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EVERYTHING
RFK Downplays Measles Outbreak, Death
What: Vox breaks down what HHS Sec. Kennedy has said about the recent measles outbreak in Texas, which has killed one elementary school-aged child. They also look at how it differs from previous health officials, including those from Trump’s first administration. In a cabinet meeting yesterday, Kennedy tried to downplay the outbreak and death, saying: “It’s not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.”
Key line: “That’s true — but this is an outbreak that, on its own, has accounted for more cases than the US sometimes sees in an entire year. Twenty-five years after the US declared the disease eradicated, measles is making a comeback.”
P.S. If you were born after 1957 and were vaccinated 1968, the CDC recommends getting another dose of the measles vaccine. And if you were vaccinated between 1968 and 1989, you may want to get another shot if you are considered high risk.
Source: Vox and NPR
Nearly Half of Republican Men Want Women in ‘Traditional Role’ at Home
What: Three political scientists in the New York Times explain that Republican attitudes on the role of women in society is shifting. The number of people saying a “women’s place is in the home” declined from 30% in 1972 to 6% in 2008, and the question was dropped from the survey that year. But a 2022 panel had 28% of Republican men saying “women should return to their traditional role”. That number jumped 20 points to 48% of Republican men in 2024.
Key line: “There are at least two plausible explanations for these changes. One is that some Republicans are changing their minds in response to new information from opinion leaders and media sources. Another is that some of them had traditional views all along and now feel more comfortable expressing them. We think that changing minds is the more likely explanation.”
Source: New York Times
MENSTRUATION
The State of Period Tracking and Sport Performance
What: The Guardian has a deep dive into women’s soccer considering how the menstrual cycle affects athletic performance.
Key line: “Still, even in an era of personalized nutrition plans and AI trackers, the menstrual cycle remains a footnote in most training programs and research studies. Sports science still operates on studies that do not equally involve men and women. ‘Historically, female athletes have been trained like men, who have different hormonal profiles, so we need to think more intelligently about training women,’ said [Dr Charles Pedlar, a sports physiologist and professor of applied sports and exercise science at St Mary’s University.]”
Source: The Guardian
PREGNANCY+ POSTPARTUM
Mississippi’s C-Section Problem
What: Mississippi Today looks at why the state has such a high rate of “low-risk” C sections, despite nationwide efforts to reduce unnecessary C sections. One big issue? How much the rates vary from hospital to hospital.
Key line: “At one Mississippi Delta hospital, more than half — a staggering 56.1% — of first-time, low-risk moms gave birth by C-section in 2016…The World Health Organization recommends an overall C-section rate of 10 to 15%. But, as C-section rates increase beyond that, the health benefits to mom and baby start to plateau, research shows — a marker of diminishing returns, says Robbie Davis-Floyd, a reproductive anthropologist whose research focuses on the hospital model of childbirth. ‘Below 10%, you’re having women die of lack of cesareans,” Davis-Floyd said. “But when you get well above 15%, you’re having some women die of the overuse of cesareans.’”
Source: Mississippi Today / Fuller Project
ONCOLOGY
Study: Less Major Surgery, Better Sexual Health for Breast Cancer Patients
What: A study of nearly 16,000 women who had breast cancer surgery between 2010 and 2022 found those who had a lumpectomy reported higher sexual well-being scores than women who had a mastectomy and reconstruction, even several years after surgery.
Key line: “The authors also emphasize the need to consider and discuss the impact of breast cancer surgery on sexual well-being. Dr. Nelson concludes: ‘Although many patients have low sexual health, most do not receive sexual medicine consultation, suggesting an opportunity for providers to improve breast cancer patients’ sexual health.’”
Source: Wolters Kluwer Health // Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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