These factors influence women the most—but are they based on hard evidence? Continue reading
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Why Women Choose to Remove Healthy Breasts
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Tag Archives: Women
The Sports Injury Women Are More Likely to Get
Plus, what you can do to lower your risk Continue reading
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How Interval Training Is Different for Women
Plus, how to get the best bang for your interval-training buck Continue reading
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Tons of Guys Go for Taken Women in Online Dating
So THIS is what happens when women make OkCupid profiles saying they’re looking for a man to help them cheat on their partner Continue reading
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Why Some Women Don’t Believe Their Breast Cancer Risk
Why it’s important to know—and believe—your risk Continue reading
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The Dangerous Mistake 1 in 4 Women Make
Are you guilty of this major health misstep? Continue reading
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Why Women Choose to Keep Their Last Names—Or Not
We shared how Men’s Health readers feel on the name-changing tradition—now hear Women’s Health Health‘s readers’ side of the story Continue reading
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Pregnant Women May Not Need Daily Iron Supplements
There are a ton of things to worry about when you’re expecting, but remembering to take an iron pill every single day doesn’t need to be one of them: Taking an iron-folic acid supplement just twice a week—instead of daily—leads to an equally healthy birth weight, growth rate, and possibly even improved cognitive development, suggests a new study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia asked more than 1,000 pregnant women in Vietnam to take either daily iron-folic acid supplements, twice-weekly iron-folic acid supplements, or twice-weekly iron-folic acid supplements plus micronutrients. They then measured the baby’s birth weight, how much he or she had grown at six months, and his or her cognitive development at the same time.
While birth weights and growth rates were similar across all groups, cognitive development scores were actually higher for the infants whose mothers took the supplements twice a week. Plus, the women who took the supplements twice a week were more likely to take them consistently than those who took them daily.
Iron is key for getting enough oxygen to both you and your baby, and this can affect fetal development, says Mary Jane Minkin, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine. Plus, not having enough iron in your blood can make you feel more fatigued, which is a big bummer since pregnancy is already pretty tiring.
That said, the supply of iron in your blood doesn’t fluctuate much from day to day, says Minkin, and the results of this study suggest that cutting back to twice-weekly supplements may not have much impact on your overall iron blood count—or, apparently, on the health of your child.
And as for folic acid? While slashing your intake of the nutrient may not have had any impact on the outcomes measured in the study, Minkin strongly suggests continuing to take supplements for it daily since getting the recommended .4 milligrams each day helps protect your child against neural defects like spina bifida.
One important thing to remember: How much iron you need while you’re pregnant can vary from woman to woman, says Minkin, and can also depend on whether or not you were iron-deficient going into the pregnancy. So whether you’re already pregnant or trying to be, it’s best to talk to your doctor to find out just how much iron you need to be taking—whether it’s from daily supplements or a less frequent dosage.
Photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
More from WH:
Foods to Avoid While Pregnant
How Your Second Pregnancy is Different from Your First
5 Ways Pregnancy Changes Your Body
Get This: Women Prioritize Health Over Clothes
Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:
In a recent survey, more than 80 percent of women said they’d rather have a healthy body than an awesome wardrobe. [HealthNewsDigest.com]
Scientists have discovered a new part of the eye (hint: it’s in your cornea). [LiveScience]
Judy Blume is a fan of Girls. Old-school young adult novel authors—they’re just like you! [TheCut]
Ted Dwane of Mumford & Sons has a blood clot in his brain. [USA Today]
Pregnant women who are overweight have a higher chance of delivering prematurely. [Reuters]
People who suffer from depression face 32 times the suicide risk of those who don’t. [The Atlantic]
A new report finds that overdraft services now make up 60 percent of fees from consumer checking accounts. [MarketWatch]
News you can use: Lego figurines’ expressions are getting angrier, according to research. [U.S. News]
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
A Libido-Boosting Pill for Women May Be Coming Soon
Having trouble getting in the mood? A quick fix might be on the way. Two new drugs are currently being tested to treat female sexual dysfunction. Fingers crossed—women may even get their own version of the little blue pill in just a few years!
A research company in the Netherlands called Emotional Brain has been conducting clinical trials in both the Netherlands and the U.S., and they hope to present these findings to the FDA soon. They found that there are two main causes of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), one of the main diagnoses of low sex drive in women. HSDD is either caused by low attention to sexual cues (loss of interest in sex) or maladaptive sexual inhibitory mechanisms (increased inhibitions usually stemming from bad experiences with sex), says Henrik Rasmussen, MD, PhD, chief medical officer for the Emotional Brain study. Basically, it’s a lot more complicated than erectile dysfunction in men, which is why it’s been so hard to find a treatment that works.
Both new drugs contain testosterone to boost libido, but they work differently to treat the two causes of HSDD. Lybrido contains a combination of testosterone and sildenafil (a drug also used in Viagra, which increases blood flow to the genitals) to treat women who’ve lost interest in sex, says Rasmussen. This treats the issue both locally (by increasing blood flow down below) and psychologically (by amping up testosterone to boost libido). While some women have already been taking Viagra off-label to boost arousal, they’re only getting the increased blood flow without any psychological component. “Testosterone is probably the most potent driver of libido,” says Rasmussen.
The other pill, Lybridos, contains testosterone and buspirone (a drug used to treat anxiety), to decrease women’s inhibitions about sex. This is crucial for women whose issues may stem from bad experiences or sexual abuse. “If you only gave them testosterone alone, you increase libido but because of the bad experiences, they’ll block it,” says Rasmussen. “This way, they’re getting the full benefit of testosterone.”
Another unique aspect of these pills is that they’re taken orally (dissolved under the tongue) and start working between one to six hours after you take them, according to Rasmussen. Compare that to Viagra, which kicks in for men in about 30 minutes and lasts up to four hours. It would basically allow women to boost their arousal (almost) exactly when they want it, without having to worry about any side effects from taking testosterone long term, says Rasmussen.
While the drugs are still in clinical trials (along with a nasal spray intended to increase your libido), researchers are hopeful that they’ll be able to approach the FDA with their data soon. They anticipate that the drug could be available as early as 2015, according to Emotional Brain’s website.
Until then, check out our tips for amping up your desire without a pill:
14 Sexy Tricks to Boost Your Libido
The Simple Way to Boost Arousal
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock