Duaa Eldeib
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Investigative reporter @ProPublica. Formerly of @chicagotribune. Always a lover of chocolate.
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Articles by Duaa Eldeib
Lawmakers Call for CDC to Track Vitamin K Shot Refusals, Cite ProPublica Report
Two members of Congress have called on federal officials to address what they described as “a growing and preventable public health crisis” of families refusing the long-standard vitamin K shot for their newborns, which has led to some of those babies suffering uncontrollable bleeding and even dying. “We write to urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take immediate action,” two Democrats, Rep. Kim Schrier, from Washington, and Sen.
A Popular Doctor Had Long Warned That Vitamin K Shots Are Risky for Newborns. Now He’s Changed His Tune.
For more than a decade, Dr. Joseph Mercola cautioned parents against a potentially lifesaving shot of vitamin K for their newborn babies: “Vitamin K shots are completely unnecessary for your newborn.” But now, in a break from his past warnings, Mercola is saying he no longer believes that. ProPublica contacted Mercola recently as it was preparing an article about babies who died as a result of their parents turning down the vitamin K shot.
A Popular Doctor Had Long Warned That Vitamin K Shots Are Risky for Newborns. Now He’s Changed His Tune.
This story was originally published by ProPublica. Read the story here. By Duaa Eldeib For more than a decade, Dr. Joseph Mercola cautioned parents against a potentially lifesaving shot of vitamin K for their newborn babies: “Vitamin K shots are completely unnecessary for your newborn.” But now, in a break from his past warnings, Mercola is saying he no longer believes that.
A Popular Doctor Had Long Warned That Vitamin K Shots Are Risky for Newborns. Now He’s Changed His Tune.
Beautiful, glowing skin starts with how we eat, but these anti-aging foods can also help with more than that. When we pack our diet with vibrant foods …
A Popular Doctor Had Long Warned That Vitamin K Shots Are Risky for Newborns. Now He’s Changed His Tune.
For more than a decade, Dr. Joseph Mercola cautioned parents against a potentially lifesaving shot of vitamin K for their newborn babies: “Vitamin K shots are completely unnecessary for your newborn.” But now, in a break from his past warnings, Mercola is saying he no longer believes that. ProPublica contacted Mercola recently as it was preparing an article about babies who died as a result of their parents turning down the vitamin K shot.
How to Fight a Health Insurance Denial With a Little-Known Tool
ProPublica got a tip from a reader named Teressa. Her husband was having a severe mental health crisis, and her health insurance company was denying coverage for his hospital and inpatient treatment. She was fighting back against the denials — and recording every phone call with the company as she did. She brought reporter Duaa Eldeib along for the journey, which ended after Teressa was able to deploy what one source called the industry’s “best-kept secret.” Read the original story here.
Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject Routine Vitamin Shot Given at Birth
Credit: Matt Rota for ProPublica. This story was originally published by ProPublica. They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival. They passed their newborn screening tests. Some made it to their 2-week wellness visits without concern. Then, without warning, their systems began to shut down. A 7-week-old boy in Maryland developed sudden seizures. An 11-pound girl in Alabama stopped breathing for 20 seconds at a time.
Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica
More parents are refusing the vitamin K shot for newborns. Doctors say the consequences can be devastating
Tiny Footprints, a Blue Blanket: What I Can’t Forget About the Babies Who Died of Vitamin K Deficiency
I recently wrote about babies dying from a rare but fatal condition called vitamin K deficiency bleeding. To report the story, I analyzed hundreds of rows of data, contacted more than 50 hospitals and birthing centers, and filed nearly 90 public records requests. But autopsy reports — one record of how these babies died — painted the clearest picture of these tragedies.
Missouri and Kansas babies are bleeding to death as parents reject a vitamin shot given at birth
This story was originally published by ProPublica. They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival. They passed their newborn screening tests. Some made it to their 2-week wellness visits without concern. Then, without warning, their systems began to shut down. A 7-week-old boy in Maryland developed sudden seizures. An 11-pound girl in Alabama stopped breathing for 20 seconds at a time. A baby boy in Kentucky vomited before becoming lethargic.
Babies are bleeding to death as parents reject a vitamin shot given at birth
Matt Rota for ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive its biggest stories as soon as they’re published. They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival. They passed their newborn screening tests. Some made it to their 2-week wellness visits without concern. Then, without warning, their systems began to shut down.
Babies are bleeding to death as parents reject a vitamin shot given at birth
ProPublica Families continue to be inundated with advice from self-proclaimed experts using medical terms incorrectly and misunderstanding science. This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival. They passed their newborn screening tests.
Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth
Slog AM: The War in Iran Might Be Ending, ChatGPT Gets Violent, and PWHL Expands to Detroit - The Stranger Wait! Before you read any further, may I ask a question? What have you done for yourself this morning? I ask because a 2024 study shows that starting …
Medical Examiners Group Issues Warning on Stillbirth Test
The nation’s largest organization for medical examiners has issued a warning about a controversial, centuries-old forensic test that has contributed to cases in which pregnant women have been charged with murder. The premise behind the lung float test is simple: If a baby was born alive and then died, air from its first breaths would cause its lungs to float in a jar with water. If the baby was stillborn, the lack of air in the lungs would cause them to sink.
Medical Examiners Group Issues Warning on Stillbirth Test
The nation’s largest organization for medical examiners has issued a warning about a controversial, centuries-old forensic test that has contributed to cases in which pregnant women have been charged with murder. The premise behind the lung float test is simple: If a baby was born alive and then died, air from its first breaths would cause its lungs to float in a jar with water. If the baby was stillborn, the lack of air in the lungs would cause them to sink.
Medical Examiners Warn That Controversial Lung Float Test Could Be Dangerous Original
The nation’s largest organization for medical examiners has issued a warning about a controversial, centuries-old forensic test that has contributed to cases in which pregnant women have been charged with murder. The premise behind the lung float test is simple: If a baby was born alive and then died, air from its first breaths would cause its lungs to float in a jar with water. If the baby was stillborn, the lack of air in the lungs would cause them to sink.
Medical Examiners Warn That Controversial Lung Float Test Could Be Dangerous
The nation’s largest organization for medical examiners has issued a warning about a controversial, centuries-old forensic test that has contributed to cases in which pregnant women have been charged with murder. The premise behind the lung float test is simple: If a baby was born alive and then died, air from its first breaths would cause its lungs to float in a jar with water. If the baby was stillborn, the lack of air in the lungs would cause them to sink.
Amid Confusing CDC Guidance About Vaccines, Study Highlights New Risk of COVID-19 During Pregnancy
In the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of pregnant women were wheeled into hospitals where they fought for their lives and the lives of the babies they carried. It took the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention until August 2021, eight months after the first vaccine was administered, to formally recommend the COVID-19 shot for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
Amid Confusing CDC Guidance About Vaccines, Study Highlights New Risk of COVID-19 During Pregnancy
In the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of pregnant women were wheeled into hospitals where they fought for their lives and the lives of the babies they carried. It took the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention until August 2021, eight months after the first vaccine was administered, to formally recommend the COVID-19 shot for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
How to file a little-known appeal that could force your insurer to pay for lifesaving care
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision. Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision.
On the Front Line of the Fluoride Wars, Debate Over Drinking Water Treatment Turns Raucous
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. On the far east side of Michigan, the future of fluoride in drinking water — long an ordinary practice for preventing tooth decay — has suddenly provoked passionate debate. Public meetings in St. Clair County, about an hour northeast of Detroit, have filled with people weighing in.
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer To Pay For Lifesaving Care. Here’s How To File It.
Series: America’s Mental Barrier:How Insurers Interfere With Mental Health Care When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision. Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision. But a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion outside their walls can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment.
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer To Pay For Lifesaving Care
Above photo: Sarah Blesener / ProPublica. Here’s How To File It. When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts suggest to help you through the external appeal process. When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision. Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision.
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It
In one of the scariest moments in modern history, we're doing our best at ScheerPost to pierce the fog of lies that conceal it but we need some help to pay our writers and staff. Please consider a tax-deductible donation. By Duaa Eldeib / ProPublica When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision. Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision.
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.
By Duaa Eldeib ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. More in this series When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision. Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision.
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It. Original
When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision. Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision. But a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion outside their walls can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment. External reviews are one of the industry’s best-kept secrets, and only a tiny fraction of those eligible actually use them.
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.
Meet ARiSE: A Stanford And Harvard Backed Lab Dedicated To Objectively Validating AI in Healthcare The application of AI technology in healthcare is likely one of the most important and substantial contributions of human kind in the 21st century. The work in this arena has been monumental, with large language models that are now competitive with (and often can out-compete) human physicians in …
NIH Launches New Multimillion-Dollar Initiative to Reduce U.S. Stillbirth Rate
The National Institutes of Health has launched a five-year, $37 million stillbirth consortium in a pivotal effort to reduce what it has called the country’s “unacceptably high” stillbirth rate. The announcement last week thrilled doctors, researchers and families and represented a commitment by the agency to prioritize stillbirth, the death of an expected child at 20 weeks or more.
NIH Launches New Multimillion-Dollar Initiative to Reduce U.S. Stillbirth Rate
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. The National Institutes of Health has launched a five-year, $37 million stillbirth consortium in a pivotal effort to reduce what it has called the country’s “unacceptably high” stillbirth rate.
Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Current. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.
For-Profit Corporations Are Buying Up More Psychiatric Hospitals. Some Flout Federal Law With Scarce Repercussions.
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. As the share of U.S. adults receiving mental health care treatment steadily grows, for-profit companies are playing an increasingly important role.
Psychiatric Hospitals Turn Away Patients Who Need Urgent Care. The Facilities Face Few Consequences.
This article describes attempted suicide. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Late one Saturday night in May 2023, Melissa Keele’s phone rang. Her son had been found alone in the desert of Colorado’s Grand Valley. He was naked; his clothes, phone, keys and car were nowhere to be found. Keele rushed out to her own vehicle and floored it, her headlights piercing through the pitch black.
Amid Rise of RFK Jr., Officials Waver on Drinking Water Fluoridation — Even in the State Where It Started
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Fluoridation has long been heralded as a public health triumph, but skeptics increasingly hold sway in government. Customer notice requirements are patchy, so people may not know about it when their fluoridation stops. Fluoridation was pioneered in Grand Rapids, but other Michigan communities are either dropping it or debating it.
'Just let me die.' Insurance kept denying their claims, an Ohio psychiatrist was their last hope • Ohio Capital Journal Original
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. The email took Dr. Neal Goldenberg of Cleveland, Ohio by surprise in a way that few things still do. As a psychiatrist, he had grown accustomed to seeing patients in their darkest moments.
“Just Let Me Die”: After Insurance Repeatedly Denied a Couple’s Claims, One Psychiatrist Was Their Last Hope
This story contains graphic descriptions of suicide attempts. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife sought coverage for his mental health treatment. His insurance carrier refused to pay for his care. Patients can appeal denials and even ask for additional review by independent physicians.
The Price of Remission: This Cancer Drug Saves Lives — but Costs a Fortune. I Wanted to Know Why.
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. The pain jolted me awake. It was barely dawn, a misty February morning in 2023. My side felt as if I’d been stabbed. I had been dealing with pain for weeks — a bothersome ache that felt like a bad runner’s cramp. But now it was so intense I had to brace myself against the wall to stand up. A few hours after arriving at the emergency room, I heard my name.
Director of Arizona Medicaid Agency Resigns Following Fraud Scheme Response
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. The director of Arizona’s embattled Medicaid agency resigned this week, just as she was expected to face questions from lawmakers about her handling of a massive fraud scheme that largely targeted Native Americans. Gov.
Utah Farmers Signed Up for Federally Funded Therapy. Then the Money Stopped.
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. U.S. farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. In Utah, they die by suicide at the third-highest rate by vocation in the state. A federal program offering Utah farmers free therapy was so successful that it ran out of money in four months.
New Law Increases Oversight of Arizona Sober Living Homes
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed legislation increasing oversight of sober living homes, two years after state officials announced that a Medicaid fraud scheme had targeted Native Americans seeking drug and alcohol treatment.
“Not Just Measles”: Whooping cough cases are soaring as vaccine rates decline
In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. Washington state recently announced its first confirmed death from pertussis in more than a decade. Idaho and South Dakota each reported a death this year, and Oregon last year reported two, as well as its highest number of cases since 1950.
An Indian Drugmaker, Investigated by ProPublica Last Year, Has Recalled Two Dozen Medications Sold to U.S. Patients
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has recalled two dozen generic medicines sold to American patients because the Indian factory that made them failed to comply with U.S. manufacturing standards and the Food and Drug Administration determined that the faulty drugs could harm people, federal records show.
‘Not just measles’: Whooping cough cases are soaring as vaccine rates decline
A digital billboard in Seminole, Texas, last month. While the measles outbreak has been concentrated in West Texas, cases of pertussis have soared nationwide. Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive its biggest stories as soon as they’re published. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough.
'Not Just Measles': Whooping cough cases are soaring as vaccine rates decline
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. Washington state recently announced its first confirmed death from pertussis in more than a decade.
Blue Cross Defrauded Breast Cancer Center, Must Pay $421M, Jury Finds
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Blue Cross Louisiana OK’d mastectomies and breast reconstructions for women with cancer but refused to pay a hospital’s full bills. For some claims, it paid nothing. Blue Cross denied payments for thousands of procedures involved in breast reconstruction. But it approved special deals for treatment for executives’ wives.
Public health, avian flu, Texas, measles
PUBLIC HEALTH“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline Published 11 April 2025 Declining vaccination rates have caused the Texas measles outbreak, and vaccination rates for other childhood diseases have fallen as well. Deep cuts to public health jobs and funding, and HHS’s ambivalent messaging about vaccines, make it harder for agencies to fight outbreaks and prevent disease with vaccines.
Along With Measles, Whooping Cough Cases Surge as Vaccine Rates Drop
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. Washington state recently announced its first confirmed death from pertussis in more than a decade.
“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline
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ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Texas’ measles outbreak has been blamed on vaccine hesitancy. But parents are not getting their children other vaccines as well. Vaccine rates for other childhood diseases have fallen, contributing to rising cases of whooping cough and other illnesses.
By Duaa Eldeib Verified, Patricia Callahan Verified, Sarahbeth Maney Verified, Annie Waldman Verified
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Thousands of Families Experience Stillbirth. Three Moms Tell Their Stories in a New Documentary. %
THE FILM Intimate, infuriating and ultimately hopeful, “Before a Breath” braids together the stories of three mothers determined to make pregnancy safer after losing children to stillbirth. After the loss of her daughter Autumn, Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya discovers that more than 20,000 stillbirths occur every year in the U.S. — and at least 1 in 4 is likely preventable. She goes to Washington, battling political inertia as she fights to make stillbirth research and prevention a federal priority.
Watch “Before a Breath” Documentary on America’s Stillbirth Crisis — ProPublica - Business And America
The story you just read was made possible by our readers. We hope it inspires you to support ProPublica, so we can continue producing investigations that shine a light on power, uncover the truth, and drive real change. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to nonpartisan, evidence-based journalism that holds power accountable.
Thousands of Families Experience Stillbirth. Three Moms Tell Their Stories in a New Documentary.
Intimate, infuriating and ultimately hopeful, “Before a Breath” braids together the stories of three mothers determined to make pregnancy safer after losing children to stillbirth. After the loss of her daughter Autumn, Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya discovers that more than 20,000 stillbirths occur every year in the U.S. — and at least 1 in 4 is likely preventable. She goes to Washington, battling political inertia as she fights to make stillbirth research and prevention a federal priority.
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