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A common but potentially dangerous vaginal infection that affects nearly 1 in 3 women globally should be considered a sexually transmitted disease, a new study says. Bacterial vaginosis, or BV, is currently viewed as a woman’s issue, thus leaving the sexual partner untreated. (LaMotte, 3/5)

Postpartum depression affects about one in every seven women who give birth, but little is known about what happens in the brains of pregnant women who experience it. A new study begins to shed some light. Researchers scanned the brains of dozens of women in the weeks before and after childbirth and found that two brain areas involved in the processing and control of emotions increased in size in women who developed symptoms of postpartum depression. (Belluck, 3/5)

When Julie Bjorklund was pregnant with twins in 2023, doctors discovered one of her babies had a heart defect and the other was struggling to grow. Bjorklund had a C-section at 27 weeks to deliver the twins after one of them, Elin, died in utero three days prior. The other twin, Hayley, weighed 1.5 pounds. During her month-long stay in October of that year at the Colorado Fetal Care Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Bjorklund saw psychiatrist Dr. Heather Buxton to cope with her difficult pregnancy. (Ruder, 3/6)

Women’s brains are superior to men’s in at least in one respect — they age more slowly. And now, a group of researchers reports that they have found a gene in mice that rejuvenates female brains. Humans have the same gene. The discovery suggests a possible way to help both women and men avoid cognitive declines in advanced age. The study was published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. (Kolata, 3/5)

When Anne Poirier was 45, she went to battle with her body: restricting what she ate, and exercising for up to five hours a day. “You start to disappear as you age,” she tells Fortune. “Your body starts changing. People don’t notice you. Your kids don’t need you as much anymore … My marriage was difficult. And I think I was just searching for something.” (Greenfield, 3/5)

Possible connections between menopause and menopausal hormone therapy and Alzheimer's disease risk were probed in two studies that aimed to elucidate why Alzheimer's disproportionately affects women. The first showed that cognitively unimpaired women over 70 years old on menopausal hormone therapy had more tau accumulation in three regions of the temporal lobe compared with those not on hormone therapy. (George, 3/5)

A new center in Brooklyn is working to change the conversation surrounding menopause. Maimonides Health has officially unveiled its dedicated Menopause Center, designed to provide specialized care and support for women navigating midlife changes. (Kliger, 3/5)