Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

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

Preconception care for improving perinatal outcomes: The time to act

Continued improvements in the infant and maternal mortality rates will depend on interventions before a woman becomes pregnant, according to officials from the March of Dimes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts.

19 Sep 2006

House Democrats introduce bill that aims to reduce unintended pregnancies, abortions

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who opposes abortion rights, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who supports abortion rights, and other House Democrats last Thursday at a press conference announced the introduction of legislation (HR 6067) that aims to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions, Copley/Canton Repository reports.

18 Sep 2006

Chilean Appeals Court suspends Government plan to distribute emergency contraception at no cost to girls

The Santiago, Chile, Appeals Court last Wednesday in a split decision issued a temporary injunction on the government's plan to distribute emergency contraceptive pills in public clinics to girls ages 14 and older at no cost and without parental consent until lawsuits challenging the plan are resolved, Reuters AlertNet reports.

18 Sep 2006

WHO gives indoor use of DDT a clean bill of health for controlling malaria

Nearly thirty years after phasing out the widespread use of indoor spraying with DDT and other insecticides to control malaria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that this intervention will once again play a major role in its efforts to fight the disease.

18 Sep 2006

UK abortion rates rise despite easy access to morning-after pill

According to an expert in the UK, abortion rates have not been reduced by making it easier for women to get emergency contraception.

18 Sep 2006

Chile to distribute Plan B emergency contraceptive at no cost to girls over age 14

Chilean Health Minister Maria Soledad Barria earlier this month announced that the government will distribute Barr Laboratories' emergency contraceptive Plan B -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse -- in public clinics to girls ages 14 and older at no cost and without parental consent, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

14 Sep 2006

Primary election results for races involving women's health issues

Nine states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday held primary elections, and some of the races involved women's health issues.

14 Sep 2006

Sex education increasing slightly in China

Although sex education remains a taboo issue in much of China, some approaches to the subject recently have started to change and some schools have begun to teach the subject several times annually, the Washington Post reports.

13 Sep 2006

Zimbabwe's new four-year plan to address the HIV/AIDS

Zimbabwe's National AIDS Council has drafted a new four-year plan to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic that will be launched soon, Amon Mpofu, NAC evaluation and monitoring manager, said on Sunday, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

13 Sep 2006

Accutane iPledge program requirements leading to illegal online sales

The strict regulations governing the prescription and use of the acne drug isotretinoin, sold by Roche under the brand name Accutane, are affecting the drug's sale and dispensation and raising concerns about sales of the medication over the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reports (Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 9/12).

13 Sep 2006