Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Al Jazeera examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan

Al Jazeera examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan, which "remains one of the worst places to be a mother," 10 years after the beginning of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and "despite billions of dollars in aid and considerable progress." In an accompanying video, the news service reports, "One in five children born in Afghanistan dies by the age of five, and the statistics for mothers aren't good either."

27 Oct 2011

World's largest study of the fear of childbirth

A few women are so afraid of giving birth that they avoid becoming pregnant or seek an abortion, even though they want to have children. This fear is related to several serious conditions such as prolonged labour, a greater need for pain relief during labour and an increased risk of an emergency C-section.

21 Oct 2011

Founder of Every Mother Counts to address AAP National Conference

Fashion model and Global Maternal Health Advocate Christy Turlington Burns will speak at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on International Child Health meeting at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition in Boston on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 4:15-5 p.m. ET.

15 Oct 2011

HHWC medical doctors provide insight into depression

A staggering 230 million antidepressant prescriptions are filled each year. Yet the face of depression does not always fit the mold: a successful career, loving spouse, wonderful children, seemingly good health and finances. From the outside life appears perfect, so why are Americans depressed?

15 Oct 2011

Time examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan

Time examines the issue of maternal mortality in Afghanistan, where the Health Ministry says "about 18,000 Afghan women die during childbirth every year" writing, "According to a recent report by the NGO Save the Children, Afghanistan ranked as the worst place to give birth, followed by Niger and Chad."

12 Oct 2011

Council On Foreign Relations examines maternal health in Afghanistan

Isobel Coleman, senior fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy and director of the Civil Society, Markets and Democracy Initiative at the Council On Foreign Relations, reports on the council's website on maternal health in Afghanistan, writing that one out of 11 Afghan women is likely to die in childbirth during her lifetime; Afghan women are 200 times more likely to die giving birth than by a bomb or bullet. Not surprisingly, Save the Children this year ranked Afghanistan the worst country in the world to be a mother. Yet, there are some positive signs.

4 Oct 2011

Roundup: Blue Shield of Calif. drops coverage of controversial drug in breast cancer treatment; Perry presses stem cell therapy

Blue Shield of California will no longer pay for the use of the drug Avastin to treat breast cancer, a sign that support for the widely debated and expensive treatment may be eroding among health plans.

4 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 3, 2011

Today's headlines include stories previewing how health policy issues will fit into the Supreme Court's new term.

3 Oct 2011

NGOs, government face challenges in preventing fistula in DRC

Inter Press Service examines the challenges that non-governmental organizations and the government face in trying to prevent fistula among women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an estimated 12,000 cases are recorded annually because of sexual violence, early marriage and complications in childbirth, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Poverty, early pregnancy and marriage, sexual violence, and a lack of education and knowledge about the condition contribute to its prevalence, IPS reports.

30 Sep 2011

Gender discrimination a driving factor behind malnutrition in Nepal, experts say

"Gender discrimination lies behind much of the malnutrition found in under-five children in Nepal, say locals and experts," IRIN reports. "Women live hard lives from day one, born with no fanfare, contrasting starkly to the six-day celebration to mark the birth of a boy.

23 Sep 2011

Ambrx, Bristol-Myers Squibb collaborate for novel biologics to treat heart failure and diabetes

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Ambrx, Inc. today announced a collaboration under which Bristol-Myers Squibb will receive exclusive worldwide rights to research, develop and commercialize biologics based on Ambrx's research surrounding the Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 protein, for potential use in treating type 2 diabetes, and the Relaxin hormone, for potential use in treating heart failure.

23 Sep 2011

Study: Fear of childbirth affects obstetric outcomes and increases elective C-sections

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.

22 Sep 2011

Addressing the exclusion of mental health from the MDGs

PRI's "The World" highlights the state of mental health care in Uganda in an examination of how the exclusion of mental health from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has, according to some advocates, held back mental health as a global health issue. Julius Kayiira, director of Mental Health Uganda, an organization that provides social support, job training and care to people with mental illness, "says organizations like his face an enormous funding gap, and he blames that gap, in part, on the United Nations," according to "The World."

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

Fear of childbirth increases likelihood of C-section

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

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

Increase in hospital births helps lower neonatal mortality rate in China, study says

A campaign that began in 2000 encouraging women in China to give birth in hospitals instead of at home helped cut the nation's neonatal mortality rate by 62 percent between 1996 and 2008, according to a study by researchers from Peking University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, BBC News reports.

17 Sep 2011

Funding for international family planning programs critical for reproductive health efforts

In an opinion piece in Population Service International's "Impact" magazine, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) writes, "Unfortunately, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has empowered extremists with zeal for both broad, haphazard budget cuts and a commitment to rolling back women's health rights,"

17 Sep 2011

Midwife shortages across UK

According to a warning from the Royal College of Midwives parts of England are facing a dangerous shortage of midwives as Britain's birthrate climbs. The RCM added that while shortages are seen across the country, some areas are worse than others, putting mothers and babies at risk.

16 Sep 2011