Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.

We close out our pregnancy series with a big picture view of how the childbirth experience has changed over the past century - both for the better and for the worse. From home to hospital, what have we lost and what have we gained? We also delve into the period known as the fourth trimester, examining the physiological changes that can occur after childbirth as well as one of the most common (but not commonly discussed) conditions that people develop during this time: postpartum depression. Tune into this info-packed episode, and don’t forget to send us your recommendations for future topics!

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Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.

In Act 3 of our pregnancy series, we arrive at the big moment: childbirth. We begin the episode with a closer look at one of the most commonly performed surgeries around the world: the cesarean section. Exploring how this procedure went from rare to everywhere reveals some of the larger medical trends shaping the childbirth experience in nuanced ways. Then, we take a step back to ask “what is actually happening in labor?” Journeying through the labor and delivery process contraction by contraction gives us the opportunity to examine what is happening in our bodies during this crucial time and how things might not go according to plan.

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Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.

The second episode in our pregnancy series kicks off with a tribute to one of the most amazing organs: the placenta. We trace the evolutionary origins of the human placenta and examine how this organ allows for such an intimate and delicately balanced relationship between mother and fetus, as well as what can happen if that balance is disrupted. We then turn towards the pregnant person, exploring the broad physiological changes that happen body system by body system throughout pregnancy. Why do you pee so much? Feel nauseous? Have high blood pressure? We get into it all.

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Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.

With this and the next three episodes, we’re delivering a four-part series on pregnancy, trimester by trimester. We start our series with a tour through the history of the pregnancy test: how and when did these sticks with the two blue lines become the everyday at-home medical device they are today? How has their introduction changed the knowledge that women have about their bodies and who has access to that knowledge? Then we explore the biology of what happens at the very beginning of pregnancy with some light embryology, exploring the earliest steps of implantation, placentation, and what could happen if this process doesn’t go as expected.

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Check out Advances In Care, a podcast that showcases the latest medical breakthroughs by physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian hospital. Our very own Erin Welsh just started a hosting role on the pod! Available wherever you get your podcasts: https://go.pddr.app/advances-in-care-host

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For much of history, female reproductive anatomy has been studied only in the context of or in comparison to male reproductive anatomy. This shows in clinical trial design, in healthcare disparities, in the research questions we ask (or fail to ask), it’s even apparent in our language - the word “vagina” means “sheath”, as if vaginas only exist to sheathe penises. Only recently have researchers begun to close this gap in our knowledge when it comes to half the humans on this planet. In Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage, award-winning journalist and author Rachel Gross takes readers through the origins of this information gap, examining how preconceived notions about sex and gender underlie the bias that still exists today. She then delves into the fascinating research that seeks to confront this bias and address the vast health inequities that limit care for so many. Tune in for a truly enlightening odyssey through the only recently charted world of female anatomy.

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Has a name brand prescription medication ever shot to notoriety as quickly as Viagra did? Within a few months of its arrival on the market, it seems like everyone knew about the little blue pill, whether through commercials featuring celebrity spokespeople or from endless jokes on late night talk shows. But while everyone understood that this medication promised to treat erectile dysfunction, what most people didn’t know was the wild story leading to its development. Or how this medication (and similar medications) actually works. Or the tremendous impact this blockbuster drug would have on the ways that medications are advertised and developed. In this episode, we bring you those stories (and many more).

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In forests, in lawns, in city parks across the world lurks a small, pale, unassuming mushroom whose inconspicuous appearance belies its deadly nature. For within this mushroom dwelsl one of the deadliest poisons known to humans: amatoxin. It’s because of this toxin that the aptly-named ‘death cap mushroom’ (Amanita phalloides) is responsible for the vast majority of mushroom-related deaths around the globe each year. What makes this poisonous mushroom so very deadly, and is there anything we can do about it? In this episode, we take a journey through this legendary mushroom’s story, exploring its destructive biology, its murderous history, and its worrying yet hopeful future. Tune in to learn more about these mushrooms that show death can come in small packages.

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Okay everyone, think about your tongue. Maybe move it around a bit, check in with it, consider what it means to you. Now imagine that your tongue suddenly shriveled up and fell off and that in its place is a tongue-sized isopod aka rollie pollie aka pillbug. Just there, hanging out, forever. How are you feeling? Horrified? Disgusted? Hey, we get it. But at least you’ll never be alone again. Believe it or not, this is not some bad creative writing exercise. This is a very real parasite. In fact, it’s not just one but a whole group of them. Fortunately for us humans, these tongue-replacing isopods don’t target mammals but rather various fish species (unfortunately for the fish). And in this week’s episode, we’re getting up close and personal with these bizarre (and dare we say cute?) organ-replacing parasites. If you’re wondering why on earth you should care about a niche parasite like this one or why it might be a bad idea to get rid of all of earth’s parasites, then we warmly invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy this parasite appreciation hour.

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