https://medicalxpress.com/obstetrics-gynaecology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Obstetrics and gynaecology Wildfires are well-known health risks. Now, in a new Frontiers in Environmental Health study, researchers in the U.S. have—for the first time—evaluated how prenatal PM2.5 exposure has changed over space and time on a national scale and what role wildfires play in shaping these trends. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-wildfires-dominant-contributor-unhealthy-air.html Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:01 EDT news705228629 After ovulation, an egg travels through the oviduct (Fallopian tube) toward the uterus (womb). This journey is essential for reproduction: Fertilization normally occurs in the oviduct, and the resulting zygote continues developing as it moves toward the uterus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-oviduct-egg-essential.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:40:03 EDT news705251762 Researchers at WashU Medicine have found a significant decline in mammography use among certain groups of women. A recent study, led by Adetunji Toriola, MD, Ph.D., a professor of surgery and a William H. Danforth Washington University Physician Scholar, analyzed 20 years of mammography data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-mammography-groups.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:40:06 EDT news705248768 I often reflect on the advice of an outdated article on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pregnancy from 1956. It stated: "There should be no doubt that a woman with ulcerative colitis who wishes to have a child should be advised to postpone until the colitis is inactive—sometimes this may mean waiting forever." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-canadians-inflammatory-bowel-disease-children.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:00:22 EDT news705238862 Previous research has shown that women who experience complications during pregnancy face roughly twice the risk of dying prematurely from cardiovascular disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-women-pregnancy-complication-premature-cardiovascular.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news705231517 Why do women, on average, live longer than men yet often face a greater burden of chronic disease later in life? Why do some of the most fertile animals in nature, including queen bees and naked mole-rat queens, also live exceptionally long lives? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-women-prioritized-longevity.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:00:06 EDT news705159421 As women get older, their uterine environment changes. This includes a decrease in a beneficial bacterium called Lactobacillus gasseri, which may make conception—whether natural or via in vitro fertilization—difficult. In a study published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe on Aug. 6, researchers show that treating mice and humans with L. gasseri supplements or derived postbiotics may improve fertility among women older than 35. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-bacterial-supplements-boost-female-fertility.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:00:03 EDT news705159601 Preparation techniques used before embryo transfer, considered the most critical step in the IVF process, show no proven effect on pregnancy rates and remain inconclusive because of limited or low-quality data, a new Cochrane review finds. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-evidence-common-embryo-techniques-ivf.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:00:01 EDT news705071206 Pregnant women in Australia are facing an unfair two-tiered system for managing morning sickness, with financial status affecting who can access the full range of modern anti-nausea medications available rather than simply clinical need. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-gap-drug-subsidies-income-pregnant.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:00:03 EDT news705152102 Each morning during rounds as a resident at University of Rochester Medicine, Marika Toscano noticed the same troubling pattern. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-early-mental-health-birth-postpartum.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:40:09 EDT news705139982 An imbalance in the bacteria found in men's semen was linked to substantially lower chances of a couple having a baby and to more pregnancy losses, according to new research published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health. This association between semen bacteria and birth outcomes was seen among couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) fertility treatment, as well as among women with recurrent pregnancy loss. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-bacterial-imbalance-men-semen-chances.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:40:04 EDT news705138720 The type and severity of menopause symptoms can differ greatly among women. A number of earlier studies have suggested various reasons for those differences. A new study suggests that type 2 diabetes mellitus can play a role in significantly increasing the number and severity of menopause symptoms. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-worse-menopause-symptoms-accompany-diabetes.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:00:07 EDT news705136965 Regan Odysseus was scared. She'd tried Prozac before, but the medication made her mental health worse, leaving her unsure whether further treatment would help or hurt. But between her full-time job as an ICU nurse, her full-time job as a mom, and the hormone shifts from her second pregnancy, the pressure on her mental health was becoming unsustainable. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-solutions-perinatal-mental-health.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 22:00:03 EDT news705065641 As the use of GLP-1 and other incretin-based medications for obesity continues to grow worldwide, researchers at Marshall University have contributed to an international effort to address one of medicine's most pressing unanswered questions: How should these medications be used by women before, during and after pregnancy? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-glp-medications-women-reproductive-years.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 19:40:01 EDT news705064141 Researchers have developed an implant that could deliver next-generation therapies for ovarian cancer precisely where they are needed while simultaneously monitoring how the disease responds. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-implant-ovarian-cancer.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 17:40:03 EDT news705077042 Tiny, near-invisible fragments of plastic shed from the products we use every day through sunlight and mechanical wear have been quietly working their way deep into the human body. Microplastics have already been found in the human brain, semen and even the placenta. A recent study investigated how these micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) might move through the placenta and whether they affect a baby's development. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-microplastics-placenta-barrier-disrupt-key.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:20:04 EDT news705055580 Discovered in 1955, the Oropouche virus has circulated mainly in the Amazon, causing a febrile illness virtually indistinguishable from those caused by dengue, Zika and chikungunya, viruses also transmitted by biting mosquitoes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-zika-oropouche-virus-affect-brains.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:20:12 EDT news705064563 Working from home is often seen as a good solution for new mothers, but a new Washington State University study reveals that the blurred boundaries between home and work can introduce barriers to sustained breastfeeding. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-home-doesnt-breastfeeding-success.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:40:04 EDT news705054301 A study of nearly 61,000 women in Denmark finds that women who had a body mass index (BMI) trajectory in the overweight or obesity range during childhood were less likely to have children than women with a normal (average) BMI trajectory. This effect on childlessness was already apparent in their mid-20s. The study is published in JAMA Network Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-overweight-obesity-childhood-childlessness-adulthood.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:00:10 EDT news705059609 Women with vaginosis are around three times as likely to also test positive for gonorrhea, chlamydia or other bacterial sexually transmitted infections, a new study says. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-bacterial-vaginosis-tripled-sti-major.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:40:01 EDT news705046973 One in eight mothers in England is now diagnosed with gestational diabetes, with diagnoses rising by 60% in just five years, according to a major study published in the journal BMJ Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-gestational-diabetes-affects-mothers-england.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:40:01 EDT news705042902 A research team from the School of Nursing at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has found that video-call support from trained peer mothers helped first-time mothers breastfeed more successfully. Among mothers who received this support, the study revealed a 42.6% relative increase in the number of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their babies at two months after birth, along with greater confidence in breastfeeding. This is the first-of-its-kind randomized clinical trial in Hong Kong to evaluate video-call-based peer support for breastfeeding and is also one of the first trials globally to rigorously examine the effectiveness of this digital approach in improving breastfeeding outcomes. The research findings were published in JAMA Network Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-video-based-peer-boost-breastfeeding.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:20:04 EDT news704980381 Women who enter menopause at an earlier age have an increased risk of high blood pressure, a new study says. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-premature-menopause-linked-high-blood.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:00:01 EDT news704977647 McGill University researchers have developed a new tool to identify heart disease risk in women earlier in life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-pregnancy-complications-heart-disease-years.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:20:03 EDT news704976901 A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, found no increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or major congenital anomalies among women inadvertently exposed to ivermectin from two weeks before conception through the first four weeks of pregnancy. The findings, published in eClinicalMedicine, add to the available evidence on the safety of this antiparasitic drug during the very early stages of pregnancy, although the researchers stress that the number of cases remains too small to warrant changes to current recommendations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-ivermectin-pregnancy-adverse-outcomes.html Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news704728576 An evidence review of international research suggests widespread misconceptions within the medical community about early milk production, pacifiers and breast pumps may be undermining breastfeeding success in the critical first days after birth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-hours-hospital-routines-undermine-breastfeeding.html Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:10:01 EDT news704619421 Puberty is a process regulated by the endocrine system, and its timing can be altered by environmental factors. Several recent studies point to a trend toward earlier onset of puberty in girls, a phenomenon linked to a complex interplay among genetics, lifestyle and exposure to chemicals capable of interfering with hormones. Among these substances are certain pesticides, widely used in agriculture and present in some everyday foods. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-links-exposure-fungicides-insecticides-age.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:00:02 EDT news704720762 Breastfeeding support should move beyond simply encouraging women to breastfeed and instead focus on providing personalized, compassionate and culturally sensitive care, according to new research published in Women and Birth as part of World Breastfeeding Week. The commentary reviews some of the latest breastfeeding research and argues that while most women understand the benefits of breastfeeding and want to breastfeed, many are still not receiving the tailored support they need to achieve their own feeding goals. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-personalized-women-breastfeeding-goals.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:20:04 EDT news704702702 A new study from The Wistar Institute has uncovered an unexpected link between fructose—a common dietary sugar—and the spread of an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Published in Nature Aging, the study found that cancer cells not killed by chemotherapy send signals to neighboring tumor cells, helping them become more capable of spreading. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-scientists-fructose-driver-cancer.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:00:05 EDT news704645161 In November 2020, Lupe was in the final weeks of her pregnancy when dark spots began distorting her vision. Lupe, a participant in a study on emotional distress and maternal health in El Paso, Texas, recounted her birth experience in a postpartum interview. (All participant names, including Lupe's, are pseudonyms used to protect privacy.) https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-preeclampsia-minority-communities-social-roots.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:00:08 EDT news704633341