BIRTH CONTROL
Report Examines Growing Threats to Birth Control Access
What: A report from the National Women's Law Center explains how birth control rights are at risk post-Roe v. Wade and under the Trump administration. The key concerns? Legal challenges to birth control access for young people and low-income individuals, and misinformation equating birth control with abortion.
Key Line: "...just as we’ve seen with abortion, extremist politicians and organizations are working to undermine access to contraception, often in ways that fly under the radar. This report is a wake-up call: we must act now to protect birth control before it’s too late.”
Source: National Women's Law Center
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Looking at the Bed Rest Evidence
What: Bed rest during pregnancy is a common practice, but one author makes the case that it lacks evidence and may do more harm than good.
Key Line: "No high-quality studies have shown that bed rest helps fetuses gestate longer or have better health outcomes. What’s more, many studies since the 1950s have documented that bed rest can pose considerable harm to those who are pregnant and their families. While 'taking it easy' or staying in bed may appear innocent, bed rest demands levels of inactivity that can rapidly reduce heart and lung function, initiate muscle and bone loss, and increase the risk of gestational diabetes, blood clots and deadly pulmonary embolisms."
Source: New Scientist
Pregnancy-Related U.S. Death Rates Have Jumped in Recent Years
What: A JAMA study found pregnancy-related death rates in the United States increased nearly 28% from 2018 to 2022. The study did not cover reasons behind the jump, but noted that COVID-19 likely played a role. The rates varied significantly from state to state, with Alabama holding the highest rate or nearly 60 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to California with the lowest rate of over 18 deaths per 100,000.
Key Line: “There really shouldn’t be this level of variation across the states, and we need to do better across all the states,” [Dr. Rose Molina, one of the study’s authors and an ob-gyn at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,] says. “One of the points we made in that article was that if all states could have performed as well as the highest performing state, like California, we could have avoided 2,679 pregnancy-related deaths” in that four-year period.
Source: TIME
ABORTION ACCESS
US Doctors Travel to Mexico for Abortion Training
What: A deep dive from The Guardian's Carter Sherman on the US doctors traveling to Mexico to get adequate abortion training -- even if they are practicing in states that have full abortion access. One of the potential causes? Residency programs are run by massive hospitals that depend heavily on federal funds, and they want to steer clear of abortion "controversy."
Key Line: "'On one hand, it’s a tremendous relief to know that medical students and residents aren’t going to have to forego this very important part of their training in their education,' said Pamela Merritt, executive director of Medical Students for Choice. Last year, Merritt’s organization helped eight medical students and residents receive abortion training in Mexico and the UK. Merritt continued: 'It’s also incredibly sad that in the United States, we are failing to train people even to the standard of care indicated by abortion bans.'"
Source: The Guardian
MENOPAUSE
States Pushing for Menopause Legislation
What: Axios reports that more than 20 bills that aim to improve menopause care have been introduced in at least 13 states this year. States like California, Illinois, and Louisiana are working on (and in some cases, passing) legislation that reshapes insurance coverage and healthcare resources for menopause-related treatments and support.
Key Line: "...Changes that could permanently reshape insurance coverage and health care resources are being set in motion. Proposed legislation aims to improve affordability of menopause treatments, bolster workplace support and increase medical training."
Source: Axios
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