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Federal judge in Michigan blocks birth control coverage mandate for pizza chain

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff granted this preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the health law's contraception coverage requirement.

16 Mar 2013

Deadline pressures could put more health exchanges in the federal government's hands

Reuters reports that if states that are pursuing their own insurance marketplaces can't keep up with the timeline, it could fall to Washington to run. Meanwhile, the Minnesota House approves legislation to set up its health exchange while advocates in Colorado press to make coverage of children's dental care mandatory in plans sold on that state's exchange.

16 Mar 2013

Survey shows active women are more likely to prefer midwifery care and planned home birth

Women who see themselves as active participants in the delivery of their first child, and prefer a collaborative role with their healthcare provider are more likely to prefer planned home birth and the care of a midwife, according to a new survey conducted by Columbia University School of Nursing's Adriana Arcia, PhD, RN, and published in the journal Midwifery.

15 Mar 2013

Cultural preferences for sons dampens contraception usage

While poverty and under-education continue to dampen contraception use in Nepal, exacerbating the country's efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality rates, researchers say another, more surprising factor may be more intractable: Deeply held cultural preferences for sons over daughters.

15 Mar 2013

U.S. must advocate for international agreement to address gender violence

"Having passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in Congress, despite attempts to block it by extreme conservatives, the United States has demonstrated its commitment to ending gender-based violence at home and can now support the world's efforts to do the same," contributor Chloë Cooney writes in the RH Reality Check blog.

15 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Failures in treating ovarian cancer; A moral analysis of obesity; Bloomberg's overreach

A new study has found widespread failure among doctors to follow clinical guidelines for treating ovarian cancer, which kills 15,000 women a year in this country. This disturbing news shows the kind of challenge that health care reformers are up against in improving medical care - even when cost is not the issue (3/13).

15 Mar 2013

Objections from Vatican, Iran, Russia threatening CSW document

"Halfway into their two-week annual meeting, delegates to the Commission on the Status of Women fear they will not be able to agree on a final communiqué, just like last year," a New York Times editorial writes.

15 Mar 2013

Women’s health before pregnancy influences health of fetus and mother-to-be: Study

A woman's health status before pregnancy is critical for the health and wellbeing of the fetus and mother-to-be. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set Healthy People 2020 national objectives for women of reproductive age, and young women are making important gains toward achieving some of those health goals, while some trends are less encouraging, as reported in a study published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

15 Mar 2013

Majority of women have postpartum depressive symptoms, finds study

A surprisingly high number of women have postpartum depressive symptoms, according to a new, large-scale study by a Northwestern Medicine- researcher.

15 Mar 2013

Delegates at CSW meeting push to reach compromise on final document

"Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women are racing to reach a consensus deal on a final document by Friday, and some diplomats say the future of the commission -- a global policy-making body created in 1946 for the advancement of women -- is at risk if they fail to broker a compromise," Reuters reports.

15 Mar 2013

PCOS causes double jeopardy for those struggling hard to control glucose levels

Polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition affecting about 10 percent of women and characterized by excess male hormone and increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, appears to cause a sort of double jeopardy for those struggling the hardest to control blood sugar levels, researchers report.

14 Mar 2013

Breast cancer patients treated with low doses of radiation therapy face high risk of heart disease

A new report that breast cancer patients treated with low doses of radiation therapy have a heightened risk of heart disease suggests that physicians need to work with patients before, during, and after treatment to minimize that risk, according to an accompanying editorial in the March 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

14 Mar 2013

Nationwide survey finds only 13% of women have been diagnosed with OAB symptoms

Today, the National Association for Continence (NAFC) announced findings from a new, nationwide survey of women about overactive bladder (OAB).

14 Mar 2013

Saving mothers, giving life program beginning to draw attention, blogs report

Noting that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in June 2012 "announced a new partnership to address the persistent burden of maternal mortality, called Saving Mothers, Giving Life," which aims "to reduce maternal mortality by 50 percent in eight districts in Zambia and Uganda in just one year," Karen Grepin, assistant professor of global health policy at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, writes in her "Global Health Blog,"

14 Mar 2013

Ariz., Fla. governors face intra-party opposition to Medicaid expansion

News outlets reports that, in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott's support for the expansion was rebuffed by a Senate panel that voted against the expansion plan and instead is advancing an idea that would use federal money for private insurance.

14 Mar 2013

Applying for benefits in online marketplaces might be daunting

The Associated Press reports that the draft version of the application for a three-person family is 15 pages while the online version has 21 steps, some with additional questions.

14 Mar 2013

State roundup: Conn. bill would require kids behavioral health assessments

A selection of health policy stories from New York, Connecticut, Oregon, Idaho, Georgia, Texas and California.

14 Mar 2013

Lymphoseek receives FDA approval for breast cancer, melanoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Lymphoseek (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) Injection, a radioactive diagnostic imaging agent that helps doctors locate lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer or melanoma who are undergoing surgery to remove tumor-draining lymph nodes.

14 Mar 2013

Duration and exclusivity of infant breastfeeding does not prevent overweight or obesity: Study

In research that included nearly 14,000 healthy infants in Belarus, an intervention that succeeded in improving the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding during infancy did not result in a lower risk of overweight or obesity among the children at age 11.5 years, according to a study appearing in the March 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Mar 2013

Studies show prenatal nutrition may affect gene function in children's health

Pioneering studies by U. S. Department of Agriculture-funded research molecular geneticist Robert A. Waterland are helping explain how the foods that soon-to-be-moms eat in the days and weeks around the time of conception-or what's known as periconceptional nutrition-may affect the way genes function in her children, and her children's health.

13 Mar 2013