Disparities in Obstetrics and Abortion Care with Dr. Neha Bhardwaj and Dr. Hillary McLaren

In this episode, we discuss obstetrics care — care for women giving birth — and abortion care at the University of Chicago Medicine. WIth Drs. Neha Bhardwaj and Hillary McLaren, we discuss the wide range of care they offer, how their practices have changed since the Supreme Court Dobbs decision, and how they see obstetrics care changing in the next 5 to 10 years. We also get into the disparities they’ve seen in obstetrics and abortion care, as well as efforts both within and outside the University of Chicago to decrease those disparities.

Dr. Neha Bhardwaj specializes in obstetrics and gynecology with a primary focus on family planning and contraception. Dr. Bhardwaj is an expert in complex contraception, helping women and families who have trouble conceiving with a wide range of issues. In addition to her commitment to comprehensive clinical care for women, Dr. Bhardwaj is also passionate about using research to improve reproductive healthcare and access to care.

Dr. Hillary McLaren is a board-certified OB/Gyn with specialized training in Complex Family Planning. She completed her residency in Obstetrics in Gynecology at the University of Kansas and her fellowship in Complex Family Planning at the University of Chicago. She joined as faculty at University of Chicago this fall.

“Deep Cuts: Exploring Equity in Surgery” comes to you from the Department of Surgery at UChicago Medicine. Our host is Dr. Jen Vigneswaran. Our senior producer is Tony Liu. Our producer and editors include Alia Abiad, Caroline Montag, Nihar Rama, and Nitin Vidyasagar. Our podcast cover art comes to you from Pombie Silverman, episode art from Sam Higgins, and music from Sen Morimoto off of Sooper Records. 

A special thanks this week to our guests, Dr. Neha Bhardwaj and Dr. Hillary McLaren. Find more about our work at deepcuts.surgery.uchicago.edu.

Websites mentioned in this episode: