Top 5 women’s health headlines you missed in August 2025 | Image Credit: © sebra- stock.adobe.com.
August 2025 brought a wave of important updates that continue to shape the care of women across all stages of life.
In the ever-evolving field of obstetrics and gynecology, noteworthy advancements emerged in maternal-fetal medicine, reproductive endocrinology, oncology, and more.
In this monthly recap, Contemporary OB/GYN highlights the most impactful regulatory news, clinical research findings, and expert perspectives from August 2025.
Click on each title below for in-depth coverage of these key updates.
Weight loss prior to in vitro fertilization (IVF) may increase pregnancy rates, according to a meta-analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Across 12 randomized controlled trials including 1921 women with obesity, pre-IVF weight loss was linked to higher overall pregnancy rates (RR, 1.21) and greater odds of unassisted conception (RR, 1.47). However, evidence for improved live birth outcomes was uncertain due to small study sizes and high risk of bias. Investigators noted that further large, high-quality trials are needed to clarify effects on live births.
Patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) often report feeling dismissed and underserved by the health care system, according to a qualitative study published in F&S Reports. In focus groups of 24 women, participants described delays in diagnosis, clinician minimization of symptoms, and misaligned care that emphasized fertility and weight over their immediate concerns. Many turned to self-advocacy and social media for information, underscoring the need for more patient-centered, comprehensive PCOS care.
Vaginal estrogen tablets were not linked to an increased risk of recurrent ischemic stroke in postmenopausal women with prior stroke, according to a nationwide Danish registry study published in Stroke. Among more than 34,000 women followed, use of vaginal estrogen showed no significant association with stroke recurrence across current, recent, or past use. Researchers noted that while systemic estrogen therapy increases stroke risk, these findings support the safety of locally absorbed vaginal estrogen in a high-risk population, though the results do not suggest a protective effect.
Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms demonstrated strong performance in detecting breast cancer on mammograms, according to a study published in Radiology. Results from the RSNA AI Challenge, which evaluated over 1500 submissions, showed that the top 10 algorithms achieved accuracy comparable to average screening radiologists in Europe and Australia. Investigators noted that these models could improve cancer detection sensitivity while maintaining acceptable recall rates, supporting future integration of AI into clinical practice.
Women with hepatitis C virus (HCV) entering opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment are less likely than men to receive direct-acting antiviral (DAA) prescriptions, with the lowest rates observed among those with recent pregnancy, according to a study in O&G Open. In an analysis of over 22,000 treatment episodes, 40.6% of men received DAAs compared with 35.7% of women without recent pregnancy and 31.8% of women with recent pregnancy. Investigators highlighted sex- and pregnancy-related disparities in HCV care, despite DAAs achieving cure rates above 95%.