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FERTILITY
Permanent Sterilizations Soared Among Young People After Roe Fell
What: A George Washington University study found that permanent contraception (i.e. women getting their tubes tied and men getting vasectomies) among young people increased a whopping 70% to 95% respectively. The study compared May 2002, the month before the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, to August.
Key line: “’Our study shows that the Dobbs decision has had a profound effect on young adults’ reproductive choices, leading many to opt for permanent contraception in the months following the decision,’ said Julia Strasser, director of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. ‘While access to all contraceptive methods – including permanent ones – is critical for reproductive autonomy, young people should not feel coerced into making decisions based on fear and uncertainty surrounding their rights.’”
Source: George Washington University
Treating Fertility as Whole Body + Mind Issue
What: Femtech Insider interviews Harvard professor Dr. Carmen Messerlian about her fertility company, Vie, a digital platform that aims to shift the focus from individual procedures to the whole body–including mental health and future health outcomes.
Key line: “After two decades studying the causes of infertility at Harvard and McGill University, Dr. Messerlian’s research revealed a crucial insight: Fertility isn’t just about reproduction – it’s one of the earliest indicators of overall health and longevity. ‘When a woman (or man) goes into premature reproductive decline, this is a sentinel sign or an early indicator of accelerated aging,’ she explains. ‘It can predict everything from cardiovascular disease to bone loss and brain aging.’”
Source: Femtech Insider
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Insulin Performs Better on Infant Size in Gestational Diabetes Trial
What: A study in JAMA found that treating gestational diabetes with metformin, an oral drug, did not perform as well as insulin when looking at infants born large for their gestational age. The study was a randomized control trial with 820 participants.
Key line: “Among 820 participants, the mean age was 33.2 (SD, 4.7) years). In participants randomized to oral agents, 79% (n = 320) maintained glycemic control without insulin. With oral agents, 23.9% of infants (n = 97) were large for gestational age vs 19.9% (n = 79) with insulin…”
Source: JAMA
Fourteen (Red and Blue) States Will Get Access to Federal Money for Doulas and More
What: The Biden administration announced that 14 states and D.C. will be part of a 10-year “Maternal Health Model,” which aims to improve maternal health care and move towards paying for maternity care based on patient outcomes versus services rendered. Those participating are mix of both red and blue-leaning states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Key line: “Access to midwives, doulas and perinatal community health workers is a priority of the model, as well as help for hospitals to earn the ‘Birthing-friendly’ maternal health designation from the CMS.”
Source: Fierce Healthcare
ABORTION ACCESS
Pharmacists Start Prescribing and Dispensing Abortion Pill in Washington State
What: A handful of pharmacists in Washington state are prescribing abortion medication directly to patients as part of a pilot program. The New York Times reports that the practice is likely to increase – if the Trump administration doesn’t shut it down.
Key line: “Jessica Nouhavandi, a pharmacist and president of Honeybee Health, who is a co-director of the new project, said she had come up with the idea of pharmacists prescribing abortion pills several years ago because ‘we need more providers, and we need it to be more accessible and more inexpensive.’”
Source: New York Times
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