Reproductive Health News and Research

RSS

Uganda MP calls for increased antiretroviral access at rural health clinics

Uganda's Ministry of Health and other stakeholders should provide rural health clinics with antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV-positive people from having to travel long distances to obtain the treatment, Member of Parliament Betty Aol Ocan said recently, the New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports

8 Jun 2008

Study debunks myths about teens and oral sex

According to a study which looked at teenage sexual practices, contrary to widespread belief, teenagers do not commonly engage in oral sex as a way of preserving their virginity.

21 May 2008

Stiff competition for Viagra in the pipeline

Scientists in Scotland are in the process of developing a drug which could offer stiff competition to the drug Viagra.

20 May 2008

HIV/AIDS cases increasing among sex workers in Uganda

HIV/AIDS cases are increasing among women and girls involved in commercial sex work in Kampala, Uganda, HIV/AIDS advocates said recently, Uganda's Monitor reports.

13 May 2008

New Hopkins report on successful health communication

Communication plays a crucial role in successful family planning, HIV prevention, and other health and development programs. Communication often is thought of as the production of messages and materials, such as postures or brochures. But effective communication programs that motivate people to adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyles use a systematic process and require long-term commitment.

21 Mar 2008

Low levels of dietary folate linked to sperm abnormalities

Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

20 Mar 2008

New choices bring wider range of women to family planning

A study appearing in the March 2008 issue of the journal Contraception reports that the Standard Days Method, a natural family planning method developed by researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center's Institute for Reproductive Health, brings new women to family planning.

19 Mar 2008

Home test kit confirms men's post-vasectomy sterility

Technology developed at the University of Virginia could soon have a dramatic impact on male contraception practices throughout the U.S. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved SpermCheck Vasectomy, a home test that confirms men's post-vasectomy sterility and is based on discoveries made at U.Va.

12 Mar 2008

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine receives new Gates funding to fight disease

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has been awarded grant funding totalling $46.4 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and $12.7 million from other partners, to help find new and effective ways of treating and preventing malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS.

10 Mar 2008

Pre-eclampsia linked to herpes virus

Australian researchers have discovered a viral link which they believe may help explain high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) and pre-term birth.

18 Feb 2008

Beneficial bacteria found in healthy women provide clues for slowing HIV transmission

Beneficial bacteria found in healthy women help to reduce the amount of vaginal HIV among HIV-infected women and might make it more difficult for the virus to spread, boosting the possibility that "good bacteria" might someday be tapped in the fight against HIV.

8 Feb 2008

CycleBeads help women manage their fertility

More than half a million women around the world, including an estimated 50,000 in the United States, use natural family planning methods developed by Georgetown University Medical Center’s Institute for Reproductive Health.

4 Feb 2008

Democrats to seek changes, boosted funding during PEPFAR reauthorization debate

Some Congressional Democrats have proposed removing abstinence program spending requirements and a mandatory pledge against commercial sex work in the upcoming reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the AP/Yahoo! News reports (Abrams, AP/Yahoo! News, 2/2). The lawmakers also are hoping to allow "reproductive health groups to have broader access to U.S. money," according to CQ Today.

4 Feb 2008

Abortions down in U.S. and everyone wonders why

The study by Guttmacher Institute researchers found that in 2005 the total number of abortions fell to a total of 1.2 million in 2005, way below the all-time high of 1.6 million abortions in 1990.

20 Jan 2008

New York City mortality rate at all-time low in 2006

The death rate in New York City reached an all-time low in 2006, the Health Department reported today, as the number of deaths fell to 55,391 - down from 57,068 in 2005 and 60,218 in 2001.

10 Jan 2008

Physical education and active play help teens maintain normal weight as adults

Adolescents who participate in physical education at school are more likely to maintain a normal weight as young adults, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

8 Jan 2008

Teachers play critical role in adolescent health promotion efforts

Teachers are among the most important influences in the lives of school-aged children, yet relatively little emphasis has been placed on examining the potential role general academic teachers may play in facilitating adolescent health promotion efforts, according to a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and published in the Journal of School Health.

18 Dec 2007

Problematic drinking and alcohol dependence linked to high number of sex partners

Previous studies have linked heavy drinking and conduct disorder to high-risk sexual behaviors that can, in turn, lead to unintended pregnancies, infection, and damage to reproductive health.

27 Nov 2007

Heart rate patterns before birth provide clues to children's later development

Variations in heart rate patterns provide information on how the nervous system functions in adults and children. Obstetricians have long considered heart rate patterns to be important indicators of fetal well-being during the prenatal period as well as in labor and delivery.

16 Nov 2007

Massachusetts Bill that would expand abortion clinic buffer zones provides 'reasonable balance,' editorial says

A Massachusetts bill that would expand abortion clinic buffer zones from 18 feet to 35 feet provides a "reasonable balance that reasonable people will support," a Boston Globe editorial says (Boston Globe, 10/30).

30 Oct 2007