents receive late or no prenatal care, compared to the citywide rate of 6.7%. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods' rate of teen pregnancy--23.3 females per 1,000--surpasses citywide and Manhattan rates of 19.3 and 12.0 per 1,000 females respectively. (8)  

Stamford, CT

The population of Stamford is 62.4% White, 14.6% Black or African American, 8.6% Asian and 11.4% Other. In Stamford, 9.25% of residents live in poverty, of whom 66.67% are Islander, 17.15% are Black, 14.5% are Hispanic, 5.84% are Asian and 4.66% are White. Moreover, 28.2% of Black females in Stamford are married, in contrast to 40.1% of Hispanic, 49.6% of White, and 67.3% of Asian females. Meanwhile, 34.91% of Stamford residents are non-US born. In 2018, the rate of maternal mortality in the state of Connecticut was 20.7 females, compared to the US rate of 13.2 women per 10,000 births. (9)(10)

If I am interested in this topic, where can I learn more?

Read the NY Times Op Ed "It Just Got Harder to Get Birth Control in America." (11)

This piece explains how Title X benefited women in poverty, as well as the risk of changes.

Check out the Forbes article "Disparities in Access to Health Care for Women." (12)

In this essay, Dr. Judy Stone explores the growing disparities in Ob/Gyn care and the various reasons for it. 

Read the Vox's "We're investigating how insurance gaps endanger mothers. This is why." (13)

This article explains how lack of insurance directly contributes to maternal mortality, and what policymakers are doing to address it.  

Check out The Atlantic essay "A Pro-choice Ob-Gyn Confronts the Limits of Her Beliefs" (14)

This piece recounts the story of a maternal-fetal health physician, who develops new reflections on abortion after working in Israel. 

Learn from NPR's "War is the Enemy of Breastfeeding." (15)

This piece highlights how war is threatening the health of mother's and babies across the globe.

Sources

 1.    Ura A. Report: Half of Texas Women Face Barriers to Reproductive Health. The Texas Tribune. (2015, May 12). Retrieved on Jan/ 15, 2019 from: https://www.tpr.org/post/report-half-texas-women-face-barriers-reproductive-health

2.     Seervai S. How the U.S. Fails Women When It Comes to Health. (2019, Jan. 24) Retrieved Feb. 22, 2019 from: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/podcast/2019/jan/how-us-fails-women-when-it-comes-health

3.     Farmer B, Fortier J. Republican State Lawmakers Split Over Anti-Abortion Strategy. (2019, April 12). Retrieved on June 20, 2019 from: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/04/12/712501336/republican-state-lawmakers-split-over-their-anti-abortion-strategies

4.     Sufrin C. Incarcerated women and reproductive healthcare. (2012, July 01). Retrieved on Jan. 13, 2019 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNx1ntLyI2Q

5.     Gates M. Let's put birth control back on the agenda. (2012, April). Retrieved on Feb. 10, 2019 from: https://www.ted.com/talks/melinda_gates_let_s_put_birth_control_back_on_the_agenda?language=en#t-506095

6.     Cardoza K. How access to period products removes a barrier to education. (2019, Jun 25). Retrieved on July 15, 2019 from: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-access-to-period-products-removes-a-barrier-to-education

7.     Manriquez K. Health care not easy for AZ rural women. (2015, Sept. 30). Retrieved on Feb. 18, 2019 from: https://arizonasonoranewsservice.com/health-care-not-easy-az-rural-women/

8.     NYC Community Health Profiles 2018: Washington Heights and Inwood. Retrieved on March 22, 2019 from: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/data/2018chp-mn12.pdf

9.     World Population Review: Stamford, Connecticut, 2019. Retrieved on Dec. 26, 2019 from: worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/stamford-ct-population/

10.     United Health Foundation. Public Health Impact: Maternal Mortality. Retrieved on Dec. 28, 2019 from: https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/health-of-women-and-children/measure/maternal_mortality/state/CT

11.    The Editorial Board. It Just Got Harder to Get Birth Control in America. NY Times. (2019, Aug 19). Retrieved on Dec. 29, 2019 from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/opinion/planned-parenthood-title-x.html

12.  Stone J. Disparities in Access to Health Care for Women. Forbes. (2017, Nov. 22). Retrieved on Sept. 12, 2019 from:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2017/11/22/disparities-in-access-to-health-women/#1869e814783d

13.     Belluz J, Martin N. We're investigating how insurance gaps endanger mothers. This is why. Vox. (2019, April 25). Retrieved on Sept. 02, 2019 from: https://www.vox.com/2019/4/25/18514145/maternal-mortality-rates-medicaid-insurance

14.     Karkowsky CE. I Found the Outer Limits of My Pro-Choice Beliefs. The Atlantic. (2019, Aug. 07). Retrieved on Oct. 22, 2019 from: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/pro-choice-ob-gyn-confronts-limits-her-beliefs/594151/

15.     Brink S. War Is The Enemy of Breastfeeding. NPR. (2017, Aug 6). Retrieved on Jan. 07, 2019 from: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/08/06/748589823/war-is-the-enemy-of-breastfeeding