Reproductive Health News and Research

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World Bank announces five-year plan to reduce maternal deaths, fertility rates in 58 low-income countries

During the release of its five-year plan to help drive down high maternal death and fertility rates in low-income countries, the World Bank on Tuesday said "that family planning and other reproductive health services have fallen off the radar of many governments, donors and aid agencies," Reuters reports.

13 May 2010

Health leaders from sub-Saharan Africa gather for three-day conference on family planning in Kenya

A three-day conference exploring ways to increase access to family planning services in Africa kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, Capital FM reports. The meeting, which is hosted by USAID, will bring together "USAID's partners in sub-Saharan Africa who include Angola, Burundi, [Democratic Republic of Congo], Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan and Tanzania," to work to identify gaps in reproductive and family planning services and address ways to reach out to populations in need, the news service writes (Karong'o, 5/11).

12 May 2010

Ferring to acquire global rights to Xanodyne Pharmaceutical's LYSTEDA

Ferring Pharmaceuticals today announced an agreement that will expand its Women's Health product portfolio with the acquisition of the global rights to Xanodyne Pharmaceutical's LYSTEDA™ (tranexamic acid), a first-in-class, non-hormonal therapy indicated specifically for treatment of women with cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).

10 May 2010

LSTM launches European Union funded adolescent reproductive health programme in Africa

LSTM has launched a four year programme to improve the delivery of reproductive health services in Tanzania and Niger. The programme, funded by the European Union, has been designed by LSTM and the seven project partners to highlight and address the cultural barriers which reduce the reach and effectiveness of existing adolescent reproductive health (ARH) services in partner countries.

7 May 2010

Sierra Leone launching free health care program for mothers, children; Challenges remain

Sierra Leone is launching a program to provide free health care for mothers and children in an effort to reduce high maternal and child mortality rates, Ernest Bai Koroma, the country's president, said on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports (4/27).

29 Apr 2010

Canadian government says Canada's G8 maternal, child health plan will not include abortion

Canada on Monday at a meeting of G8 development ministers in Halifax, Canada, said its maternal and child health initiative, which is expected to be a "centerpiece issue" at the G8 summit in late June, will not include funding for abortion, the Associated Press/Washington Post (Gillies, 4/26).

28 Apr 2010

Opinions: G8 summit; World Malaria Day; Family planning; Global Food Security Act

As G8 development leaders gather in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this week to discuss priorities for the upcoming summit, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the WFP, calls for world leaders to focus on the nutritional needs of mothers and children in developing countries in a Toronto Star opinion piece.

27 Apr 2010

Dozens of states pass, debate greater restrictions on abortion

Dozens of states are passing or debating new restrictions on abortion, a trend fueled in part by passage of the nation's new health care law. Both sides of the hot-button issue are seeing new approaches to reduce abortions. … So far, 2010 has been 'very successful,' said Mary Spaulding Balch of the National Right to Life Committee.

26 Apr 2010

The AFA and IntegraMed partner to provide innovative fertility education programs

Patients dealing with infertility face many uncertainties, but now there is one place to find a comprehensive guide to almost every aspect of infertility treatment.

19 Apr 2010

Valedictory Symposium to celebrate Professor David Taylor's contribution to Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Medical experts from across the UK are gathering at the University of Leicester on Friday 23rd April in a Valedictory Symposium to celebrate the work of Professor David Taylor.

19 Apr 2010

CycleBeads Conception Kit for women contemplating pregnancy

A scientifically-based tool developed by researchers from Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health to help women prevent pregnancy naturally, is now being used by a growing number of women to help plan pregnancy.

16 Apr 2010

Research reveals demand for over-the-counter oral contraceptives in the US

American women who live along the U.S.-Mexico border frequently buy over-the-counter oral contraceptives from Mexican pharmacies because they don't need a prescription and can send a friend to pick up the pills, according to a study by researchers from two University of Texas campuses and Ibis Reproductive Health.

15 Apr 2010

A renewed effort to reduce global toll of maternal and child deaths

Widespread global use of known and proven maternal and childcare techniques, practices, and therapies could save the lives of millions of women, newborns and children each year, according to a new analysis prepared for a mid-April meeting of world leaders and technical experts on maternal and child health.

15 Apr 2010

UNFPA: Global financial crisis should not block further investments in health, human well-being

The global financial crisis should not be allowed to prevent further investments in health and human well-being, said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. The lack of such social investment, she warned, will be most acutely felt in the poorest countries, and will most severely impact those who are socially and economically the most underprivileged—particularly poor women and girls.

13 Apr 2010

New research highlights adverse effects of air pollution on human reproduction

Exposure to an increased level of air pollutants, especially nitrogen dioxide, has been associated with lower likelihoods of successful pregnancy among women undergoing in vitro fertilization, according to a team of fertility researchers.

13 Apr 2010

Dangers of BPA: South Florida children need protection

Something must be done to protect the children of South Florida from this dangerous chemical says one student ready to bring the facts to the Broward County Commission. The government's recent announcement that the EPA is considering the addition of Bisphenol-A (BPA) to their list of "Chemicals of Concern," is a step in the right direction, but long overdue, according to high school junior and BPA researcher, Wendi Oppenheim.

12 Apr 2010

One in ten primary care physicians in the U.S. experience conflict with religiously-affiliated hospital: Report

Nearly one in ten primary care physicians in the United States has experienced a conflict with a religiously-affiliated hospital or practice over religious policies for patient care, researchers from the University of Chicago report in a paper published early online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

9 Apr 2010

Scientific evidence links high levels of copper and iron to age-related disorders

With scientific evidence linking high levels of copper and iron to Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, and other age-related disorders, a new report in ACS' Chemical Research in Toxicology suggests specific steps that older consumers can take to avoid build up of unhealthy amounts of these metals in their bodies.

8 Apr 2010

Foreign Minister says Canada's G8 maternal, child health plan will not include abortion

At this summer's G8 meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will move forward with his "'signature initiative' on maternal and children's health, despite disagreements with the United States and Britain over funding for abortion in the developing world, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon says," the Globe and Mail reports (McCarthy, 4/4).

6 Apr 2010

AFA’s fundraising event to highlight the importance of reproductive health and infertility prevention

The American Fertility Association, a national non-profit organization, knows the road to parenthood isn't always straight. To further the work of educating and supporting all men and women desiring to create their families - including hopeful gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, the AFA will hold its 9th annual Illuminations Los Angeles fundraising event on April 9th at the Sunset Tower Hotel, the Art Deco masterpiece on Sunset Boulevard.

3 Apr 2010