Nisha Verma
Connect with Nisha
About Nisha
Dr. Verma’s research focuses on abortion access, impacts of abortion restrictions, maximizing care at institutional level, self-managed abortion, and effective messaging/story-telling. She is particularly passionate about conducting research in the U.S. Southeast, which is her home. She has received multiple research grants, including a most recent grant to study the impacts of Georgia's abortion restrictions on patients, their support people, and clinicians. Her research is community-based in collaboration with the Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation. Dr. Verma has created tools, such as the Abortionatrisk.org website, to bring research results and stories directly to the public, in addition to publishing in academic journals. In addition to working as an OB-GYN who provides abortion care, Dr. Verma serves as a national spokesperson for reproductive health-related issues, including access to abortion care, and has testified in front of Congress multiple times on the harms of abortion restrictions. Additionally, Dr. Verma is the current Senior Medical Director of Clinical Affairs at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Contributions
In the News
Publications
Explores how abortion restrictions in Georgia affect individuals experiencing high-risk pregnancies and the challenges they face in accessing timely and appropriate medical care. Concludes that restrictive abortion policies can delay or complicate essential care, increasing stress, uncertainty, and potential health risks for patients with medically complex pregnancies.
Evaluates whether medication abortion delivered through telehealth provides safe and effective care for patients. Confirms that telehealth-based medication abortion can achieve positive health outcomes while expanding access to care, particularly for individuals facing geographic or legal barriers to in-person services.
Addresses questions about the safety, effectiveness, and clinical implications of self-managed abortion in the context of evolving reproductive health access and legal restrictions in the United States. Finds that self-managed abortion can be safe and effective for many individuals when supported by accurate information and access to appropriate medical care, and emphasizes the importance of providing nonjudgmental, evidence-based counseling and support for patients who pursue it.
Assesses how access to abortion and reproductive health care changed during the year following the Dobbs decision. Finds that legal restrictions and clinic closures have increased obstacles to care, forcing many patients to travel farther, delay treatment, or face greater difficulties obtaining reproductive health services.
Surveys the emerging evidence on self-managed abortion in the United States and the factors driving its increased use. Finds that self-managed abortion can be a safe and effective option when supported by accurate information and appropriate medications, while highlighting how legal restrictions and barriers to clinical care have expanded its role in reproductive health.
Explores how an early abortion ban affects individuals and health care systems in a restrictive state environment. Reveals that abortion restrictions create significant barriers to timely care, increase uncertainty for patients and providers, and shape reproductive health decisions in complex ways.
Addresses the growing need for guidance on self-managed abortion care as access to clinical services becomes increasingly restricted. Concludes that self-managed abortion can be a safe and effective option when individuals have access to accurate information, appropriate medications, and supportive health care resources.
Reviews the increasing use of self-managed abortion in the United States and the clinical, legal, and access issues surrounding this form of care. Concludes that self-managed abortion using recommended medications can be safe and effective, while emphasizing that barriers to clinical services have contributed to its growing importance as a reproductive health option.
Reviews the use of systemic estrogen and progestin contraceptive methods and the considerations involved in their use. Explains that hormonal contraceptive options differ in their benefits, risks, and suitability for individual patients, emphasizing the importance of informed decision-making in contraceptive care.
Investigates how federal regulations influence the conduct and advancement of abortion research in the United States. Reveals that regulatory barriers can limit the production of evidence on abortion care, creating challenges for researchers and constraining the information available to inform health policy and clinical practice.
Examines how increasing restrictions on abortion access may affect maternal mortality and the delivery of reproductive health care in the United States. Concludes that expanding barriers to abortion care can negatively impact maternal health outcomes, underscoring the importance of policies and practices that preserve access to comprehensive reproductive care.
Identifies and characterized barriers to conducting abortion research in academic medical centers due to legal restrictions. Is a short overview of the study, while the full manuscript is finalized for submission.
Describes in detail the intrapartum course of a fetus with severe anomalies.
Uses mouse models to investigate important processes in brain development that, when not occurring normally, lead to significant brain abnormalities.
Assesses the ability of neuropathic pain symptoms to predict musculoskeletal pain severity six weeks after motor vehicle collision (MVC).