https://medicalxpress.com/womens-health-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Women's Health Australian researchers have uncovered a promising new way to tackle one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, raising hopes for more effective treatments to stop the disease from spreading. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-scientists-molecule-deadliest-breast-cancer.html Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:40:03 EDT news706528824 Almost 40% of mothers with moderate or severe anemia gave birth to babies who were born prematurely, had low birth weight or were smaller than expected for their gestational age, according to new research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-maternal-anemia-linked-birth-small.html Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:40:07 EDT news706521482 Iron deficiency is one of the world's most common nutritional disorders, affecting millions of women and children globally. Yet diagnosing it remains difficult in many low-resource settings, where access to laboratories and trained health care workers is limited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-rapid-iron-treatment-worldwide.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:00:03 EDT news706445076 The first days after childbirth are a time of profound change—not only physically but emotionally as well. Although the rooming-in model, in which mothers and newborns stay together around the clock, is standard practice in maternity wards, not every woman feels ready to care for her baby independently from the very first hours after delivery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-mother-ready-newborn-immediately-birth.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:40:04 EDT news706460642 Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that a chemotherapy-free combination of four targeted therapies showed encouraging results in patients with HR-positive, HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, offering a potential first-line treatment option that may be more convenient for some patients and avoids chemotherapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-chemotherapy-free-treatment-patients-metastatic.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:00:08 EDT news706453981 Scientists led by Julie Kim, Ph.D., the Susy Y. Hung Research Professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Division of Reproductive Science in Medicine, have developed a novel stem cell platform that provides a new way to study the biology of endometriosis in humans more accurately than current model systems. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-stem-cell-platform-endometriosis.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:40:02 EDT news706450501 A machine learning model can predict overactive bladder (OAB) risk in women using common reproductive and sociodemographic data, according to a study published online Aug. 12 in JMIR Medical Informatics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-women-overactive-bladder.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:40:02 EDT news706454580 A pregnancy that is unintended or met with mixed feelings may affect more than the decision about whether and when to have a child. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-pregnancy-family-conflict-childbirth.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:20:02 EDT news706448402 Tetanus is often considered a disease of the past, remembered mainly through childhood vaccinations and warnings about rusty nails. Yet despite being preventable with an effective vaccine, it continues to cause tens of thousands of deaths worldwide each year. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-tetanus-global-health-problem.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:40:07 EDT news706444562 Women who are later diagnosed with endometriosis have a markedly higher use of antidepressant and anxiety medication and are far more often in contact with psychiatric hospital departments than other women. This is not only the case after the diagnosis has been made. The pattern is already apparent 10 years earlier. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-endometriosis-diagnosis-linked-mental-health.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 06:00:02 EDT news706423472 A new study from the University of Delaware shows that fluctuations in estrogen influence the brain, helping reshape connections between neurons. Researchers showed that a specialized imaging technique called magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) can detect estrogen-dependent mechanical changes in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory and learning, across the reproductive cycle. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-specialized-imaging-reveals-hormone-driven.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:05 EDT news706356091 Women who begin pregnancy with two or more pre-existing long-term physical or mental health conditions have a 20% higher risk of miscarriage, a 69% higher risk of severe nausea and vomiting, and around four times the risk of anxiety and depression compared with those with no long-term conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-women-multiple-term-conditions-pregnancy.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 07:40:03 EDT news706336562 In research published in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, a diet high in antioxidants was linked to a lower risk of cervical cancer in women. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-antioxidant-foods-cervical-cancer.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 03:00:01 EDT news706193554 Women who receive health visitor support alongside smoking relapse-prevention advice are more likely to remain smoke-free after childbirth, according to University of East Anglia (UEA) research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-health-visitor-postnatal-mothers-stay.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:10:01 EDT news706195441 Women have driven the expansion of the global health workforce over the past three decades, yet substantial workforce shortages remain, according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health. Researchers estimate that an additional 34.4 million doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists and pharmacists are needed worldwide to achieve moderate levels of universal health coverage, where people can access essential health services without financial hardship. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-women-global-health-workforce-world.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:30:10 EDT news706201022 A new study from University Hospitals Connor Whole Health and the UH Fertility Center identified factors associated with using Whole Systems Traditional Chinese Medicine (WS-TCM) during in vitro fertilization (IVF). WS-TCM includes services like acupuncture, lifestyle medicine, counseling and nutritional guidance with herbs and supplements. Women with chronic pain conditions such as migraine or headache, musculoskeletal pain and pelvic pain, as well as a history of recurrent pregnancy loss, were more likely to use WS-TCM during IVF. The study's findings were recently published in F&S Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-traditional-chinese-medicine-ivf.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:40:03 EDT news706275901 Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among Japanese women, with approximately 1 in 9 women expected to develop the disease during their lifetime. Herpes zoster (shingles) is also common, affecting approximately 1 in 3 individuals. Although studies have suggested that breast cancer survivors have a higher risk of herpes zoster, the timing of this increased risk and the impact of different breast cancer treatment modalities remain unclear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-herpes-zoster-breast-cancer-survivors.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 11:00:03 EDT news706267762 A study of women who use performance- and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs), such as steroids and peptides, suggests health care has not kept pace, with most research on the topic focused on men. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-gender-gap-health-female-users.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:00:04 EDT news706260721 Nearly 1 in 2 women with endometriosis or polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) report depression, according to new national research, prompting calls for mental health support to be integrated into women's physical health care. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-reveals-mental-health-toll-endometriosis.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:40:07 EDT news706260361 A personalized approach to obesity treatment may help breast cancer survivors improve their long-term health by identifying early which patients need more than behavioral and lifestyle interventions alone, according to a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center-led clinical trial. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-personalized-weight-loss-breast-cancer.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:20:06 EDT news706259821 Fewer women are part of cardiac rehabilitation programs, particularly in rural or remote communities, but Flinders University researchers have found that a web-based program tailored for women in rural and remote communities can help change this situation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-web-based-cardiac-rehab-boosts.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 07:20:01 EDT news706251062 Climbers who love their sport may not have to hang up their ropes and harnesses just because they become pregnant, a University of Alberta study suggests. Although physical activity guidelines advise expectant women to stay grounded because of the risk of falling, the research presents the first direct evidence that continuing to climb into the third trimester doesn't increase the chances of self-reported pregnancy complications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-pregnant-climbers-stay-grounded.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:07 EDT news706172402 Age 45: You've made it to middle age, you're ideally entering your prime earning years and, if you're like most adults, your doctor tells you that it's time to consider your first colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-age-health-screenings.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 08:40:06 EDT news706170062 Women in rural and remote Queensland are facing major barriers to fertility care that are making an already difficult fertility journey even harder, new James Cook University research has found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-reveals-rural-women-queensland-fertility.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 07:40:01 EDT news706164781 Charlotte Touzalin was still a young teenager when she began struggling with weight gain, abnormal periods and unwanted facial hair—the same puzzling symptoms that plagued her mom for decades and that no doctor could piece together. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-obesity-drugs-early-hormonal-disorder.html Sun, 16 Aug 2026 15:06:18 EDT news706111545 I teach a university course called Hormones and Behaviour. What surprises students is that biological sex is not produced by a single switch. What surprises me is that many students have never been taught this before. It is basic biology, but it helps explain life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-chromosomes-sex-hormones-body-dont.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news705918347 Biologic medicines have transformed the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, migraine, inflammatory disorders and many other conditions. Yet their growing use among women of reproductive age constitutes a major clinical challenge because therapeutic IgG antibodies are actively transported across the placenta to the developing fetus. Evidence supporting the safe use of such therapeutics during pregnancy remains limited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-placental-mechanism-safer-biologic-medicines.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:02 EDT news705857652 Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in Germany: Around 1 in 8 women will develop it during their lifetime. In around 5% to 10% of cases, the condition is caused by a hereditary predisposition. Thirteen risk genes have currently been identified for genetic testing, including the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Variations (mutations) in these genes are associated with a significantly increased risk of breast cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-genome-analysis-uncovers-candidate-genes.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:20:04 EDT news705928442 Pregnant women with a history of child abuse or neglect experienced increased inflammation when exposed to mild stress compared with women without those experiences, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. Increased inflammation, in turn, was associated with a greater number of complications during pregnancy and birth, including premature birth, according to the research team. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-childhood-abuse-neglect-linked-life.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 07:10:05 EDT news705906651 Hospitals across the U.S. are trying to reduce maternal deaths and complications after pregnancies using one small tool: a silicone wristband stamped with the declaration "I Gave Birth." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-hospitals-tool-childbirth-wristbands.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:40:07 EDT news705825965