The U.S. is in a pregnancy care crisis. The country has the highest maternal mortality rate among comparable wealthy countries, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Senior editor Heather Landi spoke with Alison Cowan, M.D., head of medical affairs at personalized pregnancy startup Mirvie and a practicing OB-GYN, about how to improve and modernize the U.S. healthcare system for pregnant women.

Also, senior editor Paige Minemyer talks to Chinni Pulluru, M.D., vice president of clinical operations at Walmart Health and Wellness, about lessons since the retail giant launched its first health clinics in 2019. With retail’s push into healthcare, these companies promise a more convenient experience, but traditional providers have expressed some concerns as Walmart and others edge onto their turf.

To learn more about topics in this episode:

• Mirvie mRNA study predicts premature births 2 months in advance
• US women face worse outcomes, higher costs than in other wealthy countries
• Maternal deaths continued to rise nationwide in 2020, especially among Black and older mothers
• Walmart Health plans to open 16 more Florida clinics next year
• CVS plans to make a major primary care play by the end of 2022
• Walgreens, Alphabet's Wing kick off drone delivery service in major metro area

Podnosis is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Heather Landi and Paige Minemyer. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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