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UNFPA working to ensure health of future generations in Dadaab refugee camps

The health care system in the refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya, which were established "long ago," are "currently challenged and stretched by the recent influx of refugees," UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimihen writes in this BMJ Group Blogs entry, noting that efforts are underway "to strengthen the existing system with supplies and human resources at clinic and outreach levels" to increase access.

22 Sep 2011

Leaders address nutrition on sidelines of U.N. NCD meeting

On the sidelines of the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) on Tuesday, "representatives of governments, civil society and the private sector joined United Nations agencies ... to emphasize the importance of good nutrition, which is vital not only for human health but also for national economic and social development," the U.N. News Centre reports.

22 Sep 2011

Researchers analyse effects of BPA in an in-vitro culture of ovaries

Researchers at Universitat Aut-noma de Barcelona, in collaboration with the Vall d'Hebron Hospital Fetal Tissue Bank, the Department of Gynaecology and the Research Unit of Paediatric Endocrinology, analysed the effects of Bisphenol A (BPA), a polymer widely used to manufacture plastics, in an in vitro culture of ovaries.

22 Sep 2011

S-equol improve appearance of crow's feet skin wrinkles in Japanese menopausal women

A soy germ-based nutritional supplement containing Natural S-equol significantly improved the appearance of crow's feet skin wrinkles of the outer corner of the eyes in Japanese menopausal women, suggesting that supplements containing Natural S-equol have potential to slow skin aging, according to data from a controlled pilot study simultaneously published online in the peer-review journal Menopause and presented in a poster session at the North American Menopause Society annual meeting.

22 Sep 2011

U.N. calls for advancement on goal to save women and children; poorest countries, drug company contribute to fight

Speaking at a high-level meeting at U.N. headquarters on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, while lauding the progress made under the Every Woman Every Child initiative since its launch one year ago, noted that millions of women and children "are still dying needless deaths and called for advancing the goal of saving 16 million lives by 2015," the U.N. News Centre reports.

22 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Progressives relish fight for 'shared sacrifice;' Desmond Tutu seeks to renew battle against HIV

To get our books in order, Obama would raise taxes on the rich while gaining savings by ending the wars abroad and reducing Medicare and Medicaid's unnecessarily high payments to drug companies. Republicans rise in defense of tax cuts for the wealthy and insist that deficit reduction come solely from cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and other "entitlements." The president stands for shared sacrifice; the Republicans for sheltering the privileged few. Progressives will have no problem standing with the president in this fight.

22 Sep 2011

Fear of childbirth increases likelihood of C-section

A new study published in the international journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica (AOGS) reveals that fear of childbirth is a predisposing factor for emergency and elective cesarean sections, even after psychological counseling. This may mean a negative experience that lasts a lifetime among the approximately 3% of women who in this study were estimated to suffer from excessive fear of childbirth.

21 Sep 2011

Kelley study to consider HPV treatment decisions

Dena S. Cox, professor of marketing and faculty fellow at the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, has received a $99,600, two-year research grant from Merck to study factors influencing young women’s adoption of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

21 Sep 2011

U.N. set to announce expansion of 'Every Woman Every Child' program

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday is expected "to announce a significant expansion of the organization's ambitious global program to tackle infant and maternal mortality and boost access to reproductive health over coming years," the Financial Times reports.

21 Sep 2011

MRI screenings for breast cancer benefit high-risk, underserved women

Using breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screenings among targeted, high-risk, underserved women significantly decreased diagnostic cost and increased patient compliance rates with follow-up compared to using general risk mammography screenings.

21 Sep 2011

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry's record on women's health scrutinized

As the GOP presidential primary campaign continues to heat up, news outlets focus on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's state policy record: An NPR report today examines his funding for women's health. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann offers her take on employer-sponsored health insurance.

21 Sep 2011

Three reports evaluate global progress to meet MDGs 4 and 5

Three recent reports -- a one-year assessment released by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health of the WHO on Tuesday, an analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington published on Tuesday in the Lancet, and a Save the Children report released on Monday entitled "No Child out of Reach" -- examine the progress of the global campaign to save mothers and children under five in developing nations and evaluate whether Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 and maternal deaths by three-quarters over the same period, can be met.

21 Sep 2011

Woman with two wombs gives birth to miracle twins

A Florida woman with a rare medical condition has delivered twins -- one from each of her two uteruses. The 24-year-old mother, Andreea Barbosa and her husband, Miguel, conceived the twins without reproductive medicine. Nathan and Natalie Barbosa were born Sept. 15 at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater. They join 2-year-old sister, Izabella.

21 Sep 2011

Yoghurt consumption whilst pregnant linked to asthma and hay fever in offsping

Women who eat low-fat yoghurt while pregnant increase their chances of having children who develop asthma and hay fever, a study has found. Belief till now was completely the opposite.

21 Sep 2011

Smith & Nephew's TRUCLEAR System to improve training for gynecologists

Smith & Nephew plc, the global medical technology business, today announced the introduction of its TRUCLEAR SIM Morcellation Simulator, a highly-realistic, hands-on simulator designed to improve training for gynecologists who perform hysteroscopic morcellation, a procedure to remove intrauterine polyps and fibroids.

21 Sep 2011

Study examines long-term use of Standard Days Method among women

A simple-to-use, fertility-awareness based method of family planning developed by researchers from the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University Medical Center so effectively meets the needs of users that they continue to rely on it for years.

21 Sep 2011

Financial and political commitments to improve health of women and children

In only one year, more than 100 countries, foundations, multilateral organizations, the UN, the private sector, and academic and professional associations have made unprecedented financial and political commitments to greatly improve the health of women and children.

21 Sep 2011