Health

(NEW YORK) — Opening statements in the federal trial of a Manhattan, New York obstetrician/gynecologist charged with sexually abusing female patients highlighted a rare but devastating type of sexual misconduct — that of a patient by a medical professional.

Robert Hadden, a former obstetrician/gynecologist at Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, pled guilty to abusing patients in 2016, but avoided jail time in a controversial deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

Now, he’s on trial over federal charges. He pled not guilty to the federal charges, which accuse him of enticing women to cross state lines in order to sexually abuse them. His defense called it a “technical crime.”

Obstetricians and gynecologists regularly perform sensitive examinations when patients are emotionally and physically vulnerable. Those exams are medically important, which is why experts say abuse during such procedures is an egregious breach of trust — in addition to violation of physician ethics and also a criminal act.

“Although sexual misconduct is uncommon in clinical care, even one episode is unacceptable,” Dr. Kavita Shah Arora, chair of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) committee on ethics, said in an email to ABC News.

Health care providers should always fully explain all medical exams and only perform them with the patient’s consent, ACOG said in its position statement on sexual misconduct. Providers should use the minimal amount of physical contact necessary for the exam and a chaperone should always be in the room for all breast, genital and rectal examinations — regardless of the gender of the patient or health care provider, the group said.

The American Medical Association code of medical ethics recommends that health care providers make chaperones available during exams.

“In my entire career I never examined a patient without my nurse in the room,” says ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jen Ashton, who is also a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist. “That is for both the patient’s and the doctor’s protection.”

Patients can always ask to see a doctor or care provider of the gender they’re most comfortable with, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) says in its guidelines on sexual abuse by medical professionals. They can also ask for a friend or family member to stay in the room during any type of exam, not just gynecologic exams, RAINN says.

RAINN says that it’s unacceptable for providers to refuse to answer questions, conduct exams without gloves, prevent others from coming into the room with a patient, insist on seeing body parts they’re not examining, or ask questions that make a patient uncomfortable.

Patients can also end an exam at any time and leave the room, Ashton says.

“If it feels wrong, trust your instincts and sit up — and end the exam,” Ashton says. “Gynecological exams, done properly, take seconds, not minutes — and they definitely don’t feel sexual.”

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(NEW YORK) — More schools across the United States are putting mask mandates in place as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Before winter break, districts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania announced they would temporarily be requiring masks among students and staff members amid a surge of respiratory illnesses.

Now schools in Massachusetts and Michigan are following suit while Chicago schools are asking students to take rapid tests before classes start.

Chelsea Public Schools in Boston announced in a letter to the community that the decision was due to Suffolk County designated as “high risk” for COVID-19 transmission as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“As a result of this designation, Chelsea Public Schools will implement a mask mandate, effective on Monday, January 9,” Superintendent Dr. Almi G. Abeyta wrote in the letter. “Masks must be worn in school buildings at all times except when eating or drinking…Mask wearing will continue to remain mandatory for any person visiting our school health offices, and anyone returning to school from a five-day quarantine following a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.”

The letter did not state for how long the mandate would be in place.

Meanwhile, Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan said it was instituting a two-week mandate starting Monday, Jan. 9, and ending Friday, Jan. 20.

According to local affiliate WXYZ-TV, the decision comes after a wave of respiratory illnesses led to at least five school closures in December alone.

“The Ann Arbor Public Schools will require well-fitting masks to be worn by students, staff and visitors while indoors in AAPS schools, beginning on January 9th and during the first two weeks following the winter break,” Superintendent Jeanice Kerr Swift wrote in a letter to families, students and staff. “Extra masks are available at all school buildings for use by students and staff.”

Additionally, Chicago Public Schools announced it is asking students and employees to perform a rapid at-home COVID-19 test before entering classrooms.

‘In order to keep our school communities safe, please test for COVID-19 before returning to school,” the notice read. “If you test positive, please report the positive test using the COVID-19 Self-Reporting Form, and follow the guidance outlined on our safety page.”

Data from the CDC shows that COVID-19 cases are increasing even as cases of RSV and influenza are trending downward.

Weekly cases have risen from 309,253 for the week of Nov. 30 to 470,699 for the week of Jan. 4, data shows.

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(NEW YORK) — Did you know that working out in old sneakers can do more harm to your body than good?

According to podiatrist Dr. Priya Parthasarathy, you should test your sneakers to see if it is time for new ones.

“Most experts say [you should replace shoes after every] 300 to 500 miles, but most people don’t keep track of the mileage they put on their sneakers,” Parthasarathy told “Good Morning America.”

“I tell my patients to try to twist or fold your shoe in half like a sandwich. If you are able to do that or come close to it, then it is time to replace your sneakers. With a new supportive sneaker there should be some give near the forefoot but it definitely should not be able to fold in half,” Parthasarathy added.

Time for a new pair? Consult Parthasarathy’s checklist below before buying:

•     Make sure you cannot bend the shoe in half.
•     Check that the heel counter is firm for support.
•     Pick a shoe with removable inserts.
•     The shape of the shoe should fit your foot not vice versa.
•     Check support levels. Shoe brands typically offer different levels of support: stability, neutral or over supinator.
•     Get evaluated by a podiatrist if you don’t know your foot type.

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(NEW YORK) — The ketogenic, or keto, diet is one of the well-known diets out there, but a simplified version of the high fat, low carbohydrate diet is gaining in popularity too.

With “lazy keto”, the name of the simplified version, people just count their carbohydrates, and skip the detailed counting of macronutrients, or macros — fats, carbohydrates and proteins.

“People are very interested in keto and have heard success stories about it,” said Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian nutritionist. “And this is the variation that tries to make it more doable for the everyday person.”

Here are five things to know about the buzzy way of eating:

1. Lazy keto dieters start by setting a daily carb limit.

Based on the rules of the keto diet, the total number of carbohydrate grams per day should be 5 to 10% of your calories, according to Blatner.

On a 2,000 calorie diet, example, it would be 25 to 50 grams of carbs per day. Carbs on the keto diet are typically counted as net carbs, so total carb grams minus the grams of fiber in a serving.

Most people following a lazy keto diet typically set a limit of 25 to 50 grams of carbs of per day, according to Blatner.

For reference, people following a strict keto diet and counting all of their macros typically aim for a range of 60 to 75% fat, 15 to 30% protein and 5 to 10% carbohydrates, based on total caloric intake, explained Blatner.

2. Lazy keto will not put you into ketosis.

The keto diet is designed to get your body into a state called ketosis whereby your body is so low on carbohydrates, which both make glucose, that it starts burning fat for fuel.

Ketosis also occurs in the body during fasting.

When you are on the lazy keto diet and not counting exactly how much protein and fat you are eating, you may eat too much protein, which will prevent you from going into ketosis, according to Blatner.

“Does that really matter? Not really,” she said. “People who are cutting their carbs so dramatically and paying attention so specifically to their diet still end up losing weight and feeling better, but they may just not do it with the actual ketosis.”

Blatner recommends just eyeballing protein sizes on the lazy keto diet to make sure the portion is not too much.

“You’re looking for the moderate, palm of hand protein portion sizes,” she said.

3. ‘Lazy keto’ is not the same as ‘dirty keto.’

“Lazy [keto] means you’re taking the easy approach to the counting of macros,” said Blatner. “Dirty [keto] is when people are eating [high-fat foods] like fast food and bacon and not caring so much about the quality of food.”

4. Carbs are still important on the lazy keto diet.

Carbohydrates include not just bread and potato chips but also more nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables, lentils, whole grains, beans and dairy.

“Carbs can do a body good if you choose the right ones,” said Blatner. “The good ones can do a lot for your gut health, your immunity, your mood and they can do a lot for disease-free, strong, healthy selves.”

People who lower their carb intake need to make sure the carbs they are taking in are the ones that are good for them, like leafy green vegetables and berries and whole grains.

“When you cut carbs so low, if you are not very cautious about how you are spending your carbs, you could wind up with some pretty low nutrition,” said Blatner. “So be aware that if you’re going to cut carbs, make sure that you’re spending them on the healthiest carbs that you can be and make sure that you’re adding those nutritious [fruits and vegetables] every day.”

5. Lazy keto is a diet that needs to be done carefully, ideally with expert advice.

People should always consult with a healthcare provider before starting a new diet, especially one like the lazy keto diet that drops carb intake so severely for most people and risks changing a person’s nutritional intake.

Blatner said she does not recommend the lazy keto diet to her clients. She does though encourage people who bring up the diet themselves, in hopes it will excite them into a wellness change.

“I don’t preach this but if it’s done responsibly and it makes somebody excited and excited to care about what they’re eating, I’m all for it,” Blatner said of lazy keto. “And it is true that pretty much everyone should get on the bandwagon that your carbs are too much and we’re eating bad versions of [carbs].”

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(NEW YORK) — Amid the influx of messages on weight loss and change and resolutions that come with the New Year, one woman is sending a different message.

Sarah Nicole Landry, a mom of four, took to Instagram to remind her followers that the first day of a new year is just another day to love yourself.

“Jan 1 will change nothing, except another day to choose love, another day to show up. Nourish her. Move her. Clothe her,” Landry wrote, in part. “Another day to get to live in *this* body. However she gifts me that day.”

Landry, whose message received over 100,000 likes, said she wanted to remind people that focusing on losing weight or forcing yourself to change because of the date on a calendar is a “distraction from the good parts of life.”

“My hope is that people feel a sense of relief, that they don’t have to change their bodies to be confident,” Landry told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “That they don’t have to get on another [diet] program that will statistically fail for them.”

Landry, the founder of The Birds Papaya, a lifestyle brand, said she wrote her Instagram message from experience, having lost about 100 pounds over two years ago.

Around the time Landry neared the end of her weight loss journey, she became pregnant. As a result, she said she has been a “spectrum of sizes” over the years.

At all different sizes, Landry said she used to believe that she would “be happy and live my life” once she lost weight.

Once she lost the weight, Landry said she realized that happiness doesn’t just appear.

“When that confidence and happiness wasn’t there for me at the end of losing 100 pounds, I realized that I really only have the choice to show up each and every day,” Landry said. “I understand now that my confidence and my enjoyment in life comes from making these decisions every day to show up and acknowledging that my body is going to change sizes up and down a bunch of times over.”

Landry wrote in her Instagram post that she has come to terms with not knowing whether she’ll ever be content in her body.

“Thin or thick, it feels weird to try. It’s changing as we speak. It’ll do so a thousand times over,” she wrote. “But I’m here right now. And that says something. Right? I’ve accomplished more by actively leaning into the now instead of shaming it and chasing tomorrow.”

Landry explained that she has learned to cope with being in the “middle” by making “loving decisions” for her body.

“I’m kind of stuck in the middle of I don’t really have those amazing feelings about my body, and I also know that weight loss doesn’t answer my problems,” Landry said. “So what can I do today to love myself? What kind of movement do I enjoy? What kind at foods are good for me and fuel me and make me feel happy?”

She continued, “I go and make those loving decisions for myself each and every day.”

As an influencer with more than two million followers on Instagram, Landry said she makes a conscious decision daily to “show up as I am.”

“I understand that people are watching and they’re seeing what I’m doing and they know I’m not comfortable in my body, but they’re watching me step out on runways, go to swim shoots, doing all these things,” Landry said. “Internally there’s a whole big part of me that says, ‘You could look better before going to do that,’ but instead I’m saying, ‘I only have this shot right now and there’s a runway in front of me and so what if I step out onto it as I am in this exact moment.'”

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(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — South Carolina’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban Thursday, claiming it violates the state’s constitution.

The 2021 so-called “heartbeat act” bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is typically around six weeks, before most women know they are pregnant. It included exceptions for rape, incest and if the mother’s life is in danger.

The ban had previously been [suspended] by federal courts, but took effect after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer. The ban was temporarily blocked in August while the state’s Supreme Court heard the case.

In a 3-2 ruling, the court agreed with the plaintiffs — which included Planned Parenthood South Atlantic — and said the ban violated a patient’s right to privacy.

“We hold that the decision to terminate a pregnancy rests upon the utmost personal and private considerations imaginable, and implicates a woman’s right to privacy,” Justice Kaye Hearn wrote in the majority opinion. “While this right is not absolute and must be balanced against the State’s interest in protecting unborn life, this Act, which severely limits — and in many instances completely forecloses — abortion, is an unreasonable restriction upon a woman’s right to privacy.”

The two justices who voted to uphold the ban said the right to privacy in the state’s constitution only applies to searches and seizures.

“The court’s decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential health services in South Carolina,” Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said in a statement.

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary commended the decision and wrote in a tweet that the White House is “encouraged by South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruling today on the state’s extreme and dangerous abortion ban. Women should be able to make their own decisions about their bodies.”

However, conservatives, including Governor Henry McMaster — who signed the original ban into law — blasted the justices for their ruling.

“Our State Supreme Court has found a right in our Constitution which was never intended by the people of South Carolina,” he tweeted. “With this opinion, the Court has clearly exceeded its authority. The people have spoken through their elected representatives multiple times on this issue.”

McMaster added, “I look forward to working with the General Assembly to correct this error.”

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(NEW YORK) — When the mpox outbreak first struck the United States over the summer, experts said it was mostly affecting minority men.

But new federal data published Thursday shows that among the few hundred cases diagnosed in women — less than 3% of total U.S. cases — Black and Hispanic women were disproportionately affected.

The report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at cisgender and pregnant women who were diagnosed with the rare disease between May 11, 2022 and Nov. 7, 2022.

The 2022 outbreak was primarily concentrated in men who have sex with men, a group that includes people who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender and nonbinary, although health officials have said anyone — regardless of sexual orientation — is at risk if they have direct contact with an infected patient.

Over the six-month period, 769 women aged 15 and older were diagnosed with mpox across the country, including 23 who were pregnant or recently pregnant.

Among infections of cisgender women with available data, 44% were among Black women, 25% among white women and 23% among Hispanic women.

This means Black and Hispanic women make up 67% of all mpox cases among women in the United States despite making up a little over 20% of the population, as of 2019.

“This finding is similar to disparities among mpox cases in the United States overall and underscores the continued need for public health efforts to provide education on prevention of mpox and ensure equitable access to mpox vaccination, testing, and treatment,” the authors wrote.

Among the roughly 60% of women with data on their recent sexual behaviors, 73% reported sexual activity or close intimate contact as the likely way they were exposed.

The most common symptom was rash with 93% reporting lesions, particularly on the legs, arms, genitals and chest or stomach.

Other common symptoms included itchy skin at 57%, headache at 54%, malaise at 54%, fever at 49%, and chills at 49% Less than half of the women had data for symptoms.

“Rash location was similar when comparing cisgender women who reported recent sexual exposure with those who did not,” the report read.

Additionally, among the 23 pregnant or recently pregnant women who were diagnosed with mpox, nine reported sexual contact as likely exposure and three reported household contact. The remaining 11 didn’t have exposure data available.

One recently pregnant woman was breastfeeding, and she developed lesions four days after giving birth, under her breast. The newborn subsequently developed lesions on the chest and face six days later, showing how infectious mpox lesions can be.

The CDC said the report also illustrates how more public health efforts needs to be placed on reaching cisgender women at risk for infection.

“Clinicians caring for cisgender women and pregnant persons should become familiar with clinical considerations for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mpox and should provide pre- and postexposure prophylaxis if indicated,” the team wrote. “Vaccination with JYNNEOS should be provided to eligible persons, including those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and providers should discuss vaccination risks and benefits.”

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(NEW YORK) — The World Health Organization is warning that a new omicron subvariant known as XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible strain to date.

As COVID-19 hospitalizations rise in some parts of the Northeast — where the subvariant makes up about 75% of new cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — so are concerns about how to mitigate a potential surge following large holiday gatherings.

In the past few years, the post-holiday rise in COVID numbers was typically attributed to large gatherings and the colder weather bringing people indoors. Experts said it remains to be seen how much XBB.1.5 may be contributing to the most recent rise in hospitalizations.

“We don’t fully know what this variant is doing in the population, especially since every time a new variant emerges it’s not happening in a bubble … so it’s very difficult to tease apart what might be driving, for instance, increases in hospitalizations,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an ABC News contributor and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Very little is known about this new subvariant, but some preliminary research indicates that it may be more immune evasive and contagious than previous omicron variants.

“We are concerned about [XBB.1.5’s] growth advantage” in Europe and the U.S. Northeast, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 technical lead, in a press conference Wednesday. XBB.1.5 had rapidly replaced other circulating variants in those areas, she added.

Scientists still do not know if the subvariant causes more severe illness or leads to more adverse outcomes like long COVID.

Researchers are also still studying how well vaccines will hold up against XBB.1.5. They say the updated bivalent booster shot remains the best way to protect yourself.

“Towards the end of last year, the CDC came out with data showing that those who got vaccinated and boosted with the bivalent had an almost 20-fold decreased risk of dying and severe illness,” Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told ABC News. “The problem is that was all before XBB.1.5.”

Older adults, immunocompromised people and those with certain medical conditions are still most at-risk for severe illness and death.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration pulled the last remaining monoclonal antibody in end of November, leaving antiviral therapies such as Paxlovid as the preferred treatment for at-risk adults who haven’t been hospitalized. But experts say not enough people are taking advantage of the medication.

“Getting the word out both to individuals, as well as primary care physicians, about the importance of getting Paxlovid is really of great importance,” Hotez said.

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha explained in a thread on Twitter that the federal government was continuing to track XBB.1.5 and other variants closely, while providing support for access to updated vaccines, free tests and treatment and improved ventilation and filtration in buildings.

“I think the jury’s still out. But I think we know how to mitigate these surges with vaccines, with testing, with the practices we’ve engaged in throughout the pandemic. There’s no reason to expect that this is going to completely derail our ability to contain this virus,” Brownstein said.

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(NEW YORK) — A new study has identified a possible link between frequently checking social media and brain changes that are associated with having less control of impulsive behaviors among young adolescents.

Using MRI brain scans, researchers at the University of North Carolina found that teens who frequently checked social media were more likely to see increased activation in the regions of the brain that regulate reward centers and those that may play a role in regulating decision-making around social situations.

The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at nearly 200 young people in sixth and seventh grades.

Researchers tracked the students’ self-reported use of social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, and performed functional MRIs on the students, allowing them to monitor activation in the brain.

The results showed that students who used social media more frequently had increased activation in parts of their brain, possibly making them more prone to peer feedback and hypersensitivity and possibly leading to changes in impulse control and regulation, according to ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.

Although MRIs can measure changes in the brain, it’s often not clear if those changes are temporary or permanent, nor is it clear whether those changes impact a person’s overall well-being.

But Ashton, who was not a researcher on the study, said the study raises questions about whether changes in the brain can impact both short and long-term behavior.

“This is asking the question, if this can change activity in the brain, can it then change behavior,” she said Thursday on Good Morning America.

The study does have limitations, including relying on self-reported accounts of social media use, which can be unreliable. It also did not include TikTok, one of the most popular social media apps among teens.

There are though known negative impacts of social media and screen time on young people’s health.

“It’s the same thing that we see with increased screen use in teens,” Ashton said. “Anyone using a screen a lot, even on social media, obviously can have associated increased rates of obesity, irregular or dysregulated sleep, something that we know is very important, particularly in this age group, an increased risk of depression, and an overall decrease in [physical] activity.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends about one to two hours of screen time or social media use a day for young people.

For children under the age of 2, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time.

For older kids, limits on screen time should be individualized and age-based, according to Ashton.

Both Ashton and the AAP recommend that parents encourage physical activity, set social media and screen time limits for older kids — such as not going on social media while doing homework — and create unplugged spaces, like the dinner table, in the home.

Ashton said parents should also encourage digital literacy in their kids, noting, “This isn’t going away. We want to be able to use it and use it safely.”

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(CHICAGO) — A 5-year-old in Chicago has overcome the odds to celebrate her fifth birthday. Now, her family is raising money for her to receive a life-changing surgery.

When Alice Cloe was born on Nov. 22, 2017, she was unable to breathe on her own and later, doctors diagnosed her with a rare disease called congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) and another condition called Hirschsprung disease.

It was a big shock for Alice’s parents, Sabiha Aoudia and Atmane Abbas, who are both from Algeria and had been on vacation in the U.S. when Aoudia had to undergo an emergency C-section.

“They took her right away to the NICU and then they intubated her right away,” Aoudia told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

“They tried a lot of things but they told me that Alice cannot survive,” she recalled, adding that doctors had told her Alice would never be able to talk, walk, or hear and would be “handicapped one hundred percent.”

CCHS is caused by a genetic abnormality that affects the nervous system and can cause respiratory impairment, according to the National Institutes of Health. It affects less than 5,000 people in the U.S. and there is currently no cure for the syndrome. CCHS also can cause Hirschsprung disease, which the NIH defines as a birth defect where nerve cells are missing from the large intestines and cause bowel obstruction.

According to her mom, Alice was treated with multiple surgeries and therapies at three different Chicago hospitals for the first two years of her life, including La Rabida Children’s Hospital, before she could be discharged. Olivia Hayes, a registered nurse at La Rabida, was one of the many who helped care for her.

“The biggest issue with CCHS and what [Alice] requires is the ventilation,” Hayes told GMA. “She just couldn’t maintain and she really still can’t maintain that breathing on her own to get the carbon dioxide out. It kind of builds up within her if she forgets to breathe it out.”

Today, Alice relies on a tracheostomy tube that connects her trachea and lungs to a ventilator that helps her breathe. Aoudia and Abbas have to care for Alice full-time, helping to push her ventilator for her unless she’s at school where a nurse will follow Alice with her vent.

“She’s strong,” Aoudia said. “Sometimes, when she’s healthy at home, like she’s not sick, I’m looking at her like you’re [a] normal baby.”

Hayes too, described Alice, who got to have a special fifth birthday party celebration two weeks ago, as a “wild child” who is “full of life all the time.”

With their fundraiser, Aoudia hopes to raise enough money for another surgery for Alice that isn’t covered by insurance. The surgery would implant a diaphramatic pacemaker so Alice can have the chance to live a life untethered by cords and a ventilator, according to Aoudia.

“This pacemaker will be implanted inside of her diaphragm and then give the order for the brain to breathe [on] her own,” Aoudia explained. “She will [have] the small battery in her backpack and then be free from the vent, from the cord and then she will walk and then run around and then go to school without any issue.”

Despite all the challenges Alice and their family have had to endure, she still feels like “the happiest mom in the world,” Aoudia said.

“I’m really, really happy and proud of her,” she added. “When I see my daughter, she’s giving me assurance to stay positive, stay strong, because she is a big fighter.”

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