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EVERYTHING
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Important for Middle-Aged Women
What: A retrospective analysis of over 40,000 female veterans found "excessive daytime sleepiness" was linked to higher mortality rates in middle aged women. But they didn't see that association in younger or older women, signaling there may be a critical period in the 50s and early 60s to monitor fatigue.
Key Line: “'Identifying middle age as a critical period suggests clinicians should prioritize an Epworth Sleepiness Scale assessment and excessive daytime sleepiness management in women approaching their 50s and early 60s,' said lead author Arash Maghsoudi, who has a doctorate in biomedical engineering and is an instructor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston."
Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Global Progress in Women’s Health Means More Than Reproduction
What: The World Economic Forum digs into data on women's health across all life stages, not just reproductive years. Analyzing 135 countries, the study found countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Peru have made significant progress in women's health through investments in education, health access, and legal reforms.
Key Line: "A girl who suffers from chronic undernutrition before age five is more likely to struggle with health and economic outcomes decades later. A woman forced into early marriage may lose access to education and income, compromising her well-being for life. A holistic, systems-based view helps us understand and respond more effectively to these interlocking realities. This also requires looking beyond reproductive health. Women do not stop needing care or protection when they age out of maternal risk."
Source: World Economic Forum
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
ACOG Warns of Complications with Early Preterm Rupture of Membranes
What: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued guidance on the significant risk of complications like infection and hemorrhage that come when a pregnant women's water breaks before they reach term pregnancy. Recent studies found higher rates of maternal morbidity with "expectant management" versus immediate delivery--which can include induction of labor or a D&C.
Key Line: “'It’s never been more important for clinicians to have clear guidance on how to treat previable and periviable PPROM. This guidance is critical because it rightly affirms that abortion care should be offered to all patients experiencing previable and periviable PPROM,' said Steven J. Fleischman, MD, FACOG, president of ACOG. 'While expectant management should remain an option for certain patients, the higher rates of morbidity associated with expectant management—which may be greater than previously reported—must be part of the conversations that we have with our patients as they are making their care decisions.'”
Source: ACOG
RFK Jr. Says Pregnant Women Shouldn’t Get Covid Boosters. What Does Science Say?
What: KFF Health News digs into the science on pregnant women getting COVID vaccines. CDC experts say pregnant women should the vaccine, while HHS Sec. Kennedy says they’re unnecessary. Not shockingly, the science is on the side of getting a vaccine.
Key Line: "A meta-analysis of 435 studies found that pregnant and recently pregnant women who were infected with the virus that causes covid were more likely to end up in intensive care units, be on invasive ventilation, and die than women who weren’t pregnant but had a similar health profile. This was before covid vaccines were available. Neil Silverman, a professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and the director of the Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said he still sees more bad outcomes in pregnant patients who have covid."
Source: KFF Health News
ABORTION ACCESS
Roe vs. Wade Gone: Where We Are Three Years Later
What: Guttmacher Institute policy official, Kate Baden, breaks down where things stand three years after the end of Roe v. Wade. She says the antiabortion movement isn't slowing down--they are working to block the abortion pill, criminalize interstate travel for care, and ultimately push for a nationwide ban.
Key Line: "Once we recognize the escalation of antiabortion strategies and goals, our next steps are clear. We must expand state protections wherever possible and support the people and infrastructure that have helped protect abortion care in the post-Dobbs landscape."
Source: Ms. Magazine
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