Deep Dive Articles
Read in-depth articles from our newsletters, personal essays as well as commentary & opinion pieces about health issues that affect women.
Featured Articles
What Is the Gun Gag Rule, and Why Should It Matter to You?
By: Barbara Gold Gun Control, Gun Violence, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter Deep Dive ArticlesPediatricians ask lots of questions relevant to children’s health and well-being. Do you have a smoker in the house; is there a swimming pool; do you insist on the use of an infant/toddler car seat or a seat belt? Do you wear a seat belt? Does your child wear a bike helmet; brush his or her teeth; drink sugary beverages?
Trump’s FDA and PenceWorld: The Battles Ahead
By: Sarah Christopherson FDA Advocacy, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter, Trump Administration Deep Dive Articles“The president has left his stamp on government in ways that could outlast him, but the NWHN will be there to shine a spotlight.”
Stay Awake!
By: Cindy Pearson The Women's Health Activist Newsletter, Trump Administration Deep Dive Articles“Now I’m awake to the world. I was asleep before. That’s how we let it happen.” – Offred, in the Handmaid’s Tale, published 1985, Hulu television series 2017
Whose Right to Free Speech? How Pharma is Co-opting the First Amendment for Profit
By: Caila Brander FDA Advocacy, Off-Label Use of Medical Products, Scott Gottlieb Deep Dive Articles, Press ReleasesThe First Amendment’s protection of free speech is a cornerstone of individual freedom in the United States. However, not all speech is equally protected under the Constitution. Speech that threatens the safety and wellbeing of others can be limited under longstanding legal precedent.
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Traveling by Air? Go for the Grope!
By: Charlea T. Massion, MD, and Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD ,Cancer, Radiation, Rx for Change, X-ray Deep Dive ArticlesWhose silly idea was it to start X-raying people along with the baggage at airports? Most of the media coverage of airport security scanners has focused on privacy issues, but we’re far more concerned about possible health risk: frequent flyers...
Not Your Mother’s IUD: Risks and Benefit’s of Modern IUDs
By: Ginny Cassidy-Brinn ,Birth Control, Drugs and Devices, Intrauterine Device (IUD), Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs), The Women's Health Activist Newsletter Deep Dive ArticlesI had an Intrauterine Devices (IUD) in the 70s, when a feminist outcry exposed serious problems caused by the Dalkon Shield IUD, including infertility, uterine perforation, and death. The Dalkon Shield was removed from the market and its manufacturer declared...
Friends Don’t Let Friends Take Avandia
By: Charlea T. Massion, MD, and Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD ,Diabetes, Drugs and Devices, FDA Advocacy, Rx for Change, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter Deep Dive ArticlesIn mid-July, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee voted to keep the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) on the market, while simultaneously acknowledging not only that the drug increases the risk of heart attacks, but also that there are...
Be Your Own Death Panel
By: Charlea T. Massion and Adriane Fugh-Berman ,End of Life, End of Life Care, Older Women, Rx for Change Deep Dive ArticlesDuring last summer’s town hall meetings on health care reform, the specter of “death panels” was repeatedly raised in acrimonious misrepresentations of the reform bill.
The Mammogram Industry: Wolves in Pink Wool
By: Charlea T. Massion, MD, and Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD ,Breast Cancer, Breast Health, Mammogram, Rx for Change, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter Deep Dive ArticlesMammography is a useful but problematic diagnostic tool that exposes breast tissue to radiation that can increase the risk of breast cancer. Screening mammography saves lives in menopausal women over 50, but not for women under 50.
Ghostwritten Articles Helped Sell Hormones
By: Charlea T. Massion, MD, and Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD ,Gynecological Health, Hormone Therapy, Menopause Hormone Therapy, Rx for Change, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter, Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Deep Dive ArticlesIf you or your mother became menopausal between the 1960s and 90s, you know that most women were pressured to take hormones from their first hot flash until their death. A friend joked that all women would be clutching a...
Pelvic Organ Prolapse & Ending the Epidemic of Unnecessary Hysterectomies
By: Pam Geyer ,Gynecological Health, Hysterectomy, Menopause, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter Deep Dive ArticlesOne day around two years ago, while examining my body, I discovered a pelvic organ prolapse. Being a health researcher, I immediately started researching what I was facing. Two gynecologists I saw were ready to wheel me into surgery for...
Early Puberty for Girls: The New “Normal” and Why We Need to Be Concerned
By: Kathleen O'Grady ,Breast Cancer, Breast Health, Cancer, Gynecological Health, Puberty Deep Dive ArticlesEarly puberty is becoming the norm, not the exception. The Breast Cancer Fund commissioned a meta-analysis of existing data on this subject in order to explore research indicating that early menarche is a risk factor for later development of breast...
Medicaid Coverage of Plan B Over the Counter: New York State’s Experience
By: The Education Fund of Family Planning Advocates of New York State ,Birth Control, Emergency Contraception, Health Care Reform, Medicaid, Over-The-Counter, Plan B, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter Deep Dive Articles,Policy UpdatesAdvocates fought for years to make emergency contraception available over-the-counter so that women could have convenient and timely access to this contraceptive option when they needed it. But removing the prescription requirement created a new barrier for some women.
Rx for Change: Why Suzanne Somers is Wrong About Hormones
By: Charlea T. Massion, MD, and Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD ,Menopause, Menopause Hormone Therapy, Rx for Change, The Women's Health Activist Newsletter Deep Dive ArticlesSuzanne Somers looks great. In interviews and a series of books, the actress attributes her seeming agelessness -- not to mention increased energy, libido, and a host of other benefits -- to her use of “bioidentical” hormones.