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Not getting a COVID-19 vaccine could lead to preterm birth in pregnant women, new study shows
COVID-19 infection can lead to preterm birth, a study published last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows, but getting vaccinated protects against it.
Researchers found a serious adverse effect on preterm birth from COVID infection during pregnancy, a risk that had plummeted to zero by fall 2022, following ...Read more

Biden wants states to ensure Obamacare plans cover enough doctors and hospitals
The Biden administration plans to push states to boost oversight of the number of doctors, hospitals and other health providers insurers cover in Obamacare plans, under rules proposed in November.
The annual regulatory proposal, known as the payment parameters rule, also seeks to expand access to adult dental coverage in Affordable Care Act ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Minute: Do you need more vitamin D in the winter?
Vitamin D is a nutrient your body needs to keep your bones healthy and strong. It also has properties that support your immune system and neuromuscular health.
Dr. Jesse Bracamonte, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, says one of the main ways your body gets vitamin D is through direct sunlight on the skin. And during winter in the ...Read more

'Forever chemicals' found in freshwater fish, yet most states don't warn residents
Bill Eisenman has always fished.
“Growing up, we ate whatever we caught — catfish, carp, freshwater drum,” he said. “That was the only real source of fish in our diet as a family, and we ate a lot of it.”
Today, a branch of the Rouge River runs through Eisenman’s property in a suburb north of Detroit. But in recent years, he has ...Read more

FTC chief gears up for a showdown with private equity
A recent Federal Trade Commission civil lawsuit accusing one of the nation’s largest anesthesiology groups of monopolistic practices that sharply drove up prices is a warning to private equity investors that could temper their big push to snap up physician groups.
Over the past three years, FTC and Department of Justice officials have ...Read more

Patients expected Profemur artificial hips to last. Then they snapped in half
Bradley Little, a physical education teacher in Arizona, was leading his class through a school hallway in 2017 when he collapsed. Little feared he was having a stroke. Or, in a sign of the times, that he’d been shot. He tried to stand, but his leg wouldn’t move.
A student ran for help. Firefighters arrived and hoisted Little onto a gurney....Read more

Mayo Clinic Minute: 3 tips from a dietitian on managing holiday indulgences
Whether it's work parties, social gatherings or family get-togethers, December joins people for holidays and social events centered around plenty of food and drinks. But overindulging during the holiday season can bring unwelcome consequences.
Andrea Delgado, a Mayo Clinic dietitian, shares three tips to help manage holiday indulgences this ...Read more

State abortion bans bar exceptions for suicide, mental health
In the year since the Supreme Court outlawed the national right to an abortion, 18 states have implemented abortion bans that specify that mental health or suicidality do not qualify as a health-related exception for the woman — a deviation that’s occurring despite growing national momentum to treat physical and mental health equally.
...Read more

Environmental Nutrition: All you need to know about apple cider vinegar
Q: How is apple cider vinegar made and is it healthy?
A: Vinegar can be made from a variety of fermentable carbohydrates, including grapes, berries, rice and, yes, apples. While it is fermenting, yeast turns food sugars into alcohol, and if acetic acid bacteria (acetobacter) are present, then the alcohol is converted to acetic acid, the main ...Read more

7 foods for stress relief
We all feel wrung out sometimes by the stress of daily life and, unfortunately, we tend to reach for junk food. But high-calorie or sugary foods only trick us into thinking we feel better. Eating healthy food (and making that a conscious choice) can actually offer some real stress relief. End the cycle of turning to foods when you're stressed ...Read more

Denial: How it hurts, how it helps, and how to cope
At some point in life, everyone experiences denial, a natural response when you’re unable or unwilling to face the facts. Denial is not always a bad thing. But it might be easier to recognize in others than in yourself.
“It’s hard to look at your own life and take a good inventory of what's going on. It takes a lot of work,” says ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q&A: How to support a loved one with depression
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My brother has been diagnosed with depression. I want to help him, but I do not know what to do. Can you give me ideas for how best to support him?
ANSWER: When a loved one is affected by depression, it can be difficult to understand what is happening or what you can do to help. It is OK to be confused and wonder how you can ...Read more

Abortion opponents push state lawmakers to promote unproven 'abortion reversal'
Anti-abortion organizations are pushing state lawmakers to promote a controversial and unproven “abortion reversal” treatment — flouting the objections of medical professionals who point out it is not supported by science.
In the past several years, Republican lawmakers in at least 14 states have passed laws requiring health care ...Read more

Best foods to eat when you have a stomach bug
Viral gastroenteritis is an intestinal infection marked by watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea or vomiting, headache, muscle aches and sometimes fever. It's often called a stomach bug or the stomach flu, but it's not actually the flu or influenza, which is a respiratory illness. This infection often develops though contact with an infected...Read more

Could a monthly treatment prevent fentanyl overdoses? Scientists are working on it
LOS ANGELES — Scientists have developed an antibody treatment that shows promise in blocking the potentially deadly effects of fentanyl for nearly a month, raising hopes for a new tool to combat overdoses.
Tests in animals found that the treatment could effectively block the effects of fentanyl, laying the groundwork for assessing whether the...Read more

'It shouldn't be this bad': Pediatricians scramble for RSV shots amid shortage
BALTIMORE -- A steady stream of sick babies and worried parents started flowing into Dr. Monique Soileau-Burke’s exam room in late October.
Many were infected with respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, a common contagion that spreads in colder months and infects the lungs and can be dangerous for the very young and for older ...Read more

Consumer Health: Do you know the signs of inflammatory bowel disease?
Researchers estimate that more than half a million people in the U.S. have Crohn's disease, and 600,000 to 900,000 people in the U.S. have ulcerative colitis, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term used to describe disorders that involve chronic ...Read more

'Forever chemicals' in thousands of private wells near military sites, study finds
Water tests show nearly 3,000 private wells located near 63 active and former U.S. military bases are contaminated with “forever chemicals” at levels higher than what federal regulators consider safe for drinking.
According to the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that analyzed Department of Defense testing ...Read more

Regrowing nerves and healing without scars? A scientist's career-long quest comes closer to fruition
Ellen Heber-Katz thought the experiment was ruined.
Her post-doctoral researcher was supposed to have punched tiny holes in the ears of laboratory mice at Philadelphia’s Wistar Institute, using a standard technique to indicate which ones had received an experimental treatment. But when Heber-Katz checked the animals a few weeks later, all ...Read more

Volunteer networks step up to provide health needs to migrants at police stations
CHICAGO — Noelis Guaregua, who is eight months pregnant, wasn’t receiving prenatal care at the city-run migrant shelter where she’s staying, so she set out on a mile-long walk in freezing temperatures to a police station where she’d heard she could find food and medicine.
Originally from Anzoágueti, Venezuela, the 31-year-old had ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Patients expected Profemur artificial hips to last. Then they snapped in half
- 7 foods for stress relief
- Mayo Clinic Minute: 3 tips from a dietitian on managing holiday indulgences
- Mayo Clinic Minute: Do you need more vitamin D in the winter?
- Environmental Nutrition: All you need to know about apple cider vinegar