International Family Planning Perspectives articles from June 2008

International Family Planning Perspectives archives from June 2008

In this issue.(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... Over the last decade, as studies showed that individual, couple and household characteristics did not completely explain variations in contraceptive use, researchers began to look at community influences, including the physical, economic and...

Cesarean delivery on maternal request in southeastern China.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... The proportion of women delivering by cesarean section has risen substantially in southeastern China since the mid-1990s, with almost all of the increase occurring because of women's request for the procedure.(1) According to an analysis of...

Prevalence of female genital cutting in Egypt.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The prevalence of female genital cutting in Egypt appears to have decreased, according to a national study of female students conducted between March and May 2005.' Among the 38,816 females aged 10-18 surveyed in schools in nine Egyptian...

Herpes treatment has no effect on HIV transmission.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Treatment of herpes simplex 2 (HSV-2) with acyclovir does not affect HIV acquisition, according to a study anions a sample of HIV seronegative women infected with HSV-2 who worked in food and recreational facilities in northwestern Tanzania.(1)...

Antenatal supplements have lasting effects.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Children born to women given multiple micronutrients during pregnancy show positive effects in terms of weight and size through early childhood, according to a follow-up conducted between December 2005 and 2006 of children whose mothers had...

HIV prevention should work against herpes.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Methods used to prevent transmission of HIV should also be effective in preventing herpes simplex 2 (HSV-2). (1) As pan of a randomized controlled trial of male circumcision to reduce HIV acquisition in Kisumu, Kenya, 2,771 uncircumcised...

Antibiotics reduce risk of postpartum infection.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... HIV-positive women who receive prophylactic antiobiotics during labor have a reduced risk of endometritis (infection of the endometrial lining of the uterus) after vaginal delivery. (1) As part of a double-blind trial conducted between February...

HIV prevention knowledge linked to paying for sex.(UPDATE)(Author abstract)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Men's knowledge of HIV prevention methods is positively associated with their having had sex with commercial sex workers according to an analysis of data from the 2003 Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey. (1) Of the 2,895 sexually active men...

AIDS.(IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... In its 2007 AIDS Epidemic Update, UNAIDS provides the most recent estimates of the AIDS epidemic and explores new findings and trends in the epidemic's evolution. The report, which estimates that 33.2 million people worldwide are living with...

UNICEF.(IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... UNICEF has released State of the World's Children Report 2008, which assesses the current state of child survival and of primary health care for mothers, newborns and children. The full report is available at ; regional editions for Africa,...

Community and health facility influences on contraceptive method choice in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.(ARTICLES)(Report)
June 1, 2008... CONTEXT: Although a growing number of studies have examined how community factors influence contraceptive use, few have explored how such factors affect method choice. METHODS: Data from the 1998 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey...

Factors associated with physical spousal abuse of women during pregnancy in Bangladesh.(ARTICLES)
June 1, 2008... CONTEXT: Violence toward pregnant women is a gross violation of human rights with adverse health consequences for the woman and potentially for her fetus; however, few studies have examined factors associated with such abuse in developing...

The role of individual and community normative factors: a multilevel analysis of contraceptive use among women in union in Mali.(ARTICLES)(Report)
June 1, 2008... CONTEXT: Unlike in other African countries, the fertility rate in Mali has remained at a relatively high rate of 6.8 births per woman. Little research exists on the role that community norms play in use of family planning, particularly in...

Recent evaluations of the peer-led approach in adolescent sexual health education: a systematic review.(ARTICLES)(Report)
June 1, 2008... At the time this article was written, Caron R. Kim was a graduate student at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London. Caroline Free is a clinical lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. CONTEXT:...

Cesarean section is safer than vaginal delivery for breech births but not normal presentations.(DIGESTS)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Compared with vaginal deliveries, nonemergency cesarean deliveries are associated with a reduced risk of neonatal complications in cases of breech (buttocks-first) presentation, according to a prospective study conducted in Latin America. (1)...

Intimate partner violence's effects on women's health may be long-lasting.(Digests)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Physical and sexual intimate partner violence may have lasting effects on a woman's health, according to a recent multicountry study by the World Health Organization. (1) Compared with women who had never been abused, those who had suffered...

Inequities remain in use of maternal health care services in Bangladesh.(Digests)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Despite the implementation of programs that provide home-based skilled birth attendants, Bangladeshi women who are poor or uneducated are still far less likely than wealthier, highly educated women to use maternal health care services. (1) For...

Poverty linked to early sexual debut and low condom use in Africa.(DIGESTS)(Report)
June 1, 2008... In Burkina Faso, Ghana and Malawi, female adolescents from poor households are more likely than their wealthiest counterparts to have had sex, according to an analysis of nationally representative data from four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa....

Truckers who perceive having greater freedom tend to have more partners.(DIGESTS)(Report)(Survey)
June 1, 2008... Truck drivers who perceive having moderate or high levels of freedom while on the road are more likely than those who perceive having no more freedom than they do at home to report having had a commercial sex partner in the past six months,...

Many countries may not meet maternal and child health Goals by 2015.(DIGESTS)(Report)
June 1, 2008... At the midpoint of the 15-year timetable for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the majority of countries with high levels of maternal and child mortality are not on track to meet the targets for reductions in these outcomes by 2015,...

Pill use is associated with reductions in overall risk of cancer and in risk of main gynecologic cancers.(DIGESTS)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2008... Ever-use of the pill had no adverse effect on the overall risk of cancer in the large cohort of British women participating in the Royal College of General Practitioners' oral contraception study. Rather, analyses of data reflecting as much as...