Do dogs prefer female voices? Plus, more screen time for babies could slow development, and more health news
HealthDay
Do dogs prefer female voices?
Mothers use sing-song language to talk to their infants. Their dogs respond to it, too, according to a new study.
Researchers in Hungary also found that dogs have greater brain sensitivity to the speech directed at them than to adult-directed speech, especially if the words are spoken by a woman.
In imaging scans, dogs and infants showed brain similarities during the processing of speech with “exaggerated prosody,” sometimes referred to as motherese — that simple, playful and rhythmic speech style mothers often use.
To study this in dogs, researchers measured dog brain activity via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
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Gender-affirming surgeries in the US have nearly tripled in 3 years
The number of Americans undergoing gender-affirming surgery is on the rise, new research reveals, almost tripling between 2016 and 2019 alone.
During that period, more than 48,000 patients — about half of them between 19 and 30 years of age — underwent some form of gender-affirming (GAS) surgery, researchers found.
About 4,500 of those procedures were performed in 2016. By 2019, that figure rose to a high of 13,000, a number that dipped only slightly in 2020.
“A lot of scare pieces are being written about how many trans people there seem to be all of a sudden, but this is not about a skyrocketing number of people who all of a sudden are trans and all of a sudden are seeking these procedures,” said Kellan Baker, a transgender health care policy expert.
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Scientists decode Y chromosome
An international research team has achieved the first complete sequencing of the human Y chromosome, which is closely linked to male development.
This is the last of the human chromosomes to be fully sequenced, an effort that may shed light on everything from fertility to disease.
The work was led by the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium, which is a team of researchers funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in Bethesda, Md., part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
The new sequence fills in gaps across more than 50% of the Y chromosome’s length.
The research, published Aug. 23 in Nature, uncovered important genomic features, including factors in sperm production.
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COVID-19 recession resulted in “baby bump”
The COVID-19 recession resulted in an overall baby bump, or increase in births, among U.S.-born mothers, according to a study published online Aug. 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Martha J. Bailey, Ph.D., from the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues examined childbearing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic using natality microdata covering U.S. births for 2015 to 2021 and California births from 2015 through February 2023.
The researchers found that reductions in births to foreign-born mothers accounted for 60 percent of the 2020 decline in U.S. fertility rates, although births to this group comprised only 22 percent of all U.S. births in 2019. The start of the decline was in January 2020.
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Eye scans could spot Parkinson’s in earliest stages
British researchers may have found a way to diagnose Parkinson’s disease several years sooner.
Researchers at University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital say that eye scans may be able to detect signs of Parkinson’s up to seven years before diagnosis.
“I continue to be amazed by what we can discover through eye scans. While we are not yet ready to predict whether an individual will develop Parkinson’s, we hope that this method could soon become a pre-screening tool for people at risk of disease,” said lead author Dr. Siegfried Wagner, of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.
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What is ice cream-induced “brain freeze”?
Anyone who has quickly slurped up a milkshake or chomped on a snow cone knows the sharp, brief pain of “brain freeze.”
Its cause is a mystery, but it’s not harmful, according to experts at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
“It is very common and happens more frequently in children,” said Dr. Ashley Agan, assistant professor of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery.
“Some studies suggest that patients who experience migraine headaches may be more susceptible to brain freeze headaches,” Agan said in a center news release. “In general, it is a very quick pain that dissipates in minutes.”
Inhaling freezing air too quickly or diving into cold water can also cause brain freeze.
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More screen time for babies could slow development
Too much screen time can lead to developmental delays in babies, researchers say.
When 1-year-olds viewed screens for more than four hours a day, they had delays in communication and problem-solving skills when assessed at ages 2 and 4, according to a new study published Aug. 21 in JAMA Pediatrics.
They also had delays in fine motor and social skills at age 2, though that gap was gone by age 4, researchers.
It may not be the screens, but what they replace, a Yale expert said.
Face-to-face interaction between a parent and child gives babies information about language and meaning through facial expressions, words, tone of voice and physical feedback, said David Lewkowicz, a developmental psychologist at the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, Conn.
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Do dogs prefer female voices? Plus, more screen time for babies could slow development, and more health news
"Pregnancy-related death" encompasses a broad scope compared to "maternal mortality," which is more narrowly defined as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days from the end of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management."
Pregnancy-related deaths include those occurring during pregnancy, at delivery, and up to a full year postpartum. This category also encompasses the causes of maternal mortality, such as hypertension, preeclampsia, and hemorrhage, as well as suicide, homicide, drug overdose, and car accidents occurring within one year of delivery.
To raise awareness about this national crisis, Northwell Health partnered with Stacker to review data from the CDC to explore why there is prevalence of preventable pregnancy-related deaths. The research shows that the most common cause of pregnancy-related death varies depending on when the health problems occur. While heart disease and stroke are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths overall, severe bleeding or amniotic fluid embolism cause the most deaths during childbirth; high blood pressure, infection, and heavy bleeding cause the most during the week immediately following delivery; and weakened heart muscles cause the most deaths from one week to a full year after delivery.
Read on to find out how the U.S. compares to other developed nations in addressing this care gap in preganancy-related deaths, which demographics are most affected, and what is being done to improve health outcomes.
"Pregnancy-related death" encompasses a broad scope compared to "maternal mortality," which is more narrowly defined as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days from the end of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management."
Pregnancy-related deaths include those occurring during pregnancy, at delivery, and up to a full year postpartum. This category also encompasses the causes of maternal mortality, such as hypertension, preeclampsia, and hemorrhage, as well as suicide, homicide, drug overdose, and car accidents occurring within one year of delivery.
To raise awareness about this national crisis, Northwell Health partnered with Stacker to review data from the CDC to explore why there is prevalence of preventable pregnancy-related deaths. The research shows that the most common cause of pregnancy-related death varies depending on when the health problems occur. While heart disease and stroke are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths overall, severe bleeding or amniotic fluid embolism cause the most deaths during childbirth; high blood pressure, infection, and heavy bleeding cause the most during the week immediately following delivery; and weakened heart muscles cause the most deaths from one week to a full year after delivery.
Read on to find out how the U.S. compares to other developed nations in addressing this care gap in preganancy-related deaths, which demographics are most affected, and what is being done to improve health outcomes.
Do dogs prefer female voices? Plus, more screen time for babies could slow development, and more health news
Northwell Health
The CDC implemented its Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System in 1987. Since that time, pregnancy-related mortality has trended steadily upward.
While the CDC cannot fully pinpoint why this is the case, it surmises that it could be partly due to the commensurate improvement of data systems, such as the PMSS, in documenting these deaths, leading to an increase in reported deaths overall. Moreover, the nationwide adoption of pregnancy checkboxes on death certificates in 2018 undoubtedly helped identify overlooked deaths, despite their relative ineffectiveness as qualifying pregnancy-related deaths from causes such as accidents or substance abuse.
The CDC reports that the underlying causes of pregnancy-related death from 2011 to 2015, were split nearly evenly among deaths during pregnancy; during delivery or the following week; or within one year of delivery—roughly one-third of all deaths equally. Within those time frames, heart disease and stroke were the leading causes of death, accounting for 34% of fatalities, while infections and severe bleeding were also influential causes.
Later data covering 2017 to 2019 showed that heart-related issues, along with infection and hemorrhage, remained the leading cause of death. Unfortunately, this CDC data does not qualify in further detail deaths attributed to "other cardiovascular conditions" and "other noncardiovascular medical conditions," which leaves a measure of uncertainty regarding minor and potential trends in the cause of death.
Thankfully, many of these all-too-preventable conditions that lead to fatalities are gaining some increased attention. The CDC's Eliminate Maternal Mortality Program recently granted $2.8 million for nine new Maternal Mortality Review Committees, which review pregnancy-related deaths on a state or local level to establish recommendations for preventing future deaths. MMRCs are currently operating in 39 states and one U.S. territory. Their research is helping to expand insurance coverage and improve long-term post-childbirth care.
Northwell Health
The CDC implemented its Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System in 1987. Since that time, pregnancy-related mortality has trended steadily upward.
While the CDC cannot fully pinpoint why this is the case, it surmises that it could be partly due to the commensurate improvement of data systems, such as the PMSS, in documenting these deaths, leading to an increase in reported deaths overall. Moreover, the nationwide adoption of pregnancy checkboxes on death certificates in 2018 undoubtedly helped identify overlooked deaths, despite their relative ineffectiveness as qualifying pregnancy-related deaths from causes such as accidents or substance abuse.
The CDC reports that the underlying causes of pregnancy-related death from 2011 to 2015, were split nearly evenly among deaths during pregnancy; during delivery or the following week; or within one year of delivery—roughly one-third of all deaths equally. Within those time frames, heart disease and stroke were the leading causes of death, accounting for 34% of fatalities, while infections and severe bleeding were also influential causes.
Later data covering 2017 to 2019 showed that heart-related issues, along with infection and hemorrhage, remained the leading cause of death. Unfortunately, this CDC data does not qualify in further detail deaths attributed to "other cardiovascular conditions" and "other noncardiovascular medical conditions," which leaves a measure of uncertainty regarding minor and potential trends in the cause of death.
Thankfully, many of these all-too-preventable conditions that lead to fatalities are gaining some increased attention. The CDC's Eliminate Maternal Mortality Program recently granted $2.8 million for nine new Maternal Mortality Review Committees, which review pregnancy-related deaths on a state or local level to establish recommendations for preventing future deaths. MMRCs are currently operating in 39 states and one U.S. territory. Their research is helping to expand insurance coverage and improve long-term post-childbirth care.
Do dogs prefer female voices? Plus, more screen time for babies could slow development, and more health news
Northwell Health
Maeve Wallace, associate director of the Mary Amelia Center for Women's Health Equity Research at Tulane University, participating in a webinar on pregnancy-related death in the U.S., unequivocally stated that pregnancy-related mortality is a "racialized issue."
As shown here, the most recent findings by the CDC indicate that Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Native American/Alaskan women experience death rates at least twice and up to four times higher than white women.
A study from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests this inequity becomes exacerbated once education level is taken into account. The risk of pregnancy-related death for Black women with a college degree or higher is more than five times that of white women with the same educational level and nearly twice that of white women with less than a high school diploma.
To that end, many medical professionals have called attention to the institutionalized marginalization of specific racial groups in health care. Moreover, one of the primary hurdles to adequate care both during and after childbirth concerns medical insurance. Not only are people of color less likely to be insured, but they are also more likely to face additional hurdles to accessing culturally and linguistically appropriate care—hurdles white people generally do not face.
Such systemic discrimination has been proven to drive unequal access to public health care and result in uneven health outcomes across populations. Within maternal care specifically, the 2019 "Giving Voice to Mothers study" found that women of color are much more likely to experience mistreatment, such as being shouted at, stonewalled, ignored, or otherwise mistreated during childbirth.
Many proposed solutions are taking into account the inequities inherent in pregnancy-related deaths, which disproportionately affect Black, Pacific Islander, and Native American women, by, for example, addressing transportation obstacles to health care deserts in rural areas or supporting community-based doulas who can understand their patient's background and better advocate for them.
In 2021, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act was introduced in Congress, which comprises 13 individual bills that would invest in critical areas including more community-based support organizations for Black women, veterans, and incarcerated mothers; better data collection and quality measures to identify and flag poor care in more communities; and improved payment models that incentivize health care providers to offer better quality maternity and postpartum care.
Northwell Health
Maeve Wallace, associate director of the Mary Amelia Center for Women's Health Equity Research at Tulane University, participating in a webinar on pregnancy-related death in the U.S., unequivocally stated that pregnancy-related mortality is a "racialized issue."
As shown here, the most recent findings by the CDC indicate that Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Native American/Alaskan women experience death rates at least twice and up to four times higher than white women.
A study from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests this inequity becomes exacerbated once education level is taken into account. The risk of pregnancy-related death for Black women with a college degree or higher is more than five times that of white women with the same educational level and nearly twice that of white women with less than a high school diploma.
To that end, many medical professionals have called attention to the institutionalized marginalization of specific racial groups in health care. Moreover, one of the primary hurdles to adequate care both during and after childbirth concerns medical insurance. Not only are people of color less likely to be insured, but they are also more likely to face additional hurdles to accessing culturally and linguistically appropriate care—hurdles white people generally do not face.
Such systemic discrimination has been proven to drive unequal access to public health care and result in uneven health outcomes across populations. Within maternal care specifically, the 2019 "Giving Voice to Mothers study" found that women of color are much more likely to experience mistreatment, such as being shouted at, stonewalled, ignored, or otherwise mistreated during childbirth.
Many proposed solutions are taking into account the inequities inherent in pregnancy-related deaths, which disproportionately affect Black, Pacific Islander, and Native American women, by, for example, addressing transportation obstacles to health care deserts in rural areas or supporting community-based doulas who can understand their patient's background and better advocate for them.
In 2021, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act was introduced in Congress, which comprises 13 individual bills that would invest in critical areas including more community-based support organizations for Black women, veterans, and incarcerated mothers; better data collection and quality measures to identify and flag poor care in more communities; and improved payment models that incentivize health care providers to offer better quality maternity and postpartum care.
Do dogs prefer female voices? Plus, more screen time for babies could slow development, and more health news
Northwell Health
Some conditions increase any woman's risk of dying during pregnancy or postpartum, regardless of race or income level. More and more pregnant persons across the U.S. are reported as having hypertension, diabetes, and/or chronic heart disease, all of which increase their risk of death during pregnancy or the year after. Nonetheless, some conditions disproportionately affect women of color, even without pre-existing conditions.
Mental health issues, including suicide and substance abuse, are now better understood as contributing to deaths during the postpartum period and are more present in certain racial groups than in white women. Compounding this problem is an inequity in screening and diagnosis.
One 2020 study cited in Scientific American found that Black women were 36% less likely to receive postpartum depression screening than white women—and Native American, Native Alaskan, Hawaiian, and multiracial women were 56% less likely.
Additionally, many women of color experience particularly intense social stress, economic pressure, and other vulnerability in the year after giving birth, exacerbating their heightened susceptibility to pregnancy-related mortality during that time.
Fortunately, a growing awareness of the scope of pregnancy-related deaths is shining more light on the importance of the postpartum stage for physical and mental health. There is an increased understanding that a woman's maternal health journey is only beginning, not ending, once they leave the hospital after giving birth.
Many women find themselves experiencing increased stress and feelings of vulnerability following this time, and often are unaware of maternal health warning signs. Initiatives to better serve women postpartum include the CDC's Hear Her campaign, which includes multilingual resources detailing symptoms such as dizziness, chronic headaches or swelling, which may seem harmless, but can signal more serious issues in the year post-birth. The program also offers conversation guides for documenting symptoms and talking to health care providers to encourage women to speak up about things that don't feel right.
This story originally appeared on Northwell Health and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Northwell Health
Some conditions increase any woman's risk of dying during pregnancy or postpartum, regardless of race or income level. More and more pregnant persons across the U.S. are reported as having hypertension, diabetes, and/or chronic heart disease, all of which increase their risk of death during pregnancy or the year after. Nonetheless, some conditions disproportionately affect women of color, even without pre-existing conditions.
Mental health issues, including suicide and substance abuse, are now better understood as contributing to deaths during the postpartum period and are more present in certain racial groups than in white women. Compounding this problem is an inequity in screening and diagnosis.
One 2020 study cited in Scientific American found that Black women were 36% less likely to receive postpartum depression screening than white women—and Native American, Native Alaskan, Hawaiian, and multiracial women were 56% less likely.
Additionally, many women of color experience particularly intense social stress, economic pressure, and other vulnerability in the year after giving birth, exacerbating their heightened susceptibility to pregnancy-related mortality during that time.
Fortunately, a growing awareness of the scope of pregnancy-related deaths is shining more light on the importance of the postpartum stage for physical and mental health. There is an increased understanding that a woman's maternal health journey is only beginning, not ending, once they leave the hospital after giving birth.
Many women find themselves experiencing increased stress and feelings of vulnerability following this time, and often are unaware of maternal health warning signs. Initiatives to better serve women postpartum include the CDC's Hear Her campaign, which includes multilingual resources detailing symptoms such as dizziness, chronic headaches or swelling, which may seem harmless, but can signal more serious issues in the year post-birth. The program also offers conversation guides for documenting symptoms and talking to health care providers to encourage women to speak up about things that don't feel right.
This story originally appeared on Northwell Health and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock