New from CDC Authors
Celebrating Women’s Health Week!
National Women’s Health Week starts each year on Mother’s Day. This health observance encourages women and girls to make their health a priority.
Cancer and Women
Most cancers take years to develop. Many things can affect your chance of getting cancer. You can take steps every day to lower your chance of getting certain kinds of cancer.
Emergency Department Visits Involving Mental Health Conditions, Suicide-Related Behaviors, and Drug Overdoses Among Adolescents — United States, January 2019–February 2023
High baseline rates of poor adolescent mental and behavioral health were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This report shows by fall 2022, weekly emergency department visits among adolescents aged 12-17 years, and females in particular, for mental health conditions overall, suicide-related behaviors, and drug overdoses decreased compared with those during fall 2021; weekly ED visits among males were stable.
Surveillance for Violent Deaths — National Violent Death Reporting System, 48 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2020
This report summarizes data from CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) on violent deaths that occurred in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2020. The report found that intimate partner violence precipitated a large proportion of homicides for females. Mental health problems, intimate partner problems, interpersonal conflicts, and acute life stressors were primary circumstances for multiple types of violent death.
Medication for Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy — Maternal and Infant Network to Understand Outcomes Associated with Use of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy (MAT-LINK), 2014–2021
The Maternal and Infant Network to Understand Outcomes Associated with Medication for Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy (MAT-LINK) is a surveillance network of seven clinical sites in the United States. Boston Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, The Ohio State University, and the University of Utah were the initial clinical sites in 2019. In 2021, three clinical sites were added to the network (the University of New Mexico, the University of Rochester, and the University of South Florida) This report is the first to describe the system, presenting detailed information on funding, structure, data elements, and methods as well as findings from a surveillance evaluation.
Reproductive Health Counseling and Concerns Among Women with Congenital Heart Defects with and Without Disabilities
Women with disabilities are less likely to receive reproductive health counseling than women without disabilities. Yet, little is known about reproductive health counseling and concerns among women with congenital heart defects (CHD) and disabilities. This study used population-based survey data of women with CHD to examine contraceptive and pregnancy counseling and pregnancy concerns and experiences by disability status.
Medically Attended Acute Adverse Events in Pregnant People After Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Booster Vaccination
This multisite, observational, matched cohort study of more than 80,000 pregnant people found that receipt of an mRNA monovalent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) booster vaccination in pregnancy was not associated with increased risk for thrombocytopenia, myocarditis, venous thromboembolism, ischemic stroke, or other serious adverse events within 21 or 42 days after booster vaccination.
Associations of Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances with Pubertal Development and Reproductive Hormones in Females and Males: The HOME Study
Prenatal and childhood exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may be associated with lower reproductive hormones and later puberty, but epidemiological studies evaluating these associations are scarce. This study examined associations of PFAS concentrations assessed from pregnancy to adolescence with pubertal development and reproductive hormones at age 12 years.
Associations Between Breastfeeding and Post-Perinatal Infant Deaths in the U.S.
Initiation of breastfeeding has been associated with reduced post-perinatal infant mortality. Although most states have initiatives to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding, no analysis of the association of breastfeeding and infant mortality has been conducted at the state and regional level. To understand the associations between breastfeeding and post-perinatal infant mortality, the initiation of breastfeeding with post-perinatal infant mortality was analyzed by geographic region and individual states within each region.