Tessa Madden, MD, MPH

Tessa Madden, MD, is an obstetrician-gynecologist who says she was drawn to her field because “women’s health and reproductive health, specifically, have long been important to me, which made it a natural fit,” she says. “I enjoy taking care of mostly healthy reproductive-age females and helping them make decisions about their health, including whether or not they want to have children or if they want to prevent pregnancy.”

Dr. Madden specializes in complex family planning, which focuses on women who are at risk of pregnancy or are pregnant with complications, which could be from a maternal pre-existing health condition, a fetal anomaly, or a problem that occurred in pregnancy.

“There are pregnancy-related issues that can happen at any point, but particularly in the second trimester, that can be life-threatening, and those patients need a higher level of care,” says Dr. Madden. “Likewise, with contraception, women with medical or social complexities may need a different level of expertise.”

In addition to complex care, Dr. Madden provides general contraception counseling and education to patients, as well as management for pregnancy loss and abortion care, both in the first and second trimesters.

When meeting a new patient, Dr. Madden says she likes to start with open-ended questions. “I let women tell me why they are here before I launch into various questions,” she says. “And even when discussing sensitive topics, I try to be matter-of-fact. I don’t have—and don’t want to show—any discomfort, even when we are discussing uncomfortable topics because I don’t want a patient to feel judged.”

Dr. Madden’s research interests are focused on contraception, including what interventions are needed to improve patient access to the full range of options.