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Women with low estrogen levels more sensitive to pain

Several recent studies have found that women are more sensitive to pain during periods of low estrogen.

2 Feb 2006

Pregnancy does not provide protection against depression

Pregnancy has historically been described as a time of emotional well-being, providing "protection" against psychiatric disorder, but a new study says the hormonal changes which occur during pregnancy do not protect women from depression, and those taking antidepressants may need to continue despite concerns about fetal damage.

2 Feb 2006

Breast ducts - A new site for cancer treatment!

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers are studying whether delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to breast "plumbing" might make treatment of early breast cancer easier on the patient and at least as good as surgery or radiation.

26 Jan 2006

Warning of risk of from vaginal oestrogen

Breast cancer specialists from one of the UK's leading cancer centres cautioned doctors of the risks in prescribing vaginal oestrogen to breast cancer patients being treated with the new aromatase inhibiting drugs, anastrozole, letrozole and exemestane.

26 Jan 2006

New kit checks on womens' chances of conceiving

A British company, Lifestyle Choices has launched the world's first publicly available triple-hormone ovarian reserve test, creating concerns that women may rely on it to estimate how many more years they can put off having children.

26 Jan 2006

Anxious fathers make caesareans more painful for mothers

Fathers who are anxious during a caesarean operation may increase the pain experienced by the mother after the delivery of their baby, according to new research published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

25 Jan 2006

Contraceptive pills do not lead to major weight gain

Many women and clinicians worry that taking combination hormonal contraceptives will result in weight gain.

25 Jan 2006

Women with endometriosis undergoing IVF benefit from treatment with GnRH agonists

The live birth rate per woman was significantly higher in women with endometriosis who received gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for three to six months before commencing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), compared to control groups.

25 Jan 2006

Pelvic floor muscle training helps reduce urinary incontinence in women

Leakage of urine when a person coughs or sneezes (stress incontinence) or from involuntary contraction of the bladder (urge incontinence) is a common problem for people living in the community.

25 Jan 2006

Perineal massage helps childbirth

Low-tech, at-home preparation in the last month before childbirth could help pregnant mothers avoid one of the more common surgeries performed on women in the United States, a new review suggests.

25 Jan 2006

Guidelines for International Breast Health and Cancer Control

Specific recommendations for improving breast-health care and cancer treatment in countries with limited resources have been published by the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI), an international coalition of doctors, scientists, policy makers and advocates led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

25 Jan 2006

Inducing labor shows some benefits in cases of premature water break

A new review of recent studies suggests there are some benefits to inducing labor in women whose water breaks at the point of full-term pregnancy but before the start of labor.

25 Jan 2006

Increased attention should be paid to incontinence

It's a topic that is discussed so infrequently - for reasons that are easy to understand - that it may seem it isn't much of a problem. But new research shows that fecal incontinence is prevalent among U.S. women, especially those in older age groups

18 Jan 2006

Online breast cancer support groups work

Stereotypes about who will use online support groups are wrong, according to research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The researchers found that age, income and education did not predict participation, although minorities were not as active as other users.

18 Jan 2006

Armpit odour can make apparent women’s fertility

Research published in the recent issue of Ethology has discovered that men are able to potentially use smell as a mechanism to establish when their current or prospective sexual partners are at their most fertile.

16 Jan 2006

Why do teenage girls turn their back on playing sport?

In an age obsessed with fitness and body image, why do teenage girls turn their back on playing sport? Any if sport contributes to a well-rounded man, why do so many boys lose interest in the games of their youth?

10 Jan 2006

Talking about postnatal depression

Ongoing media and community campaigns have helped to destigmatise, and inform about, a wide range of mental illnesses. However new Macquarie University research into postnatal depression has revealed that the identification and uptake of treatment for this disorder remains a serious problem among sufferers.

10 Jan 2006

More women need to know about folic acid's ability to prevent birth defects

Each year in Minnesota, more than 2,000 babies are born with birth defects. Many of those birth defects likely could have been prevented if the mother had taken enough folic acid.

10 Jan 2006

Eating disorders linked to perinatal complications

Certain complications during and immediately after birth are associated with the development of the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Jan 2006

A good year for breast cancer detection and treatment

It was a good year in women’s health, notably breast cancer treatment and detection. The December issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource hails these important advances of 2005.

29 Dec 2005