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    Less sex may mean earlier menopause, study claims

    Making menopause sexy and approachable

    Rochelle Weitzner, the founder of the beauty company Pause-Well Aging, explains why menopause is such a taboo subject and how she’s going to help flip that thinking on its head

    Women who have sex at least once per month are less likely to enter early menopause compared to those who have sex less frequently, according to a new study, which followed nearly 3,000 U.S. women for a decade.

    The results, which were published in Royal Society Open Science, also dispelled previous findings that being married to a male, or being exposed to male pheromones, influenced the timing of menopause, which the authors say is largely linked to genetics.

    GIVING BIRTH NOW COSTS MORE THAN US WOMAN EARNS IN A MONTH

    “We did not replicate the findings from previous research showing that simply being married is associated with a later ANM (age of natural menopause), most likely owing to the variable cultural and temporal settings of previous studies,” the authors wrote. “However, we did demonstrate that increased sexual frequency during the pre- and peri-menopause decreased the risk of experiencing menopause.”

    The authors surmised that the relationship is likely the result of an “adaptive trade-off relative to the likelihood of pregnancy when approaching menopause,” but noted that there is no behavioral intervention that will prevent a woman from inevitably entering menopause.

    SECOND US BABY BORN AFTER UTERUS TRANSPLANT FROM DECEASED DONOR

    Speaking to Health.com, the lead study author, Megan Arnot, Ph.D., explained that if a woman is not having sex, there is no likelihood of pregnancy, meaning the body may seek to expend its energy elsewhere.

    “It might be that there’s a trade-off between continued ovulation and stopping,” she told Health.com. “So there may be a point in life where it’s better off to stop ovulating and invest your energy elsewhere if you’re not going to have a baby (because you’re not having sex).”

    The women involved in the study were on average 45 years old at the start, and had reported frequency and type of sex to researchers. During the 10-year study period, 45 percent of women had experienced a natural menopause at an average age of 52. Those who reported having sex weekly were found to be 28 percent less likely to experience menopause than women who had sex less than monthly.

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    “If we interpret these results from a fitness-maximizing framework, it may be the physical cues of sex signal to the body that there is a possibility of becoming pregnant, and therefore an adaptive trade-off may occur between continued energetic investment and reproductive cessation,” the authors noted. “During ovulation, the woman’s immune function is impaired making the body more susceptible to disease. Hence, if a pregnancy is unlikely owning to a lack of sexual activity, then it would not be beneficial to allocate energy to a costly process, especially if there is the option to invest resources into existing kin.”

    Giving birth now costs more than a US woman earns in a month

    Whoa, mama. That’s a lot of money.

    A new study revealed that the cost of childbirth has become exorbitant for many mothers — regardless of insurance status. Researchers found that pregnant women with employer-provided health insurance spent an average of $4,500 out of pocket in 2015, the most recent data available.

    MINNESOTA INFANT DIES OF WHOOPING COUGH, FIRST SUCH DEATH IN STATE IN 7 YEARS

    That’s a 50 percent spike compared with 2007, when the cost was about $3,000 out of pocket — and more than three times the rate of inflation during that period.

    “I don’t know a lot of patients who have this kind of funding lying around,” Dr. Michelle Moniz, a physician and assistant professor at the University of Michigan and study author, told CBS News.

    “These expenses are coming at a time when most of my patients are thinking of everything else on their baby list,” she added, “a crib, a car seat, everything they need to keep their newborn safe — and they aren’t expecting a bill like this.”

    The study, published this week in Health Affairs, included birth records from more than 650,000 women who would be considered in the best position to give birth, thanks to their large employer-sponsored health insurance plans, which typically offer more cost coverage than plans through small businesses or those purchased independently through HealthCare.gov.

    The cause of the increase isn’t due to the rising cost of hospital care. In fact, the actual billed amount for childbirth remained fairly steady over the seven-year study period. Instead, researchers found that deductible payments rose from about $1,500 to nearly $2,500, while coinsurance costs (what the patient pays after meeting their deductible) increased by about $300.

    “I was completely surprised that the phenomenon of having to pay something out of pocket for maternity care was almost universal,” said Moniz. “Ninety-eight percent of people had some out-of-pocket cost by the end of the study.”

    ‘WIDOWMAKER’ HEART ATTACK PATIENT HAS 6 BLOOD CLOTS PULLED FROM ARTERY

    For those without insurance, the cost is staggering. Health-care watchdog Fair Health found that the average cost of vaginal birth without insurance in Alabama, where childbirth costs are lowest, is $9,516.86. On the high end, in Alaska, a natural birth averages $20,243.38. Women who require a C-section can count on paying approximately $4,000 to $8,000 more.

    Study authors call out the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which requires employer-based insurance plans to cover maternity services, pointing out that just because it’s now mandatory doesn’t mean it’s more affordable.

    “For people who talk about the ACA, there seems to be this misconception that ‘oh, maternity’s covered,’ ” said Moniz, who wrote in her report that those plans are being allowed to “impose cost-sharing such as copayments and deductibles.”

    That’s especially concerning considering pregnancy-related deaths are also on the rise, especially among black and other minority women. A 2019 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that U.S. women today are 50 percent more likely to die of childbirth-related complications than a generation ago.

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    “Our hope is that policymakers take note now and change the situation,” she added. “We want every family to get off to the best start in life, and this is an irremediable barrier.”

    Click for more from the NYPost.com.

    Second US baby born after uterus transplant from deceased donor

    A Pennsylvania woman who was born without a uterus welcomed a baby boy in November, thanks to a clinical trial that saw her receive the organ from a deceased donor, marking just the second such birth in the U.S. Jennifer Gobrecht, who was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, had undergone an extensive evaluation by the Penn Medicine clinical trial team before she was enrolled in the Uterus Transplantation for Uterine Factor Infertility (UNTIL) trial two years ago.

    Jennifer Gobrecht, pictured with her husband, was born without a uterus and found out at age 17 that she would never be able to carry a child.

    Jennifer Gobrecht, pictured with her husband, was born without a uterus and found out at age 17 that she would never be able to carry a child.
    (Penn Medicine)

    “When I signed up for this trial, I hoped it would help my husband and me start a family, but I also strongly believe in helping others,” the 33-year-old said, in a Penn Medicine news release. “My hope is that through this research, others with similar struggles will have the same opportunity.”

    CONNECTICUT MOM ‘FEELS UGLY AND UNATTRACTIVE’ AFTER PLASTIC SURGERIES LEFT HER WITH LUMPY LIPS, MISSHAPEN NOSE

    Gobrecht said she first found out at age 17 that she wouldn’t be able to carry a child of her own due to MRKH. The syndrome, which according to the news release affects 1 out of every 4,500 females, typically means a woman has functional ovaries but does not have a fully formed uterus. Gobrecht’s case qualified as Uterine Factor Infertility (UFI), which before uterus transplants became a possibility was considered an irreversible condition.

    Gobrecht enrolled in Penn Medicine's UNTIL trial and received a uterus from a deceased donor, which enabled her to become pregnant through IVF. 

    Gobrecht enrolled in Penn Medicine’s UNTIL trial and received a uterus from a deceased donor, which enabled her to become pregnant through IVF. 
    (Penn Medicine)

    Gobrecht received her uterus from a deceased donor through the Gift of Life program in a 10-hour surgery performed in 2018. Gobrecht and her husband had already gone through in vitro fertilization while exploring the possibility of using a gestational carrier so they had embryos available to transfer into her new uterus following the successful transplant.

    In November 2019, the Gobrecht’s welcomed their son, Benjamin, via cesarean section at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

    “One of the hardest days of my life was when I was 17 years old and learned I would never be able to carry my own child,” she said, in the news release. “My husband and I have always wanted to grow our family, but we knew the limited options meant it might never happen. And now here we are, in spite of everything, holding our beautiful baby boy. Benjamin is a perfect miracle.”

    In November, she gave birth to baby Benjamin, marking just the second such birth to occur in the U.S. 

    In November, she gave birth to baby Benjamin, marking just the second such birth to occur in the U.S. 
    (Penn Medicine)

    The birth was attended by a team of more than 20 specialists, and Gobrecht’s case was overseen by more than 35 health care providers and clinical investigators. According to the news release, the clinical trial will last between five and 10 years and include long-term follow-up after birth, as well as the removal of the uterus after delivery.

    MYSTERIOUS VIRAL PNEUMONIA OUTBREAK IN CHINA LIKELY CAUSED BY NEW VIRUS, SCIENTISTS SAY 

    “In addition to providing families like the Gobrechts with a new way to expand their family, the research implications for this trial hold great promise,” said Dr. Paige Porrette, assistant professor of Transplant Surgery and co-principal investigator on the UNTIL trial, in part, in the news release. “This clinical trial is an outstanding and unique research opportunity to learn more about how pregnancy and transplantation work, and we are investigating many important research questions in those areas.”

    The proud parents call their son a

    The proud parents call their son a “perfect miracle.” 
    (Penn Medicine)

    While Benjamin’s birth marks the first time a baby was born using a uterus from a deceased donor for the Penn Medicine team, it has been done once before in the U.S. by a team at the Cleveland Clinic. The baby girl was born in June, and her mother, who chose to remain anonymous, was said to be “doing great” at the time.

    “We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome,” Dr. Uma Perni, Cleveland Clinic maternal-fetal medicine specialist, said in a news release at the time. “It’s important to remember this is still research. The field of uterus transplantation is rapidly evolving, and it’s exciting to see what the options may be for women in the future.”

    The mother, who is in her mid-30s, received the donated uterus in late 2017 and became pregnant nearly a year later through IVF. She was one of five to have received a uterus transplant in the program, three of which were successful. The other two resulted in hysterectomies.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

    The feat has also been achieved by a research team in Brazil, which announced its first successful live birth using a uterus from a deceased donor in 2018.

    Second US baby born after uterus transplant from deceased donor

    A Pennsylvania woman who was born without a uterus welcomed a baby boy in November, thanks to a clinical trial that saw her receive the organ from a deceased donor, marking just the second such birth in the U.S. Jennifer Gobrecht, who was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, had undergone an extensive evaluation by the Penn Medicine clinical trial team before she was enrolled in the Uterus Transplantation for Uterine Factor Infertility (UNTIL) trial two years ago.

    Jennifer Gobrecht, pictured with her husband, was born without a uterus and found out at age 17 that she would never be able to carry a child.

    Jennifer Gobrecht, pictured with her husband, was born without a uterus and found out at age 17 that she would never be able to carry a child.
    (Penn Medicine)

    “When I signed up for this trial, I hoped it would help my husband and me start a family, but I also strongly believe in helping others,” the 33-year-old said, in a Penn Medicine news release. “My hope is that through this research, others with similar struggles will have the same opportunity.”

    CONNECTICUT MOM ‘FEELS UGLY AND UNATTRACTIVE’ AFTER PLASTIC SURGERIES LEFT HER WITH LUMPY LIPS, MISSHAPEN NOSE

    Gobrecht said she first found out at age 17 that she wouldn’t be able to carry a child of her own due to MRKH. The syndrome, which according to the news release affects 1 out of every 4,500 females, typically means a woman has functional ovaries but does not have a fully formed uterus. Gobrecht’s case qualified as Uterine Factor Infertility (UFI), which before uterus transplants became a possibility was considered an irreversible condition.

    Gobrecht enrolled in Penn Medicine's UNTIL trial and received a uterus from a deceased donor, which enabled her to become pregnant through IVF. 

    Gobrecht enrolled in Penn Medicine’s UNTIL trial and received a uterus from a deceased donor, which enabled her to become pregnant through IVF. 
    (Penn Medicine)

    Gobrecht received her uterus from a deceased donor through the Gift of Life program in a 10-hour surgery performed in 2018. Gobrecht and her husband had already gone through in vitro fertilization while exploring the possibility of using a gestational carrier so they had embryos available to transfer into her new uterus following the successful transplant.

    In November 2019, the Gobrecht’s welcomed their son, Benjamin, via cesarean section at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

    “One of the hardest days of my life was when I was 17 years old and learned I would never be able to carry my own child,” she said, in the news release. “My husband and I have always wanted to grow our family, but we knew the limited options meant it might never happen. And now here we are, in spite of everything, holding our beautiful baby boy. Benjamin is a perfect miracle.”

    In November, she gave birth to baby Benjamin, marking just the second such birth to occur in the U.S. 

    In November, she gave birth to baby Benjamin, marking just the second such birth to occur in the U.S. 
    (Penn Medicine)

    The birth was attended by a team of more than 20 specialists, and Gobrecht’s case was overseen by more than 35 health care providers and clinical investigators. According to the news release, the clinical trial will last between five and 10 years and include long-term follow-up after birth, as well as the removal of the uterus after delivery.

    MYSTERIOUS VIRAL PNEUMONIA OUTBREAK IN CHINA LIKELY CAUSED BY NEW VIRUS, SCIENTISTS SAY 

    “In addition to providing families like the Gobrechts with a new way to expand their family, the research implications for this trial hold great promise,” said Dr. Paige Porrette, assistant professor of Transplant Surgery and co-principal investigator on the UNTIL trial, in part, in the news release. “This clinical trial is an outstanding and unique research opportunity to learn more about how pregnancy and transplantation work, and we are investigating many important research questions in those areas.”

    The proud parents call their son a

    The proud parents call their son a “perfect miracle.” 
    (Penn Medicine)

    While Benjamin’s birth marks the first time a baby was born using a uterus from a deceased donor for the Penn Medicine team, it has been done once before in the U.S. by a team at the Cleveland Clinic. The baby girl was born in June, and her mother, who chose to remain anonymous, was said to be “doing great” at the time.

    “We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome,” Dr. Uma Perni, Cleveland Clinic maternal-fetal medicine specialist, said in a news release at the time. “It’s important to remember this is still research. The field of uterus transplantation is rapidly evolving, and it’s exciting to see what the options may be for women in the future.”

    The mother, who is in her mid-30s, received the donated uterus in late 2017 and became pregnant nearly a year later through IVF. She was one of five to have received a uterus transplant in the program, three of which were successful. The other two resulted in hysterectomies.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

    The feat has also been achieved by a research team in Brazil, which announced its first successful live birth using a uterus from a deceased donor in 2018.

    Woman has 77-pound tumor drained, removed from abdomen, report says

    A woman in China who dismissed a growing bulge in her abdomen as “air” stunned doctors when they discovered that it was actually a 77-pound tumor that had gone unchecked for years. The 59-year-old, only identified as Ms. Huang, was rushed to the hospital by concerned family members after she began having trouble breathing, AsiaWire reported.

    Peiling said that in her 38 years of practice she had never seen a tumor this large. 

    Peiling said that in her 38 years of practice she had never seen a tumor this large. 
    (AsiaWire)

    WOMAN BORN WITH 2 WOMBS, CERVICES NOW MOM TO 2 ‘MIRACLE’ BOYS

    She was admitted to Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University after several other hospitals declined to treat her, according to the report.

    It took 90 minutes for surgeons to drain and then remove the tumor. 

    It took 90 minutes for surgeons to drain and then remove the tumor. 
    (AsiaWire)

    “I couldn’t lie flat to sleep,” Huang, of Shuangyashan, in northeast China, told AsiaWire. “I had to sit up with a pillow behind my back.”

    DAVID CORDANI, CIGNA CEO, SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ‘MEDICARE-FOR-ALL’

    After being examined and going for scans, doctors diagnosed her with a benign ovarian mucinous cystadenoma, which tends to be massive but is a rare occurrence, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. The cysts contain a fluid which could lead to complications if it ruptures.

    Huang is said to still b recovering from the surgery. 

    Huang is said to still b recovering from the surgery. 
    (AsiaWire)

    “I’ve been a doctor for 38 years, and I’ve seen many large tumors, but I’d never seen one like this before,” Dr. Li Peiling, one of Huang’s doctors, told AsiaWire. “Scans showed a giant growth occupying her entire pelvic cavity. Her other organs – liver, gallbladder, spleen, kidneys – none of these could be seen.”

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    Peiling told the news outlet it appeared as if her patient was pregnant with multiple children. She said it took 90 minutes to first drain the tumor and then surgically remove it from her abdomen. Huang is reportedly still recovering from the surgery.

    Woman born with 2 wombs, cervices now mom to 2 ‘miracle’ boys

    After suffering four miscarriages, a British woman born with two wombs and two cervices is now the mom to two healthy boys.

    When Emily Taylor, 31, and her husband, Richard, decided to start a family, Taylor “kept having miscarriages and no one could tell me why,” she said, as per the Daily Mail. 

    NEW JERSEY COMPANY RECALLS CUT FRUIT OVER SALMONELLA CONCERNS 

    Between 2013 and 2015, Taylor suffered three miscarriages, all of which occurred around the six-week mark. After a fourth miscarriage, she went to see a gynecologist who made a shocking discovery:  An exam revealed Taylor was born with two cervixes and two wombs, a rare congenital abnormality referred to as uterus didelphys, or, more simply, a double uterus.

    Emily Taylor and her two sons.

    Emily Taylor and her two sons.
    (Triangle News)

    As a female fetus develops, the uterus begins as two small tubes. Typically, those tubes join together to create the uterus. But in rare instances, the tubes don’t join together and instead develop into two separate structures.

    “A double uterus may have one opening (cervix) into one vagina, or each uterine cavity may have a cervix. In many cases, a thin wall of tissue runs down the length of the vagina, dividing it into two separate openings,” the Mayo Clinic explains. Though women with a double uterus can get pregnant and deliver healthy babies, they are at an increased risk of miscarriage or premature birth, as per the clinic.

    Taylor said she felt “gutted” after hearing the news. “I thought that was why I kept having miscarriages, I didn’t think I’d be able to have children, even though he said keep trying. I thought, ‘It’s not going to work.”

    Emily Taylor when she was pregnant with one of her sons.

    Emily Taylor when she was pregnant with one of her sons.
    (Triangle News)

    But in May 2016, Taylor was pregnant. She was ecstatic — but also worried.

    “I was scared. I was constantly worrying, the whole pregnancy I thought something would go wrong,” she said.

    Emily Taylor and her family.

    Emily Taylor and her family.
    (Triangle News)

    Thankfully, Taylor had a successful pregnancy. At 37 weeks, she delivered her son, Richi, via C-section. He grew in her right womb. When Richi turned 1, Taylor and her husband decided to try for another baby. A couple of months later, she was pregnant again. This time, the baby was growing in her left womb.

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    Her second child, Arlie, was born in October of 2018.

    “My two boys really are miracles,” she said, noting she and her husband are open to having more children.

    Once-a-month birth control pill? Experiment works in animals

    Birth control pills work great if women remember to take them every day, but missing doses can mean a surprise pregnancy. Now scientists have figured out how to pack a month’s supply into one capsule.

    The trick: A tiny star-shaped gadget that unfolds in the stomach and gradually releases the drug.

    BABY BORN AT CHARLOTTE AIRPORT AFTER MOM’S WATER BROKE MIDFLIGHT

    The experimental capsule is still years away from drugstores, but researchers reported Wednesday that it worked as designed in a key test in animals. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is investing $13 million for further development of the once-a-month pill, in hopes of eventually improving family planning options in developing countries.

    “It has a lot of potential,” said Dr. Beatrice Chen, a family planning specialist at the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn’t involved in the new research. “Birth control is not one-size-fits-all,” and women need more options.

    This undated photo provided by MIT/Langer Lab shows a star-shaped gastric resident dosage form of birth control that can be folded into a standard capsule and orally ingested. The dosage form resides in the stomach for up to a month where it releases the contraceptive drug.​ 

    This undated photo provided by MIT/Langer Lab shows a star-shaped gastric resident dosage form of birth control that can be folded into a standard capsule and orally ingested. The dosage form resides in the stomach for up to a month where it releases the contraceptive drug.​ 
    (Paramesh Karandikar/MIT/Langer Lab via AP)

    Today, women who want the convenience of long-lasting contraception can choose among various devices, from a weekly patch to a monthly vaginal ring to an IUD that lasts for years.

    It wasn’t clear that “the Pill” — one of the most popular forms of birth control because it’s cheap and easy to use — ever could join that list. Pills of all sorts generally pass through the body in a day.

    PERMANENT HAIR DYE, INCREASED BREAST CANCER LINKED IN NEW STUDY

    A team from the lab of Massachusetts Institute of Technology inventor Robert Langer engineered a fix to protect pills from the harsh environment of the digestive system.

    “We developed this capsule system that looks like a starfish, that can stay in the stomach several days, weeks, even a month at a time,” said Dr. Giovanni Traverso of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a senior author of the study.

    The star-shaped device has six arms, and each holds a certain medication dose. The device is folded inside an ordinary-sized capsule. Swallow the capsule and stomach acid dissolves the coating, letting the star unfold. It’s too big to fit through the stomach’s exit but not big enough to cause an obstruction. As medication dissolves out of each of the arms, the device breaks down until it can safely pass through the digestive system.

    Langer and Traverso’s team first used the technology to try turning daily drugs for malaria and HIV into capsules that lasted a week or two. They also are experimental, but longer-lasting pills one day could help patients with serious diseases better stick with treatment.

    A logical next attempt: A month-long oral contraceptive.

    JAPENESE DEPARTMENT STORE ‘RETHINKING’ USE OF ‘PERIOD BADGES’ FOR MENSTRUATING EMPLOYEES

    First, they had to tweak the star-shaped device. They made it stronger and turned to long-lasting contraceptive implants for the materials to hold the hormone ingredient and let it gradually seep out.

    Then they tested the contraceptive capsules in pigs, which have human-like digestive systems. The experimental capsules released the contraceptive fairly consistently for up to four weeks, and the amount in the pigs’ bloodstream was similar to what daily tablets deliver, MIT lead authors Ameya Kirtane and Tiffany Hua reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

    Lyndra Therapeutics Inc., a Massachusetts company co-founded by Langer and Traverso, is further developing the monthly pill and multiple other uses for the technology.

    To be most useful, the capsule should be designed to emit three weeks of contraception and then allow for a woman’s period, like a month’s supply of birth control pills does, Traverso said. That would alert women when it was time to take another monthly dose.

    Pittsburgh’s Chen cautioned that more safety testing is required, including how well the experimental capsule breaks down and what’s the proper dose of different hormones, before this can be tested in women. Other questions include whether the device dissolves in the same way in different people.

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    But if it pans out, Chen said it would be exciting to try combining both contraception and HIV drugs into the same capsule, particularly for developing countries where women are at high risk of the virus that causes AIDS.