A common vaginal infection that affects nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide should be reclassified as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), a new study suggests. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is now treated as a women’s health issue, but researchers reported March 5 in The New England Journal of Medicine that treating male partners along with female… read on > read on >
A mother’s diet during pregnancy can influence her child’s risk of ADHD and autism, a new study says. In particular, the unhealthy hallmarks of a typical Western diet appeared to increase a child’s risk of developmental disorders, researchers reported in the journal Nature Metabolism. “The greater a woman’s adherence to a Western diet in pregnancy… read on > read on >
Hormone replacement therapy during menopause appears to be linked to a toxic brain protein that’s a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Women over 70 had a faster accumulation of tau in their brains if they’d taken hormone therapy for menopause symptoms more than a decade before, according to a new report in Science Advances. Tau tangles… read on > read on >
Women in the U.S. South are three times more likely to lose a baby in late pregnancy than mothers in other regions, a new study reports. The study, exclusively reported March 6 by NBC News, attributes the high rates of pregnancy loss in part to lack of Medicaid expansion in the South. “We are losing… read on > read on >
Getting essential vitamins and minerals during pregnancy can help a woman maintain healthy blood pressure into middle age, new research suggests. High levels of the minerals copper and manganese in pregnant women were associated with lower blood pressure decades later, as well as a reduced risk of high blood pressure, researchers reported. Higher levels of… read on > read on >
Breastfeeding can promote lower blood pressure among children, a new study says. Longer-term breastfeeding appears to populate a baby’s gut with diverse bacteria that could help lower blood pressure, researchers found. Children who were breastfed for at least six months had lower blood pressure at age 6, researchers report in the Journal of the American… read on > read on >
Preventive screenings for cancer declined during the pandemic, with lockdowns, social distancing and COVID-19 surges keeping many from needed mammograms and colonoscopies. But breast and colon cancer screening numbers have since rebounded and have even surpassed pre-pandemic screening estimates, a new American Cancer Society study has found. “These findings are mostly encouraging as the pandemic… read on > read on >
Hot flashes, night sweats and other symptoms of a difficult menopause could be early warning flags for dementia, a new study suggests. Women who exhibit more menopause symptoms are more likely to develop early signs of dementia like decreased mental function and mild behavioral impairment, compared with women who have an easier transition, researchers reported… read on > read on >
Social media influencers tout the benefits of “cycle syncing” to boost strength training results among women. The idea is that women who lift weights during their period build more muscle, because their bodies are flooded with the female hormone estrogen. But there’s absolutely nothing to this trendy notion, a new small-scale study argues. Researchers found… read on > read on >
Need help figuring out breastfeeding? There’s an app for that, researchers say. “Telelactation” support is effective in promoting breastfeeding among new mothers, according to a new report published Feb. 27 in JAMA Network Open. Moms who received virtual support through a free app reported slightly higher rates of breastfeeding six months after delivery, compared to… read on > read on >
