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Adolescent and adult first time mothers' health seeking practices during pregnancy and early motherhood in Wakiso district, central Uganda - Background: Maternal health services have a potentially critical role in the improvement of reproductive health. In order to get a better understanding of adolescent mothers' needs we compared health seeking practices of first time adolescent and adult mothers during pregnancy and early motherhood in Wakiso district, Uganda. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between May and August,2007 in Wakiso district. A total of 762 women (442 adolescents and 320 adult)were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. We calculated odds ratios with their 95% CI for antenatal and postnatal health care seeking, stigmatisation and violence experienced from parents comparing adolescents to adult first time mothers. STATA V.8 was used for data analysis. Results: Adolescent mothers were significantly more disadvantaged in terms of health care seeking for reproductive health services and faced more challenges during pregnancy and early motherhood compared to adult mothers. Adolescent m...
Feed Source: www.reproductive-health-journal.com

Maternal death after oocyte donation at high maternal age: case report - Background: The percentage of mothers giving birth over the age of 35 increased in many western countries. The number of women remaining childless also increased, mostly due to aging oocytes. The method of oocyte donation offers the possibility for infertile older women to become pregnant. Gestation after oocyte-donation-IVF, however, is not without risks for the mother, especially at advanced age.Case presentationAn infertile woman went abroad for oocyte-donation-IVF, since this treatment is not offered in The Netherlands after the age of 45 years. The first oocyte donation treatment resulted in a multiple gestation, but was ended by induced abortion: the woman could not cope with the idea of being pregnant with twins. In the second pregnancy after oocyte donation, at the age of 50, she was mentally more stable. The pregnancy, again a multiple gestation, was uneventful until delivery. Immediately after delivery she had hypertension with nausea and vomiting. A few hours later she had a...
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Pilot study of young peoples' attitudes to opportunistic Chlamydia testing in UK general practice. - Background: The objective of this study was to assess young people's perceptions of being offered a chlamydia screening test in UK general practice. MethodThis is qualitative study that uses focus groups and individual interviews with young adults (age 16 -18) to assess their views. Results: These young adults were a difficult group to gain access to. Two focus groups, one in a school, the other in a general practice (family practice), and two individual interviews were undertaken (total sample 18). Respondents were unfamiliar with chlamydia, but broadly aware of sexually transmitted infections. General practice (family practice) was perceived as an acceptable place to deliver opportunistic screening, but tests should not be initiated practice receptionists. Novel delivery routes such as schools and "Pub" / Bar dispensing machines were discussed. Issues around stigma and confidentiality were also raised. Conclusions: Opportunistic Chlamydia screening in UK general practice (family...
Feed Source: www.reproductive-health-journal.com

Water aerobics in pregnancy: cardiovascular response, labor and neonatal outcomes - Background: To evaluate the association between water aerobics, maternal cardiovascular capacity during pregnancy, labor and neonatal outcomes. Methods: A randomized, controlled clinical trial was carried out in which 34 pregnant women were allocated to a water aerobics group and 37 to a control group. All women were submitted to submaximal ergometric tests on a treadmill at 19, 25 and 35 weeks of pregnancy and were followed up until delivery. Oxygen consumption (VO2 max), cardiac output (CO), physical fitness, skin temperature, data on labor and delivery, and neonate outcomes were evaluated. Frequency distributions of the baseline variables of both groups were initially performed and then analysis of the outcomes was carried out. Categorical data were compared using the chi-square test, and numerical using Student's t or Mann-Whitney tests. Wilk's Lambda or Friedman's analysis of repeat measurements were applied for comparison of physical capacity, cardiovascular outcomes and maternal...
Feed Source: www.reproductive-health-journal.com

Building Irish families through surrogacy: medical and judicial issues for the advanced reproductive technologies - Surrogacy involves one woman (surrogate mother) carrying a child for another person/s (commissioning person/couple), based on a mutual agreement requiring the child to be handed over to the commissioning person/couple following birth. Reasons for seeking surrogacy include situations where a woman has non-functional or absent reproductive organs, or as a remedy for recurrent pregnancy loss. Additionally, surrogacy may find application in any medical context where pregnancy is contraindicated, or where a couple consisting of two males seek to become parents through oocyte donation. Gestational surrogacy is one of the main issues at the forefront of bioethics and the advanced reproductive technologies, representing an important challenge to medical law. This analysis reviews the history of surrogacy and clinical and legal issues pertaining to this branch of reproductive medicine. Interestingly, the Medical Council of Ireland does not acknowledge surrogacy in its current practice guideline...
Feed Source: www.reproductive-health-journal.com

Age differences at sexual debut and subsequent reproductive health: Is there a link? - Background: Experiences at sexual debut may be linked to reproductive health later in life. Additionally, young women with older sexual partners may be at greater risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections. This study examines sexual debut with an older partner and subsequent reproductive health outcomes among 599 sexually experienced women aged 15?24 who utilized voluntary counseling and testing or reproductive health services in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Methods: Logistic regression models, controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, examined whether age differences at first sex were significantly associated with STI diagnosis in the previous 12 months and family planning method use at last intercourse. Results: Sixty-five percent of women reported sexual initiation with a partner younger or less than 5 years older, 28% with a partner 5 to 10 years older, and 7% with a partner 10 or more years older. There was a trend towards decreased likelihood of recent use of family...
Feed Source: www.reproductive-health-journal.com

Assessing the health and development of ART-conceived young adults: A study of feasibility, parent recall, and acceptability - Background: Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to treat infertility have been available for nearly three decades. There have been a number of systematic comparisons of the health and development of ART-conceived with spontaneously-conceived (SC) children. Data are equivocal, some finding no differences and others that there are more health and developmental problems in the ART group. It is agreed that perinatal mortality and morbidity are worse after assisted than spontaneous conception and the impact of the hormonally altered intrauterine environment on puberty and later fertility of offspring are unknown. To date however, there has been no investigation of the health and development of ART-conceived young adults, including from the world's few prospective cohorts of ART conceived children. Obtaining these data requires contact to be made with people at least twenty years after discharge from the treating service. Given the ethical difficulties of approaching families to partici...
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Severe maternal morbidity (near miss) as a sentinel event of maternal death. An attempt to use routine data for surveillance - Background: To identify all the records within the Brazilian Hospital Information System (HIS) that contained information suggestive of severe maternal morbidity (near miss); to describe the diagnoses and procedures used; to identify variables associated with maternal death. Methods: A descriptive population study with data from the HIS and Mortality Information System (MIS) files of records of women during pregnancy, delivery and in the postpartum period in all the capital cities of the Brazilian states in 2002. Initially, records of women between 10 and 49 years of age were selected; next, those records with at least one criterion suggestive of near miss were selected. For the linkage of HIS with MIS and HIS with itself, a blocking strategy consisting of three independent steps was established. In the data analysis, near miss ratios were calculated with corresponding 95% confidence interval and the diagnoses and procedures were described; a multiple logistic regression model was adju...
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Inter- and intra-observer variability in Sonographic measurements of the cross-sectional diameters and area of the umbilical cord and its vessels during pregnancy - Background: The purpose of the study was to evaluate inter- and intra-observer variability in sonographic measurements of the cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord and the diameters of its vessels in low-risk pregnancies of 12 to 40 weeks of gestation. Methods: A prospective cross sectional study was performed in 221 pregnant women at different gestational ages. Measurements were carried out also by a second observer to evaluate inter-observer variability and repeated once again by the first observer to assess intra-observer variability. The linear correlation between the measurements (Spearman's coefficient of correlation) and their reliability through the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the limits of agreement proposed by Bland and Altman were evaluated. Results: The results showed that inter-observer and intra-observer variability did not show any significant difference between examiners. A good linear correlation between the measu...
Feed Source: www.reproductive-health-journal.com

ICPD to MDGs: Missing links and common grounds - The ICPD agenda of reproductive health was declared as the most comprehensive one, which had actually broadened the spectrum of reproductive health and drove the states to embark upon initiatives to improve reproductive health status of their populations. However, like all other countries, Pakistan also seems to have shifted focus of its policies and programs towards achieving MDGs. As a result, concepts highlighted in the ICPD got dropped eventually. In spite of specific goals on maternal and child mortalities in MDGs and all the investment and policy shift, Pakistan has still one of the highest maternal mortality ratios among developing countries. Lack of synchronized efforts, sector wide approaches, inter-sectoral collaboration, and moreover, the unmet need for family planning, unsafe abortions, low literacy rate and dearth of women empowerment are the main reasons. Being a signatory of both of the international agendas (ICPD and MDGs), Pakistan needed to articulate its policies to ...
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Studies reveal lifelong gender difference in physical activity - Females of all ages are less active than their male peers. Two studies, presented today (Tuesday 6 January) at a major academic conference, reveal the gender difference in activity levels among school children and the over 70s. Both studies show males to be more physically active than females....
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Bird flu re-emerges in China and Vietnam, one dead - Bird flu re-emerged as a threat in Asia on Tuesday after China reported the disease killed a woman in Beijing and neighbouring Vietnam said a girl had contracted the virus....
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How to treat fevers in African children up for debate - A new debate in the open access journal PLoS Medicine questions whether all African children with fever should be treated presumptively with antimalarial drugs, or if treatment should wait until laboratory tests confirm malarial infection....
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Nation's health spending rises, but not so much - (AP) -- Health care continued to take up a greater share of the economy in 2007, as spending on hospitals, doctors and other services increased 6.1 percent to $2.2 trillion....
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Researchers offer new insight into effectiveness of procedure to stop heavy menstrual bleeding - Experts estimate that 20 percent of women experience excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding at some time during their lives, particularly as they approach menopause. A new, less invasive procedure called global endometrial ablation (GEA) preserves the uterus, while decreasing menstrual bleeding and shortening patients' recovery time. In an article published in the January issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mayo Clinic researchers attempt to d...
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Top 10 kids health issues to watch - As 2008 comes to a close, Akron, Ohio, Children's Hospital has compiled "10 Kids' Health Issues to Watch" in 2009. This year's list includes both mental and physical health issues. However, one common thread factors into many of these issues and so became the country's focus of attention: the economy. The financial crunch, here and around the world, will undoubtedly affect the physical and mental health of parents and kids throughout 2009 - and b...
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Strike a yoga pose to strike down stress - When hyperventilating sometimes seems the only option to stress, Petri Brill has a healthier suggestion: yoga. ...
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Common childhood virus packs an increasingly potent punch - Five-year-old Kate Levschan and her 18-month-old brother, Jacob, have never sat on Santa's lap. Their mother, Marti Levschan, wants to keep it that way....
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Similar long-term mortality risks in men with type 2 diabetes and men with cardiovascular disease - Men with type 2 diabetes and men with previous heart attack or stroke had a 3 to 4 fold risk of cardiovascular death compared to men without either disease in the years following the first acute event, according to a study in CMAJ....
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New appropriate use criteria guide treatment of patients with heart blockage - If you're committed to fitness, the decision to climb a couple of flights of stairs rather than take the elevator is clear. But if you develop chest pain on the way up, deciding how to treat the symptoms of clogged arteries in your heart is much more complicated....
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Viagra's other talents: Help a 'signaling' protein shield the heart from high blood pressure damage - Johns Hopkins and other researchers report what is believed to be the first direct evidence in lab animals that the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil amplifies the effects of a heart-protective protein....
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Childhood trauma associated with chronic fatigue syndrome - Individuals who experience trauma during childhood appear more likely to develop chronic fatigue syndrome as adults, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, neuroendocrine dysfunction—or abnormalities in the interaction between the nervous system and endocrine system—appears to be associated with childhood trauma in those with chronic fatigue syndrome, suggestin...
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New findings shed light on why smokers struggle to quit - Just seeing someone smoke can trigger smokers to abandon their nascent efforts to kick the habit, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center....
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Understanding extinct microbes may influence the state of modern human health - The study of ancient microbes may not seem consequential, but such pioneering research at the University of Oklahoma has implications for the state of modern human health. Cecil Lewis, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, says results of this research raise questions about the microbes living on and within people....
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Pneumococcal vaccine does not appear to protect against pneumonia - Commonly used pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to be effective for preventing pneumonia, found a study by a team of researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom....
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Low-carb diets prove better at controlling type 2 diabetes - In a six-month comparison of low-carb diets, one that encourages eating carbohydrates with the lowest-possible rating on the glycemic index leads to greater improvement in blood sugar control, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers....
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Brain circuit abnormalities may underlie bulimia nervosa in women - Women with bulimia nervosa appear to respond more impulsively during psychological testing than those without eating disorders, and brain scans show differences in areas responsible for regulating behavior, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals....
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Biological link connects childhood trauma and risk for chronic fatigue syndrome - Childhood trauma is a potent risk factor for development of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), according to a study by researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study is published in the Jan. 5, 2009 Archives of General Psychiatry....
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Shaping good health as teens outgrow pediatrician - (AP) -- Ever watched a teen skulk in the corner of a toddler-packed pediatrician's waiting room, obviously wishing to be anywhere else?...
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How Students Can Stick to Hard-to-Follow New Year's Resolutions - (PhysOrg.com) -- Winter quarter at UC San Diego begins on Jan. 5 and many students are carrying a variety of New Year`s resolutions along with their textbooks. Students who have resolved to improve their lives can take advantage of an array of wellness programs designed to help them improve their mind, body and spirit in the new year....
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Nursing industry desperate to find new hires - (AP) -- Please, please accept a high-paying job with us. In fact, just swing by for an interview and we'll give you a chance to win cash and prizes....
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Study first to pinpoint why analgesic drugs may be less potent in females than in males - (PhysOrg.com) -- Investigators at Georgia State University`s Neuroscience Institute and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience are the first to identify the most likely reason analgesic drug treatment is usually less potent in females than males. This discovery is a major step toward finding more effective treatments for females suffering from persistent pain. ...
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More Men Die from COPD Compared to Women - (PhysOrg.com) -- Men across the Asia-Pacific region have consistently higher mortality and hospitalization rates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than corresponding rates for women in the region. ...
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New hope for cancer comes straight from the heart - Digitalis-based drugs like digoxin have been used for centuries to treat patients with irregular heart rhythms and heart failure and are still in use today. In the Dec. 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine now report that this same class of drugs may hold new promise as a treatment for cancer. This finding emerged through a search for existing drugs that mi...
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Cell biologists identify new tumor suppressor for lung cancer - Cancer and cell biology experts at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified a new tumor suppressor that may help scientists develop more targeted drug therapies to combat lung cancer....
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Prolonged nevirapine in breast-fed babies prevents HIV infection but leads to drug-resistant HIV - Babies born to HIV-positive mothers and given the antiretroviral drug nevirapine through the first six weeks of life to prevent infection via breast-feeding are at high risk for developing drug-resistant HIV if they get infected anyway, a team of researchers report. But the investigators highlight the proven superiority of the six-week regimen in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in breast-fed infants....
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Folic acid survey of Spanish-speaking women finds most are missing benefits - Only 17 percent of Spanish-speaking women of childbearing age in the United States are taking a multivitamin containing folic acid daily, according to the first- nationally representative folic acid awareness survey to focus on this population....
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Collagen VI may help protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease - Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND), UCSF, and Stanford have discovered that a certain type of collagen, collagen VI, protects brain cells against amyloid-beta (Aβ) proteins, which are widely thought to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD). While the functions of collagens in cartilage and muscle are well established, before this study it was unknown that collagen VI is made by neurons in the brain and that it ca...
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ADHD labelling of kids can mask other problems: study - (PhysOrg.com) -- Labelling children with learning and behavioural difficulties can be detrimental to the children in question as well as their teachers, research by a QUT graduate has found....
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'Recovery coaches' effective in reducing number of babies exposed to drugs - About 11 percent of the 4 million babies born in the U.S. each year have been exposed to alcohol or illicit drugs in the womb, according to a June 2006 report by the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. If removed from the home by child protection, these children tend to remain in foster care longer, and chances are very low that they will be reunited with their parents....
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