June was a big month of news for Contemporary OB/GYN, and below we recap our top-performing, most-viewed stories from the past 4 weeks. This recap spans new clinical guidance, vaccine policy, cancer screening data, and our on-the-ground coverage of SLEEP 2026 in Baltimore.

Top stories from June 2026

Acetaminophen remains first-line medication for pain, fever in pregnancy, SMFM says

In an updated clinical guidance statement published June 1, 2026, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) reaffirmed that acetaminophen remains the recommended first-line medication for managing pain and fever during pregnancy, concluding that available data do not establish a causal relationship between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased risk of autism spectrum disorder or ADHD in children.¹ The society also emphasized that untreated maternal fever, particularly in the first trimester, carries well-documented risks, including birth defects, miscarriage, and low infant Apgar scores.¹

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Nearly 18 million US women aged 45 to 64 overdue for cancer screening, study finds

A cross-sectional study published June 3, 2026, in JAMA Network Open estimated that 17.9 million US women aged 45 to 64 are overdue for at least 1 recommended cancer screening, based on an analysis of 68,111 women from the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey.² Only 50.3% of the study sample reported being up-to-date with all 3 recommended screenings (breast, cervical, and colorectal), while 7.7% were overdue for all 3.²

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ACOG releases own maternal immunization schedule, breaking from federal recommendations

On June 16, 2026, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) released its own 2026 maternal immunization schedule, marking the first time the society has broken from federal vaccine recommendations.³ The schedule, endorsed by 13 medical societies and health organizations, includes routine pregnancy vaccines such as influenza, COVID-19, Tdap, and maternal RSV, and notably diverges from the CDC on COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.³

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James Simon, MD, Genevieve Neal-Perry, MD, highlight elinzanetant's impact and safety

Published June 23, 2026, this expert video interview featured Genevieve Neal-Perry, MD, PhD, and James A. Simon, MD, discussing real-world response and safety data for elinzanetant (Lynkuet) since its FDA approval in October 2025.⁴ Simon highlighted a pooled safety analysis across 4 placebo-controlled trials that found no new or unanticipated adverse events, with headache as the most commonly reported side effect.⁴

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FAQ: What you need to know about ACOG's new maternal immunization schedule

Published June 25, 2026, this FAQ article broke down the clinical details and rationale behind ACOG's newly released maternal immunization schedule for clinicians navigating the shift away from federal vaccine guidance.⁵ The piece addressed common clinician questions on vaccine timing, eligibility, and how to counsel patients amid changing recommendations.⁵

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Coverage of SLEEP 2026 from Baltimore, Maryland

Over half of elinzanetant's sleep benefit is VMS-independent

Published June 16, 2026, this article covered a post-hoc causal mediation analysis pooling data from 4 clinical trials, presented as a poster at SLEEP 2026, which found that elinzanetant improved sleep disturbance in postmenopausal women through 2 distinct pathways—more than half of the total benefit attributable to a direct, vasomotor symptom (VMS)-independent mechanism.⁶ The total treatment effect of elinzanetant on sleep disturbance relative to placebo was -4.92 (95% CI, -5.73 to -4.12), with 54.3% of that effect occurring independently of nighttime VMS reduction.⁶

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Multi-modality impact of elinzanetant's effect on postmenopausal sleep disturbance

Published June 17, 2026, this article detailed a post hoc analysis of the phase 2 NIRVANA trial presented at SLEEP 2026, which found that elinzanetant reduced wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO) compared with placebo across 3 distinct measurement modalities, including in-lab polysomnography, home-based Sleepiz One+ monitoring, and patient-reported sleep diary data.⁷ The consistency of WASO reductions across all 3 modalities strengthened the overall signal for elinzanetant's effect on sleep disturbance in postmenopausal women with VMS.⁷

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SWAN analysis: Sleep, not VMS alone, drives quality-of-life decline in menopause

Published June 23, 2026, this article covered an analysis of Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) data presented at SLEEP 2026 by Pauline M. Maki, PhD, which found that sleep disturbance has a greater independent effect on health-related quality of life during the menopausal transition than vasomotor symptoms alone.⁸ The combination of both sleep disturbance and VMS produced the most pronounced quality-of-life impairment, particularly in role limitations due to physical health and energy and fatigue domains.⁸

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How is elinzanetant impacting sleep in postmenopausal women?

Published June 25, 2026, this expert video interview featured Stephanie S. Faubion, MD, MBA, and Fiona C. Baker, PhD, discussing how elinzanetant compares mechanistically to fezolinetant and how emerging NIRVANA trial data are shaping the clinical understanding of NK receptor antagonists' role in menopausal sleep disturbance.⁹ Baker, a co-author of the NIRVANA post hoc analysis presented at SLEEP 2026, noted that results across self-report, polysomnography, and home-device measures all converged to highlight elinzanetant's effect on reducing wakefulness after sleep onset.⁹

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References:

1. Acetaminophen remains first-line medication for pain, fever in pregnancy, SMFM says. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 1, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/acetaminophen-remains-first-line-medication-for-pain-fever-in-pregnancy-smfm-says
2. Nearly 18 million US women aged 45 to 64 overdue for cancer screening, study finds. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 3, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/nearly-18-million-us-women-aged-45-to-64-overdue-for-cancer-screening-study-finds
3. ACOG releases own maternal immunization schedule, breaking from federal recommendations. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 16, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/acog-releases-own-maternal-immunization-schedule-breaking-from-federal-recommendations
4. James Simon, MD, Genevieve Neal-Perry, MD, highlight elinzanetant's impact and safety. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 23, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/james-simon-md-genevieve-neal-perry-md-highlight-elinzanetant-s-impact-and-safety
5. FAQ: What you need to know about ACOG's new maternal immunization schedule. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 25, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/faq-know-about-acog-maternal-immunization-schedule
6. Over half of elinzanetant's sleep benefit is VMS-independent. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 16, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/over-half-of-elinzanetant-s-sleep-benefit-is-vms-independent
7. Multi-modality impact of elinzanetant's effect on postmenopausal sleep disturbance. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 17, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/multi-modality-impact-of-elinzanetant-s-effect-on-postmenopausal-sleep-disturbance
8. SWAN analysis: Sleep, not VMS alone, drives quality-of-life decline in menopause. Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 23, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/swan-analysis-sleep-not-vms-alone-drives-quality-of-life-decline-in-menopause
9. How is elinzanetant impacting sleep in postmenopausal women? Contemporary OB/GYN. Published June 25, 2026. Accessed June 30, 2026. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/how-is-elinzanetant-impacting-sleep-in-postmenopausal-women-