Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Maternal deaths among marginalized women could be prevented with access to care, information

"While reports from the United Nations as well as the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) indicate that maternal deaths are declining around the world, far too many women continue to die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth," Ana Langer, director of the Women and Health Initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health, writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

2 Oct 2012

U.N. presents plan to improve access to contraception, releases report on maternal, child health

The U.N. on Wednesday "presented a plan to make life-saving health supplies more accessible, while a new report found that, despite impressive reductions in maternal and child mortality in the past decade in some countries, millions of women and children still die every year from preventable causes," the U.N. News Centre reports.

28 Sep 2012

Study looks at rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism that has no known treatment

Fewer than 100 people in the world are known to be affected by a movement disorder called rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism (RDP), but its symptoms are life-changing. Seemingly normal young people are suddenly and dramatically unable to control movement of their arms or legs and have trouble speaking or swallowing. A normal life is nearly impossible.

27 Sep 2012

Loyola now offers sacral nerve stimulation for patients with fecal incontinence

Fecal incontinence, or the inability to control the bowels, is a highly underreported and stigmatized condition, according to colorectal surgeons at Loyola University Health System (LUHS).

27 Sep 2012

Scaling up access to maternal, child health care would prevent most deaths during pregnancy, childbirth

"Every day, 800 women lose their lives giving birth -- 287,000 each year -- and the vast majority of these deaths occurs in developing countries. ... These deaths are unacceptable, particularly because they are preventable," the heads of the Health 4+ (UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, U.N. Women, the WHO, and the World Bank, known as H4+) write in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

25 Sep 2012

New Cochrane Review: All countries should consider establishing proper home birth services

A new Cochrane Review concludes that all countries should consider establishing proper home birth services. They should also provide low-risk pregnant women with information enabling them to make an informed choice. The review has been prepared by senior researcher, statistician Ole Olsen, the Research Unit for General Practice, University of Copenhagen, and midwifery lecturer PhD Jette Aaroe Clausen.

20 Sep 2012

Inhaled pain relief effective in first labor stage

A Cochrane review shows that inhaled pain relief is more effective than no pain relief at all in reducing pain intensity during the first stage of labor, say researchers.

19 Sep 2012

Many women undertreat pelvic floor disorders and suffer in silence

New research issued by the PFD Alliance finds that 90 percent of Americans underestimate or are unsure about the prevalence of pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) which will impact one in three women at some point during their lives. This means many women undertreat PFDs and suffer in silence.

19 Sep 2012

Tranexamic acid: an interview with Prof Ian Roberts

Tranexamic acid is a medicine that reduces blood clot breakdown. In this way it helps in patients with bleeding.

19 Sep 2012

‘Rooming in’ benefits both mother and baby: New review

"Rooming in," keeping mother and her newborn in the same room 24/7 to encourage breastfeeding has been a popular initiative of The WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Hospital. A new review from The Cochrane Library finds some evidence that it does support breastfeeding, at least in the short term.

15 Sep 2012

U-M develops new guidelines for family physicians to evaluate urinary leakage in women

Millions of women experience a loss of bladder control, or urinary incontinence, in their lifetime. It's a common and often embarrassing problem that many patients don't bring up with their doctors - and when they do, it may be mentioned as a casual side note during a visit for more pressing medical issues.

14 Sep 2012

Comic created to help busy medical staff on the benefits of tranexamic acid

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have created a comic influenced by the Japanese manga style to help busy medical staff who treat patients suffering from bleeding.

12 Sep 2012

Inhaled analgesia appears to be effective in reducing pain intensity in first stage of labour

Inhaled pain relief appears to be effective in reducing pain intensity and in giving pain relief in the first stage of labour, say Cochrane researchers.

12 Sep 2012

Blog examines importance of community involvement in health behavior interventions

Discussing how in some "parts of Africa young girls are allowed to spend days in labor to deliver a baby," increasing their risk of injury and death, Gary Darmstadt, head of the Family Health Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Wendy Prosser, a research analyst with the division, ask in a post in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "[W]hat happens when culture and accepted behaviors are actually harmful; when science and culture collide?"

7 Sep 2012

Study reveals higher maternal death rates following abortion in Denmark

A new study of the medical records for nearly half a million women in Denmark reveals significantly higher maternal death rates following abortion compared to delivery. This finding has confirmed similar population studies conducted in Finland and the United States, but contradicts the widely held belief that abortion is safer than childbirth.

6 Sep 2012

Converting blood cells to a stem cell state: an interview with Elias Zambidis, M.D., Ph.D.

The primitive stem cell state we created is called an “induced pluripotent stem cell” (iPSC). iPSC are a new, unique, and artificially-created type of stem cell that were first described in 2006 by a Japanese scientist named Shinya Yamanaka.

4 Sep 2012

Blog examines study looking at role of stigma in HIV PMTCT

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines a recent study that found only slightly more than 44 percent of women in the Nyanza province of Kenya deliver their infants in a health care facility, with many women citing fear of stigma and discrimination as a reason for not attending clinics for prenatal care.

31 Aug 2012

Blog examines 3 maternal health programs in sub-Saharan Africa

"In developing countries where access to health care during pregnancy can be scarce or grossly underused due to lack of education, financial costs, and proximity to health centers, women die unnecessarily from pregnancy and birth complications," Jennifer James, founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, writes in this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

31 Aug 2012

Fertile women with obesity more likely to develop atrial fibrillation

Obesity triggers atrial fibrillation in fertile women, according to research presented today at the ESC Congress 2012 by Dr Deniz Karasoy from Denmark.

26 Aug 2012

Menopause prevents competition between a mother and her new daughter-in-law

The menopause evolved, in part, to prevent competition between a mother and her new daughter-in-law, according to research published today in the journal Ecology Letters.

23 Aug 2012

Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Maternal deaths among marginalized women could be prevented with access to care, information

U.N. presents plan to improve access to contraception, releases report on maternal, child health

Study looks at rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism that has no known treatment

Loyola now offers sacral nerve stimulation for patients with fecal incontinence

Scaling up access to maternal, child health care would prevent most deaths during pregnancy, childbirth

New Cochrane Review: All countries should consider establishing proper home birth services

Inhaled pain relief effective in first labor stage

Many women undertreat pelvic floor disorders and suffer in silence

Tranexamic acid: an interview with Prof Ian Roberts

‘Rooming in’ benefits both mother and baby: New review

U-M develops new guidelines for family physicians to evaluate urinary leakage in women

Comic created to help busy medical staff on the benefits of tranexamic acid

Inhaled analgesia appears to be effective in reducing pain intensity in first stage of labour

Blog examines importance of community involvement in health behavior interventions

Study reveals higher maternal death rates following abortion in Denmark

Converting blood cells to a stem cell state: an interview with Elias Zambidis, M.D., Ph.D.

Blog examines study looking at role of stigma in HIV PMTCT

Blog examines 3 maternal health programs in sub-Saharan Africa

Fertile women with obesity more likely to develop atrial fibrillation

Menopause prevents competition between a mother and her new daughter-in-law

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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