REPLAY Part 1: Retired OB-GYN Dr. Janet Lawson shares her experience growing up during segregation, what inspired her to become a doctor and her work in Public Health to create policy change

Dr. Janet Lawson was the first guest on the Strong Women in Medicine podcast. A retired OB-GYN, she shares her experience growing up during segregation, what inspired her to become a doctor and how her work in Public Health helped to create policy change. 

About our guest: 

Dr. Lawson had a unique career in clinical medicine and public health. She received her medical degree in June 1980 from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and completed a residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn) at the Baylor College of Medicine Affiliated Hospitals. She was board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and maintained her medical license in Texas until her retirement in June 2014. She is a recipient of the Women in Government 2009 Presidential Leadership Award, 2006 Excellence in Women’s Health Award from the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health and an award for Leadership in Women’s Health in Texas from the United States Department of Health and Human Services Region VI Office on Women’s Health.

In September 1996, she joined the Texas Department of Health (TDH) as the Director of the Division of Women's Health. During her tenure at TDH, she has served in a variety of positions, including medical consultant for the Bureau of Clinical and Nutrition Services, acting chief for the Bureau of Community Oriented Public Health, acting chief for the Bureau of HIV/STD Prevention, Interim Medical Director for the South Texas Health Care System, Title X Medical Director for Texas, and medical consultant on the clinical support team of the Preventive and Primary Care Unit in the Division for Family and Community Health Services. While serving as the acting director of the Regional and Local Health Services and later the Director of Regional and Local Health Services, she helped the creation of the Division of Regional and Local Health Services, becoming first the Assistant Commissioner for the newly formed division.

Her professional and teaching experience includes faculty positions in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) (1985-89) and the Louisiana State University Medical Center (LSUMC) in New Orleans (1994-96). She was the medical director of the Teen Pregnancy Clinic and the Pediatrics/Adolescent Gyn Clinic at UTMB. She was also the Director of Pediatrics and Adolescent Gynecology at LSUMC, where she established and became the first Medical Director of the Developmental Disability Clinic – a preventive/primary care clinic for women with developmental disabilities. During that tenure, she co-authored a chapter in Adolescents with Down Syndrome: Toward a More Fulfilling Life.

Other clinical experience includes providing general obstetric and gynecologic care at the Brownsville Community Health Clinic in Brownsville, Texas (8/89-2/91) and private practice in Albany, Oregon (8/91- 7/94). While at the Brownville Community Health Clinic she served as medical director for the Brownsville Community Health Clinic Birthing Center.

She is a Life Fellow in the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and was a founding member of the North American Society for Pediatrics and Adolescent Gynecology. She served on the ACOG Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women. She has also served on several other committees and boards, representing diverse organizations. These include the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: State and Local Action Task Force, the Texas Association Concerning School Aged Parenthood, the Association for Retarded Citizens of Greater New Orleans, March of Dimes – Austin Travis County Chapter, the Turner Syndrome Society – United States and the Texas Council on Family Violence. She is currently on the Board of Directors for Any Baby Can.