Obstetrics & Gynecology

News and Events

Programs and providers of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine are often the focus of news stories and features appearing in major national media. We invite you to review some stories that typify the breakthrough accomplishments of our remarkable team and highlight the impact our care has had on patient’s lives.

Lack of Cell Clean-Up Process Associated with Development of Post-Partum Depression

a woman holding her baby

A cellular process known as autophagy that helps rid cells of debris may be impaired in pregnant women who go on to develop post-partum depression (PPD), according to new research from Weill Cornell Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and UVA Health investigators.

“Our research indicates that autophagy may be dampened in pregnant women who go on to develop PPD, so their cells are collecting an increasing amount of junk or unhealthy byproducts from metabolic processes in the body,” said the paper’s first author Dr. Lauren M. Osborne, vice chair for clinical research for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Osborne conducted the research while on Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s faculty.

In the paper, published Sept. 22 in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers noted that understanding the underlying mechanisms of PPD could help doctors better manage the disorder.

Permanent Birth Control Methods for Women Have Up to Six Percent Failure Rates

pregnancy test laying on a wooden surface

Hysteroscopic sterilization, a nonincisional procedure, was found to be as effective as minimally invasive laparoscopic sterilization in preventing pregnancy, but both methods had higher than expected failure rates, according to a new study led by an investigator at Weill Cornell Medicine. 

The comparative study, published April 12 in Fertility and Sterility, found that both methods had failure rates of five to six percent at 5 years post-procedure. Dr. Aileen Gariepy conducted the investigation while at Yale School of Medicine; she is now director of complex family planning in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Co-investigators included Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz from the University of California, San Francisco and University of California, Davis, and Dr. Diana Zuckerman from the National Center for Health Research.

Dr. Aileen Gariepy

Dr. Aileen Gariepy

Anti-Müllerian Hormone May Contribute to Infertility in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

microscopic image of ovarian follicle

High levels of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) have traditionally been thought of as merely a passive byproduct of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but a new preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers suggests that the hormone plays an active role in the disorder and may contribute to problems with ovulation and fertility.

In the study, published March 9 in Science Advances, the investigators discovered that AMH may cause follicles, the multicellular, fluid-filled sacs that contain developing eggs in the ovary, to mature too quickly.

“AMH is routinely measured in the clinic to give an indication of how many follicles a woman has growing in her ovaries, and this value is often high in women with PCOS. But no one has ever determined whether a high level of AMH, by itself, can have a negative influence,” said senior author Dr. Daylon James, assistant professor of stem cell biology in obstetrics and gynecology and in reproductive medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. “A better understanding of the root causes of PCOS is critical to mitigating the condition’s many health consequences.”

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