This Week in Women's Health: Top 5 Updates

💼 Victorian nurses and midwives will receive a 28.4% pay rise over four years in a new deal ending months of negotiations and industrial action. The agreement includes better working conditions like ward change allowances, improved night shift penalties, a right to disconnect, and immediate parental leave eligibility.

🌸 The ABC reports that women in regional Victoria, struggle to access abortion services due to a lack of local providers and long wait times, forcing them to travel long distances. Experts are advocating for more training and the inclusion of medical abortion in government-subsidised health services.

📚 The RACGP has launched the 10th edition of its flagship preventive healthcare guidelines, the Red Book. The new edition includes updated evidence-based recommendations on screening, chronic disease prevention, early detection, and patient education, with new topics such as developmental delay, autism, anxiety, gambling, sleep, eating disorders, and several women’s health topics related to preventive care during and after pregnancy, and post-menopause.

💡 Seven projects have received a share of $2.6 million from the NSW government’s Investing in Women grant to enhance women's economic opportunities, health, and wellbeing. The selected projects focus on supporting women in regional areas, Western and South Western Sydney, and target diverse groups including CALD women, First Nations women, and women with disabilities.

🌸 PANDA has launched a 24/7 chatbot to support new and expectant parents, offering crucial resources and information during the loneliest hours of parenthood. This Australian tool, developed with community feedback, provides access to mindfulness exercises, videos, articles, and local resources to help those struggling with perinatal depression and anxiety (PNDA).