Hear are the top things to know in women’s health and wellness so far this week:

• A randomized trial in JAMA found scheduling mammograms for women ages 40-74 based on a woman’s individual risk was just as effective as yearly mammograms.
  

• The FDA expanded approval for pill to treat low sex drive in women, increasing the age from premenopausal women to postmenopausal women up to age 65.
  

• Ever wonder what happened to the $10 million in birth control the Trump administration said it was going to burn, instead of sending to countries in Africa? Well, it’s still sitting in a warehouse in Europe, and one group is suing to get all the info on their plans.

JUMP TO…

• Fertility
• Birth Control
• Pregnancy and Postpartum
• Menopause
• Oncology

FERTILITY

Trapped Thai Surrogates Expose Global Fertility Exploitation

What: A New York Times investigative piece followed Thai women recruited for surrogacy work who ended up confined in Georgia, facing debt, coercion, and unsafe medical conditions. Over six months and more than 100 interviews, reporter Sarah Topol uncovered a network run largely by Chinese operators that trapped women in overcrowded houses and forced some to sell their eggs to escape. The piece shows how global fertility markets can exploit and abuse women across borders.

Key Line: “When Russia invaded Ukraine in the middle of the night in February 2022, leaving foreign parents stranded far from their infants, the tiny former Soviet state of Georgia experienced an avalanche of interest. The rush was overwhelming. The country simply did not have enough wombs, so clinics and agencies began importing them.”

Source: The New York Times

BIRTH CONTROL

Trump Administration Sued Over Planned Destruction of $10 Million in Birth Control

What: The Center for Reproductive Rights sued the State Department for refusing to release records outlining plans to destroy at least $10 million in unexpired contraceptives purchased for low-income countries. The stockpile, stranded in Belgium after U.S. foreign aid cuts, included pills, IUDs, and injectables meant for distribution in five African nations. The group says the delay and potential destruction could cause hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and preventable deaths and called the government’s actions wasteful and cruel.

Key Line: “…the administration has incorrectly referred to the supplies as ‘abortifacient birth control,’ even though the stockpile does not contain any abortion-inducing drugs. The Center’s FOIA request seeks records containing information about the decision to destroy the contraceptives; the costs of storage, transportation, and destruction of the supplies; details of offers that were made to purchase the supplies; and any communications on the mischaracterization of the stockpile contents as so-called ‘abortifacient birth control.’”

Source: Center for Reproductive Rights

PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM

Objective Blood Loss Measures Show Postpartum Hemorrhage Is More Common

What: A systematic review of 81 studies involving nearly 43 million women found postpartum hemorrhage rates were much higher when blood loss was measured using tools (such as drapes that funnel blood into a special bag) compared to estimates done by sight. Objectively measured postpartum hemorrhage after vaginal birth occurred in over 12% of cases versus 4% with visual estimation; severe hemorrhage was 3% versus 2%. Researchers said objective methods better reflect the real burden and can guide stronger prevention and treatment policies worldwide. Postpartum hemorrhage is a major cause of maternal mortality.

Key Line: "In a subgroup analysis looking at the prevalence of objectively diagnosed postpartum hemorrhage and severe postpartum hemorrhage by income setting, postpartum hemorrhage rates after vaginal birth were similar between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries (12.9% vs 12.2%), as were severe postpartum hemorrhage rates after vaginal birth (3.9% vs 2.4%).”

Source: MedPage Today

MENOPAUSE

FDA OKs Libido-Boosting Pill for Postmenopausal Women

What: The FDA approved Addyi, a daily pill that acts on brain chemicals affecting mood and desire, to for postmenopausal women up to age 65. The drug was first approved in 2015 for younger women but faced criticism over its modest impact and side effects like dizziness and nausea. Its new approval broadens access but doesn’t erase ongoing debates over whether low libido in women should be considered a medical condition.

Key Line: “Sprout CEO Cindy Eckert said in a statement the approval ‘reflects a decade of persistent work with the FDA to fundamentally change how women’s sexual health is understood and prioritized.’“

Source: ABC News

ONCOLOGY

Study Finds Risk-Based Mammograms Work as Well as Annual Screening

What: A randomized study of about 46,000 women ages 40 to 74 found scheduling mammograms based on a woman’s individual breast cancer risk detected tumors just as effectively as yearly mammograms. The risk-based approach slightly reduced the number of cancers found at more advanced stages, though the difference was not statistically significant. Researchers say tailoring screening using genetic tests, medical history, and lifestyle factors could make mammograms more precise without missing cases.

Key Line: “After the results were unveiled on Friday, Dr. Eric Winer, the director of the Yale Cancer Center, who was in the audience but had not been involved in the research, stood up and said the work was ‘probably the most important study that’s been presented at this meeting.’ ‘It is practice-changing,’ Dr. Winer said in an interview later.”

Source: The New York Times

Hear are the trends we spotted this week in women’s health, and as always, scroll for the top clicked stories.

🧪 Evidence can be clear. Implementation…not so much. This week we had a few pieces that highlighted how research can lead to improve outcomes, but care isn’t keeping pace. For example, a Lancet trial found that planning delivery at 36 weeks for women at high risk of pre-eclampsia cut rates by 30%, while data from more than 650,000 U.S. women showed just 7% received cervical cancer screening on the recommended timeline. These studies just came out, but how long will they take to affect care on the ground? (I welcome any thoughts!)

⚠️ Health policy continues to be shaped by politics. We could have this section every week, but this one was a doozy. HHS Sec. Kennedy stacked a vaccine advisory panel that voted against universal Hepatitis B vaccination for newborns — a recommendation pediatricians immediately rejected as dangerous. Bloomberg also reported that FDA commissioner Marty Makary has delayed a long-awaited abortion pill review until after the midterms. (Because banning the abortion pill would be really unpopular!)

🫀 Common conditions in women are still treated as secondary problems. Research continues to link uterine fibroids and hypertensive pregnancy disorders to serious long-term health risks, including cardiovascular disease. Earlier, consistent care could mitigate much of this — yet it remains the exception, not the rule. And how many regular women know about these risks?

TOP CLICKED STORIES THIS WEEK

Planned birth at term reduces pre-eclampsia in those at high risk // The Lancet

FDA is slow-walking a long-awaited abortion pill safety study // Bloomberg

‘Nightmare’: Woman kept on life support for months due to abortion ban // ABC News

New research highlights barriers and inequities in cervical cancer screening // American Heart Association

Pediatricians reject CDC advisers’ guidance, plan to keep vaccinating all children // CIDRAP

Meta shuts down global accounts linked to abortion advice and queer content // The Guardian

Hear are the top things to know in women’s health and wellness so far this week:

• After reviewing records for over 650,000 women in the United States over eight years, researchers found just over 7% got cervical cancer screenings on the recommended timeline, versus 60% who got them too often and 30% who got them too rarely.
  

• The mother of the woman kept alive in Georgia as an incubator for her fetus at nine weeks pregnant despite being brain dead speaks extensively for the first time since her grandson’s pre-term birth. After six months, he still remains in intensive care.
  

• Another study of nearly 3 million women in the US found an over 80% increase in risk of cardiovascular issues for women who have uterine fibroids versus those who don’t.

JUMP TO…

• Everything
• Fertility
• Abortion Access
• Cardiovascular

EVERYTHING

Most Women Miss Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

What: A study of over 670,000 commercially-insured US women between 2013 and 2021 found that just over 7% received cervical cancer screening according to national guidelines. Over 60% were screened too often and over 30% too rarely. Interestingly, testing for cervical cancer and HIV at the same time led to both over screening and underscreening, and patterns differed slightly by race, income, and education. The authors say the low adherence likely stems from confusion over evolving guidelines and urge targeted interventions to fix it.

Key Line: “More evidence-based strategies are needed to expand capacity for guideline-adherent screening, reduce overscreening, and align payer and health system incentives, particularly as new modalities, such as HPV self-sampling, emerge.”

Source: JAMA Network Open

FERTILITY

Dr. Merhi Pushes Fertility’s Frontiers with Experimental Ovarian Treatments

What: USA Today looks at the work of Dr. Zaher Merhi, who uses platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to try to “reawaken” dormant ovarian follicles, a still‑experimental technique. The hypothesis is that when injected into aging ovaries, the PRP could bring follicles back to life and improve egg quality. The results are still early but have some promising data.

Key Line: “He has observed that the procedure works best in women in their early to mid-40s, though he stresses that ‘nothing works on everyone.’ ‘Patients deserve honesty,’ Merhi has said. ‘PRP is not a guarantee. It’s an option. And for some, an option is everything.’”

Source: USA Today

ABORTION ACCESS

'Nightmare': Georgia Woman Kept on Life Support After Brain Death Because She Was Pregnant

What: The mother of Adriana Smith, the nine-weeks-pregnant Georgia woman who was declared brain dead in February but kept on life support for 16 weeks because doctors said state abortion laws treated the fetus as the patient, spoke in depth for the first time to ABC News. April Newkirk said she had ‘no choice’ as the hospital cited Georgia’s post-Roe abortion law. Smith’s baby was delivered prematurely at 26 weeks and has been in intensive care for the past six months.

Key Line: "‘Me and her dad, we talked about it, we were like, 'We really don't have a choice. They're going to do what they want to do.' So I was just like, 'Well, maybe she'll come back to us. Maybe she'll find her way back to us,’ Newkirk said. ‘I never felt like hope was gone with God, but I did see her changing. I saw her skin changing, her body changing,’ she added.”

Source: ABC News

Meta Accused of Purging Abortion Content

What: Meta has taken down or restricted more than 50 accounts worldwide belonging to abortion providers, reproductive health groups, and queer organisations, prompting organizers to call it one of the biggest censorship events in years. The restrictions hit groups across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, even in countries where abortion is legal. Meta denies targeting any cause or community, though affected groups report inconsistent enforcement, slow appeals, and bans reinstated only after public backlash.

Key Line: “Campaigners say the actions indicate that Meta is taking its Trump-era approach to women’s health and LGBTQ+ issues global. Earlier this year, it appeared to ‘shadow-ban’ or remove the accounts of organisations on Instagram or Facebook helping Americans to find abortion pills. Shadow-banning is when a social media platform severely restricts the visibility of a user’s content without telling the user. In this latest purge, it blocked abortion hotlines in countries where abortion is legal...”

Source: The Guardian

CARDIOVASCULAR 

Study links uterine fibroids to higher long-term heart disease risk

What: A study looking back ten years at nearly 3 million women in the US found those diagnosed with uterine fibroids had an 81% higher risk of heart disease compared to those without the condition. The increased risk held across races and ages and was most striking in women under 40, whose risk was about 3.5 times higher. Researchers stressed the need for more studies to confirm this link and suggested women with fibroids may benefit from closer heart health monitoring.

Key Line: “‘Some studies have shown that fibroids and cardiovascular disease share biological pathways, including the growth of smooth muscle cells, the excessive buildup of fibrous connective tissue, calcification and inflammatory responses.’ DiTosto noted that those findings have been hindered by limitations including small study sample sizes that lacked diversity and insufficient study design. ‘We set out to address these critical gaps using a large, diverse dataset with extended follow-up,’ she said. ‘Our findings suggest that fibroids may serve as an important marker for identifying women at elevated cardiovascular risk, with sustained increased risk persisting up to 10 years after diagnosis.’”

Source: American Heart Association

Hear are the top things to know in women’s health and wellness so far this week:

• HHS Sec. Kennedy stacked an advisory panel to vote against universal Hepatitis B vaccines for newborns. Pediatrician groups are rejecting the recommendation and saying it will lead to fatal infections later in life.
  

• Bloomberg has the scoop that Marty Makary, the head of the FDA, has told officials the agency will delay the (very scientifically questionable) review of the abortion pill until after the midterm election — highlighting how this is just a game of politics to this administration.
  

• A trial published in the Lancet found that planning birth at 36 weeks for women at risk of pre-eclampsia cut rates of the deadly complication by 30% compared to standard care.

JUMP TO…

• Everything
• Pregnancy and Postpartum
• Abortion Access
• Oncology

EVERYTHING

Pediatricians Reject CDC Panel’s Move to Limit Newborn Hepatitis B Shots

What: HHS Sec. Kennedy stacked the CDC’s vaccine advisory group to vote against universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth, recommending it only for “high risk” babies. But pediatricians, state health agencies, and hospital systems across the U.S. said they will ignore that change and follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ long-standing policy to vaccinate all newborns. They argue the advisory panel provided no new research and that scaling back the program would reverse decades of progress against childhood hepatitis B.

Key Line: “Recommendations from the ACIP ‘were made without any new research suggesting that the current vaccine schedule is flawed in terms of its safety or effectiveness,’ Kociolek said. ‘We will continue to endorse the pediatric vaccine schedule currently in place.’ ACIP’s members were handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist. Many of the new members parrot Kennedy’s false claims that vaccines aren’t adequately tested for safety.”

Source: CIDRAP News

PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM

Planned Birth at Term Cuts Pre-Eclampsia Risk Without Added Birth Complications

What: A trial in the Lancet found screening pregnant patients at 36 weeks and offering early-term delivery based on risk cut pre-eclampsia rates by 30% compared with standard care. The randomized study included over 8,000 participants in two NHS hospitals and reported no rise in emergency C-sections or newborn intensive care needs. Researchers say the approach could offer safer, more personalized care for those at risk.

Key Line: “Professor Kypros Nicolaides, founder and chairman of the Fetal Medicine Foundation, and senior author of the paper, said: ‘A 30% reduction in term pre-eclampsia, from 5.6% to 3.9%, is very important. It represents an even greater reduction in the number of pre-eclampsia cases than we can achieve for preterm pre-eclampsia with aspirin.’”

Source: The Lancet

ABORTION ACCESS

Three Years After Dobbs, the State Divide Over Abortion Deepens

What: The New York Times looks at how, three years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, research has found the number of abortions nationwide increased each year since 2022. Still, states are even more split on abortion—some tightening bans, others expanding protections. North Dakota reinstated a near-total ban, Texas now allows lawsuits against out-of-state doctors who mail abortion pills, and California passed a law shielding those doctors.

Key Line: “‘The U.S. is becoming a tale of two countries in terms of abortion access and abortion policy,’ said Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a professor and a public health scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. But, she added, ‘All of this legislation will never take away from the fact that women will continue to need abortion care, and continue to get abortion care.’”

Source: The New York Times

FDA Delays Abortion Pill Safety Review Until After Elections

What: The FDA has postponed reviewing safety data for the abortion pill mifepristone at top FDA official Marty Makary’s request, delaying the process until after the midterm elections. Though Makary and Health and HHS Sec. Kennedy have publicly said a review is underway, insiders say the agency was instructed to hold off. The delay raises questions about political influence over reproductive health decisions that directly affect access to safe abortion care.

Key Line: “Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have told lawmakers and state attorneys general for months that they are actively conducting a review of mifepristone. But behind the scenes, Makary has told agency officials to delay the safety review, people familiar with the discussions said.”

Source: Bloomberg

ONCOLOGY

Study Links Breast Cancer Biology to Neighborhood Disadvantage

What: A study found women with estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer were more likely to be living in disadvantaged neighborhoods and had higher levels of inflammation-related proteins, altered hormone and cholesterol patterns, and tumor gene activity tied to faster cancer growth. Researchers analyzed plasma from 91 patients compared with 141 healthy controls, plus 71 tumor samples, showing that social conditions align with measurable biological stress signals. The findings suggest chronic inflammation and metabolic disruption may partly explain worse outcomes for patients in poorer areas.

Key Line: “Our analyses show that neighborhood disadvantage correlates with upregulation of inflammatory and proliferation-related gene expression within tumors themselves, establishing a biological pathway linking social determinants of health to tumor aggression.”

Source: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Hear are the trends we spotted this week in women’s health, and as always, scroll for the top clicked stories.

• 🧪 Medical officials endorsing *at-home* cervical cancer screening is a big deal, not just because it can widen access, but because it saves women time and skips the logistical burden that keeps so many from getting screened in the first place. It’s a quality-of-life upgrade, and the media coverage still doesn’t match how much time and hassle this could save.
  

• ⚠️ ProPublica reminded us that women are still dying due to abortions bans, this time a Texas mother who was denied an abortion despite pre-existing conditions that made pregnancy extraordinarily dangerous. And NEJM had a piece restating that SSRIs are safe in pregnancy, especially when “confounding” (like previous depression, etc.) is properly controlled. This was necessary after the Trump administration held an FDA committee meeting essentially pushing that SSRIs are unsafe.
  

• 🚗 And I still can’t go over this week’s “we’re just doing this now?” moment: the US finally approved a female crash-test dummy for the driver’s seat, decades after we knew women were more likely to be severely injured or killed in crashes.

TOP CLICKED STORIES THIS WEEK

Self-Swab Option for Cervical Cancer Screening Gets ACS Approval // The New York Times

Trump Pushes “Baby Bonuses” and IVF Subsidies, but Critics Call It Anti-Family // KFF Health News

Texas Woman Dies After Doctors Deny Abortion Amid Health Crisis // ProPublica

U.S. Just Got Around to Female Crash-Test Dummy // The New York Times

Halle Berry Calls Out Gov. Newsom for Vetoing California Menopause Care Bills // The Hill

Why Women in Menopause Still Can’t Find the Care They Need // USA Today

Hear are the top things to know in women’s health and wellness so far this week:

• The American Cancer Society officially backed at-home swab testing for cervical cancer for women at average risk. Goodbye speculums (at least for that test.)
  

• KFF Health has a great round-up of all the ways the Trump administration is making it harder to have a baby, despite offering “bonuses” and planning to cut some IVF drug costs.
  

• Halle Berry was speaking at the same conference as Gov. Gavin Newsom...and she called him out on stage for failing to sign menopause legislation into law.

JUMP TO…

• Everything
• Menstruation
• Menopause
• Oncology

EVERYTHING

Trump Pushes “Baby Bonuses” and IVF Subsidies, but Critics Call It Anti-Family

What: The Trump administration says it is promoting childbirth through policies like a $1,000-per-child “baby bonus” and discounted fertility drugs, in an effort to increase the declining U.S. birth rate. That clashes with the same administration gutting Medicaid and Obamacare, childcare programs, and Planned Parenthood clinics that serve women around the country with low-cost screenings. Experts also note that similar policies abroad have failed to increase birth rates.

Key Line: “Medicaid work requirements, for instance, put in place by the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act…will lead to extra paperwork and other requirements that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will cause millions of eligible enrollees to lose coverage. Medicaid covers more than 4 in 10 births in the U.S. The measure also cuts federal funding for a national program that provides monthly food benefits. Almost 40% of recipients in fiscal 2023 were children. GOP spending cuts and staffing freezes have hampered Head Start, a federal education program that provides day care and preschool for young, low-income children, even as U.S. adults implore the government to curtail ballooning child care costs.”

Source: KFF Health News

One HPV Shot Works as Well as Two, Major Trial Finds

What: In a randomized trial of over 20,000 girls, researchers found one dose of the HPV vaccine prevented infection as effectively as two doses over five years. Vaccine effectiveness against these types stayed at or above 97%, with no safety concerns reported. Results support the World Health Organization’s plan to expand single-dose vaccination to improve access and cut cervical cancer risk worldwide.

Key Line: “One dose of either a bivalent or nonavalent HPV vaccine provided protection against HPV16 or HPV18 infection and was not inferior to two doses.”

Source: The New England Journal of Medicine

MENSTRUATION

Why TikTok’s Luteal-Phase Hype Misses the Point

What: Women’s Health has a deep dive into the TikTok trend that is presenting the luteal phase of menstruation as a time when women become unstable or unproductive. Alas, those memes oversimplify menstrual biology and reinforce sexist narratives. Experts cited say scientific evidence shows no universal mood or behavior drop during this phase—normal inflammatory changes—and warn that such content can blur the line between typical cycles and serious health issues.

Key Line: “‘In this content, it’s implied that extreme symptoms apply to all menstruators. They say the menstrual cycle itself is a debility, almost like it’s an illness or a problem to work around. People are conflating normal menstruation with conditions such as endometriosis.’ That, [Dr. King] warns, can make accessing medical support even harder, due to medical misogyny – when clinicians minimise or normalise severe pain in female patients.”

Source: Womens Health

MENOPAUSE

Halle Berry Calls Out Gov. Newsom for Vetoing California Menopause Care Bills

What: Halle Berry criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom for vetoing bipartisan menopause care bills two years in a row, saying his actions show he undervalues women in midlife. Berry was speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, where Gov. Newsom was scheduled to talk after her. The California bills would have expanded insurance coverage for menopause evaluation and treatment and created medical training requirements on the topic.

Key Line: “‘Back in my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill, not one but two years in a row,’ Berry said Wednesday at The New York Times’s DealBook Summit. ‘But that’s OK, because he’s not going to be governor forever.’”

Source: The Hill

ONCOLOGY

Self-Swab Option for Cervical Cancer Screening Gets ACS Approval

What: The American Cancer Society released new guidelines endorsing self-collected vaginal swabs as an acceptable way to test for HPV, the virus that causes nearly all cervical cancers. The move follows the first federal approval of an at-home self-swab test earlier this year and builds on more than a decade of data showing the method’s accuracy. Experts say wider use could expand screening access and help move toward ending cervical cancer in the United States.

Key Line: “‘Screening rates often drop off as women age out of their reproductive years and stop regularly seeing an obstetrician or gynecologist, Dr. Smith said. But approximately 20 percent of cervical cancers are diagnosed in women 65 and older, and these women tend to have worse outcomes. Self-collection provides an opportunity for more women to be more current with their screenings, at all stages of life. ‘Cervical cancer is in fact a disease that we can eliminate in our lifetimes,’ Dr. Kobetz said.”

Source:New York Times

Hear are the top things to know in women’s health and wellness so far this week:

• USA Today has a good overview of the lack of menopause care in America. It won’t surprise any regular readers of this newsletter, but it’s still helpful to have it gathered in one spot.
  

• I saw very little coverage of this over the past week, but we cannot forget the women who are dying due to lack of pregnancy care in abortion ban states. ProPublica found a recent case of a mom in Texas with high blood pressure who was too sick to be pregnant at all.
  

• From the Department of You’re Kidding — the federal government has female crash test dummies for the first time in the driver’s seat, even though women are much more likely to be injured or die in a crash than men.

JUMP TO…

• Everything
• Pregnancy and Postpartum
• Abortion Access
• Menopause

EVERYTHING

U.S. Just Got Around to Female Crash-Test Dummy

What: Women in the United States are 73% more likely than men to be severely injured in vehicle crashes and 17% more likely to die, reports the New York Times. Yet it took until last week for the Transportation Department to approve a new female crash-test dummy to replace the decades-old male-based model. The goal is to address women’s higher injury and death rates in crashes (duh) by better matching female anatomy. Federal adoption for safety tests using the female isn’t guaranteed.

Key Line: “In 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration updated its rating system to include tests with female crash dummies, at about 4 feet 11 inches and 108 pounds, with a rubber jacket around the chest to represent breasts. But most of those tests required the female dummy to be tested in the passenger seat or the back seat, not in the driver’s seat, even though licensed female drivers outnumber licensed male drivers by about three million.”

Source: New York Times

PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM

Docs Explain Research Challenges of Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy

What: An op-ed in the New England Journal of Medicine looks at the Trump administration’s warnings about the safety of antidepressants, especially SSRIs, during pregnancy. They explain how the structure of the research makes things more confusing, because most studies are observational and hard to interpret. (And randomized control trials are considered unthical.) Earlier reports suggested links to birth defects or autism, but newer, larger studies that properly adjusted for factors like depression itself found little or no increased risk. The authors conclude that SSRIs appear safe for pregnant people when confounding is well-controlled and urge the FDA to stick to evidence-based messaging.

Key Line: “These findings underscore how powerful confounding by indication and related factors can be in evaluations of the association between SSRIs and adverse pregnancy outcomes and make it clear that incomplete control for confounders has fueled decades of conflicting results.”

Source: New England Journal of Medicine

ABORTION ACCESS

Texas Woman Dies After Doctors Deny Abortion Amid Health Crisis

What: ProPublica reports that yet another woman has died for lack of abortion care. Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother from San Antonio with high blood pressure, diabetes, and a history of preeclampsia, repeatedly sought an abortion to protect her health but was turned down under Texas’ abortion ban. She later died at 20 weeks pregnant, after doctors failed to classify her severe condition as an emergency. ProPublica had over a dozen OBGYNs review Walker’s medical files and all of them said she would not have died if she ended her pregnancy.

Key Line: “Walker had known that abortion was illegal in Texas, but she had thought that hospitals could make an exception for patients like her, whose health was at risk. The reality: In states that ban abortion, patients with chronic conditions and other high-risk pregnancies often have nowhere to turn. They enter pregnancy sick and are expected to get sicker. Yet lawmakers who wrote the bans have refused to create exceptions for health risks.”

Source: ProPublica

Supreme Court Leans Toward Allowing Anti-Abortion Center to Fight N.J. Subpoena

What: The Supreme Court appeared inclined to let an anti-abortion pregnancy center in New Jersey challenge a state subpoena for its donor records in federal court. The subpoena, issued in 2023 by the state attorney general, sought names and contact details of donors to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which works to discourage abortion. The justices focused on whether the group could sue now, a procedural issue rooted in post-Roe scrutiny of abortion-related organizations.

Key Line: “If the clinics win, it could clear the way for them to continue their First Amendment challenge in the federal courts.”

Source: New York Times

MENOPAUSE

Why Women in Menopause Still Can’t Find the Care They Need

What: USA Today dives in to how many women spend years seeing multiple doctors before getting a menopause or perimenopause diagnosis, with most physicians lacking formal menopause training. Even as a $20 billion menopause industry grows, access to effective treatment—especially hormone replacement therapy—remains limited, though new FDA guidance may ease prescribing barriers. Some women turn to pricey concierge clinics or telehealth services just to be heard and treated properly.

Key Line: “Most doctors – even gynecologists – didn’t receive adequate training on menopause during medical school, according to a study in the Journal of The Menopause Society. Less than one-third of the almost 100 obstetrics and gynecology residency program directors recently surveyed said they received training in their residencies.”

Source: USA Today

Here are the trends we spotted this week in women’s health, and as always, scroll for the top clicked stories.

• 🩺 A grim maternal-health picture is getting harder to ignore. A viral video showed a Black woman denied care in active labor just minutes before delivery, while the March of Dimes issued the U.S. its fourth straight D+ on pregnancy health, underscoring stalled progress and continued racial gaps in care. And the incoming Trump cuts to Medicaid and increases in ACA insurance premiums could make the next year even worse.
  

• 📊 Preventive care and midlife health are at a tipping point — again. McKinsey says the U.S. could unlock $38B just by getting women their recommended screenings. Meanwhile, the FDA softened its long-criticized warning on menopause hormone therapy, and the “pink pill” (Addyi, for low sexual desire in premenopausal women) is having a cultural comeback. And yet… it’s hard not to feel like we’ve been on the verge for so long.
  

• ⚖️ Women’s federal health policy keeps going one step forward, two steps back. Even as federal regulators modernize hormone-therapy guidance and employers talk up “inclusive benefits,” states are floating harsher abortion penalties and the CDC is retreating on vaccine messaging — creating a landscape where progress and regression can happen in the same news cycle.

NOTE: We will be off next week for the holiday. Our next edition will resume on December 2. Happy Thanksgiving!

TOP CLICKED STORIES THIS WEEK

• Viral video shows alleged delayed care during labor // TikTok
  

• Texas Mom Shares Viral TikTok of Alleged Delayed Care During Daughter’s Labor // People
  

• The $50 Billion Potential for U.S. Health Systems to Improve Women’s Healthcare // McKinsey
  

• Skincare Enthusiasts Are Saving Their Menstrual Blood for a Bizarre Purpose // New York Post
  

• U.S. Making No Progress in Protecting Pregnancy Health, March of Dimes Report Card Says // U.S. News & World Report
  

• Cindy Eckert and the Pink Pill’s Surprising Comeback // The New York Times

Hear are the top things to know in women’s health and wellness so far this week:

• For the fourth year in a row the US got a D+ grade from the March of Dimes on pregnancy health. Preterm birth rates aren’t going down, and the report noted even more backsliding in more maternal health measures.
  

• A McKinsey report found that if women simply got the preventative screenings that are recommended, hospitals and providers could generate $38 billion in revenue. And that doesn’t account for how much those screenings could save in early treatment.
  

• A period blood facial? It’s happening on some corners of the internet...but you can probably guess where the evidence is at.

JUMP TO…

• Everything

• Menstruation

• Pregnancy and Postpartum

EVERYTHING

US Providers Could Gain $38 Billion by Just Getting Women to Do Recommended Screenings

What: A McKinsey analysis finds the US health industry misses out on $50 billion a year in revenue by failing to provide women consistent preventive care and by losing women clinicians to high turnover. They estimate that women getting guideline-based screenings could generate nearly $38 billion, while improving nurse retention could save roughly $12 billion annually. The report argues that investing in preventive care, clinician retention, and inclusive policies benefits both women’s health and system finances.

Key Line: “This estimate does not account for 1) the additional, much larger revenue potential for health systems that perform treatments in response to positive results identified by screenings, or 2) how additional healthy life years for millions of women could benefit the economy, or 3) the savings potential across the healthcare ecosystem from addressing health concerns earlier in the course of the disease.”

My Take: This is low-hanging fruit that could make a massive difference.

Source: McKinsey & Company

CDC Removes Assurance That Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism

What: Under the leadership of HHS Sec. Kennedy, the CDC quietly removed a statement on their website that explicitly said vaccines do not cause autism, reversing long-standing scientific consensus and prompting alarm from public health experts. The move drew immediate backlash from scientists and criticism from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who essentially guaranteed Kennedy’s confirmation after getting a “pledge” that the secretary would not say vaccines cause autism.

Key Line: “The updated CDC webpage now includes an asterisk after the header ‘Vaccines do not cause Autism,’ explaining that the header was not removed as part of an agreement with Cassidy.”

My Take: This is a typical (childish) Trump administration move: adhere to a promise literally but violate the spirit of it and see how far they can push things.

Source: Washington Post

MENSTRUATION

People Are Putting Menstrual Blood on Their Faces for “Skincare”

What: This is NY Post clickbait, but it I must admit it caught my eye! The paper reports that some skincare fans are collecting their period blood to use as a face treatment, claiming it has rejuvenating effects. (They include pictures). Experts quoted in the piece warn there’s no proof this works.

Key Line: “However, experts do not agree with the comparison of sterile PRP [aka the vampire facial] to menstrual blood, as the latter can contain different bacteria and fungi. It can also include Staphylococcus aureus — a common microbe that lives on the skin’s surface but can spur infections if it gets caught in cuts or pores — and even sexually transmitted infections, or STIs.”

My Take: I genuinely do not know where the skincare trends will go next.

Source: New York Post

India’s Menstrual Leave Debate: Progress or Pitfall?

What: The Week has an op-ed on debate in India over menstrual leave. They write that while menstrual leave can improve wellbeing and inclusion, mandatory rules might backfire by reinforcing bias or privacy concerns. The author argues that flexible, stigma-free options—like wellness leave or remote work—could be the most practical path forward.

Key Line: “The idea of menstrual leave is not new. Countries such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan have had provisions for paid menstrual leave since the mid-20th century, with some policies dating back to the World War II era. These early adopters recognised that menstrual pain, fatigue and discomfort can significantly affect productivity for many women. In India too, the conversation has expanded beyond the medical aspect to include dignity, comfort and equality at the workplace.”

My Take: Meanwhile, in America, we can’t get paid leave guaranteed after giving birth.

Source: The Week

PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM

US Stalled on Pregnancy Health, March of Dimes Warns

What: For the fourth year in a row, the March of Dimes gave the US a D+ for pregnancy health, citing a steady 10% preterm birth rate and worsening racial and economic disparities. Black moms still face a nearly 50% higher risk of early birth than the national average, and fewer women are starting prenatal care in the first trimester. Chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes are rising among pregnant women, with maternal and infant deaths remaining unacceptably high.

Key Line: “‘This year’s report card shows that while we remain stalled in our progress on preterm birth, we are also losing ground in other critical areas of maternal and infant health…Our country is stuck in a maternal and infant health crisis where too many families are being forgotten,’ Rahman said.”

My Take: Unfortunately, this will only get worse as Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” massive cuts to Medicaid and Obamacare insurance subsidies start hitting in the coming weeks and months.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Hear are the top things to know in women’s health and wellness so far this week:

• A viral video from over the weekend captures just a sliver of why Black women may have a maternal mortality rate that is three to four times higher than white women in America.
  

• A South Carolina state senate committee (made up of all men) did not approve a bill that included such extreme punishments for women that even some antiabortion groups opposed it.
  

• The New York Times profiles Cindy Eckert and the more than ten-year saga of the “pink pill” comeback.

JUMP TO…

• Pregnancy and Postpartum

• Abortion Access

• Menopause

PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM

Texas Mom Captures Barbaric Care During Daughter’s Labor

What: The women’s health community is familiar with the statistic that Black women in America are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. But statistics can only go so far — a viral video this week captured just a slice of how this happens in real life. A Texas mother filmed her daughter, Karrie Jones, in active labor and screaming in pain while sitting in a wheelchair as a triage nurse at Dallas Regional Medical Center asks her mundane questions. The family says the baby was born only 12 minutes later. The hospital says it is reviewing the incident, and the videos have drawn wide outrage.

Key Line: “Her mother asked, ‘Are y’all for real right now? Does she have to give birth in a chair?’ The nurse responded that she ‘can’t take her upstairs,’ leading Jones’ mom to question why staff would ‘take a chance of infections and her having a baby in this chair.’”

My Take: This video is enraging — the idea of any women being essentially denied care while she is in an ER and TWELVE MINUTES FROM DELIVERY is barbaric. The question, of course, is how do we eradicate this racist culture?

Source: PEOPLE, TikTok Video

ABORTION ACCESS

South Carolina Bill Would Jail Women for Abortions, Ban Some Birth Control? Doesn’t Advance

What: A South Carolina Senate subcommittee made up of all men considered a bill that would not only make abortion entirely illegal, but would permit prison terms of up to 30 years for women and anyone who helps them. The proposal could also ban intrauterine devices (IUDs) and limit in vitro fertilization by outlawing contraception that stops a fertilized egg from implanting. The bill is actually getting opposition from some anti-abortion groups for being too punitive.

Key Line: ”Four of the six Republicans on the subcommittee refused to vote on the bill, which would ban all abortions unless the woman’s life is threatened. The three Democrats were then able to vote against sending the bill forward.”

My Take: The committee vote showed how little support there is for the bill, though the AP reports it is not completely dead yet. The story I want to know most is how this bill came to be—and was it just a game of oneup-manship, with members in the most red districts jockeying to show how cruel they can be to women.

Source: Associated Press

Abortion Bans Are Hurting Healthcare Across All Fields, Doctors Say

What: A Physicians for Human Rights brief based on interviews with 33 US physicians found abortion bans are causing substandard care across medical specialties beyond just reproductive health. Doctors in fields like oncology and dermatology report avoiding or delaying necessary treatment for women of reproductive age because abortion is restricted or banned. Researchers say these laws force clinicians to choose between obeying the law and providing evidence-based care.

Key Line: “Discussing the option of abortion is part of the standard of care, such as in the case of a pregnant patient with breast cancer, since some forms of chemotherapy that may be necessary are teratogenic. However, offering the option of abortion becomes problematic for physicians treating cancer in abortion ban states with a limited life-saving exception.”

My Take: It’s a small sample, but the data could soon show if this is a common effect in abortion ban states versus states that permit abortion.

Source: Ms. Magazine

MENOPAUSE

FDA Removes Harsh Warning on Menopause Hormone Therapy

What: Leana Wen, Washington Post columnist and a physician, has an op-ed praising the reversal of the FDA’s “black box” warning for menopause hormone therapy, after years of evidence showing the old risk label overstated dangers and discouraged use. But she also cautions against going further than the evidence currently suggests.

Key Line: "Regulators must guard against opportunistic companies attempting to portray hormone therapy as a cure-all for aging. The treatment should remain what science supports it to be: a valuable tool for women to relieve bothersome menopausal symptoms and improve quality of life."

My Take: Wen brings up a good point that skipping typical advisory committees means the FDA has not worked out, for now, how to appropriately label different dosages, delivery methods, and for women with a history of cancer or blood clots.

Source: The Washington Post

Cindy Eckert’s “Pink Pill” Comeback

What: The New York Times profiles Cindy Eckert, founder and CEO of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, who regained control of her company and revived sales of Addyi, a prescription drug for premenopausal women with low sexual desire. Her success came years after critics accused her of hyping the drug and an FDA fight nearly sank it. Her unapologetically pink brand, once dismissed as a gimmick, is now central to her business’s new success. Ten years after approval, both her product and reputation have found fresh footing in a changed cultural moment.

Key Line: “‘We played the long game,’” Ms. Eckert said. ‘Culture caught up.’”

My Take: This is a tale of perseverance against the odds — and crazy to think it was merely ten years ago the company was battling for FDA approval.

Source: The New York Times