National Women's Health Week

Message from the Director

The Office of Women's Health welcomes Dr. Scott Gottlieb as th

e 23rd Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Dr. Gottlieb has a history of commitment to public health and safety. We look forward to supporting his leadership.

This week is National Women’s Health Week (NWHW). It is a time for us to reflect on the health advances that have positively affected the lives of women. Many women have a better quality of life and FDA-regulated products have contributed to this progress. FDA scientific research, workshops, and training have built a foundation that helps to promote the safety, effectiveness, and quality of products used by women. FDA has also helped to make progress in the participation of women in clinical trials and in the transparency of clinical trials data. Lastly, we have been trailblazers in providing women with plain language health materials and digital resources. We have made an impact, but there is still more work to be done.

Throughout the week, please look to us as we highlight research and educational projects that make a difference in the lives of women at every age. Share the resources in this update to invigorate your networks and provide your community with information on important women’s health topics.

Marsha Henderson, Assistant Commissioner for Women’s Health

WOMEN’S HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS

National Women’s Health Week: May 14-20

Throughout the week, look to FDA for health and safety information for women of all ages. Visit our Women’s Health Topics portal for resources on issues ranging from college health and diabetes to caregiving and healthy aging. Download materials for yourself or share health tips with your patients, friends or community.

Share messages from the 2017 National Women’s Health Week Partner Social Media Kit.
Use our new Spring/Summer Clinical Trials Partner Toolkit and our Research Trainings and Tools in your clinical research.
Check the updated article with Medication Safety Advice for New Moms.
Follow @FDAWomen on Twitter and Pinterest for NWHW messages to retweet to your followers.

New Foreign Language Fact Sheets

FDA’s Office of Women’s Health disseminates free health fact sheets in 18 languages to provide women from diverse communities with information they can use to make informed health decisions. OWH recently released the Women in Clinical Trials and Medicine and Pregnancy fact sheets in 6 new languages: Chinese, French, French Creole, Polish, Korean and Vietnamese.

Download and share the Clinical Trials and Pregnancy Fact Sheets in multiple languages.

New Pregnancy Exposure Registries Website Buttons

FDA’s Pregnancy Registry web portal connects patients and health professionals to registries that collect information from women who have taken prescription medicines during pregnancy. OWH manages the portal and conducts outreach through our Resources for You and Your Baby Initiative. Help us raise awareness by embedding our new web buttons on your webpage to encourage women and their healthcare providers to have a conversation about pregnancy exposure registries.

Download the new Pregnancy Exposure Registries Website Buttons.
Learn more about pregnancy registries.
Submit a request to have your pregnancy exposure registry added to the list.

FDA restricts use of prescription codeine pain and cough medicines and tramadol pain medicines in children; recommends against use in breastfeeding women

FDA is restricting the use of codeine and tramadol medicines in children. Codeine is approved to treat pain and cough, and tramadol is approved to treat pain. These medicines carry serious risks, including slowed or difficult breathing and death, which appear to be a greater risk in children younger than 12 years, and should not be used in these children. These medicines should also be limited in some older children. Single-ingredient codeine and all tramadol-containing products are FDA-approved only for use in adults. We are also recommending against the use of codeine and tramadol medicines in breastfeeding mothers due to possible harm to their infants.

Read the Drug Safety Communication

Extras

2017 FDA Science Forum

The 2017 FDA Science Forum will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, May 31-June 1, 2017 on FDA's White Oak campus. The Forum will highlight the breadth and depth of cutting-edge science FDA conducts and will demonstrate how FDA's scientific research informs our regulatory decision-making. FDA Office of Women’s Health staff and funded researchers will showcase their projects during the Forum.