We’re back! Welcome to all the new readers we gained over the holidays, and I hope everyone had a great festive season.
Regular readers will notice that I’m testing a format shift: fewer dense blurbs, more short, clear items so nothing important gets missed.
It also gives me more room to focus on original reporting I’m excited about. That includes what insurers cover for women and why, what’s really happening inside the Trump administration when it comes to women’s health, and research that could genuinely change women’s lives.
Hit reply and let me know what you think! After 15 years covering Congress, I’ve got a thick skin.
Thanks for reading,
Meghan
P.S. This edition is longer since it looks back over the past few weeks 🙃
EVERYTHING
The CDC abruptly and significantly reduced the childhood vaccine schedule, alarming public health experts and pediatricians. In addition to unnecessary illness and deaths, the lack of guidance also makes things more confusing for postpartum moms.
In December the FDA issued draft guidance urging sex-specific clinical biology data. It’s an institutional shift away from male-default evidence, and former Bayer Chief Digital Officer Jessica Federer explains why it matters.
MENOPAUSEJennifer Weiss-Wolf has a good round-up of menopause legislation gaining momentum in various states this year — including what more the FDA and federal funding could be doing.
A big overview found that menopause hormone therapy does not affect dementia risk. This addresses some previous conflicting research, and the authors hope it will be used by the WHO when it issues new dementia guidelines.
MENSTRUATIONNational Geographic has a deep dive on the researchers who are actually finally taking menstrual pain seriously—and as a legitimate medical condition.
FERTILITYThe New York Times zooms out on a body of research that found ovaries (and how healthy they are) matter for fertility and aging, not just the eggs themselves. It also explores how these discoveries could delay the side effects of menopause, too.
CANCERHHS officially backed self-collected swabs as a way to test for cervical cancer. And they are requiring insurers to cover this preventive testing in January 2027.
NBC News has a deep dive into how mammograms may capture signs of heart attack or stroke risk. If validated, it could quickly expand heart screening using tests women already receive.