Posts by Ilona T. Goldfarb, MD, MPH
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Understanding of Sociocognitive Theory Can Improve Medical Student Training
Ilona Telefus Goldfarb, MD, MPH, Natasha R. Johnson, MD, and colleagues found that feedback from clinical faculty to medical students primarily pertains to individual skills; they urge faculty to relate desired behavior to patient outcomes and the trainee's ability to contribute to clinical teams.
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Obstetric Units Can Be Used Efficiently As Remdesivir Infusion Sites for Pregnant and Postpartum Outpatients
Ilona T. Goldfarb, MD, MPH, and colleagues designed a feasible approach for using labor and delivery units to administer three consecutive days of intravenous remdesivir to pregnant and lactating outpatients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who were at high risk of developing severe disease.
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Survey Identifies Factors Linked to COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake, Hesitancy During Pregnancy
Molly Siegel, MD, Ilona T. Goldfarb, MD, MPH, and colleagues found in Summer 2021 that only 49% of 473 pregnant/postpartum individuals surveyed at Mass General Brigham reported COVID-19 vaccination or plans for it. Concern about personal or fetal side effects were among the top reasons for vaccine hesitancy.
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No Link Between COVID-19 and Stillbirth Detected, But Placental Vascular Pathology is Worrisome
Obstetrician-gynecologists at Massachusetts General Hospital determined that during the first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Boston, there was no change in the rate of third-trimester stillbirth, but there was an increase in placental vascular malperfusion compared with the two prior years.
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Commentary: The COVID-19 Pandemic Demonstrates the Urgency of Including Pregnant Individuals in Clinical Research
Ilona T. Goldfarb, MD, MPH, of the Division of Maternal–Fetal Medicine, and colleagues say the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted both missed opportunities and momentum for efforts to ethically include pregnant individuals in clinical research, notably vaccine research.
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How Past Pandemics Inform Pregnancy Care and Treatment During COVID-19
In this video, Ilona Goldfarb, MD, MPH, maternal-fetal medicine specialist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses how past pandemics like H1N1 have informed the department's approach to the care and treatment of pregnant people during COVID-19.
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Outpatient Tracking and Telehealth for Pregnant Women with Symptomatic COVID-19
Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have found that most pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 can be managed as outpatients with intensive monitoring for symptom progression.
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Pregnant Women Perceive Benefits of Participating in Vaccine Trials
Through in-depth interviews with pregnant women, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers found some are willing to participate in vaccine research during infectious disease outbreaks.
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Aggregated Data Can Mask COVID-19 Rates in Vulnerable Communities
Ilona Goldfarb, MD, MPH, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and colleagues have documented disparities between Latina and non-Latina pregnant women in the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity of COVID-19.
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Study Examines the Prevalence of COVID-19 Infections in Pregnant Women About to Give Birth
Research published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology reports the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in pregnant women admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital's labor and delivery units. They found that 7.9% of symptomatic women tested positive and 1.5% of asymptomatic women tested positive.
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Influence of COVID-19 on Delivery and Inpatient Postpartum Care
Massachusetts General Hospital physicians suggest that if COVID-19 in pregnant women is not improved by treatment, then delivery may be considered even in the absence of obstetric indications.
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Considerations for Pregnant Women and Their Neonates
Many people are asking...how does SARS-CoV-2 change peri- and postpartum care?
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Perinatal Vaccinations: A Guide for Obstetric Providers
Ilona Goldfarb, MD, PhD, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Laura E. Riley, MD, provide counseling tips and evidence-based guidance on vaccines before, during and after pregnancy.
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High Fetal Fraction in First Trimester May Be Useful Marker of Fetal Growth Restriction
Mass General researchers are the first to demonstrate that high fetal fraction with cell-free DNA on first trimester aneuploidy screening predicts infant birth weight of less than the fifth percentile.
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Optimizing Postpartum Care in the Fourth Trimester
Ilona T. Goldfarb, MD, MPH, explains the importance of expanding postpartum care and offering more long-term support for new mothers.
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Fighting Zika Virus on Multiple Fronts: Identifying Risk, Improving Screening and Investigating Pregnant Women's Vaccination Attitudes
Obstetricians at Mass General are working to fight the Zika epidemic on multiple fronts by guiding decision-making about testing for Zika infection, filling knowledge gaps about Zika risks and develop testing protocols and understanding pregnant women’s attitudes about Zika vaccines to help guide vaccine development.
Biography
As a medical student at the University of California at Davis, I was open to all the fields of medicine however, after my first night on call with the labor and delivery team - I was sold. Choosing to become an obstetrician was a clear path for me. Since starting my practice at Mass General in 2006, I have been honored to take care of many women through multiple pregnancies and I cherish this continuity with families.
I completed my OB/GYN residency in my home town of San Francisco at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in 2006 and was thrilled to join the faculty at the Massachusetts General Hospital. At Mass General, I have found world class colleagues and facilities as well as a diverse and unique patient population. I take pride in my ability to listen and as a result am constantly learning from my patients through their personal stories and life experiences.
After completing my fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, I have transitioned to caring for women with high risk pregnancies. My clinical areas of interest include vaginal birth after cesarean, abnormal placentation, multiple gestations, and preterm birth prevention. My research and public health work is in the area of perinatal infectious disease prevention and treatment. I am currently focusing on the impacts of the Zika virus on our pregnant population.
