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EVERYTHING
Understanding Women’s Bodies for Over 100 Years
What: A quick look at the history of research on maternal milk production (it is *not* triggered by the “corpus luteum, a group of cells that forms during the menstrual cycle”), and how it ties in to current research on breast cancer happening at the same lab.
Why it matters: “’Pregnancy changes our whole body,’ [Prof.Camila] dos Santos explains. ‘Puberty changes our whole body. Menopause changes our whole body. By focusing on these life experiences, we can understand what changes and how it affects our cancer risk.’”
Source: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Study: Cannabis Use Dangerous for Pregnant Moms, Too
What: A study found that cannabis use in early pregnancy increased the risk of high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and a detached placenta.
Why it matters: “’Research suggests that pregnant people are bombarded with inaccurate messages from social media, cannabis retailers and peers suggesting that cannabis use during pregnancy is safe,’ [author Kelly] Young-Wolff said. ‘Our study provides timely and important data that adds to the growing body of evidence indicating that cannabis use during pregnancy is not safe.’”
Source: CNN
MENSTRUATION
Menstruation as a Sign of Health Is Ancient History
What: A classics professor takes on the “long—and strange” history of testing menstrual blood, including how “regular monthly bleeding was seen as essential to women’s health. It was thought to be the only way they could get rid of ‘excess’ blood, which was supposedly produced from the normal processes of eating and drinking.” It also was examined to determine a woman’s health, something that is returning in new products now.
Why it matters: As the saying goes: history doesn’t repeat, it rhymes.
Source: The Conversation
ABORTION ACCESS
Kamala Can Take Women’s Health Center Stage
What: Vice President Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, after President Joe Biden stepped down this weekend. NPR reports she is “widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access,” especially compared to Biden.
Why it matters: Harris “…became the first vice president to visit a clinic run by Planned Parenthood. She undertook a nationwide tour focused on reproductive rights. And when Sen. JD Vance of Ohio was named Trump’s running mate, Harris used her next campaign appearance to criticize him for blocking protections for in vitro fertilization.”
Source: NPR
CARDIOVASCULAR
When Alcohol and Hormone Replacement Can Hurt the Heart
What: It’s an animal study, but research shared at an American Heart Association conference looked at the interplay between estrogen, alcohol, and menopause. In menopausal rats treated with estrogen replacement therapy they found the heart could not pump blood as well—a precursor to heart failure.
Why it matters: “’It was surprising to see the significant impact estrogen had on alcohol-induced heart dysfunction, despite its known cardioprotective effects. Premenopausal and menopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy should be cautious about alcohol consumption because it may be a factor in heart dysfunction,’ said Syed Anees Ahmed, Ph.D., lead author of the study”
Source: American Heart Association
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