Here are the most interesting items we saw this week in women’s health:

🧠 The brain fog is real, but for what reason? A study of around 14,000 women ages 45–55 found that perimenopausal women report significantly more symptoms like memory lapses than premenopausal women. But objective testing showed almost no measurable cognitive decline—mood, anxiety, and sleep are likely the stronger culprits.

⚖️ Two Florida women had court hearings while in active labor. ProPublica documented cases in which hospitals petitioned the state to override patients’ decisions about their own deliveries *while those women were actively laboring*. Florida courts have ruled that pregnant patients can be forced into unwanted procedures (in this case, C-sections instead of vaginal birth), and legislation moving through the state could expand those powers further.

❤️ Early menopause is a heart disease warning sign. Women who stop menstruating before 40 have a 40% higher risk of coronary heart disease, according to a JAMA Cardiology study. Black women are three times more likely to experience premature menopause, a racial health disparity that translates directly into higher lifetime cardiac risk.

TOP CLICKED STORIES THIS WEEK

• Cognition and the menopause transition: cross-sectional evidence from a large community cohort — npj Women’s Health

• Florida Courts Ordered Them to Have C-Sections — ProPublica

• Since Dobbs — New York Review of Books

• I had no idea: the hidden mental health struggles many women face during menopause — Euronews

• Premature menopause tied to 40% greater risk of heart attacks — STAT News

• Health of Women Investor Summit 2026 — HOW Investor Summit

• Birth Control Skepticism, Teen Fertility Education Center Stage at Trump’s Women’s Health Summit — KFF Health News