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PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
New Test for Pre-Eclampsia Risk in Early Pregnancy
What: Labcorp introduced a new test to detect risk of preeclampsia before 34 weeks pregnant, which can be taken by women who are between 11 and 14 weeks gestation. But the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists isn’t convinced how much the test will help, since there isn’t “data on how to reduce the risk for a pregnant patient predicted to have preeclampsia from a blood test early in pregnancy as opposed to clinical factors.”
Why it matters: Labcorp said the screening results could lead to “a whole bunch of slight changes in the prenatal care that you get from your doctor, based on the results of this risk predictor tool early on,” such as more frequent doctor visits, checking blood pressure at home regularly, and taking a low-dose aspirin.
Source: CNN
MENSTRUATION
Report Says Period Tracking Apps Failing at Data Safety
What: A report from researchers at King’s College London found apps that track menstrual cycles and pregnancy “are putting women at risk by ‘coercing’ them into disclosing – and then poorly handling – highly sensitive data.” The study looked at the privacy policies of 20 of the most popular female health tracking apps.
Why it matters: The apps covered by the report are used by millions of people, and “the issue of reproductive health data is particularly sensitive in the US following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Some privacy experts are concerned that data from menstrual tracking apps could be used to prosecute anyone seeking to terminate a pregnancy.”
Source: BBC
ABORTION ACCESS
Nearly 60% of Black Women Live Under Abortion Ban
What: A report from the National Partnership for Women & Families and In Our Own Voice found nearly 60% of Black women of reproductive age live under strict abortion bans in the United States. Of the almost 12 million Black women ages 15-49, nearly 7 million live in an abortion ban state.
Why it matters: “In the months leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion, reproductive justice advocates have pointed out the disproportionate impacts of limited abortion access on Black people. Black people seek abortion care at higher rates, have less access to family planning services and endure poor health, education and economic outcomes as a result, according to the report.”
Source: NBC
CARDIOVASCULAR
Cardiovascular Risk Higher for Any Infertility Treatment
What: A study from Rutgers reviewing 31 million hospital records found women who had any infertility treatments were more than two times more likely to be hospitalized with heart disease a year after delivery than people who naturally conceived.
Why it matters: “The study authors say their results support standards of care that now call for an initial postpartum checkup three weeks after delivery, standards that some health systems have yet to adopt. Much of the elevated risk came in the first month after delivery, particularly for patients who developed dangerously high blood pressure.”
Source: Rutgers
ONCOLOGY
FDA Okays Self-Administered Cervical Cancer Swab
What: The FDA approved a vaginal swab that women can administer themselves to test for cervical cancer, a move that advocates hope will “make it easier for women of color and those living in rural and underserved communities to screen for human papillomavirus — HPV — which can lead to a cancer that afflicts 11,000 each year.”
Why it matters: The swab test must be ordered by a doctor and performed in a healthcare setting (like giving a urine sample), but it is a step towards fully at-home testing. And that has one expert hoping that “it makes this idea, at least in the United States, of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030 a perceptible reality.”
Source: Washington Post
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