Women's Health News

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Increase in number of women with access to modern contraception has stalled, report says

"Progress in ensuring that women in poor countries have access to modern methods of contraception has stalled," according to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund and the Guttmacher Institute, BMJ reports.

26 Jun 2012

International observers hopeful about Malawian President Banda's agenda for maternal health

"Any new president has a vast array of items on his or her agenda, but newly inaugurated Malawian President Joyce Hilda Banda has elevated a praise-worthy agenda for maternal health at the very outset of her time in office," Alisha Kramer, a research assistant at the Center For Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center, writes in this post in the center's "Smart Global Health" blog.

26 Jun 2012

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton defends women's reproductive rights at conclusion of Rio+20 conference

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "took a stand for women's reproductive rights during the Rio+20 United Nations conference on Friday, saying 'women must be empowered to make decisions on whether and when to have children' if the world is to attain agreed-upon sustainable development goals," the Associated Press/ABC News reports.

26 Jun 2012

Older women with low levels of Vitamin D gain more weight

Older women with insufficient levels of Vitamin D gained more weight than those with sufficient levels of the vitamin, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online today in the Journal of Women's Health.

26 Jun 2012

Beauty N Black Wellness Tour to improve health of African American families

In an effort to improve the health of African American families, the Beauty N Black Wellness Tour will turn beauty salons into centers for health information and screening, starting with a June 30th launch in Los Angeles.

26 Jun 2012

PeriGen’s patient safety campaign raises awareness about shoulder dystocia

PeriGen, Inc., the leading innovator of fetal surveillance systems, is launching a patient safety campaign designed to inform pregnant women about shoulder dystocia, a serious childbirth complication.

26 Jun 2012

Family planning summit should address range of influences on maternal health

In this post on RH Reality Check, Marianne Mollmann, senior policy adviser with Amnesty International, addresses an upcoming summit in London on family planning funding, which is being co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.K. Department for International Development and supported by USAID and UNFPA.

25 Jun 2012

Common experience of menopausal symptoms not associated with heart disease risk

The hot flashes and night sweats that most women experience early in menopause are not linked to increased levels of cardiovascular disease risk markers unless the symptoms persist or start many years after menopause begins. These new study results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

25 Jun 2012

Suicide leading cause of death among young people in India

Suicide has become the second-leading cause of death of young people in India, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, according to an Article published as part of the Lancet Series on suicide.

25 Jun 2012

BV treatment: full enrolment for phase 2 and first phase 3 trial

Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX:SPL; OTCQX: SPHRY) is pleased to report that recruitment is now 100% complete for its Phase 2 clinical trial to investigate the ability of VivaGel® to prevent the recurrence of BV, and also for the first of two pivotal Phase 3 studies of VivaGel® for the treatment of BV.

25 Jun 2012

Physical activity linked with reduced risk of breast cancer

A new analysis done by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers has found that physical activity - either mild or intense and before or after menopause - may reduce breast cancer risk, but substantial weight gain may negate these benefits.

25 Jun 2012

Even moderate thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy increases risk of serious complications

Even moderate thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy significantly increases the risk of serious complications, underscoring the need for universal screening in the first trimester, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

25 Jun 2012

GlobalPost blog series examines PMTCT program in South Africa

In the third of a series of entries in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, titled "A Daughter's Journey," Tracy Jarrett, a GlobalPost/Kaiser Family Foundation global health reporting fellow, visits a USAID-funded HIV clinic at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital outside of Johannesburg, South Africa.

23 Jun 2012

LUHS to renovate Postpartum Unit this summer

Loyola University Health System (LUHS) will renovate its Postpartum Unit to create a state-of-the-art area that provides a comfortable and convenient setting for mothers and infants. The renovation will begin this summer and will be complete by the end of the year.

23 Jun 2012

No definitive link between hormonal contraceptives and increased risk of HIV infection among women, CDC says

"There is no clear link between the use of contraceptives such as the birth control pill or Depo-Provera shots and an increased risk that a woman will contract HIV, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday," Reuters reports, noting that the WHO came to the same conclusion in February.

23 Jun 2012

ULH hopes to help women at risk of PPD through new policy

Although 13 percent of new mothers experience postpartum depression (PPD) in the first year after childbirth, few women recognize the symptoms and seldom discuss their feelings with a health care provider. University of Louisville Hospital (ULH) hopes to change this statistic through a new policy to guide hospital-based perinatal nurses in caring for women with risk of PPD.

23 Jun 2012

Women discuss intersection of sustainability, environment and empowerment, reproductive health at Rio+20 side event

In this post on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Vicky Markham, founding director of the Center for Environment and Population (CEP), summarizes a Rio+20 side event that took place on Thursday, titled "Rio+20 and Women's Lives: A Cross-General Dialogue."

23 Jun 2012

FDA advisory panel issues positive opinion for Dune's MarginProbe System

Dune Medical Devices announced today that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Panel voted (10 to 1) in favor of Dune's MarginProbe System for use in breast cancer surgery, as an adjunct to current standard methods of intraoperative surgical margin assessment.

23 Jun 2012

Novel small-molecule-inhibiting drug stops spread of breast cancer cells

Scientists have developed a small-molecule-inhibiting drug that in early laboratory cell tests stopped breast cancer cells from spreading and also promoted the growth of early nerve cells called neurites.

22 Jun 2012