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EVERYTHING
Women’s Default Diagnosis: Hysteria
What: The New York Times reviews a new book from Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a breast cancer specialist, that looks at the history of medicine and finds “centuries of diminishment by the medical establishment” of women’s bodies and conditions.
Why it matters: Comen argues that legacy “continues to shape the lives of women patents” today. As she put it, the “anxious female, the hysterical female, has been a ghost looming and woven through all of medical history…It’s a default diagnosis.”
Source: New York Times
FERTILITY
The Actual Lives Put on Hold in Alabama
What: New York Magazine follows families in Alabama desperately scrambling to get their embryos transferred out of state so they can have them successfully implanted. Last week the state’s supreme court effectively shut down IVF procedures after ruling all embryos were “extrauterine children”.
Why it matters: “[Caroline] Veazey, who has already lived through the physical and emotional pain of egg retrieval, is afraid her embryos won’t be able to get out of the state. ‘If that happens, I think I’m going to end up in a mental hospital and that is not exaggerating,’ she said.”
Source: New York Magazine
IVF Embryos Show Cell Division Errors Cause Many Pregnancy Losses
What: Researchers looked at 1,000 embryos that stopped developing from IVF procedures to learn why they didn’t progress further. They found issues with cell division were a major abnormality, for example, one cell dividing into three cells instead of two. As one researcher put it: “There is a lot of evidence that during the first cell divisions, human embryos make a lot of mistakes.”
Why it matters: Issues with division happened regardless of parents’ ages, and could point to greater understand for early pregnancy loss in general. (It also highlights how absurd it is to ban IVF because of embryos at these stages!)
Source: Scientific American
BIRTH CONTROL
Birth Control: Americans Really Like It
What: A poll found birth control is wildly popular in America. (Not shocking!) Eighty percent of voters said protecting access to contraception was “deeply important” to them, including 72% of Republicans.
Why it matters: The poll was obtained by the New York Times just a few days after Alabama’s state supreme court effectively shut down IVF access, ruling that embryos were “extrauterine children.” That ruling could disrupt access to IUDs and the morning after pill in the state, which can prevent embryos from implanting in the uterus.
Source: New York Times
MENOPAUSE
Is Menopause Getting Worse for Each Generation?
What: A physician breaks down the scientific takes on whether menopause is getting worse over generations. Some studies say yes, but the reasons are difficult to pinpoint. The best evidence comes from a study that began in 1994 and is still following women today. They found “a range of factors — such as lower education level and higher stress and anxiety — were linked to women experiencing hot flashes and night sweats for a longer period.”
Why it matters: It may be that changes to our DNA, caused by our environments and daily stressors, could be making menopause worse now than it was for our great-grandmothers. Figuring out why would help.
Source: Washington Post
CARDIOVASCULAR
Women Get Faster Benefit from Exercising Than Men
What: A study from the American College of Cardiology suggested that women needed just under 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous exercise each week to see major benefits, compared to the five hours that men need. Women who reported regularly exercising had a 36% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular issues.
Why it matters: Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America.
Source: CBS
WELLNESS AND BEAUTY
Did We Swap Diet Culture for Skin Care Culture?
What: An opinion essay theorizing that Gen Z’s (and younger) fixation on youthful skin has replaced the fear of fat that millennial women grew up on, a la Victoria’s Secret Angels.
Why it matters: It’s the first interesting explanation I’ve come across to explain the skin care craze among the very young.
Source: New York Times
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