Family Planning Perspectives articles from July 2001

Family Planning Perspectives archives from July 2001

IN THIS ISSUE.
July 1, 2001... It is now 20 years since initial reports in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report called the world's attention to a disease that soon became known as AIDS. Over that time, advanced antiretroviral medications have gone a long way toward...

Answers to Old Question Emerge.(teenage pregnancy)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... A review of more than 200 studies evaluating the effectiveness of various teenage pregnancy prevention efforts has found that a number of approaches can be successful.[1] Several programs that emphasize sexuality education, disease prevention...

Where There's Smoke, There's ...(reproductive health problems associated with smoking)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Virtually all women know that smoking can cause respiratory ailments, heart or lung disease, and pregnancy complications; far fewer are aware of its wider detrimental effects on reproductive health.[1] In a survey of 256 female hospital...

Just Like in the Movies!(teenage sexual behavior)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Adolescents who see X-rated movies may engage in more risky sexual behavior and have less-favorable attitudes toward condom use than others, according to evidence from a study of black women aged 14-18.[1] Of 522 sexually active young women...

Where Do Mothers Fare Best?(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Sweden ranks first on an index comparing the well-being of mothers in 17 developed and 77 developing countries; the remainder of the top 10 slots are occupied by western European countries, Australia and Canada.[1] The index, developed by Save...

How Good Is "Normal"?(pap test)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... To prevent women whose Pap smears have negative results from mistakenly thinking that they are completely free from the risk of cervical cancer, the United Kingdom's National Health Service recommends that providers tell women that the results...

HIV, AIDS and Women Today.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Women represented 18% of all AIDS cases in the United States through 1999, nearly triple the proportion they accounted for by the end of 1986, according to a review of the clinical literature.[1] One-quarter of new AIDS diagnoses and one-third...

Why Do Pregnant Women Die?(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Traditional definitions of maternal mortality and typical sources used for identifying maternal deaths may not paint a complete picture of why pregnant or recently pregnant women die, according to a study of deaths in Maryland in 1993-1998.[1]...

It's Never Too Late to Learn.(safe sex)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Programs for HIV-infected youths can help them develop habits that will keep them healthy and lower their risk of spreading the virus.[1] In 1994-1996, some 208 HIV-positive 13-24-year-olds in four major cities were assigned to attend a...

The Medium Is the Message.(teaching teenage mothers about infant feeding)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Young black mothers are often pressed to follow cultural norms that conflict with public health recommendations that infants be fed only breast milk or formula for their first 4-6 months, but a culturally sensitive intervention carried out...

Fertility Desires and Intentions of HIV-Positive Men and Women.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Fertility issues for HIV-positive men and women are becoming increasingly important. Advances in treatment, such as zidovudine and other antiretroviral drugs, have decreased transmission from infected mothers to their children to about 2%.[1]...

Reproductive and Sexual Health Benefits in Private Health Insurance Plans in Washington State.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The ability to manage one's fertility, have healthy pregnancies, avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and obtain screening services for early detection of reproductive cancers is important for the reproductive and sexual health of...

Tubal Sterilization in the United States, 1994-1996.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Tubal sterilization is the most commonly used method of birth control in the United States: The 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) reported that 28% of all women 15-44 years of age currently practicing contraception relied on tubal...

States' Implementation of the Section 510 Abstinence Education Program, FY 1999.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The federal government has had a long-standing interest in promoting abstinence as a means of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularly among adolescents, and has been involved in funding abstinence education...

Increasing Access to Emergency Contraception Through Community Pharmacies: Lessons fro Washington State.
July 1, 2001... In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endorsed the use of a combination estrogen and progestin oral contraceptive for emergency postcoital contraception.[1] In 1998, the agency approved the first dedicated emergency contraceptive...

Using Photographs to Strengthen Family Planning Research.
July 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, to...

Levels of Sexual Experience Among U.S. Teenagers Have Declined for the First Time in Three Decades.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The proportion of never-married U.S. teenagers who have had intercourse at least once has fallen for the first time since data collection began in the early 1970s, declining from 56% to 52% between 1988 and 1995.[1] According to analyses based...

A First Pregnancy May Be Difficult to Achieve After Long-Term Use of an IUD.(Statistical Data Included)
July 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...

Preeclampsia and Eclampsia, While Often Preventable, Are Among Top Causes of Pregnancy-Related Deaths.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Preeclampsia and eclampsia were the third leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths between 1979 and 1992, according to an analysis based on nationwide mortality, birth and hospital discharge data.[1] Approximately 1.5 pregnancy-related deaths...

Lesbians Are More Likely Than U.S. Women Overall To Have Risk Factors for Gynecologic and Breast Cancer.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Lesbians and bisexual women in the United States have above-average prevalence rates of several risk factors for breast and gynecologic cancers, according to a study combining data from several lesbian health surveys.[1] A comparison of these...

Health Care Providers' Encouragement Spurs Women to Breastfeed.
July 1, 2001... Three-quarters of American women who give birth are encouraged by a doctor or nurse to breastfeed, and three-fourths of those who receive such encouragement nurse for some period of time. When background characteristics that may influence a...

Boyhood Abuse Increases Men's Risk of Involvement In a Teenager's Pregnancy.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Men who were exposed to abuse or domestic violence in childhood are significantly more likely than others to be involved in a teenage pregnancy, according to a cohort study conducted at a San Diego primary care clinic.[1] Nineteen percent in...

Sexual Intercourse and Orgasm During Late Pregnancy May Have a Protective Effect Against Preterm Delivery.
July 1, 2001... Sexual activity during weeks 29--36 of pregnancy does not increase women's risk of delivering preterm, according to a study of nearly 600 women who visited three prenatal clinics in North Carolina.[1] By contrast, the results suggest that women...

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

Being Underweight Does Not Raise the Risk of Most Pregnancy Complications.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Underweight women are more likely than those of normal weight to have a preterm delivery or a low-birth-weight infant, but their risk of most complications of pregnancy and other poor outcomes is no greater than that of normal-weight women,...

Correction.
July 1, 2001... In "Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward the Pill: Results of a National Survey in Japan" [2001, 33(3): 123-127], two reference numbers in the first full paragraph in the third column of page 126 are incorrect: References 24 and 25 should be 25...