Medical Advancements and How They Can Change Our World Podcast
Reintroduction to Writing: The Maternal Health Crisis Final Project Podcast. This podcast episode will explore the reality that, for centuries, women have died from childbirth complications due to limited understanding and inadequate diagnostic tools. While modern technologies like ultrasounds and blood pressure monitoring have improved maternal care, gaps still remain. Advances in genomics offer new opportunities for earlier detection and prevention of pregnancy-related complications, but access to these technologies is still limited. Maternal health disparities, particularly among Black women, highlight these gaps. According to the CDC, Black women are about 60% more likely to develop conditions like preeclampsia compared to White women, reflecting broader inequities in care. Although genomic testing has the potential to improve early detection and enable personalized treatment, high costs and limited accessibility currently limit its impact. This episode explores how genomics can improve maternal health outcomes while addressing the critical need for equitable implementation, ensuring that all women—especially those in marginalized communities—benefit from these advancements. Podcast doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AyXBlg... Work Cited: Graves, Cornelia R et al. “Addressing Racial Disparities in the Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy: A Plan for Action from the Preeclampsia Foundation's Racial Disparities Task Force.” Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities vol. 12,5 (2025): 3223-3232. doi:10.1007/s40615-024-02126-6 Adil, Mohamed, et al. “Preeclampsia Risk Prediction from Prenatal Cell-Free DNA Screening.” Nature Medicine, vol. 31, no. 4, 2025, pp. 1312–1318. Hager, Erin R., et al. “Addressing Bias and Improving Care for Black Women in Maternal Health.” Journal of the Medical Library Association, vol. 107, no. 4, 2019, jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/604. Moufarrej, M. N., et al. “Early Prediction of Preeclampsia in Pregnancy with Cell-Free RNA.” Nature, vol. 602, 2022, pp. 689–694. “A Brief Guide to Genomics.” National Human Genome Research Institute, www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/A-Brief-Guide-to-Genomics. “Angela’s Story: I Want People to Know How Serious Preeclampsia Is.” California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, www.cmqcc.org/news/angelas-story-i-want-people-know-how-serious-preeclampsia. “Genomics and Health Disparities.” Cell, vol. 185, no. 14, 2022, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867422005943 BOOK: Cooper Owens, Deirdre. Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology. University of Georgia Press, 2017. PODCASTS: Soo, Stephanie, host. Rotten Mango. SiriusXM Podcasts, 2020–present, www.rottenmangopodcast.com. Irby, Mandy, and HeHe, hosts. The Pulse Check Podcast. 2022–present, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pulse-check-podcast/id1604860589
