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EVERYTHING
Women’s Health Deserves Real Investment, Not Politics
What: Maria Shriver has an op-ed in TIME arguing that women’s health, and especially maternal care, has been neglected and underfunded for too long. She criticizes Trump and her cousin, HHS Sec. Kennedy, for scaring pregnant women about links between tylenol and autism, recalling her own experience with debilitating morning sickness, and eventually hyperemesis gravidarum, when she was simply told to tough it out. She calls for a focus not on myths or weak data associations, but on vital health care that will help women regardless of whether they vote blue or red.
Key Line: “What we need is a government willing to invest in understanding why women make up two-thirds of those who get Alzheimer’s, why we make up two-thirds of those with MS, and, critically, why a woman dies every two minutes from the complications of pregnancy and childbirth globally, with the rate for Black women in the U.S. nearly three times as high as for whites. Where is the research to help us with these questions? We are still waiting.”
My Take: The op-ed’s direct criticism of Kennedy is notable, considering how Shriver used her connections to RFK Jr. to help get funding restored to the landmark Women’s Health Initiative study, after it had been canceled in the madness of the DOGE days.
Source: TIME
BIRTH CONTROL
The Economics of Birth Control
What: Economist Martha Bailey talks with the FT’s Sarah O’Connor about how access to birth control has shaped both women and children’s economic lives and opportunities. They dive deep on the risks that come with the Trump administration freezing all federal funding for subsidized contraception.
Key Line: “I think it’s really important to take seriously how the Trump administration is approaching the Title X programme, which funds reproductive health services for millions of low income Americans. In the first version of the Trump administration, they used a gag rule, which meant…there had to be a physical separation of services provided for abortion and also other reproductive health services, which caused a number of providers to withdraw from the Title X programme, shrinking the number of women served from roughly 4mn to about 1.8mn around 2020. … Now, withholding these funds means that millions of low income Americans won’t receive contraceptive services this year, get tested for sexually transmitted infections, or receive cancer screenings. But, more problematic in my view, is that the fiscal year 2026 budget proposes eliminating Title X entirely.”
My Take: Title X is one of those things Congress has control over in the budget, and attention matters. This interview does a great job not only pointing that out, but also explaining how it could change the future of our country.
Source: Financial Times
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Infections Remain a Leading Cause of U.S. Pregnancy-Related Deaths
What: CDC researchers analyzed data on pregnancy-related deaths from infection from 2012 through 2019. They found that sepsis caused nearly half of pregnancy infection deaths, and endocarditis deaths rose sharply over time.
Key Line: “Reporting subclassifications of pregnancy-related infection deaths could improve the ability to focus interventions for reducing pregnancy-related deaths and assessing progress over time.”
My Take: It’s hard for me to tell if seemingly basic things like “how many pregnant women died of sepsis” are just getting studied because big data sets are available…or that it’s simply been ignored because it’s women’s health.
Source: Obstetrics & Gynecology
ONCOLOGY
Hard-to-Detect Breast Cancer Type Rising Fast in the U.S.
What: An American Cancer Society report says “invasive lobular carcinoma,” a type of breast cancer that often slips past mammograms, now accounts for more than 10% of US breast cancer cases and is increasing about 3% every year. The cancer’s five-year survival rate is high when caught early, but long-term outcomes are poorer compared to other breast cancers, especially after metastasis. Rates are climbing fastest among women under 50 and Asian American and Pacific Islander women, underscoring the need for improved screening beyond standard mammograms.
Key Line: “‘We will use a variety of diagnostic tools for most patients but, for lobular cancer, that arsenal will include not only mammograms but also ultrasound, contrast-enhanced mammograms, and MRIs,’ Mamtani said. With proper screening, lobular cancer can often be caught in its early stages, she added.”
My Take: Breast cancer screening in the US–and what is covered by insurance–is way behind the science.
Source: ABC News
METABOLISM + WEIGHT LOSS
Apple Cider Vinegar Weight-Loss Study Retracted
What: The BMJ Group retracted a March 2024 study that claimed apple cider vinegar caused major weight loss, citing “concerns raised about the quality of the work.” The trial had involved 120 overweight or obese people in Lebanon and reported a 9% drop in body mass after 12 weeks, which outside experts quickly flagged as implausible. Researchers criticized the long delay in retraction, calling it a sign of deeper problems in how medical journals handle flawed studies.
Key Line: “Upon first glance, the magnitude of effect for weight loss seemed implausible,” says Eric Trexler of Duke University, who was one of the scientists who pointed out flaws in the study just weeks after it was published. The weight loss rivaled what’s seen in people taking the latest costly prescription products, like Ozempic and Wegovy.”
My Take: This is a good reminder on why one study doesn’t make a finding *definitely* true, even if it’s peer-reviewed.
Source: NPR
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