Scientists are learning more about this leading complication of childbirth. Treatments are improving and doctors can test for biological markers that flag heightened risk. Like many first-time mothers, Lisette Lopez-Rose thought childbirth would usher in a time of joy. Instead, she had panic attacks as she imagined that something bad was going to happen to her baby, and she felt weighed down by...
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. As the share of U.S. adults receiving mental health care treatment steadily grows, for-profit companies are playing an increasingly important role. More than 40% of inpatient mental health beds were operated by for-profit entities as of 2021,...
Caroline Connor’s concerns about her son’s development began around his 1st birthday, when she noticed he wasn’t talking or using any words. Their pediatrician didn’t seem worried, but the speech delay persisted. At 2½, Mason was diagnosed with autism. The Connors went on a mission, searching for anything that would help. “We just started researching on our own. And that’s when my husband Joe...
Florida secures #3 spot for highest med mal claim rates, records 96 claims per 1,000 practitioners A new study reveals Florida has the third highest medical malpractice claim rate in the United States. The study, by Florida-based personal injury lawyers Anidjar & Levine, analyzed medical malpractice payment report data between 2020 and 2024 from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). By...
It started with a high school typing course. Wanda Woods enrolled because her father advised that typing proficiency would lead to jobs. Sure enough, the federal Environmental Protection Agency hired her as an after-school worker while she was still a junior. Her supervisor “sat me down and put me on a machine called a word processor,” Woods, now 67, recalled. “It was big and bulky and used...
A long list of Lynda Hollander’s paternal relatives had heart disease, and several had undergone major surgeries. So when she hit her mid-50s and saw her cholesterol levels creeping up after menopause, she said, “I didn’t want to take a chance.” A cardiologist told Hollander that based on factors like age, sex, cholesterol, and blood pressure, she faced a moderate risk of a major cardiac event,...
