Pregnancy and Birth

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Young women who are subject to controlling behaviors from a partner and suffering from physical and sexual relationship violence (RV) are more reticent about screening for RV, according to a study published in the April issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) can be a safe, effective, and relatively easy birth control option. However, pregnancy can occur if the IUD dislodges or is not placed properly. Dr Elysia Moschos, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Dr Diane M. Twickler, professor of radiology, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, studied ultrasound findings, clinical symptoms, and outcomes for women with first-trimester pregnancies despite having intrauterine devices to better understand this issue.

A recent video segment on ABC News (see embedded video) addresses the growing rate of placenta accreta. The accompanying article with the jarring headline, "Placenta Accreta: Multiple C-Sections Can Kill Mother," reports that doctors are attributing the rise in this condition (from 1 in 30,000 pregnancies in the 1950s and 1960s to 1 in 2500 pregnancies in 2007, according to a report in AJOG) to the increased number of cesarean births. The article goes on to describe more reasons for the growing incidence of cesarean delivery, including diabetes, preeclampsia, and advanced maternal age, under the heading "More Women Demand Caesarians."Not surprisingly, the article has readers in a tizzy over when, exactly, a cesarean delivery is needed . . . and has them pointing fingers regarding who is to blame for the increased rate of this surgery.

Teen birth rates in the United States have declined over the last two decades, but they remain high, according a Vital Signs report in the April 5 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

An individualized screen evaluating epithelial cells from women's breast milk may provide insight into breast cancer risk, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held April 2 to 6 in Orlando, Fla.

Using a combination of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and mammography increases sensitivity of cancer detection in women with a history of chest irradiation compared to using either modality on its own, according to a study published in the April issue of Radiology.n

After peaking at 4,316,233 births in 2007, the birth rate in the United States fell 4 percent by 2009, and a provisional count in 2010 indicates the number is continuing to decline, according to a March data brief released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

One in 8 women and men are diagnosed with infertility. In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, RESOLVE is busting myths and misconceptions about infertility. Click through the slideshow to learn more about these misconceptions and share some myths you've heard in our comments section.

About two-thirds of the U.S. population takes in sufficient amounts of vitamin D, but 8 percent may be at risk for vitamin D deficiency, according to a March data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

Pacifier use in healthy, full-term newborns, introduced before or after breast-feeding is established, has little impact on the prevalence or duration of breast-feeding up to four months, according to a review published online in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

After practicing medicine in Antarctica and the western Pacific, it was time to come back to the US. Where would I practice? What size practice should I look for? What quality-of-life factors should I consider?

Lots of citalopram, an antidepressant, and finasteride, used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, are being recalled by Greenstone LLC due to possible mislabeling of the bottles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced.

Amid the media frenzy regarding KV Pharmaceutical's decision to sell the FDA-approved drug Makena (hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection) at up to $1500 per injection, the pharmaceutical company as well as the FDA took steps last week to ensure that the medication, which is recommended for women at high risk for premature birth, is more accessible to patients.

Group B streptococci (GBS) is still the dominant cause of neonatal bacterial meningitis, whereas Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most common cause among preterm infants, according to a study published in the March issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

The use of progestin-estrogen oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) in women prior to becoming pregnant does not appear to increase the risk of adverse respiratory outcomes in offspring, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from March 18 to 22 in San Francisco.

There's an important subtext that undergirds defensive medicine that often goes unrecognized and therefore unanalyzed. Defensive medicine is driven by the fact that we live in a "risk society," a society that is organized around a new understanding of risk.