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PREGNANCY
Abortion Bans Push Pregnant Women to Get Earlier Ultrasounds, Genetic Tests
What: Pregnant women are getting earlier ultrasounds and genetic testing in the 14 states that have banned abortion after the typical time they’d get diagnostic screens, most commonly the 20-week anatomy scan.
Why it matters: As one doctor put it: “It’s impossible to spot problems like serious heart defects much before mid-pregnancy because the fetus is so small…[Nonetheless,] more patients are having ultrasounds at 10 to 13 weeks to get access to abortion if needed.”
Source: Time
What It’s Like To Go to an Anti-Abortion ‘Clinic’
What: When abortion clinics close, anti-abortion centers can end up taking their place, becoming the only affordable option for people without insurance. This piece looks at the real-life experiences that come with that.
Why it matters: Anti-abortion centers aren’t upfront about their positions and have been repeatedly shown to push false information about pregnancy, miscarriage, and abortion. And states that have banned abortion are dumping money into them.
Source: The 19th
METABOLISM + WEIGHT LOSS
The Social Cost of Taking Weight Loss Drugs Is Real
What: Anthropologists point out that losing weight with drugs like Ozempic and Moujaro isn’t a silver bullet – because if experience with bariatric surgery shows anything, people will face judgment for taking “the easy way out.”
Why it matters: These authors write that “humans excel at judging one another,” and that judgement ends up having negative “consequences for well-being and mental health” for those being judged.
Source: Nature
CARDIOVASCULAR
Cardiologists Call Attention to Pregnancy, Postpartum Heart Issues
What: The American Heart Association marked this month with a special edition of its journal focused on women and cardiovascular health. In it they include a new “scientific statement” that in part says improving heart health among pregnant and postpartum women is critical.
Why it matters: “Despite these well-established associations, little is known about the care that may best reduce cardiovascular risk in women who had pregnancy complications, and what efforts may be appropriate to reduce their long-term heart disease risk and optimize cardiovascular health throughout their lifespan. Pregnant and postpartum women have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials, and, therefore, we have far less evidence to help guide their care.” –Dr. Jennifer Lewey, the chair of the group that wrote the statement
Source: American Heart Association
ONCOLOGY
Why Is Uterine Cancer Becoming More Deadly?
What: The Wall Street Journal has a deep dive on uterine cancer, which according to the American Cancer Society is the only cancer that has seen survival fall in the past four decades.
Why it matters: Uterine cancer is expected to kill over 13,000 women in the United States this year and surpass ovarian cancer as the deadliest gynecologic cancer. Cases have increased 1% annually over the past decade, with Black and Hispanic women seeing even higher increases.
Source: Wall Street Journal
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
Wildfire Smoke + Your Skin
What: Canadian wildfires last year blew unprecedented amounts of smoke down the eastern seaboard of the United States. The presence of that smoke ended up also increasing the number of atopic dermatitis patients turning up at Mass General Brigham hospital in Boston, according to one dermatologist’s study.
Why it matters: These incidents may increase with climate change.
Source: WBUR
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