Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

HHS unveils new national patient safety initiative

Health and Human Services Regional Director Marguerite Salazar unveiled today a new national patient safety initiative, Partnership for Patients, on behalf of the Obama Administration at The Children's Hospital. Partnership for Patients will help save 60,000 lives across the country by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.

22 Apr 2011

Obama’s next target - medical error reduction for patient safety

Finally serious efforts are being made to ensure patient safety. The Obama administration announced this Tuesday an aggressive approach called ‘The 'Partnership for Patients Program’ to reduce medical errors, partnering with private insurers, business leaders, hospitals and patient advocates to tackle a problem that kills thousands of Americans every year.

12 Apr 2011

New maternity scheme in Queensland

Queensland Health has introduced a new maternity scheme. The expecting mothers in Dysart, Middlemount, Moranbah, Clermont and Glenden shall now have a wider variety of options to choose from when it comes to choosing how their pregnancy be managed.

11 Apr 2011

Alcohol misuse in pregnancy linked to high risk of premature birth

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight. But there are conflicting reports about how much alcohol, if any, it is safe for a pregnant woman to drink. New research published in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth looked at the amounts of alcohol women drank during their early pregnancy and showed the effect this had on their babies.

11 Apr 2011

New treatment approach raises hope for women with ovarian cancer

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Oregon National Primate Research Center may have good news for women at high-risk for ovarian cancer who also want to have children.

8 Apr 2011

Teenage birth rate in the U.S. falls

Encouraging new data shows the teenage birth rate in the U.S. fell to the lowest level on record in 2009 - but is still one of the highest in developed countries. Numbers dropped to 39.1 births per 1,000 females from 61.8 births in 1991, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The latest figures record that 410,000 teenage girls aged 15 to 19 years old gave birth in the United States in 2009. The rate is especially high among black and Hispanic teens. Geography plays a key role too with young mothers more common in some states than others.

5 Apr 2011

Genetic factors can explain people's susceptibility to urinary incontinence

Much of the risk of developing incontinence before middle age is determined by our genes. Genetic factors can explain half of people's susceptibility to urinary incontinence, a study of twins at the University of Gothenburg and Karolinska Institutet reveals.

5 Apr 2011

FDA approves Medtronic's InterStim Therapy to improve bowel control

Medtronic, Inc. today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of InterStim Therapy for Bowel Control. InterStim Therapy, previously available to treat the symptoms of overactive bladder and non-obstructive urinary retention, is now also approved for the treatment of chronic fecal incontinence in patients who have failed or are not candidates for more conservative treatments.

1 Apr 2011

UC San Diego student to make medical imaging available in low-income countries

Benjamin Johnson, a fourth-year student at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is determined to make medical imaging technology widely available in low-income countries. His journey started in Uganda, where currently just 35 local radiologists serve the needs of 30 million people.

29 Mar 2011

Obesity during pregnancy endangers both mother and unborn child, but little being done to address the issue

Being seriously overweight during pregnancy increases dangers for both mother and unborn child, but little is being done to help obese mums-to-be, says a leading researcher in the field.

24 Mar 2011

U.S. hospitals bill insurance companies $1.2 trillion during 2008 for inpatient care: AHRQ

U.S. community hospitals billed insurance companies and federal and state programs $1.2 trillion in 2008 for inpatient care, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

23 Mar 2011

WHO releases first list of 30 priority medicines for women, children

The WHO on Monday released a list of 30 medicines that "are essential for treating common diseases of mothers and children," Ghana News Agency reports (3/21).

23 Mar 2011

Onset of chronic pain more often reported following a traffic accident

Individuals with poorer health or psychological issues may be prone to developing chronic widespread pain following a traumatic event. This new research, published in Arthritis Care & Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), found that the onset of chronic pain was more often reported following a traffic accident than from other physically traumatic triggers.

21 Mar 2011

Nationwide observance raises awareness about HIV/AIDS spread in women

National Women and Girls AIDS Awareness Day, a nationwide observance that raises awareness and promotes action in the fight against HIV/AIDS, took place on March 10.

17 Mar 2011

Depressed Dads more likely to spank their infants: Study

Until now it has been seen that post partum depression affects women in nearly 25% of cases. However latest research shows that new dads experience baby blues too. The results show that 7% of new fathers reported recent major depression, and many of them said they had spanked their 1-year-old babies. This new study appeared Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

14 Mar 2011

New initiative for pregnant women and newborns in rural settings

Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development, was launched today to seek innovative prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in rural, low-resource settings.

11 Mar 2011

Mother and baby report card for NSW

The Government statistics on births in New South Wales Mothers and Babies 2008, which was released on Saturday. It showed that 96,343 babies were born in NSW that year - 12 per cent more than the 85,262 born in 2004.

7 Mar 2011

UN Women Executive Director marks International Women's Day with a message

A hundred years ago today, women across the world took an historic step on the long road to equality. The first ever International Women's Day was called to draw attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide.

7 Mar 2011

Inovio initiates VGX-3100 Phase II trial in patients with cervical cancer

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it is initiating a Phase II clinical trial for its VGX-3100 DNA vaccine for cervical dysplasia and cancer caused by human papillomavirus.

7 Mar 2011

Warwick begins research, training program to reduce pregnant mother, baby death rates in Malawi

Warwick Medical School has just begun a -2.6 million three year research and training programme to train Malawian clinical officers in a bid to reduce the country's high death rate for pregnant mothers and babies.

3 Mar 2011