• woodrow wilson center
  • ecsp

New Security Beat

Subscribe:
  • rss
  • mail-to
  • Who We Are
  • Topics
    • Population
    • Environment
    • Security
    • Health
    • Development
  • Columns
    • China Environment Forum
    • Choke Point
    • Dot-Mom
    • Navigating the Poles
    • New Security Broadcast
    • Reading Radar
  • Multimedia
    • Water Stories (Podcast Series)
    • Backdraft (Podcast Series)
    • Tracking the Energy Titans (Interactive)
  • Films
    • Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding (Animated Short)
    • Paving the Way (Ethiopia)
    • Broken Landscape (India)
    • Scaling the Mountain (Nepal)
    • Healthy People, Healthy Environment (Tanzania)
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Contact Us

NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program

Deekshita Ramanarayanan

Deekshita Ramanarayanan is the Program Coordinator for the Wilson Center's Maternal Health Initiative (MHI). Her research interests focus on maternal health, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equity, and global health.

Before joining the Wilson Center, Deekshita was a research intern at CHANGE, or the Center for Health and Gender Equity, researching various SRHR issues globally and how they are impacted by U.S. foreign policy. Deekshita earned her Master’s in Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and her B.S. in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  • Sex Workers Face Heightened Risks during the COVID-19 Pandemic

    ›
    Covid-19  //  Dot-Mom  //  Reading Radar  //  February 23, 2022  //  By Deekshita Ramanarayanan
    New,Delhi,,India-june,5,2021:,Indian,Sex,Workers,Gathered,At

    “The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified pre-existing inequalities and vulnerabilities,” writes the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in a recent report on the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers in East and Southern Africa. The pandemic has had an impact on people in marginalized communities around the world, but for sex workers globally, “the impact on livelihoods, human rights and health has been devastating, leaving many struggling to survive,” states the report.

    MORE
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Has No Demonstrated Impact on Miscarriage Rates in the United States, Research Shows

    ›
    Covid-19  //  Dot-Mom  //  Reading Radar  //  September 29, 2021  //  By Deekshita Ramanarayanan
    Pregnant,Vaccination.,Pregnant,Woman,In,Face,Mask,Getting,Vaccinated,In

    COVID-19 continues to pose a high risk to pregnant people who contract the virus. Despite this concern, hesitancy surrounding the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy remains, write the authors of a preprint article on COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy outcomes. As COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, some have raised concerns regarding potential links between receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and experiencing miscarriage (also known as spontaneous abortion), and other adverse outcomes. However, miscarriage is a common occurrence – around 10 to 15 percent of all pregnancies in the United States end in miscarriage – and multiple studies have found no increase in miscarriage in persons who received a COVID-19 vaccine.

    MORE
  • Misconceptions on Miscarriage – The Dangers of Cultural Silence

    ›
    Dot-Mom  //  August 18, 2021  //  By Deekshita Ramanarayanan
    Asian,Woman,Sit,On,The,Floor,Beside,Window,In,Dark

    In the United States, approximately 10 to 15 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. But this doesn’t capture the full picture. In reality, studies show that as many as half of all pregnancies may end in miscarriage, with the vast majority occurring before people realize they are pregnant. A miscarriage is defined as pregnancy loss before 20 weeks gestation. While some health conditions such as autoimmune disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and diabetes can exacerbate the risk of having a miscarriage, the exact causes of pregnancy loss are largely unknown.

    MORE
  • A Conversation with Dr. Nahid Toubia: Bodily Autonomy and the 2021 State of World Population Report

    ›
    Africa in Transition  //  Dot-Mom  //  Friday Podcasts  //  May 28, 2021  //  By Hannah Chosid & Deekshita Ramanarayanan

    Dr. Toubia podcast 235 pxBodily autonomy is something almost innate in us, and yet also a Eureka moment for many people, says Dr. Nahid Toubia, Director for the Institute of Reproductive Health and Rights in Sudan on this week’s episode of Friday Podcasts. “Every human being really has the right to own their body, to own their decisions, to own their choices regarding their life, their futures, how they want to live, who they want to partner, whether they want to have children or not, what kind of families they want to have,” she says. “So, all of these choices are all wrapped up in this concept of body autonomy.”

    MORE
  • Interdisciplinary Solutions Will Improve Alaska Native Maternal Health (Part 2 of 2)

    ›
    Dot-Mom  //  Navigating the Poles  //  November 18, 2020  //  By Deekshita Ramanarayanan, Michaela Stith, Marisol Maddox & Bethany Johnson
    Part 2 image

    The United States is in the midst of a maternal health crisis. Indigenous and Alaska Native peoples are 2.3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts. In Alaska, unequal socio-economic status, lack of access to hospitals and quality health services, systemic racism, and a history of colonization drive these disparities in maternal health outcomes. “Weathering”—the deterioration of communal health outcomes caused by persistent socio-economic disadvantages—contributes to many poor maternal health outcomes for Alaska Native women. On top of these systemic problems, climate change impacts threaten to widen the existing disparities for Alaskan Native women.

    MORE
  • The Impacts of Climate Change on Alaska Native Maternal Health (Part 1 of 2)

    ›
    Dot-Mom  //  Navigating the Poles  //  October 14, 2020  //  By Deekshita Ramanarayanan, Marisol Maddox, Bethany Johnson & Michaela Stith
    shutterstock_1630090321

    Each year, 700 women in the United States die as a result of pregnancy-related complications. In fact, the United States has the highest maternal mortality ratio of all high-income countries—16.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. For Indigenous/Alaskan Native women, that number is even higher: Indigenous/Alaska Natives are 2.3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts. While recent years have seen growing national attention to the U.S. maternal mortality crisis, research and advocacy for Indigenous peoples’ maternal health in the United States has been limited. This research gap includes the Alaskan Native peoples—Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and multiple Diné tribes.

    MORE
  • The State of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: A Conversation with Dr. Zara Ahmed

    ›
    Dot-Mom  //  Friday Podcasts  //  October 9, 2020  //  By Deekshita Ramanarayanan

    ZaraAhmed_235x176 “Unintended pregnancy and abortion are reproductive health experiences shared by tens of millions of people around the world, irrespective of personal status or circumstance. What differs though are the obstacles,” said Dr. Zara Ahmed, Associate Director of Federal Issues at the Guttmacher Institute in this week’s Friday Podcast. Research from the Guttmacher Institute on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) found that in 2018, there were 121 million unintended pregnancies globally, and of those, 61 percent ended in abortion. About half of these abortions were in unsafe conditions and led to approximately 23,000 preventable pregnancy related deaths, said Ahmed.

    MORE
  • Meeting Women’s Modern Contraceptive Needs Could Yield Dramatic Benefit

    ›
    Dot-Mom  //  From the Wilson Center  //  September 9, 2020  //  By Deekshita Ramanarayanan
    shutterstock_759578407

    “Achieving true progress on sexual and reproductive health and rights requires a comprehensive approach and a commitment to tackling deeply entrenched inequities and injustices of which marginalized communities continue to bear the brunt,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, President and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute. She spoke at a recent Wilson Center event where speakers analyzed findings from the Guttmacher Institute on the state of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally.

    MORE
  Older Posts
View full site

Join the Conversation

  • RSS
  • subscribe
  • facebook
  • G+
  • twitter
  • iTunes
  • podomatic
  • youtube
Tweets by NewSecurityBeat

Trending Stories

  • unfccclogo1
  • Pop at COP: Population and Family Planning at the UN Climate Negotiations

Featured Media

Backdraft Podcast

play Backdraft
Podcasts

More »

What You're Saying

  • Water desalination pipes A Tale of Two Coastlines: Desalination in China and California
    RILEY PELFREY: Why can`t they use nuclear ?
  • 3743285915_7b4099efdb_o Managing the Mekong: Conflict or Compromise?
    Big Poppy!: Thank you so much! 😊🎉🎊
  • Water desalination pipes A Tale of Two Coastlines: Desalination in China and California
    Simon Says: With Mead and Powell running on empty this article needs to be updated and republished!

What We’re Reading

More »
  • woodrow
  • ecsp
  • RSS Feed
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Wilson Center
  • Contact Us
  • Print Friendly Page

© Copyright 2007-2022. Environmental Change and Security Program.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. All rights reserved.

Developed by Vico Rock Media

Environmental Change and Security Program

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

  • One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
  • 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  • Washington, DC 20004-3027

T 202-691-4000