Almost 20% of women aged 15 to 44 years old douche, which is the harmful act of cleaning or washing out the inside of the vagina with a mixture of fluids. Douches are often sold at as prepackaged mixtures containing water with some combination of iodine, vinegar, or baking soda and squirted into the vagina. While it is popularly known to be a sterilizing practice, douching actually changes the balance of vaginal flora (which is the good, natural bacteria inside the vagina) and increases rates of harmful vaginal bacteria. This bacterial increase can lead to yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis (a vaginal infection), or STIs including HIV and pelvic inflammatory disease (an infection in female reproductive organs).   Douching can also cause fertility challenges. It can make it more difficult to get pregnant, as women who did not douche had an easier time getting pregnant than women who douched often (at least once a month). Douching can also increase the risk of ectopic...

Image Credit to Flo Health Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal and metabolic disorder that results in enlarged ovaries (sometimes with small cysts on the outer edges). It effects 5-10% of women of childbearing age, and its symptoms can be extremely painful and difficult to deal with. The cause of PCOS is unknown, but it is often associated with insulin resistance, present within familial lines, and likely connected to an irregular production of the androgen hormone.   Despite its prevalence, PCOS is frequently misdiagnosed. This is due to the range of potential causes of its symptoms. Symptoms can include pelvic pain, missed periods, fatigue, excess hair growth, trouble getting pregnant, headaches, moodiness, heavy menstrual bleeding, trouble sleeping, excess weight gain and difficulty losing weight, and more. This range of symptoms make it difficult to identify PCOS, especially from the more common symptoms like heavy menstrual bleeding. For example, heavy menstrual bleeding can be caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, bleeding disorders, medications, polyps,...

On December 8th, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.8404, also known as the Respect for Marriage Act, by a vote of 258-169. This legislation cements the federal rights of marriages of same-sex couples and ensures that the same legal obligation to protect same-sex marriages exists as it does for marriages between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage was legalized on June 26th, 2015, in the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644. However, Supreme Court decisions are not law, which was emphasized by the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade. In the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe, the concurring opinion stated that Obergefell should be overturned as well, which inspired action from Congress to protect same-sex marriage.   The law has two main components, both of which ensure that marriage equality is protected nationwide. The first component is the repeal of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. This law allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex...