What You Missed | July 2026
Science moves fast, and interesting discoveries often pass by before we’ve had a chance to unpack them. This series is your monthly catch up with a science‑savvy friend – it’s evidence-based, accessible, and a little curious. Each post highlights exciting new women’s health or sex and gender research from around the globe and asks the question: what does this really tell us about how our minds, bodies, and societies work?
Author: Tashi Stampp, PhD Student, University of Ottawa (Blog Coordinator)
Ovary Shifts to Immune Organ
Title: The post-reproductive ovary shifts from a reproductive to an immune-like organ
Authors: Aubrey Converse , Shweta S Dipali , Ian P Schowe , Emmett B Kelly , Shivani S Jambunathan , Sarah R Ocañas , Michael B Stout , Michele T Pritchard and Francesca E Duncan
Journal: Molecular Human Reproduction
Where is this research coming from? United States
The menopausal transition is biologically marked by the gradual decline of ovarian follicles, the structures that contain and support eggs and produce reproductive hormones. They are essential parts of the ovarian system that are mainly known to support the reproductive lifespan. Since females are born with a fixed number of follicles, this supply naturally declines over their lifetime until menopause. While much research has focused on fertility, miscarriages, birth defects and hormone loss. Far less is known about the function of the ovaries after reproduction ends, in post-menopausal women.
Through pre-clinical research, researchers examined a sample of post-reproductive mice, who experience ovarian aging similar to humans. They found that rather than becoming inactive, the post-reproductive ovary appeared to take on an “immune -like”, inflammatory role, and different immune cells were found in the ovaries , suggesting it may continue to influence the body by producing signals involved in the process of aging.
What does this mean?
The research findings challenge the idea that the ovary becomes inactive after menopause. The study suggests that post-menopausal ovaries continue to evolve (on a molecular level) with age and may contribute to an important role in the immunal health of people who menstruate, influencing inflammation. Although the study’s research was conducted in mice, it lays the groundwork for future women’s health research and opens new avenues to improve our understanding of healthy aging after menopause.
Questions We’re Pondering
- These findings are promising, but what do we still need to learn before they can be used to improve women’s health through clinical care?
- If the ovaries continue to evolve, and perhaps become a source of immune signalling – how does this new role play into the whole body system? Is this compensating for another immune organ?
- Can these findings have implications for how we approach menopause? Could the ovaries becoming an immune-like organ contribute to any symptomology in menopause?
Gendered Stigma in Healthcare
Authors: Karen Lorimer, Pamela Sime and Lesley McMillan
Journal: Social Science & Medicine
Note to readers: The content below discusses research on sexual violence and sexual assault against women. If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, please know that support is available. You are not alone.
Where is this research coming from? Scotland
Despite countless years of activism and advocacy against sexual violence, progress is reported to be low. Suggesting that this issue is rooted in our systems, institutions, and structures (such as policy, leadership, funding for research), rather than being the responsibility of individuals alone. The authors point that sexual violence is often shaped by broader soceital structures that determine whose disclosures are acknowledged as real experiences, or whose access to supportive resources are limited. The term classed gender stigma describes how the credibility of working-class women may be judged by health care providers during medical appointments. It was used to explore how the intersection of class and gender influences women’s willingness to disclose experiences of sexual violence in health care settings.
To better understand this issue, the researchers conducted interviews with women between the ages of 25 and 58 who lived in Scotland and had experienced sexual violence within the previous two years. Each woman met with an interviewer over Zoom for approximately 45 to 70 minutes to discuss their experiences. Following the interviews, the researchers used thematic analysis (i.e., identifying recurring patterns and themes across the narratives). The findings showed that histories of dismissal, limited access to resources, and societal expectations around “respectability” shaped women’s expectations of whether they would be believed and whether health care settings were safe places to disclose their experiences of sexual violence.
What does this mean?
Disclosing sexual violence or traumatic experiences to a health care providers is not simple for every woman. These encounters are shaped by social class, which can influence the type of health care women receive. Not only that, but also whose disclosures are recognised as credible and, ultimately, who is viewed as deserving of care after experiencing sexual violence
Questions We’re Pondering
- How much do societal expectations of “respectability” shape women’s expectations in a similar context, but in a different country? Would similar feelings evolve, or would different social expectations take precedent?
- Of the woman who feel comfortable enough to disclose their experience with sexual violence, are there any insights relating to how they felt willing to do so, as a form of advice for other women who may be struggling with this?
- What are the potential health consequences of not disclosing experiences of sexual assault? Could these experiences become biologically embodied and show up in other areas of women’s health or healthcare settings?
Sex, Gender and Haematology
Title: Female reproductive health—what the classical haematologist needs to know
Authors: Bethany Samuelson Bannow, Imo Akpan and Maureen K Baldwin
Journal: The Lancet Haematology
Where is this research coming from? International
Haematologists are medical specialists who diagnose, prevent and treat diseases of the blood, lymphatic system, and bone marrow (e.g., sickle cell disease, anemia, and leukemia). They work in multidisciplinary health care settings where women and girls have increasingly become a large proportion of patients over the past 10 to 15 years. Today, around 42% of referrals to haematology treatment centres are directed to women.
The authors explain that this shift requires greater collaboration between haematology and obstetrics and gynaecology (OB-GYN), as reproductive health topics have traditionally received limited attention in standard haematology training. The researchers conducted a review exploring key reproductive life stages that haematologists and women’s health providers should consider when caring for patients. Four important transitions are highlighted:
- Adolescence and menarche: Menstrual history plays an important role in diagnosis, as heavy menstrual bleeding during adolescence can be one of the earliest signs of an underlying bleeding disorder.
- Pregnancy: Pregnancy and the postpartum period involve major haematological changes, including changes in blood volume and clotting, that require careful monitoring.
- Labour and delivery: The duration and timing of labour may influence decisions on when to safely administer anticoagulant (e.g., blood thinner’s) or haemostatic (medicine that slows down bleeding) therapies for patients with blood disorders.
- Perimenopause and menopause: New or worsening heavy menstrual bleeding during the menopausal transition may signal an underlying haematological condition. The average age of menopause is around 51 years in the United States but tends to occur earlier in many low- and middle-income countries.
What does this mean?
Women make up a large proportion of haematology patients, yet many reproductive health considerations are not routinely included in haematology training. Understanding how adolescence, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause influence blood health can help health care providers recognize symptoms earlier, improve treatment decisions, and provide more comprehensive care throughout a woman’s life transitions.
Questions We’re Pondering
- Why aren’t healthcare providers being informed on the impact of hematology in women, and how can medical education systems continue to inform providers on this knowledge gap?
- Many young women and people who menstruate may not be diagnosed with menstrual or bleeding disorders until they experience difficulties trying to get pregnant. How can delayed diagnosis affect them, and what can we do to make these conditions easier to recognize and diagnose earlier?
- How could haematology and obstetrics and gynaecology experts work together to better identify health disparities affecting women? Is more collaborative training realistic, given the demands and workload of clinical practice?
