The governor of the Lombardy province of northern Italy introduced a policy that would offer pregnant women $5,500 (€4,500) not to end their pregnancies, the BBC reports. Under the policy, established by governor Roberto Formigoni, only pregnant women facing severe economic hardship would be eligible for the payment.
Pregnancy
Abortion ad sparks controversy in the U.K.
Marie Stopes International, a sexual health group akin to the U.S.’s Planned Parenthood that provides abortions and other services at clinics throughout the U.K., has purchased a time slot for a 30-second commercial scheduled to air Monday night, the Telegraph reports. The ad — which does not mention the word abortion, but directs
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Male birth control: stopping sperm with ultrasound?
Among the 78 research projects to receive $100,000 grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this week as part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, is an effort by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to develop a non-invasive, reversible form of birth control for men — using
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Preventing childhood obesity from pregnancy on
While applauding the First Lady’s efforts to combat childhood obesity through the Let’s Move initiative, researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco say that the campaign’s efforts focused primarily on behavioral and nutritional intervention—in school or at home—will yield “limited
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Fewer women dying during pregnancy, childbirth
A new study published online earlier this week by the British medical journal The Lancet suggests that the number of women dying during pregnancy or childbirth has dropped by more than one third in the past three decades, from half a million annual deaths in 1980 to 343,000 as of 2008. The study, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates
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Assessing gestational diabetes risks—for mom and baby
Previous diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes were based on the risk, posed by high blood sugar levels, that pregnant women faced for developing diabetes after giving birth. And, under those criteria, rates of gestational diabetes have surged nearly 50% in the past decade, with 5% to 8% of pregnant women being diagnosed with the
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Acupuncture for prenatal depression, menstrual cramps?
Acupuncture may be an effective way to treat depression during pregnancy, and to reduce the pain of menstrual cramps, according to new research into the health benefits of the ancient Chinese practice. One study, from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, found that women confronting depression during pregnancy
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Ability to breast-feed may be influenced by hormones
Whether or not a mother can successfully breast-feed her infant may have to do with her concentrations of testosterone, according to a new study from researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The study, published in the journal Acta Obstetricia and Gynecologica Scandinavica, followed 180 women from pregnancy
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Some Asian-American women at higher risk for diabetes during pregnancy
Chinese-American and Korean-American women have far higher risks of developing diabetes during pregnancy compared with African American and white women, according to a study published in the December issue of the journal Ethnicity and Disease. The research, funded by the American Diabetes Association, expands on previous findings
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More Evidence Favoring Flu Vaccines in Pregnancy
Pregnant and considering whether or not to get a flu vaccine? Three new studies—as well as a growing body of research related to the effects of flu on the developing fetus—suggest that vaccination is the best option. In the studies, vaccinated women who were pregnant during flu season were much less likely to have premature or …