News
Pregnant women undertested for STIs, study finds
One in three women who tested positive for chlamydia or gonorrhoea while pregnant were not retested before giving birth, despite the potential to transmit infections to newborns.
A new study by researchers from Quest Diagnostics and the University of Alabama suggests adherence to guideline-based laboratory testing and treatment of pregnant women for two of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is suboptimal in the US, with potentially dire effects.
The study, published in the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, was based on deidentified results of lab tests performed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for more than four million pregnancies.
The findings suggest gaps in guideline-based care, intended to reduce the risk of infection and medical complications.
Untreated chlamydia and gonorrhoea can raise risks of infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease in women. The risk of transmission during birth is approximately 50 per cent, raising the potential for newborns to develop infections of the eye, lungs and other health problems.
“Our study adds to a troubling body of evidence highlighting inconsistent quality in maternal and child healthcare in the US,” said Damian P. Alagia, co-author of the study and medical director of women’s health at Quest Diagnostics.
“Our analysis shows that improved adherence to existing recommendations, harmonisation of guidelines across agencies, and even updated recommendations for STI testing will be critical to ensuring the mothers and babies in the United States receive medically appropriate testing and treatment.”
Key findings:
- Over four per cent of women who received guideline-based screening for chlamydia or gonorrhoea in pregnancy during the first trimester received a positive result for one or both infections.
- More than one in three of these women (35.1 per cent chlamydia; 36.9 per cent gonorrhoea) did not receive a follow up negative test before delivery, suggesting they may not have been treated and cured (or were treated, cured but then reinfected) before birth.
- About two per cent of patients who received a negative test result for chlamydia or gonorrhoea early in pregnancy later received a positive result, suggesting “an ongoing risk of infection during pregnancy”. Of these, about one in two were still positive prior to delivery.
The authors believe reinfections (or ineffectively treated initial infections) may result in an increased number of deliveries while women are positive with one or more STIs, which can impact both maternal and newborn health.
The authors conclude current guidelines are inconsistent and they provide several recommendations for improvements.
For instance, the CDC recommends women be retested for cure at four weeks of pregnancy while the USPSTF recommends retesting before three weeks.
Current guidelines also do not recommend screening women after the age of 25 years unless there are risk factors, such as multiple partners, based on a study from 1998 when women married at younger ages than today. Guidelines recommend that all women under the age of 25 be screened, regardless of perceived risk.
The study’s strengths include its large size, national representation, and use of objective laboratory data. Its limitation is the lack of clinical follow-up information for the positive cases, as testing was limited to one national clinical laboratory.
While the authors did not evaluate other STIs, such as syphilis, they caution these patterns of irregular adherence to guideline-based testing in maternal care may extend to other conditions.
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The Femtech World Awards is proud to reveal the shortlist for Research Project of the Year as part of the third annual global celebration of innovation, impact and leadership across women’s health.
From fertility science and perimenopause research to regional ecosystem analysis, the shortlisted projects reflect the breadth and growing influence of femtech research worldwide.
The category is sponsored by OncoGenomX, with the winner to be selected by a representative from the organisation.
OncoGenomX is dedicated to offering solutions and providing comprehensive support services that empower Drug Developers, Clinical Researchers, Oncologists,NextGenSeq Diagnostics Laboratories, NextGenSeq Service Organisations, Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics Companies to achieve their ambitious goals
The shortlisted entries for Research Project of the Year are:
Women’s health remains significantly underserved in South-East Asia, with persistent gaps in access, awareness, and quality of care carrying substantial social and economic costs.
This report examines the femtech landscape in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, highlighting market trends, emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, and the evolving support ecosystem.
It identifies key challenges facing femtech founders, including limited access to finance, low awareness and persistent stigma, marketing constraints linked to content moderation, and gaps in tailored ecosystem support.
Led by Stephanie Willson, MD, of the IVI RMA Global Research Alliance, the study explored whether embryos that show certain chromosome abnormalities during genetic testing may still have the potential to result in a healthy pregnancy and live birth.
The research analysed more than 7,600 frozen embryo transfers and found that some embryos previously considered unlikely to succeed were still capable of leading to successful pregnancies, although at lower rates than embryos without abnormalities.
The findings could help fertility clinics and patients make more informed decisions during IVF treatment, particularly in cases where there are limited embryos available.
Rather than automatically discarding these embryos, the research supports a more evidence-based and personalised approach to fertility care.
For many women, perimenopause can feel confusing and unpredictable, with limited research explaining what is happening in their bodies.
Natural Cycles set out to change that by leading one of the largest studies ever conducted on menstrual and ovulatory patterns, uncovering new insights into how ovulation behaves as women approach menopause.
Conducted in collaboration with researchers from George Washington University, Seattle Clinical Research Center, Gennev and the University of California San Diego, the study analysed nearly one million menstrual cycles from more than 197,000 women aged 18–52 across more than 140 countries.
The scale of this dataset made it possible to explore menstrual patterns and ovulation in far greater detail than has traditionally been possible in women’s health research.
The Femtech World Awards celebrates the innovators, researchers and organisations driving meaningful progress in women’s health.
What happens next
Winners across all categories will be revealed during the virtual ceremony on June 19, with winners receiving a trophy and an interview with a Femtech World journalist.
Women over 40 are seeking raves for mental and physical wellbeing, with a study suggesting the benefits go beyond nightlife.
The findings challenge the idea that nightlife and electronic dance music events are mainly for younger people.
Published in Psychology of Music, the study focused on the common misconception that nightlife is only for younger audiences.
Researchers surveyed 136 female clubbers aged 40 to 65 about their experiences at electronic dance music events.
The study, carried out at the University of Leeds in England, found women reported mental and physical wellbeing benefits from attending these events.
Seeing favourite DJs was the most common motivation, but many women also described dancing as a way to relieve stress and find emotional support.
The research found that 65.9 per cent of participants described attending a rave as “spiritual”, while 62.9 per cent said it offered an escape from everyday life.
A further 58.3 per cent said they felt like a different version of themselves in a club environment.
Nine in ten participants said they felt at home at electronic dance music events, with many pointing to a shared passion for music and the sense of community around it.
The study also suggested physical fitness played a role, with some women saying they had made clubbing part of their regular exercise routine.
However, the findings also highlighted challenges for older women in nightlife spaces.
One fifth of participants said they felt visibly out of place because of their age.
Nearly half reported unwanted physical contact, leading some to seek out different venues or attend only with friends.
Osteoporosis may raise the risk of death in postmenopausal women by up to 47 per cent, a new study suggests.
The findings point to an inverse relationship between femoral bone mineral density and mortality risk, especially within certain ranges.
Femoral bone mineral density is the amount of mineral in the thigh bone, which is often measured to assess bone strength and osteoporosis risk.
Dr Monica Christmas is associate medical director for The Menopause Society.
She said: “Osteoporosis often remains a silent threat after menopause, despite its profound effect on women’s lives—from loss of height, poor balance, and reduced mobility to disfigurement, pain, and even premature death.
“Early screening and preventive measures, including a calcium-rich diet (preferably from food sources), regular weight-bearing exercise, and hormone therapy when appropriate, can significantly improve bone health and reduce risks not only of fractures but also cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and dementia.
“It’s time we bring this conversation to the forefront.”
In the study involving nearly 3,000 postmenopausal women, bone mineral density at four femoral sites was assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, a scan commonly used to measure bone strength and fracture risk.
The analysis found that mortality risk was significantly higher when femoral bone mineral density reached the osteoporotic threshold or when osteoporotic fractures were present.
After full adjustment, osteoporosis was associated with a 47 per cent increased risk of mortality.
A stronger inverse association between increased bone mineral density and mortality risk was seen within specific ranges, suggesting bone mineral density could serve as a prognostic marker of wider health.
The relationship appeared especially notable within the range of 0.46 to 0.71 g/cm² for total femur bone mineral density.
Previous research has shown that postmenopausal women face a significantly higher risk of death within one year of hip or vertebral fractures.
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