International Family Planning Perspectives articles from September 2001

International Family Planning Perspectives archives from September 2001

IN THIS ISSUE.
September 1, 2001... Many societies in the Western Hemisphere (including the United States) historically have excluded or otherwise discriminated against minority populations, particularly indigenous peoples. In this issue of International Family Planning...

Medical Abortion at Home.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... A simplified medical abortion regimen is effective, safe and acceptable to women in less-developed countries. [1] Women seeking termination of an early pregnancy were given 200 mg of mifepristone, rather than the standard 600 mg dose, and the...

Counseling Leads to Continuation.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Women receiving depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injections are less likely to discontinue use of the contraceptive if they receive ongoing counseling, according to a case-control study conducted among 350 women in rural Mexico. [1]...

Pregnant Adolescents at Risk.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Adolescent women in Maputo, Mozambique, have a high risk of death from pregnancy-related causes, and the great majority of such deaths are avoidable. [1] Overall, 52 adolescents died of pregnancy-related causes at Maputo Central Hospital...

Girls Are Worth the Investment.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The investment countries make in the welfare of girls and young women varies widely, leading to stark contrasts in the well-being of the young women themselves and that of their children. [1] In a report issued by Save the Children, 140...

Herpes Is Common in Mexico.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By the end of their reproductive years, more than four in 10 women in Mexico City have been exposed to the virus that causes genital herpes. [1] In a random sample of 730 women aged 12-82,30% had antibodies to herpes simplex virus type 2...

Court Undercuts Female Feticide.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... After the release of census data indicating a drop in the ratio of female to male children, India's Supreme Court directed the government to more strictly enforce a 1994 law that bans the use of ultrasound testing to determine fetal sex. [1]...

Fewer Prenatal Visits Can Be Fine.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Pregnant women without current complications or a history of complications can make as few as 4-6 prenatal care visits without endangering their health or that of their baby, according to a study of more than 24,000 women in four developing...

UN Session on HIV and AIDS.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Calling prevention "the mainstay" of its global response to HIV and AIDS, the United Nations General Assembly has issued a declaration stating its commitment to achieving targets for prevention strategies and resources to address the epidemic....

Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi has asked his country's people to abstain from sexual intercourse for at least two years in an effort to check the spread of HIV, which has already infected 2.2 million people. He made the plea shortly after...

Contraceptive Dynamics in Guatemala: 1978-1998.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Context: Guatemala lags far behind other Central American countries in contraceptive prevalence, and levels of use differ markedly between Mayans and ladinos, the two main ethnic groups. Understanding the factors that influence contraceptive...

The Family Planning Program Effort Index: 1999 Cycle.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Context: Indices of effort by large-scale family planning programs have been measured periodically since 1972. These scores are intended to capture program effort or strength, independent of outputs such as contraceptive use or fertility...

What Influences Contraceptive Use Among Young Women In Urban Squatter Settlements of Karachi, Pakistan?(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Context: After nearly three decades of government-initiated family planning programs, the increase in contraceptive prevalence in Pakistan has been frustratingly slow--from 5% in 1974-1975 to 24% in 1996-1997. At the same time, a significant...

Effects of Sex Preference on Contraceptive Use, Abortion and Fertility in Matlab, Bangladesh.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Context: Contraceptive prevalence in Bangladesh has been increasing, but for the last 6-7 years the total fertility rate has remained at 3.3 lifetime births per woman. Son preference is thought to be a constraint on further fertility decline....

Induced Abortion in Urban Nepal.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Context: Most of what is known about women seeking pregnancy termination in Nepal has been learned from women admitted to hospitals with abortion-related complications. Little is known about women who obtain "safe" abortions from trained...

Using Photographs to Strengthen Family Planning Research.
September 1, 2001... There is a long tradition of using photographs in population research. [1] That tradition, however, appears to have been almost completely lost, perhaps because population specialists have avoided photographs, as they have avoided narratives,...

The Provider Perspective: Human After All.
September 1, 2001... For more than 20 years, the family planning and reproductive health field has promoted the understanding of the "user perspective," [1] and rightly so. We've learned that in order to have successful programs that serve clients well, we need a...

Thai Men Who Patronize Prostitutes Place Their Wives at Risk of HPV-Associated Cervical Cancer.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... For Thai women, infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 or 18 is the most important factor in the progression of precancerous cervical lesions to invasive cancer; the risk of cancers associated with these viral types rises with...

Female Condoms Remain Structurally Sound After Being Washed and Reused as Many as Seven Times.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The female condom can be washed and reused several times and still meet structural standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to a study conducted in South Africa. [1] When women washed, dried and relubricated...

Risk of HIV Transmission Is Raised by High Viral Load, Presence of Genital Ulcers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... On average, each time a monogamous, heterosexual couple in which one partner is HIV-positive has intercourse, the probability that the virus will be transmitted to the uninfected partner is 0.11%, according to an analysis of data from rural...

In Kenya, the Risk of Poor Birth Outcomes Is Highest For a Woman's First Child.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Birth order is the most consistent predictor of poor birth outcomes in Kenya, where women having their first child are about twice as likely as others to deliver prematurely, have a baby who is smaller than average and require a cesarean...

Perceptions of Peer Behavior Predict Whether Peruvian Adolescents Have Had Sex.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Peruvian secondary school students' perceptions of their peers' sexual activity is one of the most consistent predictors of their own behavior, according to results of a survey conducted in nine cities. [1] For example, males who said that many...

A First Pregnancy May Be Difficult to Achieve After Long-Term Use of an IUD.(intrauterine device)
September 1, 2001... Women who have never given birth and have used an IUD for an extended period of time face decreased fertility when they try to conceive, according to a prospective study conducted in England and Scotland. [1] Thirty-nine percent of nulliparous...

Short Anti-HIV Treatment Okay for Infant If Mother Receives Standard Regimen.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The standard zidovudine regimen given to expectant mothers and their newborn children is no more effective in preventing perinatal transmission of HIV-1 than regimens in which the course of treatment for either the mothers or their infants is...

Pregnant Women Experiencing Job-Related Fatigue Face Elevated Risk of Premature Membrane Rupture.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Working women pregnant with their first child who report occupational fatigue run a greater risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes than their counterparts who do not work outside the home or who work outside the home but do not...

New Population Policies.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Advancing Women's Health and Rights, a report from the Population Reference Bureau, discusses how the consensus reached in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo has affected population policies and dialogue...