women's health

COVID-19 restrictions put 9.5 million women and girls at risk of losing access to reproductive health services and possibly leading to 11,000 pregnancy-related deaths, according to Marie Stopes International, The Guardian reports

Parents-to-be are rushing to adjust their birth plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic—and so are hospitals, The Atlantic reports.

The global gender gap is shrinking when it comes to education and political influence—and HIV treatment now reaches 13 million women aged 15 years and over,ReliefWeb reports.  

More girls than ever are in school—but other measures of equality are falling far short, according to a UNICEF report marking 25 years since a landmark conference on the rights of women and girls.  

The effects of climate change are fueling violence against women and girls, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Deutsche Welle 

Throughout the US, it’s legal for medical students to perform pelvic exams on unconscious women without obtaining explicit consent. Legal frameworks vary. Some teaching hospitals have implied consent while other institutions have hazy policies allowing physicians to…

At 49%, Indonesia’s rate of female circumcision is the third highest in the world—despite laws banning the practice.   What keeps it going? In Indonesia, female genital mutilation is rooted as much in family tradition as in religion, according to new research from Gajah…

A once-promising HIV vaccine candidate is dead in the water after a major human trial showed it worked no better than the placebo, Bhekisisa reports.  

Cancer patients have better chances of survival than ever—but managing cancer as a chronic illness can bring a lifetime of “financial toxicity.”   Breast cancer is the costliest malignancy, with medical costs slated to reach $16.5 billion in the US this year.   For…

America’s tragic racial inequity in maternal mortality is baked into health systems and will take time, legislative lobbying, and structural change to uproot.   In the meantime, birth workers are doubling down to support black birthing families. SELF profiled 8 of them,…