The New Rules of Women's Health: Research Bias & Patient Empowerment | Meghan Rabbitt
Women were excluded from federally funded medical research until 1993. Let that sink in.
That single fact is the foundation of a broken system — one that health journalist Meghan Rabbitt spent years uncovering when Maria Shriver asked her to write the book women actually needed. The result is The New Rules of Women's Health, a manifesto built on interviews with over 100 female experts and 25 years of translating complex medicine into language real women can use.
In this conversation, Meghan joins Dr. Sameena Rahman to pull back the curtain on what the medical establishment has gotten wrong about women's bodies — and what you can do about it starting today.
What you'll learn in this episode:
Why heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined, yet awareness is actually declining
How pregnancy complications like preeclampsia affect your heart disease risk decades later — and why most doctors never connect those dots
Why 70% of autoimmune disease patients are women, but research into these conditions remains severely underfunded
Why most doctors don't proactively discuss lifetime breast cancer risk with patients
How anatomical terms named after long-dead men are still shaping how medical students understand — and misunderstand — women's bodies
Why shame keeps women from seeking care, and how to stop letting it
What it actually means to become the CEO of your own healthcare, including how to show up to appointments prepared, prioritized, and unapologetic
Meghan also shares practical strategies for navigating the flood of health information online, spotting misinformation, and why perimenopause should be seen as a window of opportunity rather than something to dread or fear.
If you're a woman of color navigating additional barriers in the healthcare system, this conversation is especially for you — including why bringing a health advocate to appointments can make a measurable difference in the care you receive.
The bottom line: Your symptoms are not an inconvenience. Your body is not something to apologize for. And you don't have to accept pain and suffering as normal.
