“When Planning a Pregnancy Can Save a Woman's Life - Huffingtonpost.com” plus 4 more |
- When Planning a Pregnancy Can Save a Woman's Life - Huffingtonpost.com
- Changes To DR Constitution Will Put Women`s Lives In Danger Rights ... - Caribbean World News
- Expert fears a tardy swine flu vaccination - St. Cloud Times
- Amnesty urges Dominican Republic not to ban abortion - New Kerala
- Cruz not pregnant - Thaindian.com
| When Planning a Pregnancy Can Save a Woman's Life - Huffingtonpost.com Posted: 14 Sep 2009 03:37 PM PDT A new UNICEF report released last week is the latest in a series of drumbeats for a concerted, large-scale campaign to save the lives of mothers and newborns worldwide, far too many of whom are dying today from entirely preventable causes. With Congress back in session, a first order of business should be to approve a spending increase for maternal health and family planning in the FY10 Foreign Operations Bill. At stake are the more than half a million of expectant and new mothers who die each year, 99% of them in developing countries where maternal care is scarce. That's more than one woman every minute. Yet the number of maternal deaths has remained virtually unchanged for the past two decades. This is unconscionable, and it's why the Group of Eight leaders recently agreed that the world must do more to ensure that mothers everywhere can deliver their babies safely. Here in the U.S., we can do our part by doing more to fund life-saving efforts. When most of us think of childbirth, it triggers an image of a mother in a comfortable delivery room, holding the baby she'd dreamed of. Birth is a triumph, in part because pregnancy is never without some degree of risk. But in countries where women have a 1 in 8 lifetime chance of dying from pregnancy or giving birth, it can be tantamount to Russian roulette. Making sure that all women can get emergency obstetric care will go a long way to improving these odds, and there are very good reasons why this type of care receives the most attention from both health providers and policymakers. But it is not enough. Education about, and access to, contraception is also critical for saving lives. That's because when women and their partners are empowered to decide if and when to have children, it can significantly reduce the likelihood that mothers will die in childbirth. There are broader ripple effects, too: when couples can plan how many children to have, and when to have them, they are also better able to better prepare financially for the related costs. In some cases, smaller families also make it more likely that girls will have the opportunity to go to school. Yet despite this increased demand and need, progress in actual contraceptive use has stagnated, or even declined, especially in parts of Africa. Access remains a major problem: Women are cut off from health care in general and from family planning information and services in particular. This is most dire in remote areas - where, not by coincidence, maternal death rates are highest, too. In July President Obama visited La General Hospital in Accra, Ghana, where specialists from my organization and others are training local health providers to offer a range of contraceptive options at the community level and particularly in rural districts. We do this elsewhere on the continent, too, focusing on getting services to women who don't want to be pregnant now or in the near future and who live in places where regular doctor visits are virtually impossible. This work needs to be supported and expanded. That's what family planning is about, and it's why should be included in any global effort to protect the lives of women and newborns. Ana Langer, M.D., is the President of EngenderHealth.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Changes To DR Constitution Will Put Women`s Lives In Danger Rights ... - Caribbean World News Posted: 14 Sep 2009 08:52 PM PDT CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Sept. 15, 2009: Amnesty International is warning that proposed changes to the constitution of the Dominican Republic will put women and girls at risk and potentially increase maternal deaths in the country. Their comment comes as the country`s Parliament is scheduled to vote on a constitutional reform package on Thursday. The proposed formulation of Article 30 would introduce inviolability of life from `conception to death.` It is widely acknowledged that this will lead to changes in the Penal Code that could lead to a ban on abortions in all circumstances. If the article is approved as proposed, it would severely limit the availability of safe abortions, even in cases when a woman is suffering from life-threatening complications or is in need of life-saving treatment incompatible with pregnancy – such as that for malaria, cancer or HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, access to safe abortion for women or girls who have unwanted pregnancies as a result of rape or incest would become even more restricted. `As it stands, the proposed change to the Constitution would have a devastating impact on women`s and girls` access to effective reproductive health care in the Dominican Republic,` said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International. The Dominican Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists has pointed out the `catastrophic` impact that Article 30 could have on maternal mortality. If adopted in its current formulation, Article 30 would compromise doctors` ability to provide timely and effective treatment for women and girls suffering complications during pregnancy. `When abortion is totally banned, the rates of maternal mortality grow because doctors are unable or fearful of providing life-saving treatment that is contraindicated with pregnancy, even when it`s the only way to save the patient,` said Susan Lee. Amnesty International is calling on the Congress of the Dominican Republic to reject the current formulation of constitutional Article 30 `since conception to death` and take all necessary measures to ensure that safe and legal abortion services are available, accessible, and of good quality for all women who require them in all cases where the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest and when the pregnancy poses a risk to the life or health of the woman.
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| Expert fears a tardy swine flu vaccination - St. Cloud Times Posted: 14 Sep 2009 10:04 PM PDT BROOKLYN CENTER (AP) Swine flu could peak in Minnesota before enough vaccine arrives in the state, a top pandemic flu expert said Monday. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infections Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said he expects a surge in swine flu cases in the next six to eight weeks. Vaccines are expected to start arriving in Minnesota next month. Im afraid too little vaccine is going to get here before the peak hits, Osterholm told about 600 people at a flu summit organized by the Minnesota Department of Health. Partly because of that timeline, State Epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield and other speakers stressed the need for people to be conscious about not spreading illness. Echoing Osterholm, she said that means sick people shouldnt try to be Minnesota brave and go to work or school. She also urged diligent hand washing, covering ones mouth when coughing and keeping ones distance from sick people. As of Monday morning, Minnesota had recorded 265 swine flu cases severe enough to require hospitalization, including three deaths, Lynfield said. The state is no longer keeping count of cases that dont require hospitalization. Eighty percent of the hospitalized cases were in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area, though Lynfield said infections in outstate Minnesota are on the rise. Two-thirds of those hospitalized had an underlying risk factor, such as asthma or pregnancy. The median age was 12, and 70 percent of those hospitalized were under 25 years old. Lynfield said Minnesota health officials have been expecting vaccines to be available here in late October. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday that some may be available as early as the first week of October for health care workers and other high-priority groups, but that an ample supply wont be ready before mid-October. Speakers at the conference tried to dispel the idea that this kind of flu is relatively mild. Lynfield said the severity is similar to regular seasonal flu, but the victims tend to be younger. Underlying conditions that put people at greater risk for getting it include asthma and other respiratory conditions, obesity, pregnancy, diabetes and cardiovascular and neurological problems, she said. Obesity, in particular, is turning out to be a bigger risk factor than first expected, she said.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Amnesty urges Dominican Republic not to ban abortion - New Kerala Posted: 14 Sep 2009 10:25 PM PDT London, Sep 15 : Amnesty International (AI) has warned that the proposed changes to the Dominican Republic's constitution could lead to a ban on abortions that would put 'the lives of women and girls at risk'.
The text of Article 30 would establish the inviolability of life from conception to death, wording that would almost certainly lead to a total prohibition on abortion, AI said in a statement. "If the article is approved as proposed, it would severely limit the availability of safe abortions, even in cases when a woman is suffering from life-threatening complications or is in need of life-saving treatment incompatible with pregnancy -- such as that for malaria, cancer or HIV/AIDS," the statement said. "Furthermore, access to safe abortion for women or girls who have unwanted pregnancies as a result of rape or incest would become even more restricted," AI said. "As it stands, the proposed change to the constitution would have a devastating impact on women's and girls' access to effective reproductive health care in the Dominican Republic," said AI's Americas director Susan Lee. AI recalled that the Dominican Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists has warned of the potentially "catastrophic" impact of Article 30 on maternal mortality. "When abortion is totally banned, the rates of maternal mortality grow because doctors are unable or fearful of providing life-saving treatment that is contra-indicated with pregnancy, even when it's the only way to save the patient," Lee said. AI recently published a report examining the repercussions of the total ban on all types of abortion in Nicaragua, concluding that it contributes to an increase in maternal mortality. "Four UN treaty bodies have strongly criticised Nicaragua's full ban on abortions because of the risks it places on women's and girls' lives and health. The Dominican Republic should not follow the same steps," Lee said. --IANS
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| Cruz not pregnant - Thaindian.com Posted: 14 Sep 2009 04:49 PM PDT Academy Award winning actress, Penelope Cruz is tired of rumors of her supposed pregnancy with boyfriend Javier Bardem's baby.
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