Weekly review: Panel perspectives on vaccines, preventable infection deaths, and more

Thank you for visiting the Contemporary OB/GYN website. Take a look at some of our top stories from the past week (Monday, March 2, to Friday, March 6, 2026) and click on each link to read and watch anything you may have missed.

Expert panel: Navigating shifts in maternal immunization guidance

Recent changes to federal vaccine recommendations from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), including shifts toward shared clinical decision-making and reclassification of certain vaccines, have generated confusion and frustration among health care providers. In response, some clinicians are increasingly relying on guidance from established medical societies while experts continue to examine how these policy changes—particularly those affecting maternal immunization—may influence vaccine practices moving forward.

Watch our expert panel discuss impacts on maternal immunization patterns.

Digital symptom checkers could reduce diagnostic delay of endometriosis by 4 years

A study published March 2, 2026, in npj Digital Medicine suggests that digital symptom checkers could help reduce the long diagnostic delays associated with endometriosis while also lowering health care costs. Using a long-term economic model, researchers found that integrating these tools alongside standard care may accelerate diagnosis by several years and provide measurable clinical and financial benefits over time.

Click here for full study details.

Alessandro Santin, MD, on investigating rare endometrial disease for potential new treatments

A comprehensive genomic study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences analyzed the molecular drivers of endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS), a rare and heterogeneous uterine cancer, using integrated whole-genome, whole-exome, and transcriptome sequencing. The findings identified distinct genetic alterations across tumor grades and highlighted potential therapeutic targets, offering new insight into precision treatment strategies for this difficult-to-treat malignancy.

Listen in as Alessandro Santin, MD, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine, described the research as a worldwide collaboration involving institutions across the United States, Italy, and South Korea to address a "dire need" for new treatment modalities.

MMRC review identifies preventable infection deaths

In a 29-state review of 2017–2019 data, 86.4% of pregnancy-related infection deaths were deemed preventable, with genital tract infections, group A streptococcus, and delays in antibiotics emerging as key targets for intervention.

Naima T. Joseph, MD, MPH, an assistant professor at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, explains the findings here.

Standardized screening reduces racial disparities in urine drug testing at delivery

Standardized, patient-completed screening for substance use at delivery admissions reduced racial disparities in urine toxicology testing while improving testing efficiency, according to a study from Mariam Naqvi, MD, and colleagues.

Click here to watch Mariam Naqvi, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, discuss the study.

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