OB/GYN Clinical Alert – January 1, 2026

The Effect of Criminalizing Illicit Drug Use in Pregnancy

In this observational study of three states, punitive prenatal drug use policies were associated with 4,396.29 fewer births per 100,000 patients receiving any prenatal care (95% confidence interval [CI], -6,176.07, -2,616.51) and 1,847.99 fewer facility-based deliveries (95% CI, -3,688.29, -7.69).

The Role of Doula Support in Reducing Cesarean Delivery Rates

Professional intrapartum doula support is associated with a clinically meaningful reduction in cesarean deliveries and operative vaginal births without adverse effects on neonatal Apgar scores. Although heterogeneity and possible publication bias temper certainty, the consistency of benefit across randomized controlled trials and high-quality observational studies supports doulas as a promising and focused strategy to improve intrapartum outcomes.

Opportunistic Salpingectomy in Patients with High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma

Of 650 patients diagnosed with high-grade serous ovarian cancer between 2014 and 2021, 56.5% underwent a prior abdominal or pelvic surgery with opportunity to undergo risk-reducing opportunistic salpingectomy with a median time between ovarian cancer diagnosis and prior surgery of 30.0 years (interquartile range, 19.4 to 37.7 years).

New Guidelines for HPV Testing of Self-Collected Vaginal Specimens for Cervical Cancer Screening

This article outlines national consensus guidelines for the use of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing of self-collected vaginal specimens for cervical cancer screening.