In 2023, the MAC team was busy conducting innovative and interdisciplinary research to identify and disrupt barriers to knowledge, opportunity, and health for women and their communities. Here’s an overview of some new work:
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People living in places that have no maternity care are less likely to breastfeed immediately after giving birth. Dr. Chanell Haley, postdoctoral fellow, had her article “Maternity care deserts in Louisiana and breastfeeding initiation” published in Women’s Health Issues.
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People living in places that have no abortion care facilities and no maternity care providers are more likely to experience a preterm birth. Dr. Maeve Wallace, associate director, and Dr. Dovile Vilda published their article “Health care use and health consequences of geographic lack of access to abortion and maternity care” in Birth. This study was also covered by the Louisiana Illuminator – read the article here. This study used data from before the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Following that decision, abortion facilities across the country were forced to close and now many more people live in places that have neither abortion care or maternity care providers.
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A higher risk of some pregnancy complications in women who conceived with assisted reproductive technology (ART) may be due to characteristics of the population receiving fertility treatment, rather than a consequence of the treatment itself. Dr. Dovile Vilda, assistant professor and BIRCWH (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health) scholar, presented her work examining the impact of infertility treatment on complications during pregnancy and the postpartum period. “The risk of perinatal and cardiovascular complications in pregnancies conceived by assisted reproductive technology” was presented at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine 2023 Scientific Congress & Expo in New Orleans, LA on October 18, 2023.
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Birthing people in same-sex relationships experienced higher risk for gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes compared to people in different-sex relationships, and these sexual orientation disparities are more pronounced among marginalized racial/ethnic populations. Dr. Dovile Vilda, assistant professor and BIRCWH (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health) scholar, presented her paper “Perinatal and obstetric outcomes among birthing people in same-sex and different-sex relationships in Louisiana” at the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Sciences conference in Baltimore, MD on October 5, 2023.
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Financial, clinical, and knowledge barriers prevent women from accessing the most effective contraception options to avoid unintended pregnancy. Dr. Melissa Goldin Evans, research scientist, published “Multilevel Barriers to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptive Uptake: A Narrative Review” in Health Promotion Practice. She was also interviewed for a related piece in Medpage Today titled “Are Pediatricians Hesitant About IUDs for Adolescents?”.
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The NOLA GEM app, informed by the experiences of people living with HIV in New Orleans, shows promise for wider adoption and potential use in other underserved communities. Stephanie Tokarz, senior program manager, and Dr. Katherine Theall, director, published “A Trauma-Informed, Geospatially Aware, Just-in-Time Adaptive mHealth Intervention to Support Effective Coping Skills Among People Living With HIV in New Orleans: Development and Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial” in JMIR Research Protocols.
