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FERTILITY
Gwen Walz: Fertility Journey ‘Can Eat Away at Your Soul’
What: Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz hasn’t been shy about needing reproductive technology to have his kids. But it wasn’t always that way, as his wife, Gwen, tells Glamour: “’Our fertility journey was an incredibly personal and difficult experience,’ she shares with Glamour, going into depth for the first time about her path to parenthood. ‘Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time.’”
Why it matters: “But now Gwen Walz is choosing to share more details about ‘the anxiety, the agony, and the desperation that can eat away at your soul’ because ‘we hope other families find solace in our story.’ And because, she says, ‘Knowing that pain, I cannot fathom the cruelty of politicians who want to take away the freedom for couples to access the care they need.’”
Source: Glamour
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Fewer Pregnant Women Getting Prenatal Care in America
What: The CDC reported that the number of babies born in the US is falling, but the number of women going through pregnancy without prenatal care is actually *increasing*. Why? “The lopsided trend, published Tuesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, may reflect, in part, a growing number of women unable to access OB/GYN care after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.”
Why it matters: Even a slight increase in the number of women not getting prenatal care can be “detrimental to the health of both mom and baby, said Dr. Kathryn Lindley, a cardio-obstetrician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. ‘There’s a lot of baby monitoring that goes on during pregnancy to help us identify any potential health problems,’ such as birth defects or unusually high blood pressure, she said. ‘High blood pressure related to pregnancy can lead to serious illness or death by causing complications like strokes or seizures or heart attacks,’ Lindley said. ‘It’s really important that all these things get identified and monitored to make sure that both the mom and the baby have a healthy outcome.’”
Source: NBC
ABORTION ACCESS
Texas’ Kate Cox Reminds Everyone: Abortion Is Health Care
What: Full access to reproductive health care for women was once again a focus at the Democratic National Convention. Kate Cox, a Texas woman who unsuccessfully sued the state to get an abortion, took part in the state’s roll call to nominate VP Kamala Harris:
“When I got pregnant, doctors told us our baby would never survive, and if I didn’t get an abortion, it would put a future pregnancy at risk. But Trump didn’t care, and because of his abortion bans, I had to flee my home. Today, because I found a way to access abortion care, I am pregnant again. And my baby is due in January, just in time to see Kamala Harris sworn in as president of the United States.”
Why it matters: Cox and her story—including the joyous news of another child—can remind and educate millions of Americans that abortion is necessary health care.
Source: CBS
METABOLISM + WEIGHT
Semaglutide Nearly Erases Diabetes Risk
What: A clinical trial found that Zepbound, the semaglutide weight loss drug made by Eli Lilly, almost entirely eliminates the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In a trial with over 1,000 patients, patients getting a weekly shot had a 94% (!!!) reduction in risk of progressing to diabetes when compared with the placebo group.
Why it matters: More men than woman have type 2 diabetes, but when women get develop this disease, it carries greater complications and a higher risk of becoming fatal.
Source: Reuters
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
Is Dermaplaning a Good Thing?
What: The Washington Post looks at whether dermaplaning—removing facial hair with a “special surgical scalpel”—is actually a beauty trend you should be trying at home: “While facial shaving hasn’t been a traditional beauty ritual for women, the facial hair removal method has taken the online world by storm, with more than 2.8 million posts tagged #dermaplaning on Instagram alone. Skin care influencers rave about this trending technique, saying it helps the skin breathe and better absorb serums, moisturizers and other treatments.”
Why it matters: “’I wouldn’t do this at home at all,’ said Debra Jaliman, a board-certified dermatologist. ‘You really have a greater risk of cutting yourself because it’s hard to look in a mirror and do the angles and everything else at once.’”
Source: Washington Post
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