Women's Health
Controlled Study Finds Possible Early Warning Signs For Autism Spectrum Disorders Within Families A new study suggests a trend toward developing hyperactivity among typically developing elementary-school-aged siblings of autistic preschoolers and supports the notion that mothers of young, autistic children experience more depression and stress than mothers with typically developing children... |
Novel Program Translates Behavioral And Social Science Research Into Treatments To Reduce Obesity Under a $7.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Rush University Medical Center is developing a novel program, called WISHFIT, to help pre-menopausal women reduce visceral fat through a sustained increase in physical activity and reduction in stress... |
Washington, D.C., To Become First U.S. City To Distribute Free Female Condoms Washington, D.C., soon will become the first city in the U.S. to distribute female condoms at no charge, the Washington Post reports... |
Sex Education, Contraception Key To Lowering Abortion Rate Among Blacks, Guttmacher CEO Writes In a New York Times letter to the editor published on Monday, Guttmacher Institute President and Chief Executive Sharon Camp calls for the U.S. to "get serious about providing better health care and more educational and economic opportunities for black women... |
Unequal Health Care, Neglect, And Sex-Selective Infanticide, Abortion Lead To Large Gender Gap In Asia, Report Finds "Nearly 100 million women across Asia have 'disappeared' because of a huge and growing gender gap that has fatally deprived them of access to health care and food and has led to widespread abortions of female fetuses, according to a U.N. report released Monday," the Associated Press reports. The U.N... |
Politico Opinion Pieces Argue For U.S. Investment In Global Women's Issues On International Women's Day, Politico published two opinion pieces discussing the benefits of U.S. aid to support women overseas. ~ Dana Perino, Politico: "Empowering one woman is an investment in the future of families and countries," Perino -- a former press secretary to President George W. Bush -- writes in an opinion piece discussing her work with Women ONE2ONE in Africa... |
Light To Moderate Drinking Linked To Less Weight Gain In Middle Aged Women A new study from the US found that normal weight women in their 40s and older who drank a light to moderate amount of alcohol gained less weight and had a lower risk of becoming obese and overweight compared to their non-drinking counterparts... |
Washington Post Opinion Piece Draws Attention To Breast Ironing In Cameroon In a Washington Post opinion piece on Sunday, freelance writer Jamie Rich examined the Cameroonian practice of breast ironing, in which women use heated plantain leaves or hot stones to "flatten adolescent girls' developing breasts, intending to protect the girls from the dangers of sex, consensual or otherwise... |
Global Fund Releases Latest Impact Data, Projections For Improving Global Health In Next Decade By 2015, mother-to-child HIV transmission will be virtually eliminated and deaths from malaria and tuberculosis will continue to decline if health investments for the diseases are maintained or scaled up, according to an annual results report published Monday by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Agence France-Presse/Africasia.com reports (3/8)... |
Women's Group Support Can Improve Birth Outcomes Community support groups can reduce neonatal mortality, and lower rates of maternal depression-provided that the population coverage is wide enough and the programmes are appropriately designed. These are the conclusions of two Articles, published Online First in The Lancet. Participatory women's groups have shown promise in trials in Nepal, reducing neonatal mortality by about one-third... |
What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)? What Are The Benefits And Risks Of Hormone Replacement Therapy? Hormone replacement therapy, commonly known as HRT is a treatment used to replace hormones that the body is no longer producing because of the menopause. The hormones that need replacing are estrogen and progesterone. The therapy is based on the notion that the treatment may prevent discomfort caused by diminished circulating estrogen and progesterone hormones... |
Equal Rights And Opportunities For Women And Girls Essential For Better Health Today, on International Women's Day, the world reflects on how to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women and girls. Everyone must fight against discrimination and inequalities that compromise the health of women and girls around the world... |
Women's Support Groups Make Dramatic Improvements On Neonatal Survival Rates Women's community groups have had a dramatic effect on reducing neonatal mortality rates in some of the poorest areas on India, according to a study published in the journal the Lancet. The groups provide a cost-effective intervention with added benefits such as reducing significantly maternal depression and improving decision-making amongst the women... |
Statement By UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman On International Women's Day "Last week in Guatemala I visited a UNICEF centre that houses girls as young as thirteen who have been rescued from brothels. The stories of suffering are simply unimaginable -- horrific situations of rape, prostitution, torture and lost innocence... |
Minn. Legislature Considers 'Abstinence-Plus' Sex Education Bill A bill (SF 2645) in the Minnesota Legislature would require each school district to create an "abstinence-first" sex education curriculum with "age-appropriate" lessons on human sexuality and information about condoms and other contraceptives, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports... |
Recent Releases In Global Health WHO Bulletin Examines Communicable Diseases In Southeast Asia The WHO's March Bulletin is a special themed issue focusing on communicable diseases in Southeast Asia. The publication addresses tuberculosis, cholera, neglected tropical diseases and family planning in the region (March 2010)... |
Women Community Support Groups Can Reduce Neonatal Mortality Two articles published Online First in The Lancet report that community support groups can reduce neonatal mortality. In addition, they can lower rates of maternal depression, provided that the population coverage is wide enough and the programs are suitably designed. In trials in Nepal, participatory women's groups have shown promise. Neonatal mortality was reduced by about one-third... |
U.N. Secretary-General, CSW Mark International Women's Day "U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked International Women's Day Wednesday calling for gender equality and the empowerment of women, saying that until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice; peace, security and sustainable development stand in jeopardy," VOA News reports. Though the international community will officially mark the occasion next Monday, the U.N... |
Also In Global Health News: HIV In Philippines; Birth Control, Child Health In Afghanistan; Guatemala's Progress On MDGs Philippines' Health Secretary Seeks To Boost Condom Distribution After Increase In HIV Diagnoses The Philippines' Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral on Thursday announced she would seek additional public funds to support the distribution of condoms among high-risk groups, after the country recorded 143 new cases of HIV in January - its highest number of diagnoses i... |
Colo., 'Personhood' Measure Fails To Qualify For Ballot; Colo., Wyo., Finalize Bills On Violence Against Pregnant Women The following summarizes recent action in Colorado and Wyoming related to a "personhood" initiative and bills addressing crimes against pregnant women... |
Editorial Criticizes Idaho Bill To Increase 'Conscience' Protections For Health Care Workers "Last week, 21 Idaho senators injected themselves into private, painful decisions about conception, abortion and euthanasia" by advancing a bill (SB 1353) that would shield health care professionals from liability if they "decline to provide services that violate their conscience," an Idaho Statesman editorial states... |
Individual Counseling, Religious Support Increase Contraceptive Use In Afghanistan, WHO Study Finds Birth control use in three rural areas of Afghanistan increased over an eight-month period after health workers explained the benefits of contraception in individual counseling sessions, according to a report published Monday in the World Health Organization's journal Bulletin, the AP/Yahoo! News reports... |
Uzbek Groups Renew Allegations Of Government-Ordered Sterilizations The Uzbek human rights group Najot and the Expert Working Group, an independent Uzbek think tank, alleged this week that Uzbekistan's Health Ministry has instructed government doctors to perform hysterectomies on women to help control the nation's population, the AP/Google reports... |
Dermatologists Can Help Women Win The Fight Against Common Forms Of Hair Loss For many women, unexplained hair loss can take a significant psychological toll on their overall quality of life. From altering their hairstyle to hide a thinning part to scaling back their hair care regimen in an effort to halt further hair loss, women try countless ways to cover up this problem and the results are often lukewarm at best... |
New York Times Analyzes Ford's Decision Not To Challenge Gillibrand For N.Y. Senate Seat The New York Times on Tuesday examined how former Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) came to concede that a campaign against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the Democratic primary "would be a brutal fight dominated by endless debates about when he began paying taxes as a New Yorker and the sincerity of his support for gay marriage and abortion rights... |