Top in women’s health: Device controls postpartum bleeding; data support low-dose calcium

Use of the JADA system, an intrauterine vacuum-induced hemorrhage control device, led to rapid and effective bleeding control for vaginal and cesarean births, according to real-world study results published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

After removal, 2.8% of women in the vaginal and 4.1% of women in the cesarean birth groups had bleeding recurrence.

“Postpartum hemorrhage remains a leading cause of preventable severe maternal morbidity and mortality,” Dena Goffman, MD, vice chair for quality and patient safety and the Ellen Jacobson Levine and Eugene Jacobson Professor of Women’s Health in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told Healio. “We need additional tools to treat this obstetric emergency.”

It was the top story in women’s health last week.

In another top story, researchers found that low-dose calcium supplementation of 500 mg daily may be as effective as 1,500 mg daily in reducing preeclampsia and preterm birth risks.

“With a reduced pill burden for women and lower costs for governments and programs that buy calcium pills, calcium supplementation should be considered widely implementable in the places it’s needed most — and should start saving thousands of maternal and newborn lives,” Christopher Sudfeld, ScD, associate professor of global health and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a press release.

Read these and more top stories in women’s health below:

Intrauterine device controls bleeding for vaginal, cesarean births in real-world settings

Use of an intrauterine vacuum-induced hemorrhage control device led to rapid and effective bleeding control for vaginal and cesarean births, according to real-world study results published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Read more.

Low-dose calcium as effective as higher dose in preventing preeclampsia, preterm birth

Low-dose calcium supplementation of 500 mg daily may be as effective as the current WHO recommendation for high-dose supplementation of 1,500 mg daily in reducing preeclampsia and preterm birth risks, researchers reported. Read more.

Higher long-term breast cancer risks with non-screen-detected ductal carcinoma in situ

Women with ductal carcinoma in situ not detected by routine screening had higher long-term invasive breast cancer and mortality risks than with women in the general population and those with screen-detected cancer, according to researchers. Read more.

Maternal ADHD drug use not tied to neurodevelopmental disorders, autism in children

In utero exposure to amphetamine/dextroamphetamine or methylphenidate was not associated with increased risks for neurodevelopmental disorders in children, according to cohort study results published in JAMA Psychiatry. Read more.

Lower malformation risk with buprenorphine vs. methadone exposure in pregnancy

Infants exposed in utero to buprenorphine had lower risk for malformations associated with opioid exposure compared with methadone-exposed infants, according to cohort study results published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Read more.