Women’s Healthcast

Hypertension, or chronic high blood pressure, affects nearly half of U.S. adults. On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. Kara Hoppe and research manager Jamie LaMantia talked about what causes hypertension, how it’s often treated, and why high blood pressure can be a concern in pregnancy. To learn more about or participate in the MyHEART study examining h...

To celebrate LGBT Pride, we’re re-airing one of our most popular episodes: Safe Spaces: Making OB-Gyn Care LGBT-Friendly. For many LGBT people, past discrimination or concerns about discrimination from medical professionals can deter them from seeking health care. Pride Month (and every month) is a great time to look at how we make health care settings safe and inclusive spaces. On this episode of...

Our healthcare system mounted a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, which included pausing or delaying some non-essential or elective care, ramping up telehealth or video visits, and limiting in-person appointments for patient safety. It’s May 20 now, and at least in Wisconsin, we’re getting ready to loosen some restrictions and bring people back into clinics. On this episode, t...

Stress, anxiety, grief, peace, joy, fear - pick an emotion, and it's likely been part of your COVID-19 pandemic experience. On this episode of the Women's Healthcast, Dr. Julianne Zweifel talks about the broad range of emotional responses people might be having right now, what behaviors might be influencing our feelings, and her tips for managing stress and anxiety.  Dr. Zweifel is a health psycho...

For 50 episodes and more than two years, the Women’s Healthcast has brought you informative interviews with a wide variety of women’s health experts. On this episode, we look back at clips from some of your favorite interviews on birth control; common conditions like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, pelvic floor disorders, and menopause; preventing cervical cancer; adapting health care to...

COVID-19 – also referred to as coronavirus – has drastically changed the way many of us live our lives. This episode is intended as a quick update and overview of resources related to COVID-19, and an update on what we know about the virus and pregnancy. This update is current as of March 25, but our knowledge of COVID-19 is changing rapidly. You can watch the following sites for updates as more i...

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that many teen girls and young women may receive unnecessary pelvic exams and Pap tests. On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, Dr. Bridget Kelly sat down to talk about when younger people should start getting pelvic exams and Pap tests, and what she covers in visits with her adolescent patients. Dr. Kelly is a general ob-gyn in...

February 24-March 1, 2020 is  National Eating Disorders Awareness Week . On this episode, UW Health pediatrician Dr. Paula Cody talks about how common eating disorders are, where fad diets fall on the disordered eating spectrum, how body image plays into disordered eating, and how we can work towards greater body acceptance as a culture. Resources in the episode:  Health At Every Size , Dr. Cody's...

Infertility – the inability to get pregnant after one year of trying, or after six months for women over age 35 – is very common. 10 percent of women younger than 35, and about 25 percent of women between the ages of 35 and 40 have fertility challenges. On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, we hear from Bala Bhagavath about how he and his team figure out what’s causing infertility, and the ra...

An ectopic pregnancy is any pregnancy that implants and starts to grow outside the uterus. These pregnancies can be dangerous, and require immediate treatment. Dr. Ashley Jennings joined the Women's Healthcast to talk about what we know and don't know about ectopic pregnancies, and why they need to be expediently managed.

We’ve talked a lot about birth control on this podcast before – how different methods work, what to think about when choosing birth control, how new technology is changing the landscape. But it's one thing to know how birth control works and how to choose the best method, and it's another thing entirely to actually have affordable, consistent access  to the full range of modern contraceptive metho...

What were some of the biggest policies and issues that affected women’s health in 2019? What’s on the horizon for 2020? And how can we head into an important election year as informed voters? To answer these questions, the Women’s Healthcast invited special guest Sara Finger, excecutive director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health . For 15 years, she has led the organization dedicated to...

Imagine if getting a birth control prescription was as easy as picking up the phone or opening an app and answering a few questions about your health. Dr. Mary Landry made that possible for some students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joined the Women’s Healthcast to talk about how her telehealth program makes it easier for UW-Madison students to get birth control, and what similar pr...

About one in eight U.S. women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Laura Bozzuto joined the Women’s Healthcast to talk about breast cancer symptoms, the latest in screening guidelines, and how to lower your breast cancer risk. Dr. Bozzuto is an ob-gyn with specialty training in breast cancer surgery.

Miscarriage is both fairly common (occurring in somewhere between 15 and 25% of pregnancies) and under-discussed. Since October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, Kristen Sharp joined the Women's Healthcast to talk about miscarriage and pregnancy loss. Dr. Sharp leads the UW Health Hope After Loss clinic, where she supports patients experiencing pregnancy or infant loss, or preparing fo...

This year, National Midwifery Week is September 29 through October 5. What better opportunity to learn more about the difference midwives can make in healthcare? Hannah Copp, certified nurse midwife with a clinical practice at UW Health, joined the Women’s Healthcast to talk about the broad range of care midwives provide – from birth control to prenatal, birth and postpartum care, to supporting pa...

Cervical cancer is the third most common gynecologic cancer in the United States, with nearly 13,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Since September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, Sumer Wallace joined the Women's Healthcast to talk about what causes cervical cancer, how it’s treated, and why the HPV vaccine and regular screenings are important tools to help prevent cervical cancer. Dr. Wal...

Opioid use during pregnancy is happening more and more across the country, which can lead to some complications for moms and babies. On this episode, Jackie Adams talks about opioid use disorder, safety concerns for using opioids while pregnant, and a new program she started to support pregnant people in treatment for opioids. Dr. Adams is a fellow in the UW Ob-Gyn maternal-fetal medicine program....

We use smartphones for so many things throughout the day – they can be cameras, grocery lists, work stations, more. But…can they also be birth control? Fertility tracking, or menstrual tracking, apps are getting more and more popular – one was even recently approved by the FDA as birth control. On this episode, Dr. Eliza Bennett talks about how fertility tracking apps work, whether they’re effecti...

Physicians and surgeons go through many years of training to hone their skills. But have you ever wondered what that training looks like? How do surgeons learn these extremely technical, hands-on skills in high-stakes situations? Dr. Ken Kim , director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship and director of Robotic Surgical Education and Training at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, joined the...

Diabetes can complicate pregnancy in some very important ways, including increased risk for high blood pressure and premature birth. And, pregnancy can complicate diabetes – whether it’s Type 1, Type 2 or gestational, treatment plans for diabetes need to change when someone is pregnant. It sounds intimidating, but safe pregnancy is possible with careful management. On this episode of the Women’s H...

For many LGBT people, past discrimination or concerns about discrimination from medical professionals can deter them from seeking health care. Pride Month (and every month) is a great time to look at how we make health care settings safe and inclusive spaces. On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, Dr. Ruth Yemane discusses reproductive and sexual healthcare for LGBT patients. She also shares h...

Vitamin D has a lot of important jobs in the body, from promoting bone strength to supporting the immune system. And ongoing research suggests vitamin D may also play a big role in fertility and pregnancy outcomes.  Dr. Samantha Butts , reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, sat down with the Women's Healthcast to talk about why Vitamin D is import...

Cancer treatments can come with a variety of physical and emotional side effects. As awkward as it may be to talk about, that includes side effects that might change our ability to have or enjoy sex. On this episode, Joanne Rash talks about why treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can affect sexuality, some of the most common sexual health concerns she sees in her patients, and how she helps...

Most women - up to 75 percent, according to Dr. Julianne Zweifel - will experience some mood changes in the first couple weeks after having a baby. But for between 12 and 20 percent of those women, the symptoms will extend beyond the first few weeks of parenthood, edging into perinatal mood disorder territory. On this episode, Dr. Zweifel discusses common perinatal mood disorders like postpartum d...