Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Opinion pieces address family planning issues on World Population Day

The London Summit on Family Planning took place Wednesday, July 11, also recognized as World Population Day. The goal of the summit was to raise money to improve access to family planning services to prevent maternal and child mortality. The following summaries describe opinion pieces that address these issues.

13 Jul 2012

WHO commits to fast-track assessment of new and existing quality contraceptives

WHO today committed to fast-track its assessment of new and existing quality contraceptives so more women in low- and middle-income countries can obtain and use a broader range of safe and effective contraceptive products.

12 Jul 2012

Family planning summit commits to trebling the number of women and girls’ lives saved by 2020

At the London Summit on Family Planning, IPPF - the world’s foremost sexual and reproductive health and rights organization - has made an unprecedented commitment to treble the number of women’s and girls’ lives saved each year by 2020.

11 Jul 2012

Lancet series reviewing family planning evidence published on eve of London summit

A Lancet series on family planning, published Tuesday, "reviews the evidence for the effects of population and family planning on people's well-being and the environment," according to the series' executive summary.

11 Jul 2012

Contraceptive use likely prevents more than 272,000 maternal deaths from childbirth each year

Contraceptive use likely prevents more than 272,000 maternal deaths from childbirth each year, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers further estimate that satisfying the global unmet need for contraception could reduce maternal deaths an additional 30 percent. Their findings were published July 10 by The Lancet as part of a series of articles on family planning.

11 Jul 2012

Satisfying unmet need for contraception could reduce maternal deaths by 30%

New research published as part of The Lancet Series on family planning provides startling new estimates of the effect that contraceptive use has on the number of mothers who die every year, suggesting that satisfying the global unmet need for contraception of women who want to limit or space their pregnancies but are not using contraception could reduce maternal deaths by 30%, saving around 104000 lives per year.

10 Jul 2012

Modest sums of U.S. foreign aid have saved lives on an 'unprecedented scale'

In this New York Times opinion piece, columnist Nicholas Kristof examines the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid, writing, "In this election year in the United States, there'll be bitter debates about what should be cut from budgets, and one thing Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on is that foreign aid is bloated."

9 Jul 2012

Examining teenage pregnancy, maternal mortality in Africa

In this audio report in PRI's "The World," PRI anchor "Aaron Schachter talks to Agnes Odhiambo, a researcher on women's rights in Africa for New York-based Human Rights Watch, about the terrible toll of teenage pregnancy and childbirth in Africa."

6 Jul 2012

Annual report on MDGs shows success in some areas, but continued lack of progress in other areas, including maternal health

"An annual report card on the ambitious U.N.-led initiative known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) says that in three areas -- poverty, slums and water -- the goals have been met ahead of the 2015 deadline, but persistent gaps remain, notably in the critical area of maternal health," Inter Press Service reports.

4 Jul 2012

Sling device a good shot for vaginal prolapse repair

A midurethral sling device added during surgery for vaginal prolapse repair reduces the risk for postoperative urinary incontinence, research shows.

2 Jul 2012

Health worker training programs working to improve women's health in Afghanistan

"Women in Afghanistan are 70 times more likely to die in childbirth than from a bullet or a bomb, according to Save the Children," CNN reports, adding that is "a grim statistic the women here are trying to change."

29 Jun 2012

Fetal growth in pregnancy may be affected by standing for long periods

Standing for long periods during pregnancy may curb the growth of the developing fetus, suggests research published online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

28 Jun 2012

Pregnancy complications are leading killer of teenage girls worldwide, Save the Children report says

Pregnancy is the biggest killer of teenage girls worldwide, with one million girls annually dying, being injured, or contracting a disease because of pregnancy or childbirth, according to a report (.pdf) released Tuesday by Save the Children, the Daily Mail reports.

28 Jun 2012

Reproductive hormone helps regulate food intake, energy metabolism without adverse effects

A reproductive hormone helps regulate food intake and energy metabolism without causing adverse effects, a new animal study finds. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

26 Jun 2012

Stillbirth rates higher among least well off in England

The rate of stillbirths in England is twice as high among the least well off as it is among the most affluent, shows research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

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

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

Study reveals decline in number of babies born with birth defects across Europe

The number of babies born with birth defects (major congenital anomalies) across Europe has fallen over the decade (2000-2009), University of Ulster research has revealed.

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

Guardian publishes 'shortlists' of International Development Journalism competition entries

The Guardian has published "shortlists" of the amateur and professional entries for its International Development Journalism competition. Topics of the amateur entries include the advancement of women's rights in fragile states, education as a tool for change in the developing world, and the dangers of childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa.

21 Jun 2012