Tonight in women’s health we’ve got the top causes of pregnant and postpartum mortality (it’s not what you might think), a new IVF device that could be a game changer, and a take that even the French are getting in on wellness culture—subbing butter for olive oil.
DRUGS, VIOLENCE, AND PREGNANCY // What is the most likely cause of death for pregnant and postpartum women? Columbia University reports in the New England Journal of Medicine that it is drug overdoses, homicide, or suicide—not medical complications. The lead researcher of the study warned that medicine “may not do as good a job in screening for drug use and intimate partner violence among our pregnant patients as we do for medical complications…we have an opportunity to refocus our efforts on preventing drug overdose and violence with multidisciplinary care that includes referrals to mental health care and social services throughout pregnancy—which could save hundreds of lives.”
EGGS MIGHT ABOUND // The New York Times reports on a new device that found viable eggs missed by standard IVF searches in more than half of patients. Of the 582 patients studied, the device found extra viable eggs in 316 patients in fluids that would have otherwise been discarded. Those numbers could be a game-changer if it holds up in bigger tests.
RURAL AREAS LOSE NICUS // A JAMA study finds the number of urban hospitals with advanced newborn care units increased while those in rural hospitals dropped from 2010 to 2022, leaving much of rural America without access to critical care for fragile infants. Over that time period, rural areas lost 22 hospitals providing more advanced care while urban areas gained 31.
STUDY: ANTIDEPRESSANTS WORK // Preliminary research presented at the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine found pregnant women who quit their antidepressants were nearly twice as likely to need emergency mental health care as those who stayed on them. They study examined 1,400 women in Pennsylvania using private insurance and pharmacy claims, and all of the women had been diagnosed with anxiety or depression and was taking an antidepressant before getting pregnant.
FRENCH WOMEN (DO GET WELLNESS CUTLURE) // Vanity Fair reports that even Paris, long the capital of carefree indulgence, has gone in on wellness culture, trading butter for olive oil and Botox for “Better Than Botox” juice. As Hannah Seligson writes: “It’s strange to see the French shy away from dairy and embrace new-age practices like meditation—wellness routines that seem quintessentially American—after decades of messaging about how the French do pretty much everything better than we do.”