Women's Health

Sexual minority individuals face countless barriers to health care and are at a heightened risk of unwanted pregnancy.

Following the Trump Administration’s mandate to cut $2.6 billion in NIH contracts, the Women’s Health Initiative shares HHS will close its regional centers in September.

Elinzanetant significantly reduced the frequency and severity of vasomotor symptoms, known as hot flashes, compared with placebo across body mass index (BMI) and smoking status subgroups.

Study participants treated with elinzanetant experienced significantly reduced hot flash frequency vs paroxetine, desvenlafaxine, and gabapentin in a new meta-analysis.

World Health Day 2025 highlights the importance of improving maternal and newborn health, emphasizing the need for quality care and investment in regions facing high mortality rates.

Five abstracts showcase critical insights into women’s cardiovascular health, highlighting rising maternal mortality, elevated heart failure risk after ovary removal, and more.

One study found that Black women were 3 times more likely to die of maternal deaths due to cardiovascular disease than White women.

Researchers of a Swedish study advise physicians to consult with their patients about these risks and take extra precautions, but did not recommend discontinuation of any of the drugs studied.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) can be a challenging complication to manage during pregnancy; women with PAH who are pregnant are considered a high-risk population, and they face higher rates of maternal and fetal complications.

This article explores the challenges and highlights actionable telehealth solutions that enhance access to care, particularly for mothers at higher risk of postpartum depression.

This new report is not the first to highlight cervical cancer disparities among women in the US.

The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice works to overcome race, class, cultural, religious, and gender barriers that Black women and young women face in the rural South, specifically the Mississippi Delta and the Black Belt regions of Alabama and Georgia.

While Republican state-led efforts aim to increase restrictions to abortion care and access to mifepristone and misoprostol in 2025, JAMA authors join the conversation with their published research and commentary.

Evidence shows alcohol increases estrogen, raising breast cancer risk, with pandemic-related consumption spikes among women.

Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont were the only 3 states to not report any pregnancy-associated firearm-related deaths from 2018 to 2022, according to National Center for Health Statistics data.

Acts of discrimination, including subtle microaggressions, during pregnancy and childbirth contribute to higher maternal mortality rates, especially among Black women, and are linked to increased postpartum blood pressure, highlighting the need for improved health care interventions and racial equity in maternity care.

Sarah Ahmad, MBA, CEO of the Coalition for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH), dives into the financial, physical, and emotional toll of neglecting women's health in an interview.

The Center on Health Equity & Access highlights news and expert insights on research, social determinants of health, and health policy.

There are significant financial and psychological burdens of abortion care in the US, especially for those traveling out of state due to local restrictions in the increasingly restrictive post-Dobbs landscape.

The Dobbs decision was associated with a 7% absolute increase in overall infant mortality—equivalent to 247 excess deaths—and a 10% increase among infants with congenital anomalies, corresponding to 204 additional deaths.

Of the 10% of women contacted for this survey who said that they or their partner had ever sought fertility assistance, only 7% were able to get the necessary care; cost was cited as the top reason for not being able to access fertility services.

Etonogestrel-releasing contraceptive implants in women with sickle cell disease significantly reduced pain intensity and frequency of pain crises over 12 months, with no adverse changes in metabolic or liver function markers.

Rachel Dalthorp, MD, discusses how zuranolone (Zurzuvae) can improve postpartum depression when compared with previous treatment approaches.

Aetna has become the first major US insurer to expand access to fertility services by covering intrauterine insemination as a medical benefit for all eligible plans, marking a significant move toward greater equity in family-building options for people of all backgrounds.

While the evidence demonstrating the poor state of American women's health is not new, the nation's trends of maternal fatality may reflect broader failures in the approach to women's health care.

While resources and strategies to combat social determinants of health do exist, effectively leveraging them requires a coordinated approach involving supportive policies, technical assistance, community governance, and sustainable financing.

Screening for postpartum depression while patients are pregnant is a crucial step to ensuring they get access to treatment if they need it postpartum, according to Rachel Dalthorp, MD, of LifeStance Health.

The Commonwealth Fund scorecard ranks Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma among the poorest-performing states overall for women’s health care access, quality, and outcomes, while Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island rank at the top.

The 2025 Physician Fee Schedule includes a conversion factor reduction, expanded behavioral health services, extended telehealth waivers, new Quality Payment Program pathways, and measures to address suspect billing, alongside a Biden administration initiative introducing federal maternal health standards for hospitals.

Rachel Dalthorp, MD, explains that zuranolone is recommended as the first-line medication, alongside psychotherapy, to effectively manage postpartum depression (PPD) and mitigate long-term impacts.