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PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Parental Leave and Postpartum Mental Health in Sweden
What: A study from Sweden found first-time mothers who got more parental leave benefits--equivalent to 80% of their salary--had better postpartum mental health compared to those receiving basic benefits. (In Sweden, "basic" means a flat fee for women who did not meet work requirements to get paid leave.) They found better parental leave benefits help improve mental health after giving birth.
Key Line: "After adjustment for income and employment status, the odds remained elevated for specialist outpatient care (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.02-1.24) and hospitalization (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.03-1.76). ...In this cohort study of first-time mothers in Sweden, higher-level benefits were associated with better mental health, particularly moderate-to-severe mental disorders."
Source: JAMA Network Open
ABORTION ACCESS
Magically, an Anti-Abortion Study About the Abortion Pill's 'Dangers' Appears
What: Just days after FDA Commissioner Makary said he'd consider new data on abortion pill safety, that "data" miraculously appeared. Jess Valenti reports that anti-abortion activists are exploiting a non-peer reviewed, biased study to push for restrictions on abortion medication. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to the FDA this week, pushing for Makary to restrict access to the medication.
Key line: "This isn’t new. Anti-abortion activists have long inflated 'complication' rates by using ER visits. But again, there’s a big difference between going to the ER and being treated at the ER. Sometimes patients who take abortion medication are surprised by the amount of bleeding—normal bleeding—and go to the emergency room out of caution. That doesn’t mean they had any complication, let alone a 'serious' one."
Source: Abortion, Every Day
Trump Restores Title X Funding for Two Anti-Abortion States with Unknown Reasoning
What: The Trump administration restored federal family planning funding to Tennessee and Oklahoma, despite court rulings that found they weren't entitled to the money because they won't provide abortion information. At the same time, the Trump administration pulled nearly $66 million from Title X clinics elsewhere, which provide low-income and disadvantaged individuals with health care.
Key Line: "At least seven states — California, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, and Utah — now do not have any Title X-funded family planning services, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court by the ACLU and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which lobbies for Title X clinics. Overall, 865 family planning clinics are unable to provide services to roughly 842,000 people, the lawsuit states."
Source: KFF Health News
MENOPAUSE
The Ongoing Effort to Delay Menopause
What: National Geographic has a deep dive on the scientists and companies working to potentially delay menopause. The piece goes into detail about everything from an experimental procedure to freeze ovarian tissue before menopause begins to the drug rapamycin.
Key Line: “Late onset menopause has been shown in some studies to be associated with decreased bone loss, vascular disease, and dementia,” says Cheryl Cox Kinney, physician and President-Elect of the Menopause Society, in addition to increased longevity. Plus, as Williams points out, menopause can change body composition and insulin resistance, as well as raising a woman’s risk for several health conditions from vascular disease to dementia.
Source: National Geographic
Women with Endometriosis at Higher Risk of Early Menopause
What: A study found women with endometriosis are more likely to enter early menopause, especially due to surgery. Women with endometriosis end up in surgical menopause around 19 months earlier than women without endo, and natural menopause happens five months sooner. The research, spanning various countries, highlighted the increased risk of surgical menopause in this population.
Key Line: “'Women with endometriosis should be aware that they may be at increased risk of early or induced menopause,' [University of Queensland’s Dr Hsin-Fang Chung] said, adding these women should visit their GP regularly to check for chronic disease risk factors and prevention strategies."
Source: The Guardian
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