This Week in Women’s Health: Top 5 Headlines

🔍 The Australian Government plans to invest over $160 million into a comprehensive women's health package as part of the 2024-25 Budget. This investment targets eliminating gender bias in healthcare and enhancing sexual and reproductive services, with special attention to women in remote areas.

🤦‍♀️ Emma Hurst, chair of the NSW Select Committee on Birth Trauma, voiced disappointment over the failure to classify birth trauma as "gendered violence”. Despite this, the committee issued 43 recommendations to prevent such trauma during pregnancy and childbirth.

📉 A study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that girls are starting their periods earlier than in past decades. This is especially true for girls from racial minorities and lower-income backgrounds. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, also shows that it takes longer for these girls' periods to become regular.

🩺 Australian health advocates are urging the government to include newer, safer hormone replacement therapies on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which could significantly reduce the $60 monthly cost burden for many women. This call is part of a broader push for a National Menopause Framework to ensure comprehensive education and support for doctors.

🔒 Despite the booming women's health app market, projected to reach $18 billion by 2031, these platforms are criticised for inadequate privacy protections, with studies showing covert collection of sensitive user data and unclear data management practices.