Women's Health News

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Mammograms should be personalized based on woman's age, breast density

Mammograms should not be done on a one-size fits all basis, but instead should be personalized based on a woman's age, the density of her breasts, her family history of breast cancer and a number of other factors including her own values.

5 Jul 2011

Anti-depressants during early pregnancy linked to increased risk of autism

Exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors anti-depressants in early pregnancy may modestly increase risk of autism spectrum disorders, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the current issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

5 Jul 2011

Women with sedentary lifestyle more likely to develop pulmonary embolism

Women who sit for long periods of time everyday are two to three times more likely to develop a life-threatening blood clot in their lungs than more active women, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

5 Jul 2011

Study shows effect of maternal height on multiple implantation

The researchers say that this is the first time the effect of maternal height on multiple implantation has been shown.

4 Jul 2011

Women can have successful pregnancy after recurrent miscarriage

In a subset of the ALIFE study, which investigated the effect of aspirin alone or combined with low-molecular-weight heparin, compared to placebo, on the live birth rate in women with unexplained RM, the researchers looked at the length of time between the moment of randomisation to the moment of the first day of last menstruation before the subsequent pregnancy.

4 Jul 2011

Primiparity, maternal smoking and BMI linked to risk of pre-term birth

In Sweden almost 40 000 children have now been born after IVF, around 3 500 each year, and IVF children constitute 3% of all newborns. "This represents a large number of children and any adverse outcomes related to IVF are therefore a major public health issue," said Dr. Antonina Sazonova, from Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, who carried out the research with colleagues from the hospital and from Lund University.

4 Jul 2011

New model may help reduce multiple pregnancies in women

Dr Jan Holte told the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, that if this model were to be applied in all fertility clinics, it had the potential to reduce the twin rates to the level of just under two percent seen in the normal population. Already, another four clinics have started to use the model.

4 Jul 2011

New insight into oocyte chromosome abnormalities

Ovarian stimulation undertaken by women of advanced maternal age receiving fertility treatment may be disrupting the normal pattern of meiosis - a critical process of chromosome duplication followed by two specialised cell divisions in the production of oocytes and sperm - and leading to abnormalities of chromosome copy numbers that result in IVF failure, pregnancy loss or, more rarely, the birth of affected children with conditions such as Down's syndrome, which is caused by the inheritance of three copies of chromosome 21.

4 Jul 2011

Medical practitioners can help reduce breast cancer deaths in African-American women

Wayne State University researchers believe medical practitioners can help reduce the number of breast cancer deaths among low-income African-American women by more effectively educating their patients about the importance of mammography screening.

2 Jul 2011

Judge halts enforcement of S.D. abortion law; hearing on Kansas law today

A federal judge on Thursday barred a tough new South Dakota abortion law from taking effect while it's being challenged in court. The law, which would have taken effect Friday, requires women seeking abortions to face a three-day waiting period and undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortion.

2 Jul 2011

IPS looks at U.N. Women funding levels

Inter Press Service looks at funding for U.N. Women six months after the organization launched. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "set an initial target of 500 million dollars as the proposed annual budget for the new gender-empowered body. But nearly six months later, the voluntary funding for U.N. Women (UNW) from the 192 member states has remained painfully slow," IPS writes.

2 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Medical docs begin residency, best practices, Kansas abortions

Today, after four arduous years of examinations, graduating medical doctors will report to their residency programs. Armed with stethoscopes and scalpels, they're preparing to lead the charge against disease in its ravaging, chimerical forms. They carry with them the classic tomes: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine and Gray's Anatomy. But I have an unlikely addition for their mental rucksacks: "Grimm's Fairy Tales".

2 Jul 2011

The women, girls, and gender equality of the GHI: Assessment of the GHI plus country strategies

This report from the Kaiser Family Foundation assesses how countries are responding to a GHI principle to address women, girls and gender equality. The report examines country strategies for seven of the eight "GHI Plus" nations: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Mali, Malawi, and Nepal.

1 Jul 2011

NPR examines controversial drug being used to save women's lives

In another installment in NPR's summer-long series "Beginnings," NPR's All Things Considered aired a story on Wednesday examining how the controversial drug misoprostol is being used worldwide to save women's lives.

1 Jul 2011

Women more likely to survive after major gastrointestinal surgeries than men

In the first study to consider the impact of gender on patient outcomes in major gastrointestinal surgeries, researchers at UC San Diego Health System have found that women are more likely to survive after the procedure than men.

1 Jul 2011

Women's rights becoming 'cornerstone' of U.S. foreign policy

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is spearheading a quiet revolution in progressive foreign policy by making the empowerment of women and advancement of their rights a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy," Peter Juul, a policy analyst at American Progress, writes in a post on the American Progress National Security Strategy issue page, before listing multiple programs, including GHI and Feed the Future, that have incorporated women's rights into their core values.

1 Jul 2011

Avoidance of routine thyroid testing on pregnant women would have let 80% of cases go undetected

A recent study completed by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) demonstrates that BMC conducts a high rate of thyroid function testing in pregnant women.

1 Jul 2011

Ovarian cancer molecular updates

In a new study a genetic mutation was found in the most common form of ovarian cancer. This according to the US scientists could pave the way for a more effective treatment of the disease. The detailed genetic map already helped scientists identify existing drugs with the potential for treating the mutations found in ovarian cancer tumors and also identified mutations that could respond to new drugs.

1 Jul 2011

Panel advises FDA to reject Avastin as breast cancer drug

The unanimous recommendation by this committee of cancer experts increases the likelihood that the drug will no longer be widely available for the treatment of breast cancer. Avastin, however, will continue to have the Food and Drug Adminstration's approval for use in treating certain other cancers.

1 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Abortion law debates; Medicare cost examinations; state reform building blocks

The Susan B. Anthony List's Pro-Life Leadership Pledge has garnered praise from a number of Republican presidential candidates, including Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Tim Pawlenty, each of whom has signed the pledge. It has also faced some misinformed criticism, however, not only from the media but from other presidential candidates who refuse to sign on to the pledge's four basic principles.

30 Jun 2011