Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

New York Times examines impact of small, direct grants to boost development in Afghan village

The New York Times examines the use of small, direct grants to improve health and development in Afghanistan. The article focuses on efforts in "Jurm, a valley in the windswept mountainous province of Badakhshan, in the northeast," where small amounts of money - "often less than $100,000" - were given directly to villagers.

16 Nov 2009

Oxytocin hormone affects behaviors, finds new study

A new study carried out at the University of Haifa has found that oxytocin, also known as the "love hormone", which affects behaviors such as trust, empathy and generosity, also affects opposite behaviors, such as jealousy and gloating.

12 Nov 2009

Affordable health care can save millions of women, newborns, and children in sub-Saharan Africa

The lives of almost 4 million women, newborns, and children in sub-Saharan Africa could be saved every year if well-established, affordable health care interventions reached 90 percent of families, according to a joint report by the national science academies of seven African countries.

10 Nov 2009

Robotic surgery for vaginal prolapse reduces patient hospital stay and recovery time

New Mayo Clinic research has found that robotic surgery for vaginal prolapse dramatically reduces patient hospital stay and recovery time. These findings are being presented this week at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association in Scottsdale, Ariz.

10 Nov 2009

TivaMed changes its name to Viveve

Women's sexual health company, TivaMed, today announced it has changed its name to Viveve as it prepares for a 2010 launch of its Viveve system to OB/GYNs in select U.S. markets.

9 Nov 2009

Rights group highlights maternal health issues in India

"India is falling behind other countries in meeting international commitments to improve obstetric care because it does not adequately monitor deaths and injuries in the critical period following childbirth and fix gaps in its health system and programmes," Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, the Hindu reports.

6 Nov 2009

Women may not have enough energy to support both hard workouts and getting pregnant: Study

Are you a female athlete - or just someone who likes challenging workouts -- who also wants to get pregnant? It may make sense to ease off a bit as you try to get pregnant. New research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows that the body may not have enough energy to support both hard workouts and getting pregnant.

6 Nov 2009

Compugen signs research and license agreement with a leading diagnostic company

Compugen Ltd. announced today that it has signed a research and license agreement with a leading diagnostic company covering CGEN-226, a novel biomarker candidate for early detection of preeclampsia.

5 Nov 2009

Opinions: Obstetric fistula; malaria and climate change

In a New York Times opinion piece, columnist Nicholas Kristof examines a new plan to tackle obstetric fistula, "a childbirth injury, often suffered by a teenager in Africa or Asia whose pelvis is not fully grown." According to Kristof, "Just about the happiest thing that can happen to such a woman is an encounter with Dr. Lewis Wall, an ob-gyn at Washington University in St. Louis.

3 Nov 2009

NIH awards $1.2 million to GE Global Research to develop a low-cost transducer

In the quest to expand access to high quality prenatal care to communities with limited healthcare services, GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company, has been awarded a two-year, $1.2 million project under the federal stimulus program from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a low-cost transducer for portable ultrasound systems that maintains the highest degree of image quality.

2 Nov 2009

UNFPA maternal health conferences wrap up

Two United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) conferences this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, gathered "international policymakers, government ministers, and lawmakers" to address the half a million maternal deaths annually, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. Although the U.N. "hopes to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015," this Millennium Development Goal target "has seen the least progress in recent years," the news organization writes.

29 Oct 2009

More than 150 health ministers meet in Ethiopia to discuss maternal mortality

At a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, "[h]ealth ministers from around the world have agreed that swift action must be taken to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth," the BBC reports. While there appeared to be some agreement "that family planning was the most cost-effective way of [tackling] the problem ... no unanimous declaration was adopted at the Addis Ababa talks," according to the news service (10/26).

27 Oct 2009

Pregnant women who are lesbians are not receiving the same care as other mothers-to-be: Study

Midwives often struggle to meet the needs of pregnant women who are lesbians, with patients reporting that the focus is often on their sexuality rather than the fact that they are expecting a baby, according to research in the November issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

22 Oct 2009

UT student receives fellowship grant for pre-eclampsia research

Roxanna Irani, a M.D./Ph.D. student at The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston (GSBS), has received a $10,000 fellowship for her efforts to better understand a condition known as pre-eclampsia that threatens the lives of expectant women and their unborn children.

20 Oct 2009

States have initiated tort reform experiments

President Barack Obama can look to a variety of models as he seeks to fulfill a pledge to fund state tort reform experiments, a longtime wish-list item for physicians, the New York Times reports. States have so far tried a few approaches, with mixed results, and considered more.

14 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: Ban addresses women's health; Afghanistan's health services; PMI Africa grants; Q&As

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Monday called for countries around the world to "renew their commitment to educate girls, end sexual violence, and provide access to modern birth control," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

14 Oct 2009

Novasys Medical's Renessa named the most promising new product for 2009

Novasys Medical, Inc., a developer of innovative therapies in women's health, announced today that its Renessa® non-surgical treatment for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) was inducted into the Phoenix Hall of Fame as the 2009 Most Promising New Product at the Phoenix Medical Device and Diagnostic Conference for Chief Executive Officers.

14 Oct 2009

Acupuncture can help prevent caesarean delivery

Debra Betts, an international expert, educator and author of the Essential Acupuncture for Pregnancy and Childbirth will be presenting a workshop for dulas, midwives and acupuncturists in Vancouver, October 13th and 14th.

13 Oct 2009

'Tens of thousands' of pregnant Indian women die from 'preventable causes,' report says

Despite a government guarantee of free maternal health care, tens of thousands of pregnant women in India die from mostly "preventable causes," according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, released on Wednesday, the BBC reports.

9 Oct 2009

More than 2m infants, women die from childbirth annually, study says

Each year, more than 2 million infants and women around the world die from childbirth-related complications, according to a study released Tuesday at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics world congress in Cape Town, South Africa, the Associated Press reports.

8 Oct 2009