It’s important to note that these studies don’t prove that these changes are connected to the rollercoaster of emotions that some women experience during their periods. But experts say it highlights the urgent need for more neuroscience research in women, who are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and depression.
“It’s high time to make the brain a major focus of women’s health,” said Julia Sacher, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, who led one of the studies.
3. That severe nausea may not be just ‘morning sickness.’
Most people get morning sickness during pregnancy—so no big deal, right? Well, that perception could be preventing people from getting treatment for a severe condition called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). As Sam Jones wrote in January 2024, this condition affects about 2 percent of pregnant individuals and is “characterized by severe, persistent nausea and vomiting that can be life-threatening.”
Although these symptoms can be debilitating, physicians and researchers told Sam that they’ve witnessed their peers dismiss HG as “hysteria.” So, it’s no surprise that research into how to treat it is underfunded.
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Yet that research is slowly happening. In recent years, studies have pinpointed a specific hormone linked to HG and even unlocked exactly how that hormone causes the condition. These findings could finally yield new treatments—if doctors know to prescribe them.
4. We finally have new tools to save lives during childbirth.
Nearly 800 people die every day worldwide from complications in pregnancy and childbirth, according to the World Health Organization. Even in the U.S. maternal mortality rates are rising, particularly among Black women. But there is hope: Cutting-edge research is giving us tools to prevent the leading causes of maternal mortality, including pre-eclampsia, anemia, and sepsis.
As Rachel Fairbank reported in July 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first blood test that can predict which patients are at risk for developing pre-eclampsia—a condition in which high blood pressure restricts blood flow so severely it can cause organ failure and death. Pre-eclampsia is hard to diagnose because it looks like so many other disorders that are common during pregnancy, Rachel writes—so this new test could really make a difference.
Researchers have also found a surprisingly simple solution for anemia, which can cause heavy bleeding during childbirth: iron delivered via IV. Although this has traditionally been treated with oral iron supplements, researchers have shown that one 15-minute IV drip provides the equivalent of four tablets a day for four weeks.
