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FERTILITY
The Women Who Wish They Hadn’t Frozen Their Eggs
What: An insightful piece that talks to several women about their regrets over the egg freezing process – especially the lack of information on how grueling and life-disrupting the process can be, only to find out that they may not have many viable eggs, or never use them at all.
Why it matters: There’s a lot of money being made in fertility right now, but a lack of information is leaving some women feeling used for profit (not to mention the common dismissal of quality-of-life issues that arise in many areas of women’s health.)
Source: New York Magazine
POSTPARTUM
Medicaid Helped More Moms Get Mental Health Care Than Private Insurers
What: Researchers found that new moms on Medicaid were significantly more likely to fill mental health prescriptions and get at least one outpatient mental health visit than moms who did not qualify for Medicaid because their incomes were too high, and instead enrolled in private insurance. Looking at data from Colorado before Medicaid was expanded, the researchers said the results underscored “the fact that commercial insurance is not an equal alternative for low-income postpartum people.”
Why it matters: It’s not surprising to see any insurance coverage helps women get access to care, but certainly notable here that Medicaid outperformed commercial insurers in this study.
Source: Health Affairs
BIRTH CONTROL
A New Generation of Contraceptives
What: A review of the “new generation” of contraceptives that could be hitting the market in the coming decades—for both men and women. Two of the potential options for men? An injection that “temporarily blocks up the reproductive plumbing” and a topical gel that causes temporary infertility.
Why it matters: This piece didn’t shy away from the negative quality-of-life side effects that women can currently face on the pill, and how it is inspiring innovation for new contraceptives for both men and women: “I asked Vahdat whether the typical side-effect profile of currently available female contraceptives would pass muster in any of the male methods in trials. ‘Based on history,’ she told me, ‘I think that it would not.’ Several other experts agreed.”
Source: The Atlantic
ABORTION ACCESS
The Public Health Emergency Coming to Florida
What: A deep dive into just how crucial Florida is when it comes to providing abortions (the state made up 8% of all US abortions in 2023), and how the ban that will begin in May will result in what advocates say is a “public health emergency.”
Why it matters: “The two closest states where abortion remains broadly available, Virginia and North Carolina, performed significantly fewer abortions combined last year than Florida alone. ‘They can’t absorb 84,000 patient visits, there’s just no way,’ said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, which campaigned for the November abortion referendum.”
Source: Stat
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
We May Have Seen the Skincare and Makeup Mountaintop
What: Have we reached peak skincare and beauty? Sales dropping at one beauty magnate, Ulta, suggests yes. After several years of increasing spending, buyers are slowing down beauty purchases in 2024. Ulta’s CEO suggested that increasing credit card debt, geopolitical conflicts, and the upcoming election could be cooling demand: “It just creates this soup of activity for our consumers that they’re trying to navigate through.”
Why it matters: After what feels like years of new steps in skincare routines and beauty products that never existed before (prebiotic setting sprays, anyone?), perhaps we are returning to simpler times. (Or…higher interest rates are working on consumer spending.)
Source: CNBC
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