Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2024
Mothers with Breastfeeding Difficulty Report Increased Depressive Symptoms and Impaired Maternal-Infant Bonding on Social Media.
Background: Protection against postpartum depression is a commonly cited maternal benefit of breastfeeding. However, recent studies have found that negative breastfeeding experiences may actually increase the risk of depressive symptoms. Objective: To investigate women's self-reported associations between breastfeeding experiences and depressive symptoms on a social media platform. ⋯ Conclusions: Mothers struggling to breastfeed may not experience the classically described benefits of breastfeeding, instead experiencing increased depressive and other mental health symptoms and impaired maternal-infant bonding. Furthermore, limited provider disclosure about potential breastfeeding challenges and alternatives to breastfeeding may exacerbate mental health symptoms associated with breastfeeding difficulties. Balanced information should be presented to mothers contemplating breastfeeding in order to minimize maternal perceptions of "failure."
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2024
Pregnancy Anxiety and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Among a Diverse U.S. Cohort.
Background: Pregnancy anxiety increases the risk of preterm birth but less is known about the impacts on glucose intolerance during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The present study examined the relationship between pregnancy anxiety and the risk of GDM in a prospective cohort Centering and Racial Disparities (CRADLE) study of racially diverse pregnant women in the United States. Methods: This is a prospective analysis among racially diverse pregnant women in the United States who enrolled in the CRADLE study. ⋯ Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov December 29, 2015. Study recruitment began February 24, 2016. URL of ClincialTrials.gov registration site: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02640638?term=NCT02640638&draw=2&rank=1.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2024
Associations Between Earlier Menarche and Fibroid Severity in Individuals Seeking Hysterectomy.
Objective: Early menarche is associated with uterine fibroid risk, but the association between menarcheal timing and fibroid severity remains to be explored. Given the hormonal dependence of fibroids, earlier menarche may increase physical burden (e.g., number of fibroids) and/or symptoms (e.g., heavy menstrual bleeding), though the two are not always correlated. We hypothesized that individuals with earlier menarche are more likely to have severe fibroids. ⋯ Conclusion: Earlier menarche was associated with measures of fibroid severity. Prolonged exposure to estrogen via early menarche may accelerate the tumorigenesis process. Patient-reported symptoms as well as measures of physical burden should be considered when investigating the etiology of fibroid-related morbidity.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2024
Reproductive Experiences of Physicians in Medical and Surgical Subspecialties.
Objective: To evaluate the reproductive experiences of physicians across gender and specialty. Patients and Methods: Between November and December 2021, we surveyed nontrainee physicians of all genders at a single quaternary institution using a modified version of an existing survey instrument. Experiences with family planning, fertility, pregnancy, and parental leave were assessed. ⋯ Among those who took less than the full amount offered, 63% cited concerns about falling behind educationally or professionally as significantly influencing this decision. Conclusions: These results support previous trends showing delayed childbearing and increased infertility among physicians while shedding new light on stigma associated with childbearing and parental leave. A better understanding of the reproductive experiences of physicians is critical to recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce and fostering career and life satisfaction in this profession.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2024
History of Pregnancy Loss and Risk for Higher Midlife Blood Pressure in Parous Females.
Introduction: Pregnancy loss has been associated with later cardiometabolic conditions, potentially due to shared underlying etiology, but associations with midlife blood pressure (BP) remain unclear. Methods: We examined participants enrolled 1999-2002 in prospective Project Viva. At midlife ∼18 years after enrollment, we collected lifetime pregnancy history and measured BP. ⋯ In models examining race and ethnicity, SBP was higher among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic individuals with pregnancy loss; non-Hispanic Black individuals had higher BP regardless of pregnancy loss status. Conclusions: History of pregnancy loss was associated with higher SBP and elevated BP category at midlife. These findings highlight reproductive history as an important consideration for cardiopreventive strategies and interventions.