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EVERYTHING
Higher Stress Tied to Heart Risk During Pregnancy – Especially In High Income Women
What: A study from Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center found that women with higher self-reported stress levels during fertility treatments were more likely to have high blood sugar during pregnancy, a “sign of weaker cardiovascular health.”
Why it matters: What’s unusual about this study is that it found higher stress levels and blood sugar “among women with high socioeconomic status.” Typically the inverse is true – lower incomes tend to be associated with more difficult pregnancies.
Source: The Endocrine Society
PREGNANCY
New York Governor Proposes 40 Hours Paid Time Leave for Prenatal Visits
What: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed legislation to give women 40 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal visits, aiming to expand care to low-income communities where employees might have to skip a paycheck to get to the doctor.
Why it matters: The maternal and infant mortality rate in the United States is worse than in other wealthy countries, and has been growing in recent years. Getting care before a baby is born is one effort to reduce that.
Source: ABC
NIH Study: Cannabis Use Increases Placenta Risk By 27%
What: Researchers looked at over 9,000 women and found those with urine samples that were positive for cannabis were 27% more likely to have complications linked to the placenta. The results were stronger for people who used cannabis throughout their pregnancy, versus those who used during their first trimester.
Why it matters: Cannabis use is on the rise nationally, including among pregnant women.
Source: NIH
BIRTH CONTROL
Injectable Gel Shows Promise as Male Birth Control
What: It was a small study, but investigators tested Contraline in 23 men in Australia and recorded sperm levels comparable to a vasectomy, with no serious adverse events. Contraline is a gel that is injected into the sperm duct.
Why it matters: Welcome to the long-term birth control club, gentlemen.
ABORTION ACCESS
Ohio Woman May Face Jail Time for Miscarriage
What: A deep dive explanation into a case in Ohio where a woman who miscarried a nonviable fetus at 21 weeks could be indicted for “abuse of a corpse” because she miscarried into the toilet.
Why it matters: This case has gotten a lot of attention for its gory details, but the New York Times does a good job explaining just how unusual the legal charges are.
Source: New York Times
METABOLISM + WEIGHT
Eli Lilly Sets Up Site to Ship Weight Loss Drug Directly to You
What: Eli Lilly’s Zepbound is the latest weight loss drug to hit the market (the medication is known as Mounjaro when prescribed for diabetes), and the company has set up a telehealth program to ship drugs directly to patients after the meet with a provider.
Why it matters: Lots of companies have set up telehealth sites to connect patients with hard-to-find weight loss drugs, but Eli Lilly is the first pharmaceutical company to do it themselves. It’s a new frontier.
Source: NBC
CARDIOVASCULAR
Women With Heart Failure Aren’t Getting Transplants At Nearly the Same Rate as Men
What: A study of patients with a specific type of heart failure found that the rate of interventions like a heart transplant or a “left ventricular assist device” were 68% lower (!!!) among women than men.
Why it matters: Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America. Even after researchers adjusted for lower prevalence of this type of heart failure among women, they still found the interventions were 68% lower. They didn’t have an explanation beyond potentially getting referred less for the treatments.
Source: AHA Journals
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