Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Immigrant mothers face hurdles in accessing postpartum assistance in Canada

While Canadian-born and immigrant women have equal access to health care following childbirth, immigrant women are more likely to experience postpartum depression and financial strain, according to a new study published in Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing.

2 Jan 2007

Reproductive health agendas hampered by global focus on HIV/AIDS programs, controversies over abortion, other issues

The global focus on HIV/AIDS initiatives and "ideological controversies" surrounding issues such as abortion have "marginalized" reproductive and sexual health in the global health agenda, according to a panel of public health experts said on Friday at a news conference on Friday, CQ HealthBeat reports.

23 Nov 2006

Africa's health problems are getting worse says the WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says regardless of promises of better healthcare by governments and donor countries, millions of mothers, newborn babies and children continue to die each year in Africa from preventable diseases.

20 Nov 2006

FDA advisory panel recommends adding warning label to Tamoxifen

An FDA advisory panel on Wednesday recommended that a warning label be added to tamoxifen, an agency-approved drug for treating and preventing breast cancer, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Bridges, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

'Neglect,' not biology, kills 1 in 20 women in Africa

One in 20 women in Africa is at risk of dying in childbirth, but "[i]t's not biology that kills them so much as neglect," New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes in an opinion piece.

26 Sep 2006

Thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased

The number of new cases of thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased over the past decade despite a decline among women in mortality rates for most cancers, according to a report released Wednesday by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the National Cancer Institute, CDC and the American Cancer Society, Long Island Newsday reports.

7 Sep 2006

Elective Caesarean births put babies at three times the risk of dying

Researchers in the U.S. say that babies born by Caesarean section rather than normal birth, are three times more likely to die.

7 Sep 2006

All pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta

Human beings are directly responsible for more than 110,000 chemical substances which have been generated since the Industrial Revolution.

1 Sep 2006

Obstetric fistula: Guiding principles for clinical management and programme development

The World Health Organization (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and supermodel Liya Kebede has highlighted the plight of millions of women and girls living with obstetric fistula.

1 Sep 2006

A look at available birthing methods

The Washington Post on Tuesday examined five birthing methods available to pregnant women.

24 Aug 2006

Women's health policy highlights

Highlights recently released from journal articles on women's health issues

24 Aug 2006

HIV treatment access reaches over 1 million in sub-Saharan Africa

WHO HIV/AIDS Director Dr Kevin De Cock reported that the number of people receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa has surpassed 1 million for the first time, a ten-fold increase in treatment access in the region since December 2003.

16 Aug 2006

Understanding postpartum depression critical to improving care for mothers and infants

Physicians should screen mothers for postpartum depression regularly for at least a year following childbirth to better identify women who develop symptoms throughout the year and those whose depression persists, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers say.

26 Jul 2006

Childbirth experience can be improved with the help of a trusted friend

A recent study shows that women who received continuous support in labor by a female support person trained as a "lay doula" had significantly shorter labors, lower cesarean rates, and higher APGAR scores for their newborns.

19 Jul 2006

Growing spinal cord nerves after injury

In tests on rats, researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Michigan have developed a treatment that helps spinal cord nerves regrow after injury.

18 Jul 2006

Study shows high survival for patients with torn aortas who get surgery

Nearly three years ago, actor John Ritter collapsed on the set of his sitcom, the victim of a rare but often deadly condition called aortic dissection - a tear in the largest blood vessel in the body.

11 Jul 2006

'Love hormone' oxytocin may help battle stress

According to new research a hormone that relaxes women during childbirth and breastfeeding has other uses.

21 Jun 2006

New push to tackle priorities in sexual and reproductive health

Leaders of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, are coordinating action to reverse the global trend of deteriorating levels of sexual and reproductive health and reduce the adverse impact on mothers, babies and young people.

20 Jun 2006

Female genital mutilation exposes women and babies to significant risk at childbirth

Women who have had Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are significantly more likely to experience difficulties during childbirth and that their babies are more likely to die as a result of the practice.

4 Jun 2006

Abortion pill in trouble again

Clostridium sordellii is a rare germ that has killed four women who took the abortion pill RU-486 and has also been implicated in the deaths of at least 11 other women following childbirth or miscarriage.

11 May 2006