Obstetrics News and Research

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Gynecology and obstetrics are twin subjects that deal with the female reproductive system. While obstetrics deals with pregnancy and its associated procedures and complications, gynaecology involves treating women who are not pregnant.

Review on fetal pain creates controversy

A review of medical evidence, which has apparently found that fetuses don't feel pain until the final months of pregnancy, has created controversy and has presented a powerful challenge to abortion opponents.

24 Aug 2005

Effects of estrogen on heart disease prevention

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and seven other national institutions are recruiting patients to participate in the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) to look at the effects of estrogen on heart disease prevention.

15 Aug 2005

After a caesarean, women are less likely to have another baby

Researchers have found, after carrying out a 17-year study following 25,370 women, that women who have their baby by caesarean section, are less likely to have another pregnancy.

2 Aug 2005

Two-thirds of American women find out about their pregnancies by using a home pregnancy test

In a recent survey undertaken on behalf of First Response, and released in conjunction with a partnership with the March of Dimes aimed at improving pregnancy outcomes, reveals two-thirds (67 percent) of American women aged 18 to 44 who became pregnant found out about their pregnancies by using a home pregnancy test.

2 Aug 2005

Pregnancy fears on drinking water byproducts may be overstated

Fears that chemical byproducts resulting from purifying drinking water with chlorine boost the chances that pregnant women will miscarry were not supported by the results of a major new study. If such threats exist at all, which is uncertain, they likely are modest, it concludes.

1 Aug 2005

Link between peritoneum closure and fewer adhesions

A controversial surgical procedure that has lost favor among medical professionals may benefit women who have had caesarean sections. So say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who have found that closing the parietal peritoneum, a multi-layered membrane that lines the abdomino-pelvic walls, substantially decreases the likelihood of scarring that can make future C-sections more difficult.

1 Aug 2005

Babies born at night have a greater risk of dying in their first month

There is strong evidence that babies born at night have a greater risk of dying in their first month of life than babies born earlier in the day, according to a new study published this month in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

1 Aug 2005

Risk perceptions of natural versus 'medicalized' childbirth

Women were kept isolated in small rooms. Their arms were strapped down. Doctors were often methodically cold. And, upon the delivery, babies were swept away to isolation in a nursery.

26 Jul 2005

Important find will help design appropriate screening and therapy for women carrying fetuses impaired in their growth

In her research, Dr. Andree Gruslin encountered many pregnant women who could not carry their fetuses to term because the placenta, and in turn the fetus, were too small. In once case, she followed a woman who had had eight consecutive miscarriages due to this condition. Thanks to this latest discovery, she now understands why.

19 Jul 2005

Cedars-Sinai dumping hundreds of low income patients

The California Nurses Association has sharply criticized state officials for establishing a dangerous precedent in approving tax-supported revenue bonds for the state's largest private hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of Los Angeles, which is dumping hundreds of its Medi-Cal patients, denying them access to available and much needed medical care.

15 Jul 2005

Changes to prenatal genetic testing could mean more babies born with abnornalities

A study in the UK suggests that a proposed change to the type of prenatal genetic testing offered to couples in the UK, could possibly result in certain chromosome abnormalities being missed.

4 Jul 2005

Infertility may be becoming more of a man's problem than a woman's problem

Until now, approximately 40% of infertility cases have been linked to medical problems in men and 40% to medical problems in women, with the remaining 20% due to joint problems.

27 Jun 2005

Breast cancer growth regulator sEGFR holds promise for more targeted treatment

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have discovered the breast cancer growth regulator sEGFR, which may be a useful tool in monitoring a patient's responsiveness to treatment with the drug letrozole.

27 Jun 2005

Treating pregnancy-related diabetes helps babies and improves the mother's health-related quality of life

A major international study coordinated from Adelaide, South Australia has shown that treating pregnant women who develop mild gestational (pregnancy-related) diabetes helps their babies and improves the mother's health-related quality of life without increasing the risk of caesarean section.

14 Jun 2005

Researchers describe emerging strategy for prevention, early treatment of Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes may be significantly delayed or prevented through medication that takes the load off of the body's delicate insulin-producing cells, according to a study released today by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

12 Jun 2005

Infertility far more common in overweight women

Hong Kong expert Carina Chan of the University of Hong Kong's department of obstetrics and gynaecology says overweight women are 30 percent more likely to be infertile than women of a normal weight.

6 Jun 2005

UMHS study finds premium rates affect where ob/gyns choose to practice

The high cost of malpractice insurance for some medical specialties affects not only how many doctors are entering the field of obstetrics and gynecology, but also where they offer their widely needed obstetric, prenatal and gynecological care, according to new University of Michigan Health System research.

1 Jun 2005

Baby boy is first successful birth in Canada from frozen eggs

McGill University Health Center (MUHC) in Montreal yesterday announced the first successful birth in Canada resulting from frozen eggs. A healthy baby boy, weighing 3740 grams was born on April 29 to a 26-year-old mother who had suffered from infertility for two years.

31 May 2005

Pregnant women's exposure to phthalates has adverse effects on genital development in their male children

For the first time, researchers have identified an association between pregnant women’s exposure to a nearly ubiquitous class of chemicals known as phthalates and adverse effects on genital development in their male children.

30 May 2005

A new technique might allow women diagnosed with cancer the opportunity to have children when chemotherapy and radiation treatments rob them of their fertility

Freezing eggs is one thing; thawing them safely so they can lead to pregnancy is the challenge. In the past, efforts to freeze a woman's eggs, or oocytes, have not worked well because the cells are large. When the egg is thawed, ice crystals cause damage that prevents the egg from being fertilized.

29 May 2005