Reproductive Health Matters articles from May 2006

Reproductive Health Matters archives from May 2006

Human resources: an impersonal term for the people providing health care.(Editorial)
May 1, 2006... THE subject of this journal issue is a crucial one, and the papers speak eloquently of the importance of health care providers to well-functioning health services, measured through their training and skills level, the extent of managerial...

Health systems and access to antiretroviral drugs for HIV in Southern Africa: service delivery and human resources challenges.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Without strengthened health systems, significant access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in many developing countries is unlikely to be achieved. This paper reflects on systemic challenges to scaling up ARV access in countries with...

Health system strengthening and scaling up antiretroviral therapy: the need for context-specific delivery models: comment on Schneider et al.
May 1, 2006... IN this issue Schneider and colleagues (1) point to some of the health system challenges for scaling up antiretroviral (ARV) therapy to the majority of the people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHAs) who will need it over the coming years. They...

Tackling Malawi's human resources crisis.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: In sub-Saharan Africa, health systems are fragile and staffing is grossly inadequate to meet rising health needs. Despite growing international attention, donors have been reluctant to undertake the significant investments required to...

The implications of shortages of health professionals for maternal health in sub-Saharan Africa.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: This paper discusses the implications of shortages of midwives, nurses and doctors for maternal health and health services in sub-Saharan Africa, and inequitable distribution of maternal health professionals between geographic areas...

Attending home vs. clinic-based deliveries: perspectives of skilled birth attendants in Matlab, Bangladesh.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: In an effort to make skilled attendance at birth more accessible, some countries in Asia have begun major initiatives to promote the option of home delivery with a midwife. Yet there is little empirical evidence from the region to...

Implementation of emergency obstetric care training in Bangladesh: lessons learned.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: The Women's Right to Life and Health project aimed to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in Bangladesh through provision of comprehensive emergency obstetric care (EmOC) in the country's district and sub-district hospitals. Human...

Village family planning volunteers in Indonesia: their role in the family planning programme.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Family planning was once a sensitive issue in Indonesia, but today it is considered essential. This paper reports on a study in 1997-98 of the role of village family planning volunteers and the cadres who worked under them in West...

Midwives in Morocco: seeking recognition as skilled partners in women-centred maternity care.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Around the world, midwives are increasingly being called upon to provide skilled care for pregnant women and newborns. In Morocco, there is a persistent lack of professional recognition of midwifery, which is consistent with...

Health sector reform and sexual and reproductive health services in Mongolia.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Since its transition to democracy, Mongolia has undergone a series of reforms, both at national level and in the health sector. This paper examines the pace and scope of these reforms, the ways in which they have impacted on sexual...

A community health programme in rural Tamil Nadu, India: the need for gender justice for women.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: This article highlights the efforts of the Community Health and Development [CHAD) Programme of Christian Medical College to address the issues of gender discrimination and improve the status of women in the Kaniyambadi Block,...

Blood blockages and scolding nurses: barriers to adolescent contraceptive use in South Africa.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: A third of adolescent girls in South Africa become pregnant before the age of 20, despite contraception being free and mostly accessible. This qualitative study was undertaken in Limpopo Province in 1997 on the barriers to adolescent...

Nurse-midwives' attitudes towards adolescent sexual and reproductive health needs in Kenya and Zambia.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Adolescent sexuality is a highly charged moral issue in Kenya and Zambia. Nursemidwives are the core health care providers of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services but public health facilities are under-utilised by...

Confidentiality for adolescents seeking reproductive health care in Lithuania: the perceptions of general practitioners.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Confidentiality is a major determinant of the accessibility and acceptability of sexual and reproductive health care for adolescents. Previous research has revealed that Lithuanian adolescents lack confidence in guarantees of...

Scaling up post-abortion care in Guatemala: initial successes at national level.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: This article describes a programme to scale up post-abortion care services in 22 of the 33 public sector district hospitals in Guatemala from July 2003 to December 2004. The main interventions included strengthening the knowledge and...

Ethical guidelines on conscientious objection: FIGO Committee for the Ethical Aspects of Human Reproduction and Women's Health.(Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
May 1, 2006... The International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FIGO) Committee for the Ethical Aspects of Human Reproduction and Women's Health considers the ethical aspects of issues that impact the discipline of obstetrics, gynecology and...

One reason why maternal mortality is not decreasing.
May 1, 2006... HERE is a true story about a young doctor, a colleague of mine, that took place in 2004. This colleague, just out of medical school in an industrialised country, was in an African country to discuss the possibility of doing a study on maternal...

Emerging changes in reproductive behaviour among married adolescent girls in an urban slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Structural and social inequalities, a harsh political economy and neglect on the part of the state have made married adolescent girls an extremely vulnerable group in the urban slum environment in Bangladesh. The importance placed on...

Abortion and sex determination: conflicting messages in information materials in a district of Rajasthan, India.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Public information campaigns are an integral component of reproductive health programmes, including on abortion. In India, where sex selective abortion is increasing, public information is being disseminated on the illegality of sex...

Determinants of high sex ratio among newborns: a cohort study from rural Anhui province, China.(induced abortion)
May 1, 2006... Abstract: This study analysed the relative contributions of three possible determinants to the high sex ratio among newborns in rural China--under-reporting of female births, abortions of female fetuses and excess early female neonatal...

Born unwanted, 35 years later: the Prague Study.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: A long-held belief among mental health practitioners is that being born unwanted carries a risk of negative psychosocial development and poor mental health in adulthood. The Prague Study was designed to test this hypothesis. It...

Addressing Japan's fertility decline: influences of unintended pregnancy on child rearing.
May 1, 2006... Abstract: Japan has been experiencing a continuing decline in fertility and an increase in premarital conceptions and abortions among young people. Child rearing is often viewed as a burden. In response, Japan is now seeking ways to improve the...

Research needed to identify effective strategies to improve health worker performance.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Inadequate health worker performance is a widespread problem which arises from a complex interaction of factors that include levels of knowledge, skills, pay, status, type of patient illness, quality of facilities and corruption. In low-and...

Developing the role of the sexual health nurse in the UK.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Nurses working in specialist services such as family planning clinics in the UK National Health Service are ideally placed to gain advanced levels of skills and practice, yet there is no formal structure for this process. Sexual health nursing...

Human resources are not the only factor affecting maternal health outcomes.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Maternal health care relies on the entire health system. Case studies from four diverse health settings--Bangladesh, Russia, South Africa and Uganda--have been used to define those aspects of a health system which affect maternal health...

Human resource and technical requirements for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).(ROUND UP: Human Resources)
May 1, 2006... Five possible approaches to estimating human resource requirements for health are: needs-based estimates, utilisation or demand-based estimates based on current levels, health worker-per-population ratios, service targets for the delivery of...

Physicians and nurses on the move.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)
May 1, 2006... Lower-income countries supply 40-75% of the international medical graduates who in turn constitute 23-28% of physicians in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Only in three of the remaining 26 OECD (Organization for...

The unmanaged crisis of health worker migration.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)
May 1, 2006... This Lancet paper calls on developed countries and WHO to agree criteria for minimum national health training targets for all developing countries so that continuing loss of health workers from these countries can be brought under control. (1)...

Dual job-holding by health professionals.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In resource-poor settings, dual job-holding in the public and private health sectors by physicians and other health professionals is common, reflecting limited public sector resources, low pay and limited governmental capacity to regulate the...

Brazil and Peru consult with their people to set health agenda.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In November 2004 in the northern coastal region of Peru, a referendum of over 123,000 people asked them to rank health issues in order of importance, one of which was maternal health problems. Referendums were organised in three other regions...

What determines the place of residence of auxiliary nurse-midwives (ANMs) in southern Rajasthan, India.(ROUND UP: Human Resources)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In India, the performance and quality of health care in rural areas is dependent to a great degree on auxiliary nurse-midwives (ANMs), who act as the interface between the health system and the community. A single ANM manages the rural health...

Salvador Allende and the birth of Latin American social medicine.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Salvador Allende, late president of Chile and a pathologist, practised as a physician during the 1920s and 30s when social medicine flourished in Chile, partly as a response to the demands of the labour movement. In 1939, as Minister of Health...

New Global Fund needed to meet goals on maternal, neonatal and child survival.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Millennium Development Goals on maternal, neonatal and child health will not be achieved unless the large shortfall in funding to these areas is addressed. Lack of resources has been highlighted in reports by both the World Bank and WHO....

Impact of maternal health service financing must be evaluated.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Different methods of financing maternal health services have a direct impact on health service utilisation and health status. Any successful scheme, whether using direct payment or indirect payment methods, including community insurance...

Poverty and conflict contribute to high maternal and perinatal mortality in Chiapas, Mexico.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
May 1, 2006... A combination of long-standing poverty and intra-community divisions, exacerbated by armed conflict, are likely to be the main cause of high maternal and perinatal mortality rates and poor access to emergency obstetric services in Chiapas,...

Saving the lives of six million children each year is affordable.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Achieving the Millennium Development Goal of a two-thirds reduction in child mortality is affordable. It would cost US$5.1 billion to provide preventive interventions in the 42 countries in which 90% of child deaths take place, saving the lives...

Gates's "Grand Challenges" in global health based on a flawed premise.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made US$200 million available in research grants to those working on solutions to health problems in the developing world. 14 "Grand Challenges", grouped into seven goals, include improvements in...

Mandatory parental involvement in adolescent abortion puts young people at risk in the US.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Legislation in a growing number of US states to mandate parental involvement in adolescents' access to abortion is putting young people at risk. Attempts to reduce the adolescent abortion rate by making access dependent on notification (and in...

Egalitarian marriage laws still an objective in many countries.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A comparison of laws in 63 countries in 1938 and 192 countries in 2003 analysing legal codes, case studies and reports submitted to the LIN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, found that 83 countries now...

Guidelines adopted on mercy killing of incurably sick newborns, Netherlands.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Dutch Paediatric Society has adopted protocols to allow the deliberate ending of life in incurably sick newborns who are severely suffering. Two doctors must agree a diagnosis and the prognosis that no treatment can relieve the baby's...

Financial incentive for women in France to have third baby.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The French government is to increase financial benefits to women taking time off work to care for a third baby. The benefit, worth up to 1,000 [euro] per month to those on high salaries, is designed to be an incentive to professional women to...

Informed choice policy helps reduce sex ratio imbalance: Hainan, China.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A pilot project in Changjiang county, Hainan Province, China, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has been so successful that it has been adopted by the entire province. The initiative was aimed at increasing informed...

Education needed to eradicate female genital mutilation.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Activists campaigning against female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone say that education is the best way to stop the practice. Mass literacy campaigns would empower girls to "say no". Educating the practitioners who carry out the operations...

Reducing multiple pregnancy in IVF treatment.(in vitro fertilisation)
May 1, 2006... The most common complication of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is multiple pregnancy, which occurs in 25% of pregnancies following the transfer of two embryos. In many countries, there have been calls for the practice of implanting multiple...

Sperm donor father traced on Internet.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A 15-year-old boy was able to trace his sperm donor father using genetic information from a swab taken from the inside of his cheek. After making his own genetic code available on a genealogy website, he was contacted by two men with genetic...

Children of open-identity sperm donors comfortable and curious.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The majority of young people with open-identity sperm donors are comfortable with their origins and plan to obtain their donor's identity. Children of single parents, lesbian couples and heterosexual couples were largely positive about their...

Families created by gamete donation have healthy relationships.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Mothers who conceived a child by donor insemination or egg donation are likely to show greater pleasure in their child, but also perceive their child as more vulnerable than those mothers whose child was the result of natural conception. Those...

Resemblance talk difficult for parents of children conceived with donor gametes, United States.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Parents, interviewed in this study of 148 heterosexual couples who had conceived using donor insemination or egg donation, said that discussion of resemblance between parents and children or "resemblance talk" was difficult for them. There was...

Recruitment of identifiable semen donors is possible: UK.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
May 1, 2006... Of 84 men who donated sperm anonymously between 1988 and 2002 at Kings College Hospital, London, 32 participated in a study in 2004 of whether they would have agreed to donate sperm had they not been guaranteed anonymity. 50% said that they...

The decision whether to donate or discard unused embryos: Australia.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A study was carried out among 12 couples and nine women who had attended a hospital clinic in Adelaide, Australia for frozen embryo transfer, to find out why they had agreed to donate unused embryos to others and had changed their minds...

Health, human rights and Islam in Yemen's health policy.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Health, human rights and Islam are complementary. Not only are there no religious grounds for opposing human rights approaches to public health issues in predominantly Muslim countries, but rights-based work that improves public health is...

Integrating sexual and reproductive health care in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Patients in this study of providers and patients in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, saw the benefits of integrating sexual and reproductive health services. The majority of those presenting for family planning (68%) and for maternal and child...

Low-income women accessing less reproductive health care: US.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A survey of access to health services among 2,766 women in the US looked at barriers to health care, health care costs and medical insurance, relationship to health care providers and role in maintaining family health. As regards sexual health...

Improving access to sexual health care and increased screening for chlamydia: UK.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 1, 2006... The UK Department of Health is investing 300 million [pounds sterling] over the next three years in an attempt to overcome a huge shortfall in sexual health provision. Only a quarter of patients are able to access an appointment for advice and...

Management of ovarian cancer: US.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Cancer of the ovary is a relatively uncommon gynaecological cancer, with about 25,000 new cases and 16,000 deaths a year in the US. Most patients present at an advanced stage of the disease which is managed with surgery and chemotherapy. The...

Many Mexican obstetrician-gynaecologists treating cervical dysplasia with hysterectomy.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A study in Mexico of 1,206 general practitioners and obstetrician-gynaecologists working in a nationally representative sample of public and private facilities in urban Mexico were asked about their knowledge and management of human...

Care of rape survivors could be improved: South Africa.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The best quality of care is offered to survivors of rape by older health workers who have more experience, who work in facilities with protocols for treatment and care and who perceive rape to be a serious medical problem. In this study of the...

IVF provision variable in Europe.(In vitro fertilisation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In vitro fertilisation (IVF) has become one of the key treatments for couples with fertility problems yet provision of IVF varies enormously across Europe. In Denmark 4.1% of infants are born through assisted reproduction techniques mirroring...

Options for preserving fertility in women.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... This review of studies of the range of techniques for overcoming premature ovarian failure found that cryopreservation (freezing) offers several options. These include cryopreservation of ova, ovarian tissue or embryos. Premature ovarian...

"Health literacy" important for US patients.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A telephone survey of 957 adults in the United States highlighted their lack of "health literacy", that is, their capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services. Health professionals need to recognise that an...

Unsafe second trimester abortions cause most abortion deaths: Russia.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Unsafe abortion is rare in Europe, accounting for about 300 of the estimated 68,000 worldwide maternal deaths per year. Most of the European fatalities occur in Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, which is responsible for the most number of...

Post-abortion care and contraceptive provision: Tanzania and Latin America.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Many women need treatment for complications of unsafe abortion in Tanzania, and there is a need for provision of contraception with post-abortion care to prevent further unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions. In this study 1,356 women...

Emergency contraception: UK, US and Arab world.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 1, 2006... Emergency contraception has been available over the counter in the UK since 2001. This study analysed data from a multipurpose survey of 7,600 adults living in private households, and examined the impact of availability of over-the-counter...

Copper TCu 380A IUD: long-term reversible method.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The TCu 380A IUD is among the most effective, reversible and long-term methods of contraception and has a low cost and low rate of serious complications. For these reasons, it is the most widely used copper IUD worldwide. This study from Brazil...

Using peer researchers to inform safe motherhood strategies in Nepal.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 1, 2006... Key informant monitoring is a mechanism for gathering information from a population using peer researchers from that population, an approach which is particularly useful in highly stratified societies as interviewees are more likely to talk...

Emergency obstetric care in Bolivia, El Salvador and Honduras.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Evaluation of emergency obstetric care in Bolivia, El Salvador and Honduras shows uneven distribution of facilities. In El Salvador there are twice as many functioning comprehensive facilities as needed for the population (28 compared to the 13...

Maternal mortality very high in Afghanistan.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Almost half (154/357) of the deaths of women of reproductive age (15-49) from four provinces of Afghanistan were related to complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperal period. Outside the capital Kabul, deaths from maternal...

Maternal mortality: Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Pakistan.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 1, 2006... With reference to a PhD student's experience in Nigeria, an editorial manages to personalise the consequences of global failure to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters by 2015. In Nigeria there...

Knowledge and use of evidence-based pregnancy management in north-west Cameroon low.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Evidence-based interventions that could greatly reduce perinatal and maternal mortality are underused by health workers in Cameroon. This descriptive survey of 328 reproductive health workers in 14 health regions looked at awareness and use of...

Guidelines for vaginal birth after previous caesarean section.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... These evidence-based guidelines for the provision of a trial of labour after caesarean section have been produced by the Canadian Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and are based on the outcome of a MEDLINE search for relevant articles...

Preventing postnatal depression.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Postnatal depression is a major health issue with well-documented consequences for mothers, children and families. Women who have postnatal depression are significantly more likely to experience future episodes of depression. Infants and...

An ethnography of Egyptian women in labour.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The quality of care received by pregnant women is an important measure of any health care system and depends on the philosophy of those providing care. This ethnographic study explored the intrapartum care of women expecting normal births in an...

Experiences of first trimester antenatal screening.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... While second-trimester screening for Down's syndrome and neural tube defects are well-established in antenatal care, increasingly first trimester screening with biochemical and ultrasound markers is proposed, yielding higher detection rates of...

Unavailability of magnesium sulphate for the treatment of eclampsia and pre-eclampsia: Mozambique and Zimbabwe.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Ensuring the availability of effective drugs for priority health problems remains a key public health issue in many African countries. An example is provided in relation to the management of eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, important causes of...

Removing user fees in Africa.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... User fees are the most regressive form of health care financing, contributing as they do to unaffordable cost burdens on poor households. Even when fees are low, they contribute to inappropriate (and inadequate) self-treatment and may act as a...

200 million condoms sold in Nigeria.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In a triumph for the acceptance of condoms, the Nigerian National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) has announced that 200 million condoms have been used over the last four years. An estimated 83% of commercial sex workers now use or insist on...

Nine out of ten condom users in Benin do not know the correct way to use them.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Some 314 female sex workers and 208 men in Benin were interviewed and asked to demonstrate on a wooden penis how they usually used male condoms. Using four criteria--tearing open the envelope at the notch, finding the correct side, holding the...

Clients of sex workers in Cambodia fail to use condoms with their girlfriends.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Clients of sex workers (468) from 30 brothels in Cambodia were interviewed and had blood collected to investigate their role as possible bridges in the transmission of HIV to the general population. The prevalence of HIV among the men was high...

Foreign clients of Singapore sex workers are less likely to use condoms than local clients.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A cohort of 677 migrant workers from other parts of Asia and 133 local workers, recruited from the streets and brothels of Singapore, were surveyed as to condom use with women sex workers. Foreign clients were more likely than locals to be...

Using condoms protects from criminal prosecution in New Zealand.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A New Zealand judge has ruled that an HIV-positive man cannot be prosecuted under New Zealand law for "criminal nuisance" after nondisclosure of his HIV status because he used a condom for vaginal sex, and because unprotected oral sex without...

Barriers to condom use in Mongolia.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Although there have been very few reported cases of HIV in Mongolia, it is probable that HIV infection will become more prevalent, as half of the population is under 20 and there is an increasing rate of sexually transmitted infections in young...

Pregnancy increases the risk of acquiring HIV irrespective of other indicators: Uganda.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2006... The risk of acquiring HIV infection during pregnancy is more than double that at other times. A Ugandan study of 2,188 HIV-negative sexually active pregnant women, compared with 2,887 breast-feeding women and 8,473 control women clearly showed...

Vietnamese women decline HIV testing or fail to return for their results.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Just over half (53%) of 500 women at an antenatal clinic in Hai-Phong, Vietnam, accepted an offer of HIV testing. Those who declined gave a range of reasons for refusing including: testing should not be provided, only high-risk women need...

Antiretroviral therapy for mothers reduces HIV transmission through breastmilk.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 1, 2006... The efficacy of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive mothers in reducing mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy and childbirth is well established yet there are few studies comparing the risks for different antiretroviral therapy...