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The hormonal implant, a long-acting reversible contraceptive, is an increasingly popular choice among teenagers, according to data published last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just over 13 percent of sexually active teenage girls used the implant between 2015 and 2019, compared with 0.6 percent between 2006 and 2010. This represents the biggest jump in usage compared to all other contraceptive methods. The uptick “probably contributed to a decline in teen pregnancies and births that we’ve seen,” said Joyce Abma, a social scientist with the National Center for Health Statistics and co-author of the latest C.D.C. report. The report notes that both teenage pregnancies and births have reached “historic lows.” (Gupta, 12/21)

One in four couples struggle with infertility and a new study finds that a woman's waist size may be a contributing factor. A team in China studied more than 3,000 women of reproductive age and found that the chances of getting pregnant declined as waist size increased, independent of a woman's body mass index or BMI. In fact, for every 1 cm increase in waist circumference, the risk of infertility increased by 3 percent. (Marshall, 12/21)

In September, the fertility startup Kindbody gathered its doctors at a weekend retreat in a Los Angeles hotel. They bonded over morning yoga and swapped best practices for helping women conceive babies. But an announcement by Kindbody executives cast a pall over the event. The company was burning through cash. If it was going to turn a profit and go public, the 32 reproductive endocrinologists would need to raise the number of monthly egg retrieval attempts they perform by 12, according to physicians who received performance plans reviewed by Bloomberg. (Davalos, 12/22)

It was early in the COVID-19 pandemic when Tereé Fruga received a call from an expectant mother inquiring about an at-home birth. The woman on the other end of the phone call told Fruga, a registered midwife, she had never considered giving birth outside a hospital. But she was scared about the level of care she’d receive as a Black woman. COVID-19 precautions at the time would have prevented the pregnant mother to have an extensive support system in the hospital. (Runnels, 12/22)

When teacher Fredde Reed became pregnant with her first child in March, her choice for prenatal care was easy, she said. “Being Native American enrolled, I can receive care at Indian Health Service,” said Reed, who is Eastern Shoshone. (Klingsporn, 12/21)

Wisconsin’s top Republican wants to let voters decide whether to shrink the window of time in which women can get abortions, but the state’s Democratic governor says he won’t allow it. Current state law bans abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday that he hopes to put a proposal on some future ballot that would lower the limit to somewhere between the 12th and 15th week. (Venhuizen, 12/21)