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Delivering babies is usual for this nurse midwife, but it's far from her whole job
MINNEAPOLIS — Andrea Engdahl remembers the first time she said the words, 25 years ago.
“I want to be a midwife.”
She was pregnant with her first child at the time and exploring her health care options. A nurse midwife, she discovered, was a registered nurse who delivers babies and cares for women from puberty through menopause.
...Read more
What you eat can improve how well you sleep at night
You may never have heard of a sleep potato or a sleep pea, but they do exist, at least according to a new study published in Sleep Health. Researchers tracked the sleep patterns of 34 folks to see if what they ate during the day affected their nightly snooze. They found that those who ate the most fruits, vegetables and whole grains slept the ...Read more
Metformin Can Help All People, Not Just Diabetics, Lose Weight
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 75-year-old woman who isn't prediabetic or diabetic. My BMI is 31.2. My doctor has prescribed a trial of metformin for weight loss as an alternative to starting Ozempic or one of the other weight-loss drugs. I have lost three pounds in a month, which is a start; exercise and healthier eating is also encouraged. What are ...Read more

How Trump's Medicaid work requirements could affect mental health care
For many people who have a serious mental illness or are recovering from one, trying to get or keep a job may be overwhelming and exhausting.
Finding out that you need a job in order to keep accessing your mental health care can feel insurmountable.
Yet that may soon be the case for nearly half a million Washington residents.
Under a new rule...Read more

Ask the Pediatrician: How reading can help prevent the summer slide
Summer vacation gives your child a much-needed break from school routines, which is important. But, at the same time, it can also result in what educators call the summer slide or "brain drain" — a learning gap that opens when kids spend long periods away from the classroom.
Not only can reading be a fun leisure activity, it can keep your ...Read more

How to talk to family and friends about a head and neck cancer diagnosis
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Talking to loved ones about a recent head and neck cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. Of course, there is no one “right” or “wrong” way to handle these conversations — or adjusting to your life with cancer. Everyone has their own pace, preferences and relationship patterns. But taking the time to consider your ...Read more

Insurers fight state laws restricting surprise ambulance bills
Nicole Silva’s 4-year-old daughter was headed to a relative’s house near the southern Colorado town of La Jara when a vehicle T-boned the car she was riding in. A cascade of ambulance rides ensued — a ground ambulance to a local hospital, an air ambulance to Denver, and another ground ambulance to Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Silva’s...Read more
Stand up to your increased risk of falling
Pop music has folks falling all over the place: There's Harry Styles' "Falling," Alan Walker's "All Falls Down," and Glen Hansard's "Falling Slowly." Turns out, older Americans are also falling a lot -- and with terrible results.
A Center for Disease Control and Prevention report shows that unintentional fall-related deaths have skyrocketed by ...Read more
Medicine Reduces Pain Level But Might Cause Memory Issues
DEAR DR. ROACH: Two years ago, I was diagnosed with atypical trigeminal neuralgia. This causes me constant and extreme face pain, like a vise-grip on my face. Once an MRI confirmed no brain issues, and after multiple medications including Botox injections, I was put on nortriptyline, which immensely improved the pain. I am 61 years old and ...Read more

World's premier cancer institute faces crippling cuts and chaos
The Trump administration’s broadsides against scientific research have caused unprecedented upheaval at the National Cancer Institute, the storied federal government research hub that has spearheaded advances against the disease for decades.
NCI, which has long benefited from enthusiastic bipartisan support, now faces an exodus of clinicians...Read more

Missouri abortion ban would also restrict transgender care. It's already illegal
For Celeste Michael, the transgender community is being used as a pawn in Missouri’s push to ban abortion.
When the 23-year-old went to vote in Lee’s Summit last November, signs outside her polling place falsely claimed an abortion rights amendment would legalize transgender surgeries for minors. Nearly 52% of voters approved the measure, ...Read more

How a Supreme Court win for public health bolstered RFK Jr. and threatens no-cost vaccines
WASHINGTON — Public health advocates won a big case in the Supreme Court on the last day of this year's term, but the victory came with an asterisk.
The decision ended one threat to the no-cost preventive services — from cancer and diabetes screenings to statin drugs and vaccines — used by more than 150 million Americans who have health ...Read more

On Nutrition: Learning from plants
A young friend of ours, an emergency room nurse, was staying at our home for a few days when we were out of town. I nonchalantly asked her to give my plants a little water if they felt dry.
She almost had an anxiety attack. “I’m much better at keeping people alive than plants,” she confessed.
That encounter reminded me of a commercial I ...Read more

Dealing with extreme heat is a full-time job for parents of young kids -- and their schools
LOS ANGELES — When Aida Maravilla was on the hunt for a new apartment in 2021, she had one major goal: Find a place with air conditioning.
She learned the hard way that cool air is more than an amenity. When her daughter was an infant she remembers the baby waking up in tears from the heat. Maravilla would soothe her with a wet cloth and ...Read more
A Reasonable Dose Of Vitamin A Doesn't Pass 900 Mcg Rae
DEAR DR. ROACH: If I am taking vitamin A, what is a reasonable dose? I have seen reports that taking too much can cause liver damage, but nobody says how much is a problem. -- M.E.B.
ANSWER: I think many media sources avoid the complexity of the issue. The preferred unit to describe doses of vitamin A are now micrograms RAE, or "retinol ...Read more
Young or older, cannabis is riskier than you think
When you think of stoners, Cheech and Chong may come to mind, but chances are you don't think of your grandparents. But the number of folks over age 65 who are using (smoking or ingesting) cannabis has jumped by 45% in the past two years, according to a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine, and the trend doesn't seem to be slowing down.
...Read more

Measles cases are on the rise: How is Southern California faring?
Measles cases throughout the U.S. are on the rise — but Southern California is faring better than other states.
Nationally speaking, more cases have been reported halfway through 2025 than any other year since the disease was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000.
In California, 17 cases have been reported thus far in 2025. In 2024, the ...Read more

Workplace mental health at risk as key federal agency faces cuts
In Connecticut, construction workers in the Local 478 union who complete addiction treatment are connected with a recovery coach who checks in daily, attends recovery meetings with them, and helps them navigate the return to work for a year.
In Pennsylvania, doctors applying for credentials at Geisinger hospitals are not required to answer ...Read more

Editorial: Golden age for disease: RFK presides over rampant measles
Proving once again that anti-vax quack Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a threat to public health, confirmed measles cases in the United States have hit a 33-year high.
It’s even worse since it’s been a quarter century since the deadly disease was declared completely eradicated in the country. But no more.
The ...Read more

States brace for reversal of Obamacare coverage gains under Trump's budget bill
Shorter enrollment periods. More paperwork. Higher premiums. The sweeping tax and spending bill pushed by President Donald Trump includes provisions that would not only reshape people’s experience with the Affordable Care Act but, according to some policy analysts, also sharply undermine the gains in health insurance coverage associated with ...Read more
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Popular Stories
- How to talk to family and friends about a head and neck cancer diagnosis
- How Trump's Medicaid work requirements could affect mental health care
- Eating Well: 5 foods to stock up on in July
- World's premier cancer institute faces crippling cuts and chaos
- Insurers fight state laws restricting surprise ambulance bills