|
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Study Calls Fluoride During Pregnancy Into Question
What: A small study found fluoridated water may be tied to behavioral problems in children (emphasis on *may*). Researchers found that among 229 mostly low-income Hispanic women, those with the highest concentrations of fluoride in their urine were “83 percent more likely to have children with borderline or clinically significant behavioral problems” than women with lower fluoride concentrations.
Why it matters: “The findings are important and add to evidence suggesting prenatal fluoride consumption may affect the developing brain, said Joseph Braun, a professor of epidemiology and the director of the Center for Children’s Environmental Health at Brown University, who was not involved in the research. That said, the increases in behavioral scores were relatively small …It’s hard to say whether such a difference might be noticeable in an individual child, he said.”
Source: New York Times
MENSTRUATION
Fibroids Aren’t Cancerous—But They Can Still Be Serious
What: NPR digs into fibroids, uterine tumors that aren’t cancerous. But as Rachell Bervell, a doctor and the founder of the Black ObGyn Project, explains, that doesn’t mean they aren’t serious. And up to 80% of women will have a fibroid by age 50.
Why it matters: Like so many other elements of women’s health, the pain and struggle that can come with fibroids is just not talked about or dismissed—leaving women wondering if they are alone, and with limited options for treatment.
Source: NPR
BIRTH CONTROL
Senate Republicans Will Have to Vote on Birth Control
What: Senate Democrats plan to vote on a bill next month that would protect contraception access nationwide. It won’t pass the House (so it won’t become law), but it will help highlight for voters the Republican members who oppose the legislation.
Why it matters: Republicans from Donald Trump to Virginia’s supposedly more moderate Gov. Glenn Youngkin have called for restrictions on birth control access (or allowing state legislatures to do that work) or have opposed bills that guarantee access.
Source: New York Times
ABORTION ACCESS
Abortions Banned, And Please No Recovery Time
What: Accommodations for pregnant employes finally became law last year, covering things like taking additional bathroom breaks, or sitting instead of standing while on the job. The rules also “included abortion as a ‘related medical condition’ covered by the law. That means employees seeking abortion care can ask for accommodations from their employers, such as time off work for an appointment or recovery.” And that led Republican state attorneys general to sue.
Why it matters: It’s not enough to ban abortion—Republican-run states also want to make sure any women who needs an abortion, including those who might miscarry, isn’t required to get any reasonable accommodations from their employers, either.
Source: Stateline
CARDIOVASCULAR
Common Heart Surgery Trials Missing 20% of Women
What: Heart disease is the top cause of death in women, but women are often missing from cardiovascular research. That is most evident in trials that focus on common surgeries after a heart attack, like bypass surgery or having a stent placed. While women should represent 50% of study participants, in reality they made up less than 30% from 2010 to 2017.
Why it matters: Most of these procedures are completed “outside of the institutions where registries routinely collect data and where most clinical trials are currently performed,” suggesting “changes in recruitment strategies may be necessary before real change can be achieved.”
Source: Cardiovascular Business
|