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Experts at U.K. conference discuss new approaches to maternal mortality in Africa

"Earlier this week the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge, U.K. hosted a conference called New Approaches to Maternal Mortality in Africa," Paul Simpson, the associate editor at PLoS Medicine, reports in the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog.

6 Jul 2012

Sports medicine education lacking in UK undergraduate medical degrees

In a Comment published alongside The Lancet Series on sport and exercise medicine, Rod Jaques of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK, and Mike Loosemore of University College London, UK, highlight the lack of specialised training in sports medicine in undergraduate medical training.

6 Jul 2012

Exercise has clear benefits for physical and mental health according to current evidence

In the first Series paper, Sport and exercise as contributors to the health of nations, an international team of researchers set out to examine whether sport and exercise contribute to the health of nations. They argue that although country-wide data on participation in sports are too scarce to draw any firm conclusions in this respect, the existing evidence suggests that regular participation in sports and / or exercise has clear benefits for physical and mental health, and that health professionals need to pay more attention to their patients’ fitness.

6 Jul 2012

Vitrolife's EmbryoGlue medium increases implantation and pregnancy rates

In a study presented at the on-going ESHRE conference in Istanbul, Vitrolife's patent protected medium EmbryoGlue has once again been proven to increase both implantation and pregnancy rates, regardless of hormone stimulation of the endometrium or not.

4 Jul 2012

Italy's first successful pregnancy and delivery following transplantation of ovarian tissue

Although the first successful preservation of fertility from the freezing, thawing and grafting of ovarian tissue was reported eight years ago, the technique has remained experimental and confined to a few specialist centres. Now, with the announcement of a first pregnancy (and subsequent live birth) in Italy following the transplantation of ovarian tissue, there are indications that fertility preservation is moving into the mainstream of reproductive medicine and into a greater number of centres.

4 Jul 2012

Mississippi's lone abortion clinic gets reprieve

The state's only abortion clinic had been threatened with closure due to a state law requiring doctors to have hospital privileges.

4 Jul 2012

Blog posts address London Summit on Family Planning

The London Summit on Family Planning, co-sponsored by the U.K. government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with support from UNFPA and other partners, is scheduled to take place next week.

4 Jul 2012

Expert panel discusses family planning issues in Guardian podcast

In this global development podcast, the Guardian's Annie Kelly is joined by Julia Bunting, head of the U.K. Department for International Development's reproductive health team; Yasmin Ahmed, senior regional director for Asia at Marie Stopes International; Neil Datta, coordinator of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development; and Gita Sen, professor at the Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management, for a discussion about family planning ahead of the July 11 London Summit on Family Planning.

4 Jul 2012

New exhibit highlights global health work of Seattle-area institutions

An exhibit highlighting the global health work of Seattle-area institutions is opening Tuesday in the Next 50 Plaza at Seattle Center, the Seattle Times reports.

4 Jul 2012

Working to increase access to reproductive health services in Ghana

In the second post in a series titled "Imagine a World...," posted on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Faustina Fynn-Nyame, director of Marie Stopes International in Ghana, discusses reproductive health in Ghana, writing, "For some women here, choices about reproductive health are something they take for granted," but "other women in Ghana -- indeed most -- are not able to do this."

4 Jul 2012

Indonesia must work to empower women in order to improve maternal health standards

Though Indonesia is "widely seen as a development success story -- indeed, it is sometimes referred to as one of Asia's 'rising powers' ... in the area of maternal health, the successes have been modest and much remains to be done," Andrew Rosser, associate director of the Indo-Pacific Governance Research Centre at the University of Adelaide, writes in an Inside Indonesia opinion piece.

4 Jul 2012

Perinatal mortality risk in IVF reduced by single embryo transfer

A policy of single embryo transfer (SET) reduces the risk of perinatal mortality in infants born as a result of IVF and ICSI. The conclusion emerged from an analysis of more than 50,000 births recorded in the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Technology Database between 2004 and 2008, where the introduction of an SET policy has been associated with a reduction in overall perinatal mortality for IVF and ICSI babies.

4 Jul 2012

Higher waist circumference, obesity improve health outcomes in heart failure patients

A slim waist and normal weight are usually associated with better health outcomes, but that's not always the case with heart failure patients, according to a new UCLA study.

4 Jul 2012

Advocates leave Rio+20 'more determined than ever' to secure access to reproductive rights for all women

"There is a direct correlation between access to voluntary family planning, women's empowerment and environmental sustainability," author Diane MacEachern writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog, adding, "And though the official delegates to last week's 'Earth Summit' tried to water it down, thousands of grassroots activists made it one of the biggest issues to rock Rio+20, as the event was also called."

4 Jul 2012

High coffee consumption appears to reduce clinical pregnancy rate by 50%

Women who drink five or more cups of coffee a day severely reduce their chance of success from IVF treatment. Indeed, Danish investigators who followed up almost 4000 IVF and ICSI patients described the adverse impact as "comparable to the detrimental effect of smoking".

4 Jul 2012

Cigarette smoke reduces production of Fallopian tube gene - BAD

Cigarette smoke reduces the production of a Fallopian tube gene known as "BAD", which helps explain the link between smoking and ectopic pregnancy. The finding, from scientists led by Drs Andrew Horne and Colin Duncan at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Reproductive Health in Edinburgh, UK, was described today at the annual meting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) in Istanbul.

4 Jul 2012

Annual report on MDGs shows success in some areas, but continued lack of progress in other areas, including maternal health

"An annual report card on the ambitious U.N.-led initiative known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) says that in three areas -- poverty, slums and water -- the goals have been met ahead of the 2015 deadline, but persistent gaps remain, notably in the critical area of maternal health," Inter Press Service reports.

4 Jul 2012

FDA approves Lupin’s Norgestimate and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets

Pharma major, Lupin Ltd., announced today that its subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received approval for its Norgestimate and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets, 0.18 mg/0.025 mg, 0.215 mg/0.025 mg, and 0.25 mg/0.025 mg from the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

4 Jul 2012

PGD for breast cancer genes BRCA1/2 is now feasible

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the breast cancer genes BRCA1/2 is now feasible and established, with good success rates for those treated, according to investigators from the reproduction, oncology and genetics centres of the university hospitals of Maastricht and Brussels.

3 Jul 2012

Childlessness increases risk of hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders among infertile women

While many small studies have shown a relationship between infertility and psychological distress, reporting a high prevalence of anxiety, mood disorders and depressive symptoms, few have studied the psychological effect of childlessness on a large population basis. Now, based on the largest cohort of women with fertility problems compiled to date, Danish investigators have shown that women who remained childless after their first investigation for infertility had more hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders than women who had at least one child following their investigation.

3 Jul 2012

Women's Health News

Experts at U.K. conference discuss new approaches to maternal mortality in Africa

Sports medicine education lacking in UK undergraduate medical degrees

Exercise has clear benefits for physical and mental health according to current evidence

Vitrolife's EmbryoGlue medium increases implantation and pregnancy rates

Italy's first successful pregnancy and delivery following transplantation of ovarian tissue

Mississippi's lone abortion clinic gets reprieve

Blog posts address London Summit on Family Planning

Expert panel discusses family planning issues in Guardian podcast

New exhibit highlights global health work of Seattle-area institutions

Working to increase access to reproductive health services in Ghana

Indonesia must work to empower women in order to improve maternal health standards

Perinatal mortality risk in IVF reduced by single embryo transfer

Higher waist circumference, obesity improve health outcomes in heart failure patients

Advocates leave Rio+20 'more determined than ever' to secure access to reproductive rights for all women

High coffee consumption appears to reduce clinical pregnancy rate by 50%

Cigarette smoke reduces production of Fallopian tube gene - BAD

Annual report on MDGs shows success in some areas, but continued lack of progress in other areas, including maternal health

FDA approves Lupin’s Norgestimate and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets

PGD for breast cancer genes BRCA1/2 is now feasible

Childlessness increases risk of hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders among infertile women

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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