Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Uganda begins enrollment of Phase I trials of a perinatal HIV vaccine

Uganda last week began enrollment of Phase I trials of a perinatal HIV vaccine that aims to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, Uganda's Daily Monitor reports (Nabayunga, Daily Monitor, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

Female survivors of childhood cancer: preterm birth and low birth weight among their children

Female childhood cancer survivors may face pregnancy problems, including early deliveries and low birth weight children, according to a study in the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Oct 2006

Tuberculosis fourfold the risk for Celiac sufferers

Swedish researchers are suggesting that people with celiac disease, also known as gluten intolerance, have an increased risk of developing tuberculosis (TB).

17 Oct 2006

Contraceptive options in the U.S. examined

The New York Times on Tuesday examined contraceptive options in the U.S., where 60% of unplanned pregnancies occur among women who use contraception.

17 Oct 2006

Washington Post examines Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between Santorum, Casey

The Washington Post on Sunday examined the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey (D) (Finkel, Washington Post, 10/15).

17 Oct 2006

FDA Attorneys seek dismissal of Plan B lawsuit

The Center for Reproductive Rights on Wednesday during two hearings at a U.S. District Court in New York City asked federal judges to grant a subpoena of White House documents and officials in its lawsuit against FDA over the agency's rejection of Barr Laboratories' first application for nonprescription Plan B sales, Long Island Newsday reports.

16 Oct 2006

New guide to help countries prevent violence against children

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a practical new guide to help countries prevent violence against children. Children are the victims of startling levels of violence, often at the hands of those who should be protecting them.

16 Oct 2006

Kaiser summarizes editorials on CDC routine HIV testing recommendations

Two newspapers recently published editorials regarding the new CDC HIV testing recommendations.

8 Oct 2006

FDA approves Zolinza for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zolinza (vorinostat) capsules for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a type of skin cancer, to be used when the disease persists, gets worse, or comes back during or after treatment with other medicines.

8 Oct 2006

New York State law prevents new CDC testing recommendations from being implemented

A New York state law passed in the 1980s prevents the state from implementing CDC's revised recommendations on HIV testing in the U.S. that say HIV tests should become a routine part of medical care for residents ages 13 to 64 and that requirements for written consent and pretest counseling should be dropped, the New York Times reports.

5 Oct 2006

Teenage birth rate in Alabama continues to decline

The number of births among teenage girls in Alabama declined in 2005 from the previous year, continuing a downward trend in the teen pregnancy rate over the last 10 years, according to a new report from the Alabama Department of Public Health's Center for Health Statistics, the Birmingham News reports.

5 Oct 2006

Illinois Bill introduced to repeal, replace parental notification law

Illinois state Rep. John Fritchey (D) on Tuesday introduced a bill (HB 5840) that would repeal and replace a parental notification law revived recently by the state Supreme Court, the AP/Belleville News Democrat reports.

5 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

Companies push condom use, STI messages on college campuses to promote safer-sex

The New York Times on Sunday examined the campaigns conducted by the condom industry on college campuses nationwide that aim to promote condom use and safer-sex messages in an effort to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

26 Sep 2006

New CDC HIV testing recommendations could compromise patients' civil rights

CDC's revised recommendations on HIV testing in the U.S. -- that say HIV tests should become a routine part of medical care for residents ages 13 to 64 and that requirements for written consent and pretest counseling should be dropped -- could harm the health and civil rights of people who receive the tests, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a release on Thursday, CQ HealthBeat reports.

26 Sep 2006

Calcineurin/Nfat signaling is required for perinatal lung maturation and function

It is only very late in pregnancy that the lungs of the fetus complete their development so that the fetus will be able to breathe air when it is born.

21 Sep 2006

Nitric oxide helps pregnant women with hypertension

Nitric oxide (NO) is best known as an air pollutant produced by vehicle emissions and power plants but for pregnant women it is a crucial compound required to avoid hypertension and pre-eclampsia.

21 Sep 2006

Fetal survival following preeclamptic pregnancy has improved

...substantially over the last 35 years in Norway, likely due to a reduction in stillbirths and improvements in clinical management, according to a study in the September 20 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Sep 2006

Pennsylvania Senate candidate Casey says Democratic Party becoming more open to those opposing abortion rights

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Bob Casey (D), a candidate for the U.S. Senate who opposes abortion rights, on Friday said he has been "encouraged to see Democrats in this new century becoming more open to people who are pro-life," the AP/Phillyburbs.com reports (Hefling, AP/Phillyburbs.com, 9/15).

20 Sep 2006

Women who quit smoking during pregnancy less likely to remain nonsmokers because of concerns about weight

Women who quit smoking before pregnancy are less likely to remain nonsmokers after giving birth largely because of concerns about gaining weight, according to a study to be published in the October issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the Los Angeles Times reports.

20 Sep 2006