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With the US maternal death rate already the highest among affluent countries and still rising, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests pregnant people experience high levels of mistreatment and discrimination during maternity care.

The survey of 2,402 mothers from around the country found that one in five experienced some type of mistreatment by health care providers during their maternity care. The most common forms included having health concerns ignored or dismissed (10 percent), being shouted at or scolded (7 percent), having their physical privacy violated (5 percent), and having a provider threaten to withhold treatment or force them to accept unwanted treatment (5 percent). Additionally, nearly 30 percent of survey takers reported experiencing discrimination during their maternity care, including their race, age, weight, and income.

Black, Hispanic, and multi-racial mothers reported the highest rates of mistreatment and discrimination. These racial disparities mirror disparities seen in pregnancy outcomes; mothers in these groups face the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. Black mothers, for instance, are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white mothers.

Enlarge / A picture of containers taken from the illegal UMI lab in Reedley, California. (credit: FCDPH )

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use any at-home tests made by Universal Meditech, Inc. (UMI), the company behind an illegal medical lab hidden in a warehouse in the small city of Reedley, California. The lab was shut down earlier this year by local, state, and federal agencies, which are still working to clear the site, properly dispose of all its hazardous contents, and investigate those responsible.

"UMI has notified the FDA that it has stopped all operations and is no longer providing support for its tests," the FDA said in a safety communication Friday . "The FDA is not able to confirm the performance of UMI’s tests, raising concerns that the tests may not be safe and effective."

UMI manufactured a variety of strip-based tests, mostly pregnancy tests, but also tests for ovulation, ketones, and alcohol in breast milk. The tests were sold under several names—including DiagnosUS, HealthyWiser, DeTec, and PrestiBio. They were available online from at least four distributors, which may not have identified UMI as the manufacturer. The known distributors are: AC&C Distribution, LLC; HealthyWiser; Home Health US Inc.; and Prestige Biotech Inc. The FDA cautions that there may be other distributors that it doesn't know about.

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A panel of independent medical experts for the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of allowing the hormonal birth control pill Opill (norgestrel) to be sold over the counter rather than by prescription.

The 17-0 vote by the panel came after a two-day meeting in which they reviewed data and analysis from the pill's maker, Laboratoire HRA Pharma, and FDA scientists, as well as public comments on the potential switch.

Opill is a once-a-day pill containing only progestin. It was first approved in 1973 and has proven remarkably safe in the five decades since then, proving safer than combination hormone pills that have risks of blood clots. Experts estimate Opill is about 93 percent effective at preventing pregnancy in real-life use, higher than the real-life efficacy of other easily accessible birth-control methods, such as condoms (around 87 percent).