A new report from the Guttmacher Institute identifies how improved access to family planning services has reduced the use of abortion services worldwide although problems if access to either opportunities varies widely among different countries, particularly in the developing countries..
Two new studies from Canada and the Netherlands found that home births were as safe as hospital births among low-risk women,” USA Today reports that a spokeswoman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “argues that the findings can’t be extrapolated to the USA.” She points out that in those countries, “midwives who attend home births must have at least a bachelor’s degree, which is not the case for all US midwives.” In fact, “they have varied educational backgrounds, ranging from self-study to college- and university-based midwifery programs.” Still, “ACOG shouldn’t confuse the site of a birth with the qualifications of the midwife attending it,” says Lorrie Kaplan, of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Comment: When in medical school in London in the early 1950s I was taught deliveries at homer by a nurse midwife (what today would be a master’s level MWF). It is the training rather than the site that makes most home deliveries safe.
The AP reports that six cases of childhood lead poisoning “in Maine last year came from an unusual source — lead dust tracked into the family car.” Officials from the CDC and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said that the cases were “the first ever attributed to lead dust on childhood safety seats. The car seats themselves weren’t the source; the inside of family cars were contaminated through a parent’s workplace.” The CDC explained that children’s parents, who worked in paint removal or metals recycling, did not change and shower before going home, and so tracked lead dust into their cars and onto children’s car seats. Then, “Kids chew on the sides of those seats … Or they put a cookie down” on the seat and then eat it, Mary Jean Brown, chief of the CDC’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch said. “Maine officials said they now include checks of cars and child safety seats in their lead investigations.”
A new study of women’s contraceptive use around the world finds that sexually active 15–19-year-olds are more likely than their 20–49-year-old counterparts to use contraceptives inconsistently and, on average, experience a 25% higher rate of contraceptive failure. The study’s authors, Ann K. Blanc of EngenderHealth et al., believe that compared with adult women, adolescent women face more obstacles to consistent contraceptive use—including feeling embarrassed about seeking out contraceptives, not being able to afford them and not knowing how to use them correctly—and may be more likely to abandon a method and try another if they experience side effects, which often leads to gaps in contraceptive use.
From JAMA today this interesting article, along with others in the issue, agrees with the ideas of those in Preventive Medicine who, for years, have preached that childhood development and the childhood environment often leads to development chronic disease later in life. This article dwells too much on psychological injuries of early development and does not even discuss the role of genetics and diet but it is worth reading by all. The entire issues is devoted to the crucial issue of enhancing childhood wellness.
Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College have published results showing that a new contraceptive device may also effectively block the transmission of the HIV virus. Findings show that the device prevents infection by the HIV virus in laboratory testing. The promising results are published in the most recent issue of the journal AIDS. The new device is a vaginal ring that releases multiple types of non-hormonal agents and microbicides, which would prevent conception as well as sexually transmitted HIV infection. Worldwide, there are about 5 million new infections and 3 million deaths per year due to HIV/AIDS. If proven successful in future clinical trials, the new device could empower women to effectively and conveniently protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection. The ring may also someday represent a novel method to prevent STIs for those with aversion to currently available methods, with hormonally derived active agents, or with allergies to latex condoms.
Promoting the health of young children, before five years of age, could save society up to $65 billion in future health care costs, according to an examination of childhood health conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Our review found convincing evidence that the four health problems we studied—early life tobacco exposure, unintentional injury, obesity and mental health—constitute significant burdens on the health of preschool-age children and are antecedents of health problems across the life span,” said Bernard Guyer, MD, lead author of the study and the Zanvyl Kreiger Professor of Children’s Health with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2008) — More than half a million babies are born preterm in the United States each year, and preterm births are on the rise. Late preterm births, or births that occur between 34 and 36 weeks (approximately 4 to 6 weeks before the mother’s due date), account for more than 70% of preterm births. A new study and an accompanying editorial in The Journal of Pediatrics investigate the serious neurological problems associated with late preterm births. Much of the preterm birth increase maybe due to elective caesarian intervention and twin births due to use of fertility drugs.[ Petrini et al. Increased Risk of Adverse Neurological Development for Late Preterm Infants. The Journal of Pediatrics,]
New http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/august2008/sids”>research at the University of Calgary</a> shows premature infants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy may be at higher risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) than preemies whose mothers did not smoke. This is the first study to investigate the effect of low oxygen and cigarette smoke exposure on infants’ heart rate and breathing responses. “Smoking during pregnancy has two very serious effects with respect to SIDS,” says Dr. Shabih Hasan, a neonatologist and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary. “Not only does it raise the likelihood of a mother having a preterm baby, who are already among the most vulnerable to SIDS, but it increases those infants’ susceptibility to SIDS even further.”
The NHANES survey conducted by the CDC during 2005 & 2006. Hispanics had the highest breast feeding rates. There is nothing better for human children than human milk. The contents of the milk contain antibodies and other components not found in any of the alternatives. As for other beneficial health habits the rate was lowest among the poorest, the rural and the unmarried women whose only source of advice is often local health departments who are frequently underfunded. The problem continues despite Maternal and Child Health programs starting with the ‘milk kitchens ‘ in New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s having shown the value of breast feeding for more than 100 years. We learn slowly, caring for poor women and their children has little political appeal compared to sexy topics such as autism with its vocal advocates and media interest.
