Maternal Health News and Research

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Online interactive world map of maternal health

Researchers from the University of Southampton have helped construct an online interactive world map which gives stark facts and figures about the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and following the birth of their child.

20 Nov 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

New This Week In The Kaiser Global Health Policy Tracker: The President's Malaria Initiative announced a new focus country and USAID released a new fact sheet on the agency's reform initiative. Kaiser's Policy Tracker provides a timely single reference point for the latest information on congressional and administration action on global health.

20 Nov 2010

New online interactive world map gives facts about maternal health

19 Nov 2010

Leaders speak at Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health conference

Education for women is the most important factor for positively influencing the health of women and children, Indian President Pratibha Patil said on Saturday at a meeting in New Delhi of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), IANS/Sify News reports. "Education is a powerful driver of health. The relationship between poverty, lack of education and limited access to health services, is well recognised," Patil said at the start of the two-day conference (11/13).

16 Nov 2010

Reproductive health forum in Ghana addresses unsafe abortions in Africa

The issue of unsafe abortion and its role in women's health was the focus of a four-day conference this week in Accra, Ghana, involving health experts, policymakers and health workers from across Africa, Ghana News Agency reports.

15 Nov 2010

Mutual accountability on women's and children's health goals essential to Millennium Development Goal success

This year, governments, foundations, businesses, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations and health care professional associations publicly pledged more than $ 40 billion* to improve maternal and child health and save million of lives.

12 Nov 2010

Hydroxychloroquine may reduce cardiac neonatal lupus in subsequent pregnancies: Research

Women with anti-SSA/Ro antibodies and a previous child who has heart block a condition where the electrical signal that makes the heart beat is damaged may potentially decrease their risk of delivering another child with life threatening heart disease by taking hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

8 Nov 2010

Sec. of State Clinton commits $44M toward new initiatives to empower women

Marking the 10th anniversary of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 the first to recognize the importance of women's 'full involvement' in efforts to maintain and promote peace and security Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday together with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and diplomats called for increased action to end sexual violence in war and increase women's involvement in peace-building efforts, the Associated Press/Forbes reports.

28 Oct 2010

To reach MDGs, citizens must demand more from political leaders, former U.N. Secretary-General tells U.N. Foundation board meeting

At a U.N. Foundation board meeting in Ghana to discuss Millennium Development Goal progress, which concluded on Saturday, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan "called on the citizenry to demand the attainment of these set goals from their political leaders," the Accra Mail reports. "It is only through this that we can put pressure on the politician to work towards achieving these goals," he said, according to the newspaper.

26 Oct 2010

Motherhood helps women grow their grey matter: Study

According to the latest research motherhood helps women grow their grey matter. The study was conducted by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health in Maryland and it showed that the brains of new mothers substantially gained in nerve cells while they coped with the steep learning curve of dealing with a newborn. Also in a bizarre way, mothers who ‘gushed’ the most about their babies showed the greatest growth in key parts of the brain.

24 Oct 2010

Fish oil not as good for pregnant mums as thought: Study

According to a new Australian study, taking fish oil / docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplements during pregnancy does not appear to reduce the risk of postpartum depression of mothers or boost the language development and cognitive skills of their children.

19 Oct 2010

WHO Western Pacific meeting to address maternal health, rise in dengue

Maternal health and dengue fever are among the issues that will be discussed at the 61st session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, Bernama reports.

12 Oct 2010

$750 million needed to treat obstetric fistula until 2015

A report released by the United Nations today calls for intensified investment in cost-effective interventions to address the problem of obstetric fistula. The document estimates that at least $750 million is needed to treat existing and new cases between now and 2015. Caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without timely medical intervention, the condition affects as many as 3.5 million women in the world.

11 Oct 2010

MDG summit: Funding the Global Fund; Arab world's 'own challenges'

BusinessDay reports that following last week's Millennium Development Goal summit at the U.N. in New York, advocates "have called on rich nations to double their pledges to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, saying it desperately needs more money if the world is to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals by 2015."

28 Sep 2010

OrSense introduces NBM200 system for anemia screening, hemorrhage detection

OrSense Ltd., developer of monitors for non-invasive measurements of various blood parameters, introduced at the Global Forum of Maternal and Infant Health, at Barcelona, Spain, NBM200, a non-invasive hemoglobin measurement system for anemia screening and hemorrhage detection. The Company presented results showing that Hb measurements obtained by the NBM200 showed accurate performance compared with invasive point of care devices.

27 Sep 2010

U.N. MDGs summit concludes with 'outcome document'

The three-day U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ended Wednesday with world leaders "adopting a declaration agreed [to] earlier this month, which promised intensified efforts by the 192 U.N. member states to achieve the world body's so-called Millennium Development Goals by 2015," Reuters reports (Worsnip/Wroughton, 9/22).

24 Sep 2010

Prescription only baby formula proposal

It has been known and recommended for some time now that breast milk is the best food for a new born. However for mothers who cannot breast feed, this has been a serious issue related to guilt and anguish. The controversy took a new turn as a Melbourne doctor of midwifery called for infant formula to be made available only by prescription. RMIT University expert Dr Jennifer James wants infant formula banned from supermarket shelves.

23 Sep 2010

Pregnancy clinics in schools

According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), pregnant women under 20 often felt excluded from antenatal care in hospitals. Teachers have thus welcomed the proposal to set up antenatal clinics in schools to care for pregnant teenagers. The services would provide advice on nutrition, staying healthy while pregnant, carry out routine tests and monitor the pregnancy while in the latter stages classes may be provided to prepare the woman for the birth.

23 Sep 2010

Lilly's multidrug-resistant tuberculosis initiative honored with World Business and Development Award

An eminent international panel of judges has selected Eli Lilly and Company to receive a World Business and Development Award for demonstrating what can be achieved through successful partnerships in the battle against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

22 Sep 2010

Secretary-General opens U.N. summit on MDGS with appeal for world leaders to maintain target commitments

On the first of the three-day U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday appealed "to the assembled presidents, prime ministers and kings to use their power to meet U.N. goals to help the world's poorest by 2015," the Associated Press reports.

22 Sep 2010