Family Planning Perspectives articles from November 2000

Family Planning Perspectives archives from November 2000

What Do the Professionals Know?(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Few health care workers in a multidisciplinary sample surveyed in 1997 said that they knew a lot about adolescent sexuality and pregnancy prevention interventions, but the level of interest in learning more was generally high.[1] The 182...

Nix to Nonoxynol-9 to Prevent HIV.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... In view of research showing that the spermicide nonoxynol-9 does not reduce--and may increase--the risk of HIV transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken the position that the product should not be recommended...

Something New Under the Moon.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The Food and Drug Administration has, for the first time, approved a monthly injectable contraceptive for use by U.S. women.[1] Like most oral contraceptives on the market (but in contrast to the other available injectable, Depo-Provera),...

Boost the Vitamin D.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Despite its many advantages, breast milk contains too little vitamin D to provide babies with the recommended daily requirement; this factor, along with dark-skinned women's increased susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency, may help explain a...

So, About That Pill Scare ...(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Despite a sharp decline in the use of birth control pills containing "third-generation" progestogens after a British advisory committee concluded that these preparations are associated with a doubling in the risk of venous thromboembolism, the...

Prenatal HIV Services Conundrum.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Some features of health care facilities may increase the likelihood that pregnant women will receive counseling about HIV testing but not the likelihood that they will agree to have a test, according to data from a study of 5,900 Connecticut...

Screening Misses Important Group.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The majority of sexually active black teenagers surveyed in a low-income San Francisco neighborhood with a high prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) had not been screened for STDs in the previous year; screening rates were low...

Stem Cell Research: The Rules.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued guidelines for research using human pluripotent stem cells, which can be derived from human embryos and are a potentially invaluable resource for biomedical research because of their ability to...

In Brief.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... * This year's $100 million "illegitimacy bonus," recognizing the nation's largest declines in out-of-wedlock childbearing between 1995-1996 and 1997-1998, has been divided among Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Illinois and Michigan....

Abortion Training in U.S. Obstetrics And Gynecology Residency Programs, 1998.
November 1, 2000... Since the late 1970s, the number of obstetrics and gynecology residency programs in the United States that offer abortion training has dropped steadily.[1] For example, a 1978 study revealed that 26% of programs required residents to perform...

Teenage Abortion and Pregnancy Statistics by State, 1996.
November 1, 2000... Sexual intercourse at young ages is quite common in the United States: Eighty-one percent of women aged 20-24 had sexual intercourse before they were 20.[1] Although sexual activity before age 20 and before marriage has become the norm in...

Beyond Marital Status: Relationship Type and Duration And the Risk of Low Birth Weight.
November 1, 2000... Nonmarital childbearing has increased substantially in the United States: In 1997, 32.4% of births were to unmarried women, compared with 18.4% in 1980.[1] Being unmarried is considered a risk factor for poor birth outcomes because unmarried...

Impact of Perceived Stress, Major Life Events And Pregnancy Attitudes on Low Birth Weight.
November 1, 2000... The lack of progress in reducing low birth weight, the leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity,[1] challenges us to persevere in our examination of potential risk factors. Although by 1997 the U.S. infant mortality rate had declined to...

Heterosexual Genital Sexual Activity Among Adolescent Males: 1988 and 1995.
November 1, 2000... A recent spate of articles by journalists describing patterns of oral sex among middle school students in particular communities has heightened interest in understanding the prevalence of this and other nonvaginal sexual activities among young...

Oral Sex Among Adolescents: Is It Sex or Is It Abstinence?
November 1, 2000... Over the past few decades, nationally representative surveys have accumulated a wealth of data on levels of adolescent sexual activity. Thanks to such surveys, we know how the proportion of 15-19-year-olds who have ever had intercourse has...

Studying the Health Effects of Induced Abortion.
November 1, 2000... A great deal of research has been conducted on the question of possible adverse health effects of induced abortion. Unfortunately, much of it has serious methodological problems or is irrelevant to today's conditions. A careful analysis of the...

Are U.S. Women Interested In Long-Acting Methods?(response to Koray Tanfer, Family Planning Perspective, vol. 32, p. 176)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The article by Koray Tanrer and colleagues [Why are U.S. women not using long-acting contraceptives? 2000, 32(4): 176-183 & 191)] asks worthwhile questions but bases its answers on outdated and incomplete information. The data that they...

Don't Downplay Market For the Hormonal Injectable.(contraceptives)(response to Koray Tanfer, Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 32, p. 176, 2000)
November 1, 2000... As a practicing gynecologist, I would like to offer some comments on the article by Koray Tanfer and colleagues on women's use of injectables and implants [Why are U.S. women not using long-acting contraceptives? 2000, 32(4):176-183 & 191)]....

Pregnancy and Alcohol: Many Obstetrician-Gynecologists Are Unsure About Risks or How to Assess Women's Use.
November 1, 2000... Virtually all obstetrician-gynecologists participating in a national survey ask pregnant women whether they use alcohol; most obtain this information during an initial visit with a patient, a practice recommended by the American College of...

Experts Say Japan's Medical Delivery System Is Partly To Blame for High Level of Maternal Mortality There.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... In 1991-1992, 230 Japanese women died while pregnant or within 42 days after their pregnancy ended; the resulting maternal mortality rate of 9.5 deaths per 100,000 live births is somewhat higher than rates in other developed countries at...

Reproductive Health Services Typically Are Not Part of Male Teenagers' Routine Medical Care.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Adolescent males in the United States do not routinely receive reproductive health services such as counseling by a medical professional and testing for HIV or for other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), even though they are likely to...

Low- and High-Dose Pills Are Equally Protective Against Ovarian Cancer.
November 1, 2000... Women who have ever used the types of oral contraceptives that are common today, which contain low doses of estrogen and progestin, are 50% less likely than never-users of the pill to develop ovarian cancer; this level of protection is...

Changes in Bone Density Associated with the Use Of Hormonal Methods Are Small and Temporary.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Hormonal contraceptives have only small, reversible effects on bone density, according to a multicenter study conducted in Africa, Asia and Latin America.[1] Compared with women who do not use hormonal methods, women who use combined oral...

Neighborhood Economic Conditions Influence AIDS Incidence in Massachusetts.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Between 1988 and 1994, residents of the poorest and most densely populated Massachusetts neighborhoods had a markedly higher incidence of AIDS than those in the least-poor and least-dense communities; the differences amounted to more than 300...

Risk of Delayed Conception Is Sharply Elevated Among Obese Women Who Smoke.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Lean and, to a much greater extent, obese women who smoke require a longer time to conceive than do their normal-weight counterparts, according to the results of a population-based survey conducted in five European countries.[1] The odds that...