New Moms Need Weeks Of Monitoring To Catch Post-Pregnancy Complications, Study Argues

New mothers need to be monitored weeks after delivery for pregnancy complications, a new study suggests.

About 40% of pregnancy complications would have been missed had doctors not kept tabs on new moms for six weeks following delivery, researchers reported March 16 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Typically, hea...

VR Effective In Educating Patients About Upcoming Procedures

Imagine a doctor offering you a virtual reality headset to help explain an upcoming procedure.

It turns out such an explanation might go farther to easing your worries than the usual handout leaflet, researchers reported Friday at a meeting in London of the European Association of Urology (EAU).

Patients said they felt less anxious a...

Prebiotic Eases Arthritis Pain, Trial Finds

Making your gut happy might help angry arthritis-affected joints, a new study says.

A prebiotic fiber supplement helped ease pain in people with knee arthritis, researchers recently reported in the journal Nutrients.

The results suggest that improving gut health could be a new way to treat arthritis, researchers said.

...

Drug Protects Against Chemo-Caused Bleeding, Trial Shows

An already approved drug can help protect cancer patients against excessive bleeding caused by chemotherapy, a new study says.

Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia occurs when chemo destroys platelet-producing bone marrow cells, increasing a person’s risk of dangerous bleeding.

But the injectable drug romiplostim (Nplate) can ...

Cholesterol Needs Lifelong Management, New Heart Guidelines Say

Heart experts are calling for a full-court press against cholesterol, including lifelong screening and treatment, a set of new guidelines says.

Blood testing for cholesterol should start in childhood, and take place at least every five years to track each person’s heart health risk, the American College of Cardiology and the American...

Insurance Red Tape Delays Crucial Heart Failure Drug Prescriptions, Study Finds

Insurance requirements could keep people from getting life-saving heart medications in a timely fashion, a new study says.

Prescriptions for heart failure medications take two to six times longer to fill if insurance companies require prior authorization — a process that requires doctors to obtain insurers’ approval before a tr...

Officials Examine Deaths After Plasma Donations in Winnipeg

Canadian health officials are investigating the deaths of two people who donated plasma at private clinics in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The deaths happened about three months apart, one in October 2025 and the other in January 2026, according to Health Canada, the federal agency that regulates plasma donation clinics.

One of the donors who...

New Flu Strain Weakened This Year’s Vaccine Protection, CDC Says

Flu activity in the United States is finally slowing down, but health experts say this year’s flu vaccine didn't offer as much protection as officials hoped.

New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the vaccine was only about 25% to 30% effective in preventing illness serious enough to send a...

New EPA Rule Could Loosen Limits on Medical Device Sterilization Gas Emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to loosen limits on emissions of ethylene oxide, a gas used to sterilize many medical devices that is also linked to cancer.

The proposal, announced Friday, would ease pollution rules for about 90 commercial sterilization facilities nationwide.

Ethylene oxide plays an import...

Food Stamp Users Fight Restrictions on Soda and Sweets

Five people who qualify for food stamps are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because new rules stop them from using their benefits to buy sugary drinks and candy.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues the limits are illegal and make it harder for families to manage their food and health ne...

Loneliness, Social Isolation Impact Brain Health Among Women Entering Menopause

Loneliness can impact a woman’s brain health as she begins menopause, a new study says.

Loneliness and social isolation are both linked to the cognitive decline a woman feels as she begins to transition into menopause, researchers recently reported in the journal Menopause.

Further, women experiencing both loneliness a...

Poor Hearing Makes It Harder For Blind Folks To Navigate

Poor hearing can dramatically impact a blind person’s ability to navigate and move around in their daily life, a new study says.

People who’ve gone blind can still use hearing to help them avoid obstacles and reach destinations.

But blind people who also have experienced hearing loss have more difficulty perceiving and lo...

Other People's Opinions Can Shape How You Feel About Pain, Mental Challenges

You’re waiting for a vaccination. The person ahead of you stumbles out, groaning about how painful the shot was.

Could hearing that make your own injection hurt worse?

Yes, a new study says.

What others say about an experience – be it a vaccination, or a job interview, or a college course – can shape how it ac...

Exercise Promotes Release Of Brain-Boosting Protein, Study Shows

It’s long been known that exercise improves a person’s brain health – and researchers now think they better understand at least one of the factors at play.

Just one 15-minute session of aerobic exercise floods the brain with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein known to support the health of new and existin...

One-Third Of U.S. Parents Worried Their Young Driver Could Cause A Car Crash

Many U.S. parents are worried that their teen or young adult is going to cause a wreck through their unsafe driving, a new survey says.

About 1 in 3 parents worry that their young driver could cause a motor vehicle accident, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s...

Medical Debt Forces Many to Skip Essential Health Care

People who’ve racked up medical debt are more likely to skip health care that could prevent future illnesses, a new study reports.

Folks weighed down by hospital and doctor bills are much more likely to delay medical, dental and mental health care, researchers reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

&ldqu...

Why You And Your Pooch Share Similar Reactions to Life

Dogs and their people are more alike than you might expect.

A study of golden retrievers has identified genetic clues that explain why some pooches are more rambunctious, anxious or aggressive than others — and these same genes play a role in anxiety, depression and intelligence in people.

"The findings are really striking," sa...

How to Gauge Your Personal Risk For a Hernia

If you’re carrying extra weight, smoke, or have a cough or sneeze that won’t go away, you may be at higher risk for a condition many people don’t think about: A hernia.

Your risk is even higher if you’ve ever had abdominal surgery or have a medical condition that causes fluid to build up there, according to the Nati...

Bad News for Multitaskers: Your Brain Can’t Really Do It

Think you’re great at multitasking? Answering texts, listening to a podcast and finishing work at the same time?

Your brain may disagree.

A new study out of Germany suggests that people can’t truly do two tasks at once, even after lots of practice. Instead, the brain quickly switches between tasks, which can still slow pe...

Study Finds 'Forever Chemicals' on California Fruits and Vegetables

Some fruits and vegetables grown in California may carry traces of pesticides known as PFAS, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” according to a new analysis.

Researchers with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) reviewed state testing data and found PFAS pesticide residues in 348 of 930 produce samples — 37% of those t...