Obstetrics and gynecology ·
Voters back abortion rights in three states as Idaho measure fails; CMS proposes dropping obstetric readiness rules; AI chatbot misses in trial
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Voters backed abortion rights in Missouri, Nevada and Virginia on Nov. 3, while an Idaho reproductive freedom initiative failed, leaving its total ban in place, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Nov. 5 proposed removing obstetric quality improvement and emergency readiness training requirements from hospital conditions of participation, and a 400-person trial found a generative artificial intelligence (AI) maternal health chatbot did not improve anxiety or depression.
THE DETAILS
- Policy Nov 3, 2026Missouri voters defeated Amendment 3, which would have banned abortion except in cases of rape and incest for the first 12 weeks or longer for fetal anomalies, NHPR reported Nov. 3, citing an Associated Press race call. Nevada's Question 6, a right to abortion initiative, and Virginia's Question 1, a reproductive freedom amendment, passed, according to the Guttmacher Institute; the Nevada measure takes effect after a vote by the state supreme court. Idaho's Proposition 1 did not pass, and Idaho continues to enforce a total ban, Guttmacher said.Sources: Guttmacher Institute, NHPR
- Policy Nov 5, 2026The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed on Nov. 5 to remove obstetric care-specific quality assessment and performance improvement requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals, and staff training requirements for transfer protocols, emergency services readiness and obstetric care, the last otherwise set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The proposal would also establish patients' rights requirements on birth tissue collection. CMS estimated the full package, covering all 21 provider and supplier types, would save $320 million.Source: CMS
- AI Nov 2, 2026A JAMA Network Open randomized clinical trial enrolled 400 participants who were pregnant or parenting an infant younger than 6 months and self-identified as members of racial or ethnic minoritized groups. It compared access to a generative artificial intelligence (AI) maternal health chatbot with an active control of monthly children's books. At 12 months, adjusted mean differences were 0.10 (95% CI -0.77 to 0.96) for anxiety and -0.23 (95% CI -1.05 to 0.59) for depression. Among participants pregnant at enrollment, the chatbot was associated with more self-reported pregnancy-related complications in a secondary 12-month analysis but not in longitudinal analyses.Sources: JAMA Network Open, PubMed
- Public health Nov 2, 2026A prospective cohort at 14 centers of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network enrolled 271 exposed and 240 unexposed children. Total scores on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition, were equivalent (adjusted median difference -3.4; 90% CI -9.8 to 3.0), according to JAMA Pediatrics. The authors said the findings support continued recommendations for SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination during pregnancy.Sources: JAMA Pediatrics, PubMed
- Research Nov 2, 2026A serial cross-sectional study in JAMA Network Open of 27,341,986 weighted deliveries in the National Inpatient Sample found 563,250 (2.1%) complicated by severe maternal morbidity. Composite rates increased 40.5%, from 175.0 to 245.9 per 10,000 deliveries (P < .001). Within racial and ethnic groups, Medicaid coverage was associated with higher adjusted odds than private insurance, for example an odds ratio of 1.13 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.17) among Black patients.Sources: JAMA Network Open, PubMed
- Technology Nov 2, 2026The RELAX trial randomized 268 pregnant individuals in the U.K. at 16 to 28 weeks' gestation to usual care with or without a self-led digital intervention, pregnancy-tailored cognitive bias modification for interpretation, delivered in 12 17-minute sessions over four weeks. Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scores were lower with RELAX at the primary assessment (mean difference -1.5; 95% CI -2.4 to -0.6; P = .001), and anxiety was lower during pregnancy and postnatally, according to JAMA Network Open.Sources: JAMA Network Open, PubMed
- Research Nov 6, 2026In a retrospective, observational matched cohort of 52,330 women aged 45 to 59 years from Clalit Health Services in Israel, starting hormone therapy was not associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (adjusted hazard ratio 0.98; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.04) or venous thromboembolism (adjusted hazard ratio 1.01; 95% CI 0.82 to 1.24) after a mean follow-up of 12 years, according to Healio. The abstract was presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions and has not been peer reviewed.Source: Healio
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