plus 3, Rise in teen pregnancy rate spurs new debate on stopping it - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Rise in teen pregnancy rate spurs new debate on stopping it - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Are You Having a Pregnancy Migraine Headache? - Associated Content
Padma Lakshmi hospitalised for pregnancy complications - New Kerala
Pregnancy in women of advanced maternal age - Jamaica Gleaner

Rise in teen pregnancy rate spurs new debate on stopping it - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 10:38 PM PST

The pregnancy rate among teenage girls in the United States has jumped for the first time in more than a decade, raising alarm that the long campaign to reduce motherhood among adolescents was faltering, according to a report released Tuesday.

The pregnancy rate among 15- to 19-year-olds increased 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 - the first jump since 1990, according to an analysis of the most recent data collected by the federal government and the nation's leading reproductive-health think tank.

Teen pregnancy has long been one of the most pressing social issues and has triggered intense political debate over sex education, particularly whether the federal government should fund programs that encourage abstinence until marriage or focus on birth control.

"The decline in teen pregnancy has stopped - and in fact has turned around," said Lawrence Finer, director of domestic research for the Guttmacher Institute, the nonprofit, nonpartisan research group in New York that conducted the analysis. "These data are certainly cause for concern."

The abortion rate also inched up for the first time in more than a decade - rising 1 percent - intensifying concern across the ideological spectrum.

"One of the nation's shining success stories of the past two decades is in danger of unraveling," said Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

The cause for the increase, which remains highest among African Americans and Hispanics, is the subject of debate. Several experts blamed sex education programs that focus on abstinence. Others said the reversal could be due to a variety of factors, including an increase in poverty, a changing demographic makeup, and complacency about AIDS, prompting lax use of birth control such as condoms.

"It could be a lot of things coming together," said Rebecca Maynard, a professor of economics and social policy at the University of Pennsylvania. "It could be we just bottomed out and whenever you are at the bottom it tends to wiggle around. This may or may not be a sustained rise."

The report comes as Congress may consider restoring federal funding to sex education programs that focus on abstinence. The Obama administration eliminated more than $150 million in funds for such groups, but the health-care reform legislation pending on Capitol Hill would reinstate $50 million.

The new findings immediately set off a debate over funding. Critics argued that the disturbing new data were just the latest in a long series of indications that the focus on abstinence programs was a dismal failure.

"Now we know that after 10 years and over $1.5 billion in abstinence-only funding the U.S. is lurching backwards on teen sexual health," said James Wagoner of Advocates for Youth, a Washington advocacy group.

Supporters of abstinence programs, however, said the findings provided powerful evidence of the need to continue to encourage delayed sexual activity, not only to avoid pregnancy but also to reduce the risk for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

"Research unmistakably indicates that delaying sexual initiation rates and reducing the total number of lifetime partners is more valuable in protecting the sexual health of young people than simply passing out condoms," said Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association, who blamed the increase on several factors.

"Contributors include an over-sexualized culture, lack of involved and positive role models, and the dominant message that teen sex is expected and without consequences," Huber said. The Obama administration is launching a new $110 million pregnancy prevention initiative focused on programs with proven effectiveness, but has left open the possibility of funding some innovative approaches that include encouraging abstinence.

A decline in teen sexual activity beginning in 1991 had leveled off starting about nine years ago, and the teen birth rate began to increase in 2005. It wasn't known before if the increase was due to more pregnancies or fewer abortions and miscarriages. The new analysis for the first time uses those factors in calculating the teen pregnancy rate.

The analysis examined data on teen-age sex and births collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, and data on abortions collected by the CDC and Guttmacher - the two best sources of such data.

The abortion rate among teen-agers rose 1 percent in 2006 from the previous year - to 19.3 abortions per 1,000 women in that age group, the analysis found. Taking that and miscarriages into account, the analysis showed that the pregnancy rate among U.S. women younger than 20 in 2006 was 71.5 per 1,000 women, a 3 percent increase from the rate of 69.5 in 2005. That translated into 743,000 pregnancies among teen-agers, or about 7 percent of women in this age group.

"When birth rates go up and down it could be the result of kids getting fewer abortions," said John Santelli, a professor of population and family health at Columbia University. "This shows that it's a true rise in pregnancies."

The rate remained highest for blacks, but increased for all racial groups. Among blacks, the rate increased from 122.7 per 1,000 in 2005 to 126.3. For Hispanics, the rate rose from 124.9 per 1,000 women to 126.6. Among whites, the rate increased from 43.3 per 1,000 women to 44.0.

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Are You Having a Pregnancy Migraine Headache? - Associated Content

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 07:25 PM PST

Severe Migraines During Pregnancy

Are you pregnant and experiencing painful migraine headaches that go on forever and cause you to suffer? Thankfully there's an end in sight. You no longer have to suffer from a pregnancy migraine headache. It's a rather common problem and there are some remedies you can try at home to cure or relieve your pain from the migraines. Read on to learn more.

A pregnancy migraine headache can mean any number of things. Your body is going through some major changes and hormones are flooding your body at unpredictable times and causing all sorts of physiological changes. That being said, a migraine headache during pregnancy can result from this but you might also get a migraine from external factors.

Staying in tune with your body and knowing what your triggers are is a big first step to realize. Pay attention to the conditions surrounding you when you have a migraine and see if anything external seems to trigger it. Is there a bright light? A bad smell? A loud noise? It could be just about anything.

Alternatively, it could be a result from the pregnancy. If you're having a pregnancy migraine headache then pay close attention to your body and what it needs, it might be trying to tell you something. It's possible you're too dehydrated or have a mild cold that could be causing the migraine symptoms. Do your best to stay hydrated and listen to your body. If you continue to have migraines then you should consider an over the counter remedy or medication to help ease the pain.

For more detailed information about dealing with a migraine headache during pregnancy as well as to learn about the single greatest migraine headache cure there is, try visiting http://www.HealYourHeadacheNow.com, one of the most popular & informative headache treatment websites on the web.

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Padma Lakshmi hospitalised for pregnancy complications - New Kerala

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 08:01 PM PST

New York, Jan 30 : Author Salman Rushdie's ex-wife Padma Lakshmi was recently hospitalised after experiencing complications during pregnancy.

Lakshmi, 39, had to be hospitalised due to certain complications. Details of Lakshmi's medical problem are not known, reports dailystar.co.uk.

"The baby was in serious danger," said a source.

The former model is now recovering at home with her close friend - talent agency boss Teddy Forstmann.

"Teddy has been by her side the whole time. He has been incredibly wonderful and supportive," said the source.

Lakshmi had announced last October that she was expecting her first child but has refused to name the father.

--IANS

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Pregnancy in women of advanced maternal age - Jamaica Gleaner

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 06:42 PM PST

The Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Child Health, University of the West Indies, Mona, will host the ninth Annual Perinatal Audit and Symposium 'Pregnancy in the woman of advanced maternal age' on February 12 and 13 at the Main Medical Lecture Theatre, University Hospital of the West Indies.

Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Toronto, and Director, Prenatal Screening Service, Mount Sinai Hospital, Dr N. Okun, will deliver the keynote address during the opening ceremony titled 'Prenatal Screening for Chromosomal Abnormalities'. The first day of the conference will involve a perinatal audit as well as workshops on neonatal mortality and ethics.

Day two will address preconceptional assessment, pregnancy planning and health promotion for women of advanced maternal age. Topics to be covered include obesity in pregnancy; assessment, counselling and support of women after perinatal loss, twin pregnancy, post-discharge follow-up of the premature infant and infant of the diabetic mother. Other topics to be discussed are an approach to the infant with congenital abnormalities and approach to the infant with Trisomy 21, a chromosomal abnormality more commonly known as Down's Syndrome.

The Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Child Health has been conducting annual perinatal audits since 2001. The primary objective is to educate health-care professionals about management of problems in areas of expertise. It should be of particular interest to doctors (consultants, residents and interns), nurses, midwives, allied health-care professionals and medical and nursing students.

Further information on the perinatal audit and symposium may be obtained from Dr. Helen Trotman-Edwards, lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Child Health, telephone numbers (876) 970-0329 or 927-1446.

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