For many women, menopause brings unwanted side effects that can impact their physical health, mental health and quality of life. These bothersome symptoms can range from hot flashes and night sweats to mood changes, dry eyes and strange occurrences such as a burning tongue.

Hormone therapy during menopause can reduce hot flashes, night sweats, and other symptoms that impact a woman’s quality of life, including certain vaginal issues. It also can help prevent bone loss. However, hormone therapy – often called hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – has a confusing history when it comes to cardiovascular health. UAB Medicine cardiologist Gretchen Wells, M.D., explains how changing interpretations of research have left some women unsure whether they can safely use this proven treatment.

Premature and sick newborns are at high risk of having neurodevelopmental delays that can affect their language and reading skills, particularly when they are in a neonatal intensive care unit. The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children’s of Alabama launched the NICU Bookworms reading program in 2021. This program helps reduce these deficits, increase parent-infant bonding and encourage shared reading starting at birth for all babies. This year, City of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin joined employees at UAB and Children’s of Alabama to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the program and recognize all that has been accomplished since its establishment. Mayor Woodfin joined families in UAB’s Regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit to read to some of UAB Medicine and Children’s of Alabama’s smallest patients.

Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths that develop in or on the uterus, and they are so common that many women have them and never know it. However, they can sometimes cause significant symptoms such as infertility, heavy bleeding, and pelvic pain or pressure.

Eating habits that align most closely with a woman’s existing routine show promise for losing postpartum baby weight, especially for mothers earlier in the postpartum period, according to a new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Researchers identified key factors impacting eating timing and perceived barriers to various chrononutrition approaches, with the ability to share a family evening meal emerging as particularly important.

Urinary incontinence is a condition that impacts both men and women. Defined by the involuntary leakage of urine, UI more commonly impacts women than men. Since incontinence is classified as a non-life-threatening condition, many women find themselves suffering in silence, dealing with the symptoms and residual impacts in secret.

From adolescence to adulthood, women’s health is often surrounded by misconceptions that can lead to confusion and misinformation. Sarah Dunk, M.D., assistant professor in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, addresses some of the most common misconceptions.

Women often experience a variety of emotions during and after pregnancy, and some of these feelings can be unpleasant. Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or sad is not unusual, but sometimes these emotions are felt much more strongly, last longer, and can become a serious mental health condition. In such cases, it could indicate conditions called perinatal […]

In the United States, 3,500 infants every year between the ages of 1 month and 1 year die tragically while sleeping from sudden infant death syndrome or sudden unexpected infant death, according the National Library of Medicine.

What may begin as hot flashes, mood swings or restless nights can signal a defining transition in a woman’s life — perimenopause.

UAB Medicine leads the way in health care that improves and saves lives – sometimes in ways you can touch, hold, and burp. In the UAB Regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit (RNICU), some premature babies owe their future to an innovative program born here called Golden Week. November marks the 10th anniversary of Golden Week, as well as being Prematurity Awareness Month.

Oct. 15 is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, a health care observation recognizing one of the most emotionally difficult experiences that parents and medical professionals can face. There’s no way to make up for the loss of an infant, but hospitals can guide and support families throughout the grieving process. UAB Women & Infants Services provides support specialists as part of its comprehensive bereavement care for families.