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EVERYTHING
Infant Deaths Jump 13% in Texas Following Abortion Ban
What: A study from JAMA Pediatrics found that infant deaths in Texas increased nearly 13% from 2021 to 2022, after the state passed a highly restrictive abortion law. And why are more babies dying? “The law did not include exemptions for congenital anomalies, including conditions that will cause a newborn to die soon after birth.” In other words, women are being forced to carry to term and deliver babies that cannot live outside the womb.
Why it matters: Alison Gemmill, a Johns Hopkins professor of public health and the author of the study, said the “insight is important for other states, since Texas passed SB8 about a year before the Dobbs decision overturned federal abortion protections, leading to total bans on abortion in 14 states…’This might foreshadow what is happening in other states,’ Gemmill said. ‘Texas is basically a year ahead.’”
Source: NBC
BIRTH CONTROL
Docs Warn About ‘Contraception Coercion’
What: Three family medicine physicians and professors have an op-ed rallying their fellow practitioners to be aware of misinformation about contraception, and to use a “values-based approach” to prioritize what matters most to individual patients, “such as believing patients about experiences with side effects and working proactively to address them.”
Why it matters: “Particularly alarming are videos designed to sway opinions for financial or ideological gain; they are a form of contraception coercion, an attempt to control or influence a person’s decision about whether to use birth control or what type of birth control to use. …Even worse, right-wing influencers are exploiting legitimate medical mistrust to discredit birth control and reinstate patriarchal gender norms, by posting disinformation masquerading as wellness content.”
Source: Scientific American
MENOPAUSE
The Science of Delaying Menopause
What: The New York Times breaks down delaying menopause, “a field of research that has started to draw attention over the last few years, as scientists who study longevity and women’s health have come to realize that the female reproductive system is far more than just a baby-maker. The ovaries, in particular, appear to be connected to virtually every aspect of a woman’s health.”
Why it matters: “Through hormones like estrogen and progesterone, as well as other chemicals, the ovaries communicate with and influence virtually every other organ. Scientists don’t yet know exactly how the ovaries do this, but what they do know is that when the ovaries stop functioning normally, all kinds of problems arise.”
Source: New York Times
ONCOLOGY
First Early Stage Breast Cancer Vaccine Used in Trial
What: The first early-stage breast cancer vaccine was given to a woman in a Pittsburgh hospital this week, where a trial will “evaluate how well the immune systems of women newly diagnosed with the earliest form of breast cancer respond to the vaccine.”
Why it matters: “Previous research has focused on testing vaccines in the setting of advanced breast cancers. This new study, the first in early breast cancer, is expected to determine if the vaccine can induce a strong immune response that could prevent early breast cancer recurrence or progression to invasive breast cancer.”
Source: CBS
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
Does Anything Get Rid of Cellulite? (And Is It Actually Bad?)
What: A professor who focuses on human anatomy reviews the science behind creams, lotions, potions, and other methods that claim to get rid of cellulite. (The answer is mostly no.)
Why it matters: “The most popular question seems to be, ‘Do these treatments work?’ but as an anatomist I think the more pressing question is, ‘Why are healthy women’s bodies considered something to treat, cure or correct?’”
Source: The Conversation
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