Women’s Healthcast

The Science of Clinical Trials

On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, we speak with Dr. Elisavet Paplomata to learn more about clinical trials. We talk about why researchers do trials, why people might choose to enroll in them, safety precautions in place for trial participants, and what she’s doing to increase clinical trials available to patients at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. Dr. Paplomata is an assistant professor in the division of hematology and medical oncology in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Medicine.

Learn more about clinical trials:

UW Health trials: https://clinicaltrials.uwhealth.org

Clinical trials in the U.S.: https://clinicaltrials.gov

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When to Seek a Second Opinion

It's not uncommon for people to ask their doctors for second opinions, especially when facing a challenging diagnosis or intense treatment. On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, Dr. Ellen Hartenbach discusses why people ask for second opinions, what happens after a second opinion is given, and how to approach the conversation with your own health care team. Dr. Hartenbach is a gynecologic oncologist in the UW Carbone Cancer Center.

Learn more about the UW Carbone Cancer Center and Cancer Connect second opinion services: https://www.uwhealth.org/services/cancer

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Trans Health and Ob-Gyn

Dr. Ruth Yemane is one of the UW-Madison Department of Ob-Gyn’s leading experts in gender affirming surgery and gynecologic care for transgender people. On this episode, we discuss Dr. Yemane’s recommendations for safe, trust-filled patient-provider relationships, and what surgical, clinical and preventive health care can look like for trans and nonbinary people.

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REPLAY: Infertility 101

In honor of Infertility Awareness Week, which is April 18-24 this year, we’re replaying one of our most popular episodes. In February 2020, we talked with Dr. Bala Bhagavath about common causes of infertility, and the range treatment options available for people interested in expanding their families. Dr. Bhagavath is a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn, and director of UW Health’s Generations Fertility Care clinic in Madison.

He is also a member of the Building Families Alliance Wisconsin steering committee. You can learn more about this group focused on fertility-friendly policy in Wisconsin and defining statewide standards for fertility care at buildingfamilieswi.org.

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The Doctor Will Tweet You Now

More and more, you can find doctors and other health care professionals talking about their expertise on social media, whether that’s answering questions on an Instagram Live, or adding a medical twist to the latest TikTok dance trend. Dr. Kenan Omurtag joined the Women's Healthcast to talk about why doctors and health professionals are increasingly moving to social platforms, and what the benefit is to health care consumers.

Dr. Omurtag is a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist in the Washington University at St Louis Department of Ob-Gyn. You can find him on Instagram @drkenanomurtagmd.

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Emergency Contraception

Discussions around emergency contraception often include some myths and misunderstandings. Dr. Molly Lepic joined the women’s Healthcast to help clear up some common questions about emergency contraception, including when to use it, how it works, what types are available, and where people can find emergency contraception when they need it. Dr. Lepic is an ob-gyn in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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Vulvar Health, Care and Cleaning

Walk through any drugstore and you’ll find a whole aisle dedicated to “feminine hygiene” – wipes, cleansers, washes and more. But, do we actually need those products? Dr. Laura Jacques joined this episode of the Women's Healthcast to talk about optimal vulvar health, care, and cleaning. She discussed how to care for vulvas and vaginas, what products are safe to use, how vulvar health can change with age, and more. Dr. Jacques is a general ob-gyn physician in the UW-Madison Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Let us know what health issues you'd like to learn about! Email the Women's Healthcast team with your suggestions.

Pregnancy, Vaccines, and COVID-19

2020 was a year shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the women’s health realm, we have been especially concerned about what COVID means for pregnancy. On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, Dr. Igor Iruretagoyena joined us to talk about COVID and pregnancy – whether pregnant people are at higher risk of severe illness with COVID, if pregnant people are eligible for vaccination, and other things to think about if you’re considering pregnancy during a pandemic. Dr. Iruretagoyena is the director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at UW Health.

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine COVID-19 information for women and families

American College of Ob-Gyns information for patients

If you have requests or suggestions for health care topics to cover in 2021, let us know!

Promoting Pelvic Floor Health: PT, Pessaries and More

How much do you know about your pelvic floor? Angie Sergeant, nurse practitioner in the UW Health Women's Pelvic Wellness Clinic, joined the Women's Healthcast to talk about common pelvic floor questions, including risk factors for pelvic floor disorders, pelvic floor physical therapy and other interventions, and what visits to her clinic look like.

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Strengthening Your Health Literacy

Health literacy – how well we can find, understand, and apply information to help us make health decisions – affects many areas of our lives. Reading nutrition labels in the grocery store, following instructions on prescription bottles, being able to tell whether an article shared by a high school acquaintance on social media is accurate – these are just a few of the ways health literacy pops up day-to-day.

On this episode, Dr. Heidi Brown of the UW-Madison Department of Ob-Gyn and Jordan Spencer, medical student at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences talk about where to find accurate health information, resources for building health literacy skills, and how low health literacy exacerbates preexisting health disparities.

Dr. Brown and Jordan recommend MedlinePlus and the MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing as tools to strengthen health literacy.

Let us know what health issues you'd like to learn about! Email the Women's Healthcast team with your suggestions.