Biftu Mengesha, MD, MAS
Assistant Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences
Medical Director of Obstetrics, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG)
Associate Director, Innovating Education in Reproductive Health
Dr. Mengesha provides clinical care at ZSFG and is a John A. Watson scholar at UCSF. During her Family Planning fellowship, she evaluated women’s experiences with pregnancy interval and contraceptive counseling in the perioperative period for women undergoing bariatric surgery. She continues to do investigative work assessing women’s perioperative reproductive health experiences during the bariatric surgery process and evaluating OBGYN resident’s experiences with racial discrimination and bias during training. She is also the Co-director of Equity within the division of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at ZSFG and is actively engaged in equity and inclusion efforts both in the division’s clinical units and within medical education.
Areas of interest:
- Abortion and contraceptive care and counseling
- Contraceptive counseling, access and provision in medically complex patients
- Health and health care disparities
- Medical education
- Inclusion and equity in the clinical and learning environments
Honors and awards:
- John A. Watson Scholar, Dean’s Diversity Award, UCSF, 2017
- Outstanding Resident Teaching, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences, UCSF, 2017
- Most Outstanding Fellow as awarded by medical students, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences, UCSF, 2017
- Most Outstanding Fellow as awarded by resident, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences, UCSF, 2016
- Augusta Webster Award, McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, 2015
- Golden Apple Student Teaching Award, 1st Place, McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, 2015
- John J. Sciarra Excellence in Family Planning Award, McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, 2014
Education:
- Northwestern University, Medical Doctorate and Residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology
- UCSF, Master of Science in Clinical Research and Fellowship in Family Planning
In the news:
- The Supreme Court's abortion ruling upholds white supremacy (op-ed) | Scientific American
- In absence of Roe, healthcare providers have a professional and ethical duty to step up (op-ed) | Ms. Magazine
- Legislature should end antiquated regulation for certified nurse-midwives (op-ed) | CalMattersI
- Could an abortion ban put your life in danger? | ELLE
Publications:
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Pregnancy Conceptualizations in Women Who Have Had Recent Bariatric Surgery. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2023 04; 32(4):478-485. Mengesha B, Steinauer J, Carter J, Rodriguez A, Dehlendorf C. PMID: 36787471.
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Implications of the Dobbs Decision for Medical Education: Inadequate Training and Moral Distress. JAMA. 2022 11 01; 328(17):1697-1698. Mengesha B, Zite N, Steinauer J. PMID: 36318119.
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Assessing differences in contraceptive provision through telemedicine among reproductive health providers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Reprod Health. 2022 Apr 22; 19(1):99. Comfort AB, Rao L, Goodman S, Raine-Bennett T, Barney A, Mengesha B, Harper CC. PMID: 35459218; PMCID: PMC9026031.
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Abortion Stigma and Its Relationship with Grief, Post-traumatic Stress, and Mental Health-Related Quality of Life After Abortion for Fetal Anomalies. Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle). 2022; 3(1):385-394. Kerns J, Cheeks M, Cassidy A, Pearlson G, Mengesha B. PMID: 35415714; PMCID: PMC8994429.
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Racial Disparities in the Rates of and Indications for Cesarean Delivery in California: Are They Changing Over Time? Am J Perinatol. 2021 Dec 02. Teal EN, Anudokem K, Baer RJ, Jelliffe-Pawlowski L, Mengesha B. PMID: 34856615.
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Countering Misinformation About Abortion: The Role of Health Sciences Librarians. Am J Public Health. 2021 10; 111(10):1753-1756. Barr-Walker J, DePiñeres T, Ossom-Williamson P, Mengesha B, Berglas NF. PMID: 34529495; PMCID: PMC8561200.
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Community-Engaged Curriculum Development in Sexual and Reproductive Health Equity: Structures and Self. Obstet Gynecol. 2021 04 01; 137(4):723-727. Julian Z, Mengesha B, McLemore MR, Steinauer J. PMID: 33706348; PMCID: PMC7984752.
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A randomized controlled trial of methylergonovine prophylaxis after dilation and evacuation abortion. Contraception. 2021 02; 103(2):116-120. Kerns JL, Pearlson G, Mengesha B, Harter K, Jackson RA, Drey EA. PMID: 33075332.
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Physician leadership: Racial disparities and racism. Where do we go from here?. . 2020 Aug 1; 32(7). Mengesha MB, Arora AK, Levy LB. .View in: Publisher Site Mentions:
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346: Racial and ethnic disparities in cesarean delivery rates: Do hospital type, setting, and volume matter?. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2020 Jan 1; 222(1):s232. Teal TE, Anudokem AK, Baer BR, Rand RL, Jelliffe-Pawlowski JL, Mengesha MB. .View in: Publisher Site Mentions:
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Struma ovarii with atypical features and synchronous primary thyroid cancer: a case report and review of the literature. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2019 12; 300(6):1693-1707. Siegel MR, Wolsky RJ, Alvarez EA, Mengesha BM. PMID: 31679038.
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The UP Trial: A randomized controlled trial of uterotonic prophylaxis with methylergonovine maleate for late dilation and evacuation abortions. Contraception. 2018 May 1; 97(5):461. Kerns KJ, Pearlson PG, Mengesha MB, Harter HK, Jackson JR, Drey DE. .View in: Publisher Site Mentions:
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Perioperative pregnancy interval, contraceptive counseling experiences, and contraceptive use in women undergoing bariatric surgery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 07; 219(1):81.e1-81.e9. Mengesha BM, Carter JT, Dehlendorf CE, Rodriguez AJ, Steinauer JE. PMID: 29634911.
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Effect of counseling quality on anxiety, grief, and coping after second-trimester abortion for pregnancy complications. Contraception. 2018 06; 97(6):520-523. Kerns JL, Mengesha B, McNamara BC, Cassidy A, Pearlson G, Kuppermann M. PMID: 29477632.
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The UP trial: a randomized controlled trial of uterotonic prophylaxis with methylergonovine maleate for late dilation and evacuation abortions. Contraception. 2017 Oct 1; 96(4):270. Kerns KJ, Pearlson PG, Mengesha MB, Harter HK, Jackson JR, Drey DE. .View in: Publisher Site Mentions:
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Abortion and contemporary hip-hop: a thematic analysis of lyrics from 1990-2015. Contraception. 2017 Jul; 96(1):30-35. Premkumar A, Brown K, Mengesha B, Jackson AV. PMID: 28578149.
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Racial injustice and family planning: an open letter to our community. Contraception. 2017 10; 96(4):217-220. Mengesha B, 53 current fellows in the Fellowship in Family Planning. PMID: 28578153.
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Shared decision-making and decision satisfaction in dilation and evacuation versus induction of labor among women undergoing abortion for pregnancy complications. Contraception. 2016 Oct 1; 94(4):394. Mengesha MB, Cassidy CA, Pearlson PG, Kerns KJ. .View in: Publisher Site Mentions:
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Assessment of contraceptive needs in women undergoing bariatric surgery. Contraception. 2016 07; 94(1):74-7. Mengesha B, Griffin L, Nagle A, Kiley J. PMID: 26939526.
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Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Myomectomy Versus Abdominal Myomectomy: A Comparative Analysis of Short-Term Surgical and Efficiency Outcomes. Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. 2011 Nov 1; 18(6):s41-s42. Nash NK, Feinglass FJ, Zei ZC, Lu LG, Mengesha MB, Lewicky-Gaupp LC, Lin LA. .View in: Publisher Site Mentions:
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Robotic-assisted laparoscopic myomectomy versus abdominal myomectomy: a comparative analysis of surgical outcomes and costs. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2012 Feb; 285(2):435-40. Nash K, Feinglass J, Zei C, Lu G, Mengesha B, Lewicky-Gaupp C, Lin A. PMID: 21779774.