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ScienceHealthBirth Control Apps Are Great If You Want to Get Pregnant
Earlier this month, popular period-tracking app Clue announced it had received FDA clearance for a digital birth control feature in its app. Now, per a Verge report, Natural Cycles, the other FDA-cleared birth control app, is pissed because of how the FDA granted that clearance, sparking some beef between the two apps. Meanwhile, I’m sitting … Continued
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Tech NewsAppleApple Study Affirms That Women Do in Fact Have Cramps During Their Periods
Apple added period-tracking to the iOS Health app and launched a clinical study into women’s health back in 2019. Now, the Apple Women’s Health Study team has some preliminary data that affirms that, yes, there is an incredible variety of period symptoms suffered by menstruating people worldwide. The findings were from the first 10,000 participants … Continued
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Tech NewsNewsApps Are Birth Control Now
Exhausted and disoriented, I arrive tempest-tossed on the shores of our dystopia to tell you the good news: Apps are birth control now. On Monday, the period-tracking app Clue announced that it had received clearance from the FDA to launch a digital birth control function that will use statistical modeling to closely track users’ menstrual … Continued
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ScienceHealthCervical Cancer Could Be Eliminated in the U.S. in 20 Years, Study Finds
A preventable cancer might be virtually eradicated in the U.S. within the next two decades, according to a new study out Monday. It estimates that cervical cancer could be eliminated by as early as 2038, given current rates of vaccination and pap smear screening. Making sure that 90 percent of women receive screening on schedule, … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ScienceHealthMenstrual Cups Are Indeed a Safe Alternative to Tampons and Pads, Research Review Finds
People who prefer using menstrual cups during their period can be reassured by a new study out this week. It suggests the products are cost-effective and environmentally friendly compared to tampons and pads, while still being safe and able to provide roughly the same level of protection against leakage. But there needs to be more … Continued
By Ed Cara -
Tech NewsAppleWhy Apple Might Soon Be the Best Choice For Tracking Your Period
Reproductive health tech is going through some growing pains. On the one hand, there’s been a lot of progress now that menstruation—and all it entails—isn’t quite so taboo. For instance, there’s now a wearable that’s conducting clinical studies about how various factors could lead to more accurate fertile window predictions. But there’s also been some … Continued
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Tech NewsNewsFertility App Downloaded by Thousands Is Reportedly Funded by Anti-Abortion Groups
Period tracking apps aren’t anything new, but recently, a few have been subject to greater scrutiny regarding their privacy, and efficacy—especially those marketed as contraceptive methods. The latest is Femm, which a Guardian report has found to be funded by anti-abortion campaigns. According to the Guardian, the app receives most of its funding from private … Continued
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ScienceHealthWhy This Fertility App’s First Scientific Study Is So Exciting
Unless you’re a tech-savvy woman looking to get pregnant, you’ve probably never heard of Ava. Slim and discreet, it’s a $300 wearable tracker that in tandem with its companion app monitors your heart rate, body temperature, and breathing while you sleep to predict when you’re ovulating. None of that is particularly exciting on its own—after all, … Continued
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ScienceHealthA Major Change to How Doctors Talk About Mammogram Results Is Coming Soon
Doctors across the U.S. may soon be required to provide women with more information about their mammography results. This week, the Food and Drug Administration announced plans to update a rule that would mandate doctors tell patients if they have dense breast tissue, a complicated risk factor for breast cancer. Thanks to the Mammography Quality … Continued
By Ed Cara -
Tech NewsFitbit Smartwatches Get Menstrual Cycle Tracking and ‘Quick’ Messaging
Today, Fitbit has begun to roll out a major update to its app that adds a handful of welcome features for its Versa and Ionic smartwatches. The new Fitbit features will allow its users to track their menstrual cycle, reply to messages from their wearable device, and stay abreast of their medical condition. Lord knows … Continued
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ScienceHealthWebcam Abortion Services Offer Crucial Access—So What’s Stopping Them?
A woman contacted Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi’s team on a Friday afternoon, nine weeks and three days into an unwanted pregnancy. Although she butted right up against the Food and Drug Administration’s 10-week regulatory deadline, the patient wanted a medication abortion—a difficult request to satisfy on any doctor’s busy schedule, but especially tough in this case: … Continued
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Tech News
The Appalling Cost of Women’s Health Care Under the American Health Care Act
The details are far from final, but no matter which way you slice it, at this point it seems clear that if the American Health Care Act passes, millions of Americans will see good health care become far less accessible. Add to the list: women. After the bill passed in the House earlier this month, … Continued
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Tech News
The World’s First ‘Period’ in a Dish Could Revolutionize Reproductive Medicine
The female menstrual cycle is a rite of passage into womanhood that for centuries has been shrouded in mystery and taboo. Pliny The Elder, for one, believed that menstrual blood could turn crop fields barren. Just last century, one scientist floated a theory that menstrual blood contained a poison that caused women to turn wine … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Donald Trump Is About to Declare War on Women’s Bodies
Donald Trump made some pretty scary threats during the election about cracking down on abortion. Here’s a quick refresher on his campaign promises—and why women have every right to be very worried. Trump has flip-flopped on abortion, and seems to have adopted a rather extreme stance on the issue. Back in 1999 on an episode … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Doctors Find Zika Virus in a Stillborn Infant With Almost No Brain Tissue
Doctors have discovered Zika virus in a stillborn infant with a severely under-developed brain, according to a chilling report published today in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. While Zika virus is already linked—although not definitively—to microcephaly, the new study raises concerns that the disease can lead to even more severe brain damage and other birth defects. … Continued
By Maddie Stone
