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LUHS to renovate Postpartum Unit this summer

Loyola University Health System (LUHS) will renovate its Postpartum Unit to create a state-of-the-art area that provides a comfortable and convenient setting for mothers and infants. The renovation will begin this summer and will be complete by the end of the year.

23 Jun 2012

No definitive link between hormonal contraceptives and increased risk of HIV infection among women, CDC says

"There is no clear link between the use of contraceptives such as the birth control pill or Depo-Provera shots and an increased risk that a woman will contract HIV, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday," Reuters reports, noting that the WHO came to the same conclusion in February.

23 Jun 2012

ULH hopes to help women at risk of PPD through new policy

Although 13 percent of new mothers experience postpartum depression (PPD) in the first year after childbirth, few women recognize the symptoms and seldom discuss their feelings with a health care provider. University of Louisville Hospital (ULH) hopes to change this statistic through a new policy to guide hospital-based perinatal nurses in caring for women with risk of PPD.

23 Jun 2012

Women discuss intersection of sustainability, environment and empowerment, reproductive health at Rio+20 side event

In this post on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Vicky Markham, founding director of the Center for Environment and Population (CEP), summarizes a Rio+20 side event that took place on Thursday, titled "Rio+20 and Women's Lives: A Cross-General Dialogue."

23 Jun 2012

FDA advisory panel issues positive opinion for Dune's MarginProbe System

Dune Medical Devices announced today that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Panel voted (10 to 1) in favor of Dune's MarginProbe System for use in breast cancer surgery, as an adjunct to current standard methods of intraoperative surgical margin assessment.

23 Jun 2012

Novel small-molecule-inhibiting drug stops spread of breast cancer cells

Scientists have developed a small-molecule-inhibiting drug that in early laboratory cell tests stopped breast cancer cells from spreading and also promoted the growth of early nerve cells called neurites.

22 Jun 2012

Global initiative to improve quality of midwifery care

Researchers from across the world have joined forces to improve the quality of midwifery care and reduce maternal, newborn and infant mortality.

22 Jun 2012

London family planning summit 'must be about enabling women to choose'

"As the London family planning summit looms closer, the debate begins over how much money is needed, what it should pay for and whether the fundamentally important issues of women's reproductive rights will be addressed," Sarah Boseley, health editor of the Guardian, writes in her "Global Health Blog."

22 Jun 2012

Protein in blood can predict improper growth of fetus

Researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) have found a protein in the blood of pregnant women that can predict if they are likely to have a fetus that doesn't grow properly, and thus has a high risk of stillbirth and long-term health complications.

22 Jun 2012

Mid-urethral sling may reduce risk of urinary incontinence after surgery

For many adult women, supporting tissues in and around their vagina weaken to the point where the bladder and other organs descend from their normal position, creating a hernia into the vaginal wall known as pelvic organ prolapse. One in five women will undergo surgery to repair such prolapse.

22 Jun 2012

Moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy does not influence child's development and intelligence

Children born by mothers who have of consumed between 1 and 6 alcohol units per week are just as intelligent and well-developed as children of abstaining mothers. Mothers who have been drinking 5 or more drinks on a single occasion a limited number of times before realizing that they were pregnant may also breathe a sigh of relief; their children have not been harmed.

22 Jun 2012

Contingency management programs an effective way to reduce smoking in pregnant women

Cigarette smoking among drug dependent pregnant women is alarmingly high, estimated at 77 to 99%. Programs that treat pregnant patients for substance use disorders often fail to address cigarette smoking despite the clear risks to both mother and child, including ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. However, programs to help people quit smoking do not seem to interfere with drug abuse treatment, and may actually improve drug abstinence rates.

22 Jun 2012

Midurethral slings can prevent pre-operative urinary incontinence in women with vaginal prolapse

A multicenter study involving a UT Southwestern Medical Center urogynecologist will eliminate some of the guesswork physicians face about whether to use a sling during vaginal prolapse repair to prevent urinary incontinence.

21 Jun 2012

Birth control mandate remains divisive health coverage issue

The head of the Catholic Hospital Association explains her group's split with the Obama administration on the question of contraception coverage. Meanwhile, another Catholic organization is launching a nationwide ad campaign against this policy.

21 Jun 2012

Healthy timing, spacing of pregnancy essential in family planning

"USAID promotes Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy as a vital family planning intervention that helps ensure that pregnancies occur at the healthiest times in a woman's life," Maureen Norton, healthy timing and spacing technical adviser for USAID, writes in USAID's "IMPACTblog."

21 Jun 2012

African-Americans and males lose significant weight after gastric bypass surgery

African-Americans and males lost significant weight after gastric bypass surgery, but not as much as their white and female counterparts, according to a new study presented here at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

21 Jun 2012

Saving Mothers, Giving Life initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality

In this post in PSI's "Healthy Lives" blog, Deputy Editor Tom Murphy discusses the Saving Mothers, Giving Life initiative, which "supports the aggressive reduction of maternal mortality in countries with the highest mortality rates."

21 Jun 2012

VOA News examines South African policy promoting exclusive breastfeeding for mothers with HIV

VOA News examines the South African government's decision in September 2011 to stop providing a free six-month supply of infant formula to mothers with HIV and have "its health facilities ... encourage the women to exclusively breastfeed for at least the first six months of their babies' lives."

21 Jun 2012

Guardian publishes 'shortlists' of International Development Journalism competition entries

The Guardian has published "shortlists" of the amateur and professional entries for its International Development Journalism competition. Topics of the amateur entries include the advancement of women's rights in fragile states, education as a tool for change in the developing world, and the dangers of childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa.

21 Jun 2012

Guardian's 'Development Talk Point' series asks readers to weigh in on family planning, development

In this post in the Guardian's "Development Talk Point" series, contributors Claire Provost and Jaz Cummins ask readers to weigh in on the issue of family planning and development, asking, "How has such a taboo topic become a global priority? What's driving world leaders' growing interest in women's bodies? And what's at stake in these debates?"

21 Jun 2012

Women's Health News

LUHS to renovate Postpartum Unit this summer

No definitive link between hormonal contraceptives and increased risk of HIV infection among women, CDC says

ULH hopes to help women at risk of PPD through new policy

Women discuss intersection of sustainability, environment and empowerment, reproductive health at Rio+20 side event

FDA advisory panel issues positive opinion for Dune's MarginProbe System

Novel small-molecule-inhibiting drug stops spread of breast cancer cells

Global initiative to improve quality of midwifery care

London family planning summit 'must be about enabling women to choose'

Protein in blood can predict improper growth of fetus

Mid-urethral sling may reduce risk of urinary incontinence after surgery

Moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy does not influence child's development and intelligence

Contingency management programs an effective way to reduce smoking in pregnant women

Midurethral slings can prevent pre-operative urinary incontinence in women with vaginal prolapse

Birth control mandate remains divisive health coverage issue

Healthy timing, spacing of pregnancy essential in family planning

African-Americans and males lose significant weight after gastric bypass surgery

Saving Mothers, Giving Life initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality

VOA News examines South African policy promoting exclusive breastfeeding for mothers with HIV

Guardian publishes 'shortlists' of International Development Journalism competition entries

Guardian's 'Development Talk Point' series asks readers to weigh in on family planning, development

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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