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EVERYTHING
Federal Records Show Abortion Bans Are Maiming Women
What: The Associated Press got federal health records and found that “more than 100 pregnant women in medical distress who sought help from emergency rooms were turned away or negligently treated since 2022.”
Why it matters: The details of just a few cases spell it out clearly – abortion bans are maiming and nearly killing women who need health care: “Two women — one in Florida and one in Texas — were left to miscarry in public restrooms. In Arkansas, a woman went into septic shock and her fetus died after an emergency room sent her home. At least four other women with ectopic pregnancies had trouble getting treatment…”
Source: Associated Press
BIRTH CONTROL
CDC Tells Docs to Warn Patients About Possible IUD Pain
What: For the first time ever, the CDC is recommending that health professionals warn patients that IUD insertions might be painful, and there are measures their clinicians can take to reduce the pain, such as lidocaine (an anesthetic).
Why it matters: For some women, IUD insertions aren’t painful. But for others, it can be excruciating—and wildly unexpected, until posts on social media helped women realize they weren’t alone or exaggerating their pain.
Source: CNN
MENOPAUSE
Delaying Menopause Is Not Just About Fertility
What: Vox has a deep dive on rapamycin, the “drug we already know is generally safe could be used to delay menopause and extend the healthy lifespans of people with ovaries. Bérénice Benayoun, a scientist studying sex differences in aging at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, is optimistic about the study’s potential. ‘For most women, delaying menopause will be nothing short of a health miracle.’”
Why it matters: “Jennifer Garrison, professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, thinks of ovaries as the master architects of health for people assigned female at birth. (Trans men, intersex people, and nonbinary people can have ovaries, too.) ‘Essentially, we have allowed women’s health as a whole to be pigeonholed through the lens of fertility,’ she said. But the ovaries sit at the center of a complex molecular signaling network that doesn’t just guide the creation of new life; Garrison views them as ‘the pacemaker for aging in women’s bodies.’”
Source: Vox
ONCOLOGY
A Mammogram Callback Doesn’t Mean Cancer
What: The Washington Post reminds us that “mammogram callbacks are common — about 10 out of every 100 women are told they need more imaging after an initial screening, according to the American College of Radiology — but can be scary, especially if you have to wait for an appointment.”
Why it matters: It’s important for women to know that the “vast majority of the callbacks, however, turn out to be false alarms, according to the American Cancer Society. Fewer than 1 in 10 women who return for more imaging have cancer.” They also note that younger women tend to get call backs more frequently – because they don’t have a baseline of images established, and/or because breast tissues that make milk turns to fat as women age, making it easier to read a mammogram.
Source: Washington Post
ENDOMETRIOSIS
NIH Offers $3 Million to Diagnose Endometriosis
What: The NIH is offering up to $3 million in cash prizes “to accelerate development of non-invasive technologies to improve diagnosis of endometriosis.” The “two-year challenge will consist of three phases. Submissions to Phase I are due October 11, 2024, and final winners are expected to be announced in March 2026.”
Why it matters: “’Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases, but it can take up to 10 years to get a diagnosis,’ said Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., NICHD Director. ‘The goal of this challenge is to make a meaningful impact for the millions—roughly 10 percent globally—of reproductive-age women and girls who have endometriosis.’”
Source: NIH
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