People who get migraines with aura—dots or zigzags in vision, or another sensory disturbance that typically occurs before the onset of a migraine—have long been told to avoid birth control that contains estrogen. The hormone has been linked to an increased risk of stroke in this population. How great is the risk, and what should … Read more
Sweeping cuts in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” targeting abortion providers threaten to drastically reduce access to a wide variety of sexual and reproductive health care services in Maine—even though the state has protected reproductive rights. Two organizations—Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning—that serve roughly half of the patients in Maine’s entire sexual … Read more
The funding Planned Parenthood receives for a variety of reproductive and preventive care services through Medicaid is under threat after the Supreme Court and Senate Parliamentarian both greenlit Republican efforts to strip the women’s health organization of funds. The Senate version of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” narrowly passed on Tuesday with a … Read more
People across the world have been having fewer and fewer childrenand it’s not always because they don’t want them. The global fertility rate has, on average, dropped to less than half what it was in the 1960s, the United Nations has foundfalling below the “replacement level” required to maintain the current population in the majority … Read more
Doctors at Columbia University Fertility Center have reported what they are calling the first pregnancy using a new AI system, in a couple that had been trying to start a family for nearly two decades. The pregnancy was possible due to an advance developed by the Columbia team, led by Dr. Zev Williams, director of … Read more
Ovarian cysts, which are small fluid-filled sacs that develop in or on the ovaries, are very common and are usually harmless. In fact, “the process of ovulation—maturing an egg and releasing it—basically makes at least a little cyst, which pops when the egg is released, and then these cysts resolve,” explains Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, … Read more
Mere hours after birth, most newborns are tested for two things: whether they have signs of hearing loss and whether they have any of a range of rare conditions that could severely impact their health and their lives. If they test positive for either, they qualify for a number of interventions that can dramatically improve … Read more
A new study found that the rates of pregnancy-related death in the U.S. increased by nearly 28% between 2018 and 2022, with large disparities based on state, race, and ethnicity. The study, published in JAMA Network Open on April 9, analyzed four years of nationwide data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. … Read more
The Trump Administration is withholding millions of dollars allocated for family planning services from more than a dozen organizations. Enacted in 1970the federal family planning program known as Title X makes millions of dollars available to clinics that provide health care services like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing for people from low-income households. … Read more
The latest effort by conservative politicians to attack Planned Parenthood has the potential to strip the group of its ability to provide health care for the poorest Americans. On April 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether South Carolina can prohibit Medicaid funding for any health care services provided by Planned Parenthood. … Read more
