Reproductive Health News and Research

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Demand for family planning services growing in Malawi despite challenges

IRIN examines access to family planning services in Malawi, where women have an average of 5.8 children and the population is expected to grow from 15 million in 2010 to 50 million in 2050, according to the news service.

6 Feb 2013

'Impatient Optimists' blog reflects on recent Global Maternal Health Conference

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Mariam Claeson, deputy director of maternal, newborn, and child health at the foundation; France Donnay, senior program officer for maternal, neonatal and child health at the foundation; and Melanie Walker, deputy director of global development special initiatives at the foundation, reflect on the Global Maternal Health Conference 2013, which took place recently in Arusha, Tanzania.

2 Feb 2013

African heads of state meet to address maternal mortality, MDG 5 goal

African "heads of state gathered in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa for the African Union Summit met at a side event on Sunday, Jan. 27 to renew their commitment to reducing the maternal mortality rate on the continent," Inter Press Service reports.

29 Jan 2013

Mary Ann Liebert to launch new LGBT Health journal

Over 4 million adults in the United States identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual and approximately 700,000 identify as transgender. An NIH-sponsored investigation by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that the health status and healthcare needs of this sizable population are poorly understood and likely inadequately met. A journal is urgently needed to support, promote, and address the unique healthcare needs of each population that comprises the LGBT community, in the United States and worldwide.

29 Jan 2013

Military women more likely to contract sexually transmitted infections: Study

As the number of women in the military increases, so does the need for improved gynecologic care. Military women may be more likely to engage in high-risk sexual practices, be less likely to consistently use barrier contraception, and, therefore, more likely to contract sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to research recently released by a physician at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

29 Jan 2013

Philippines law on family planning will help country achieve universal access to reproductive health

A new law in the Philippines that "requires the government to meet the unmet need for voluntary family planning information and supplies" and all public schools to teach age-appropriate sexuality education went into effect on January 16,

25 Jan 2013

Setting research priorities for adolescent sexual and reproductive health

Quality sexual and reproductive health care is an essential component of public health. However, there are insufficient evidence-based policies related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries.

24 Jan 2013

State roundup: Legislatures tackle health budget gaps, worker pay

With the national economy picking up and the housing market improving, states are poised in 2013 to finally rebound from the recession's lingering revenue crunch. But continued budget delays in Washington may dampen that prospect.

24 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Looking back at landmark Roe V. Wade decision

Opinion writers reflect on the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision regarding abortion.

23 Jan 2013

On Roe anniversary, poll finds wide support for abortion access

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds that 70 percent of Americans think the landmark Supreme Court case should stand. But those against abortion continue their battle to overturn the decision with a new generation of leaders and state-by-state strategies to restrict the procedure.

23 Jan 2013

Examining family planning in Malawi under President Banda

Author and strategist Courtney Martin writes in a post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog about her experience during a trip to Malawi with the Aspen Institute's Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health, led by former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, to visit "President Joyce Banda and her cabinet for an official consultation on their work around family planning and safe motherhood."

21 Jan 2013

Nurse practitioners, certified midwives and PAs can provide safe early abortion care

First trimester abortions are just as safe when performed by trained nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives as when conducted by physicians, according to a new six-year study led by UCSF.

19 Jan 2013

Study to determine prevalence of abnormal anal cytology and HPV in at-risk women

A basic connection of statistics lead a researcher at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island to question whether women should be screened for anal cancer during a regular visit to the gynecologist, and what technique is most effective.

18 Jan 2013

Involving youth in shaping global development agenda

"The first-ever USAID Youth in Development Policy... provides important opportunities to involve global youth in shaping our development agenda and advancing their health and rights," the Youth Health and Rights Coalition writes in USAID's "IMPACTblog."

18 Jan 2013

Miscarriage and molecular signals: an interview with Prof Brosens and Prof Quenby

Miscarriage is defined as the spontaneous loss of pregnancy before the baby reaches viability. Besides the physical trauma, miscarriage causes considerable anxiety, stress, and depression.

17 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: $4,000 a night for a 'cozy' hospital room; Texas effort to provide women's health care falls short

Call it the $55,000 cat bite. That's the rough total in medical costs (so far) for a cat bite on my hand that turned into an infection that turned into surgery that turned into a week in the hospital.

16 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Health care and the 'crushing federal debt;' Optimism about 'grand bargain;' Iowa's premium increase request

The largest issue America will face in 2013 is health care. And it will only get larger. As the national conversation changes, we'll find that by year-end we're talking about it all the time, whether the ostensible topic is politics, government, the economy, our jobs, or our families. Health care will be the unavoidable topic. Medicare and Medicaid are the biggest element of our most serious national problem: crushing federal debt.

9 Jan 2013

January issue of WHO Bulletin available online

The January issue of the WHO Bulletin features an editorial examining universal health coverage and the right to health, a public health news roundup, a research article examining research priorities for adolescent sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries, and a systematic review examining the integration of antiretroviral therapy into antenatal care and maternal and child health settings, among others.

4 Jan 2013

Pushing 14 years for Philippines reproductive health bill took 'courage'

Jose "Oying" Rimon, deputy director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Ben de Leon, president of the Forum for Family Planning and Development, Inc., write in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog that the many people who worked for 14 years to pass a reproductive health bill in the Philippines are "profiles in courage."

4 Jan 2013

State restrictions on abortions slow in 2012, but still second most ever

A new Guttmacher Institute report finds that the number of new abortion restrictions passed by states in 2012 was down from 2011, but that the year still saw the second most new rules on the procedure ever.

4 Jan 2013