These 5 OB/GYNS are taking over social media with a message of support and turning their own platforms into resources for all those interested. Their take on Twitter is a welcomed change from the anxiety-inducing rhetoric that can sometimes exist — and that sometimes prompts a need for some major self-care.

Dr. Leah Torres (@LeahNTorres)

Torres is an OB/GYN and abortion provider in Utah. On Twitter, you can find her debunking the common myths that surrounds abortions — like that they’re not safe, that the people who provide them aren’t real health care professionals or that there’s a link between abortion and breast cancer.  Torres began her Twitter career posting a medical fact every day, and when abortion opponents confronted her, she pushed back, unwilling to let harmful ideas about a common medical procedure be perpetuated. Her feed is a wealth of information not just abortion, but also about birth control, pregnancy, sexual health, and the politics of health care. It’s also a great account to follow if you’re looking for someone who vocally (and regularly) affirms the fact that people have abortions, just not women.

Dr. Priya Agrawal (@priya__agrawal)

In her Twitter bio, Agrawal, an OB/GYN, describes herself as using her tweets “to help those who are silenced.” (In other words, the kind of person we need more of on social media in general.) She’s the Executive Director of Vaccines and Women’s Health at Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp in the UK. She tweets about maternal health, in particular maternal mortality, and also about the importance of making vaccines accessible, especially for HPV, and why it’s vital for boys to get the vaccine. Her account is a great crash course in how women are impacted by global health disparities.

Dr. Sophia Yen (@teenmd)

Yen is a Silicon Valley based OB/GYN who specializes in reproductive health. She’s a provider at Pandia Health, an online service which streamlines the process of getting recurring medicines, in particular, birth control. You can find her on Pandia answering questions about birth control, going into detail about methods, and clearing up confusion, Her focus is adolescent medicine, so on her feed, you can find tweets about teens and addiction, teens’ (often problematic) relationship to social media, why it’s vital that particularly teenagers can access birth control, and why it’s critical that role models for young women be visible. In her tweets and retweets, Yen shows us how all issues are connected, and illuminates how much of current politics is working to sabotage the health and well-being of young people, and why change is crucial.

Monica McLemore (@mclemoremr)

McLemore is a Phd/MPH/RN in the department of Family Health Care at UC San Francisco. On Twitter, she focuses on the intersection of race, class, and gender. You can find her thoughts about the causes of maternal mortality among black women (she’s in this important piece on ProPublica, talking about how the lack of black health providers impacts black women’s health), the role of nursing in transforming the healthcare landscape, and the frustrations of academia. She’s also childfree, and on occasion, tweets about the harm resulting from the serious disconnect between doctors and women who know they don’t want children.

Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley (@DrRaegan)

McDonald-Mosley is an OB/GYN in Baltimore, and the Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Her feed is an excellent place for resources for activism around sexual and reproductive health. Because she’s such a prominent  figure, you can find the appearances she’s made on major feminist and mainstream media outlets talking about things like the devastating consequences that would come with a 20 week abortion ban, as well as the reality of Trump’s health care plan for those who use birth control. This feed is also terrific for facts about abortion and comprehensive sex ed (read her story about how her religious parents taught her about sex). Also super valuable: she regularly talks with politicians and breaks down how they vote and how it impacts policy outcomes. Follow her account not just for important information and perspectives, but also to build on  your own activist skills and language.

Cover image courtesy of Getty Images

 

By Chanel Dubofsky on December 11, 2017
Chanel's writing has been published in Cosmopolitan, Previously.TV, Rewire, The Billfold, Ravishly, Extra Crispy, and others. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. You can find her on Twitter at @chaneldubofsky.