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Many women have short length of stay after childbirth, new study finds

A substantial proportion of women in countries around the world do not stay in health facilities for long enough after giving birth, which could result in them receiving inadequate postnatal care, according to a new study published in PLOS Medicine.

10 Mar 2016

Conducive work climate can help moms to continue breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is healthy for baby and for Mom. It has a positive impact on childhood obesity, infections and allergies, is linked to a lower likelihood of mothers getting ovarian or breast cancers later in life and to a more positive maternal-child relationship.

10 Mar 2016

Is the global diet getting sweeter? An interview with Professor Barry Popkin

In the past, caloric sweeteners simply referred to cane sugar or beet sugar. However, over time we've created hundreds of different sugars that are all providing calories of the same amount, about four calories for every gram of the sugar. Some examples include corn syrups and more processed sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup.

10 Mar 2016

Victims of sexual abuse stop breastfeeding early, study finds

More than two out of ten women who have been victims of sexual abuse as children are likely to stop breastfeeding before their babies reach four months, according to a new study.

10 Mar 2016

Adding ultrasound or tomosynthesis to standard mammograms can detect missed cancers in dense breasts

Adding either tomosynthesis (a form of 3D mammography) or ultrasound scans to standard mammograms can detect breast cancers that would have been missed in women with dense breasts, according to an interim analysis of a trial comparing these two additional screening technologies.

10 Mar 2016

Use of radiotherapy focused around tumour bed with IMRT benefits breast cancer patients

Radiotherapy to the whole breast is standard treatment after breast-conserving surgery for women with early breast cancer, even those who have a low risk of the disease returning in the breast (local relapse). However, whole breast radiotherapy can cause changes in the appearance of the breast, which may also be firmer and tender to the touch, resulting in psychological distress.

10 Mar 2016

CWRU researcher to customize tobacco mosaic virus to treat human cancers

A Case Western Reserve University researcher has been awarded more than $3 million in federal and foundation grants to turn common plant viruses into cancer sleuths and search-and-destroy emissaries.

10 Mar 2016

Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine effective in treating malaria in pregnant women

Pregnant women can be protected from malaria, a major cause of prematurity, low birth weight and death in infants in Africa, with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine , an artemisinin combination therapy that is already widely used to treat malaria in adults, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and in Uganda.

10 Mar 2016

VIGH study seeks to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Africa

Mother-to-child transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, is still a major problem in resource-limited, rural areas of the world where health care providers are scarce.

10 Mar 2016

Clinical review examines benefit of RT in breast cancer patients with BRCA1, BRCA2 mutations

In light of conflicting and inconclusive clinical data on the benefit of radiation therapy in cancer patients with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation, a clinical review examined the current status of data regarding BRCA1 and BRCA2 deficiency and radiation therapy sensitivity and a potential strategy to intensify the effects of radiation therapy (RT) by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi), the pharmacologic drugs under investigation as monotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer in patients with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

9 Mar 2016

Use of OTC medication not always a smart decision for yeast infection

Itching, burning, redness—a yeast infection can be a total pain. While they aren't life-threatening, yeast infections are irritating—both physically and mentally. So, when undesirable symptoms appear 'down there,' should you consult your physician or self diagnose and treat with over-the-counter medications?

9 Mar 2016

Alcohol worst of all drugs that affect fetal health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set off a firestorm of controversy this month when they suggested that women stop drinking alcohol if they are trying to get pregnant, or could get pregnant. Some people took this advice as the CDC prioritizing hypothetical, yet-to-be-conceived children over real women, which has brought up a number of issues from female autonomy to access to birth control—but how clear is the science about what causes fetal alcohol syndrome and related fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

9 Mar 2016

Higher BMI in mothers linked with lower vitamin D levels in babies

Does a newborn's vitamin D level relate to the mother's weight during pregnancy? Results from a study published in PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science) provides ample evidence that yes, higher body mass index (BMI) in mothers is associated with lower vitamin D levels in their babies.

9 Mar 2016

Neck pain more common in women than in men, Loyola study finds

Women are 1.38 times more likely than men to report neck pain due to cervical degenerative disc disease, according to a study of adult patients treated at Loyola Medicine's Pain Management Center.

9 Mar 2016

Study: Domestic violence during pregnancy increases risk of preterm birth, low birth weight

Domestic violence by a partner or ex-partner during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and small-for-gestational-age babies, finds a study in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

9 Mar 2016

Researchers explore prenatal marijuana use in legalized environment

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are studying the detection of prenatal marijuana use in a legalized environment. The study of marijuana use in pregnancy is only possible in a few states.

9 Mar 2016

Changes in gut bacteria strongly associated with PCOS-related obesity

Modifying gut bacteria could be a treatment option for some of the symptoms associated with the widespread disease polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a recent study by San Diego State University researchers in collaboration with investigators from the University of California, San Diego.

8 Mar 2016

Sleeping too much or too little increases risk of dying from heart disease

Too much or too little sleep is linked with an increased risk of certain types of cardiovascular disease. Women and the elderly are particularly at risk.Sleeping less than four hours or more than eight hours a night increases the risk of dying from some types of coronary heart disease, such as heart attacks and unstable angina pectoris, according to a study by Norwegian and Taiwanese researchers.

8 Mar 2016

New research reveals European women's attitudes towards sexual behaviours, emergency contraceptive pill

New research released on International Women’s Day, reveals more than three in four European women (77%) are aware of the morning after pill as an option for managing the risk of an unplanned pregnancy after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure.

8 Mar 2016

Researchers discover how E. coli bacteria adhere to urinary tract

Almost every second woman suffers from a bladder infection at some point in her life. Also men are affected by cystitis, though less frequently. In eighty percent of the cases, it is caused by the intestinal bacterium E. coli.

8 Mar 2016