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FERTILITY
Op-Ed: IVF Weight Restrictions Are Discriminatory
What: Becca Muir, a PhD student studying fertility care access, argues that it is discriminatory to keep women from getting IVF procedures because their BMI is “too high.” Muir writes that the BMI cutoffs can be arbitrary, ranging as widely as 35 to 45, and “these restrictions are not medically or ethically justified.”
Why it matters: As Muir notes, a “multitude of social, structural, and medical factors demonstrate that BMI limits are discriminatory,” conditions like PCOS cause weight gain in the first place, and male lifestyle characteristics are not considered, even though sperm DNA damage matters, too.
Source: NPR
POSTPARTUM
Less Than 1 Percent of Insurers Have Guidance for Postpartum Depression Drug
What: Stateline’s Nada Hassanein investigates coverage for the first postpartum depression drug and finds that only 17 insurers–less than 1 percent of the 1,000 insurance companies in the country–have published coverage guidance. The new medication, Zurzuvae, recently hit the market and costs $16,000.
Why it matters: As Hassanein reports, Medicaid covers 41% of births nationwide, and many state Medicaid agencies haven’t yet said if they’ll cover the medication. Which means many women who may need this drug can’t get it yet.
Source: Stateline
BIRTH CONTROL
The Year Birth Control Pills (Finally) Get Way Easier to Get
What: Big changes are coming to birth control this year, CNN reports, including a pill that will be available without a prescription. That medication, known as Opill, is expected to hit shelves by March of this year. And several states had new laws take effect allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control pills at the start of this year.
Why it matters: This could greatly expand access to safe, reliable birth control, which is especially important as conservative states restrict abortion access.
Source: CNN
ABORTION ACCESS
After Losing Elections After Roe, Republicans Say They Don’t Care As Much About Abortion
What: The Iowa Caucus officially kicked off the 2024 presidential campaign yesterday, and Donald Trump won the GOP primary. But even in super conservative Iowa, Republicans shied away from talking about abortion. Perhaps that’s because they’ve lost so many elections after supporting a Supreme Court that lets states ban abortions.
Why it matters: The GOP may not want to talk about it, but every Republican candidate, Trump included, could (and very likely would) expand abortion bans and restrictions should they win.
Source: AP
CARDIOVASCULAR
The Women Innovating to Protect Our (Literal) Hearts
What: The Washington Post’s Carol Eisenberg has a deep dive into the women inventing and building products to fight heart disease. It is the number one killer of women in America, but there are still “shockingly common misdiagnoses and care delays that are among the reasons women are up to twice as likely to die of heart attacks as men.”
Why it matters: In addition to helping reduce deaths, Eisenberg profiles new devices including a bra that serves as a (washable) cardiac monitor and a “blood pressure cuff that detects the earliest signs of coronary artery disease.”
Source: Washington Post
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
Hunting for Skincare Dupes at the Dollar Store
What: We’ve read about (and personally seen/experienced) the explosion of (expensive!!!) skin care products. Now one trend on TikTok is finding good “dupes” (duplicates) of said products at the dollar store.
Why it matters: Knockoffs aren’t new, but platforms like TikTok that allow consumers to get real life, unvarnished opinions on whether said dupes are actually good are.
Source: Business Insider
Company Wellness Programs Don’t Make Anyone Well
What: This may not be shocking to the more cynical among us, but an Oxford University researcher conducted a huge survey on all the wellness programs that companies now offer employees–including apps, coaching, relaxation classes—and found they had zero positive effect. (The only exception? The opportunity to volunteer.)
Why it matters: Companies spend a good amount of money on all these programs – money that might be better spent on things like schedules, pay, and performance reviews. Researcher William Fleming said there’s nothing wrong with apps, but “if you’re seriously trying to drive employee’s well-being, then it has to be about working practices.”
Source: New York Times
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