Sexual & reproductive health

Sexually transmitted infections during pregnancy are linked to higher risks of preterm birth, stillbirth and babies born smaller than expected, a large Australian study has found. Researchers analysed almost 60,000 births in the Northern Territory between 2005 and 2020, identifying strong associations between maternal infections and adverse birth outcomes. Congenital syphilis was found to triple [...]

A lawsuit settlement in Massachusetts over alleged medical harm at a crisis pregnancy centre is prompting new legal guidance for faith-based clinics across the US. Crisis pregnancy centres are now being advised not to perform ultrasounds on women with suspected ectopic pregnancies – a potentially life-threatening condition where an embryo implants outside the womb – [...]

MPs have voted to scrap criminal penalties for women in England and Wales who end their own pregnancies, following a string of controversial cases in recent years. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi’s amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill was backed in the Commons by 379 votes to 137, a majority of 242. The proposal would [...]

Three Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill to restrict companies from collecting or sharing reproductive health data, in response to growing concerns over digital surveillance following the fall of Roe v Wade. The “my body, my data” bill was introduced in both the US House and Senate and aims to prohibit businesses from collecting, using, [...]

Women in England and Wales would no longer face criminal charges for ending their own pregnancies under legal changes to be voted on by MPs next week. As reported by BBC News, the proposed amendment to the crime and policing bill would decriminalise abortion at any stage when carried out by a woman in relation [...]

A record gap has emerged between women and men in the US on abortion rights, with 61 per cent of women now identifying as pro-choice compared with just 41 per cent of men. The divide has widened sharply in the three years since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling that [...]

Women aged 25 to 49 in England will be invited for cervical screening every five years instead of three, if they test negative for human papillomavirus (HPV), under new changes beginning 1 July. The update brings England into line with Scotland and Wales, which have already adopted the extended screening interval for women who test [...]

Women using weight loss injections have been advised to use reliable contraception after the UK’s medicines regulator received 40 reports of pregnancies—some of them unexpected, despite birth control. As reported by Sky News, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a public safety alert about GLP-1 receptor agonists—including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Saxenda, [...]

A self-collection device for cervical cancer screening has shown equivalent effectiveness to traditional clinic-based testing, according to new research that could help address screening gaps affecting women's health outcomes. The SELF-CERV trial, which validated the Teal Wand device across 16 medical sites in the United States, found that self-collected samples detected precancer 96 per cent [...]

New research has revealed that the use of combined oral contraceptives (OCs) is associated with a threefold increase in the risk of cryptogenic ischaemic stroke (CIS) in young women. The findings add to a growing body of evidence linking hormonal contraception to vascular risk in women of reproductive age. Cryptogenic ischaemic stroke, which is stroke [...]