Quotes from Leana S. Wen

Routine pap and HPV screenings save thousands of women from dying of cervical cancer every year.

In a country that lacks federal paid parental leave, many new mothers are back to work within weeks of giving birth, which can result in health consequences like maternal stress and anxiety.

When doctors and nurses do rounds in the hospital, we pore over charts of all of the patient's vitals during the past 24 hours.

In many patients, covid-19 causes a bilateral pneumonia affecting both lungs. Air sacs in the lungs become inflamed and filled with fluid, leading to breathing difficulties and low oxygen saturation. If the pneumonia becomes extremely severe, patients need to be intubated and put on a ventilator.

For millions of women, health centers that provide reproductive healthcare are the only place they ever see a doctor or nurse. When abortion politics force health centers to close, women - particularly low-income women and women of color - suffer.

As an emergency physician, I can tell you that the best health insurance in the world means nothing if patients can't reach a hospital in their moment of need.

My mother cleaned hotel rooms and worked in a video store. My father delivered newspapers and washed dishes in restaurants.

Doctors have limited time to listen to your story, but you must make sure they understand why you're there. Don't just say that you have chest pain - explain when it started, what you were doing, and how it felt. Write down key elements. Practice until you can tell it in 30 seconds or less.

In very few situations is there only one test that could work or one protocol that must be followed. If your doctor says you need to do this one set of tests, ask what your other options are. Often, watchful waiting is a perfectly acceptable alternative. Discussing options helps remind your doctor to tailor the treatment to you.

When I was 16 and I wanted information about birth control, Planned Parenthood was the first and only place that I could think of going for my health care and education.

If children cannot see, they cannot learn; if they have untreated medical conditions, they cannot focus in school.

If you suspect that the doctor is going through a checklist of yes/no questions, try to get her to focus on you by adding personal elements to your answers.

It is imperative that we address the barriers to access and the systemic racism that we know is contributing to our astronomically high maternal mortality rates. The onus must be on the health care system to make necessary changes.

Constant reevaluation is the bedrock of any emergency response.

While women's healthcare extends far beyond reproductive healthcare, its politicization is harming women's overall health and well-being.

Birth control is an important part of women's healthcare. It allows women to plan and time their pregnancies, and reduces preterm births and maternal complications.

To solve the deep-rooted problems of cities around the country, we must target residents who are most at risk and most in need and provide quality, trauma-informed care.

In college, if anyone asked me - professors or classmates - I said, 'I want to be a lab tech.' Because I was afraid that people would laugh at me if I said I wanted to be a doctor.

While I am passionately committed to protecting abortion access, I do not view it as a stand-alone issue.

I had severe asthma when I was a child and I saw doctors growing up. Seeing someone who could not only help me medically, but also assure me that I was going to be O.K. at this really terrifying time - that's what I wanted to do.

People depend on Planned Parenthood for breast exams, cervical cancer screenings, H.I.V. testing and family planning.

Working with the psychiatrist and then a mental health counselor helped me understand my own thought distortions.

Public health is hard. Nobody goes into it for the money or the acclaim. People work many long hours.

Improvements in global public health must begin locally, and must be driven by leaders who will learn the hard lessons from COVID-19.