Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health articles from January 2004

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health archives from January 2004

In this issue.(Editorial)
January 1, 2004... In this journal and elsewhere, much has been written by and for professionals whose work focuses on the problem of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among young Americans. No one--not researchers, and certainly not health care professionals...

Sitcom as sex educator?(FYI)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Entertainment television, especially when supplemented by parental discussion, can be "a positive force in the sex education of youth." (1) In 2001, a character on the sitcom Friends had an unintended pregnancy after a single act of intercourse...

Over-the-hill childbearing.(FYI)
January 1, 2004... Childbearing is possible for some women aged 50 and older, but it is associated with risks for both the mother and her infant that exceed those of younger women. (1) Analyses of data on all U.S. births from 1997 to 1999 show that rates of...

Testing, testing ...(FYI)(for HIV)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... HIV testing methods that are less invasive or yield more rapid results than standard laboratory tests could help increase testing among people at risk of infection, but results of a seven-state survey conducted in 2000-2001 suggest that...

The more things change ...(FYI)(Americans' views about teenage sexual behavior)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Americans' views about teenage sexual activity were largely constant between 2001 and 2003, but some fairly dramatic changes occurred, according to results of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy's third annual survey exploring the...

Partner services help detect HIV.(FYI)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... As a result of state-sponsored counseling and referral services for partners of persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection, 610 people in North Carolina underwent HIV testing in 2001; 21% tested positive. (1) Through voluntary, confidential...

Cockeyed optimists.(FYI)(teenagers do not think they will get STDs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Although their general profile suggested high risk, most teenagers interviewed at clinics in Connecticut in 1998-2000 did not consider themselves likely to acquire a sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the near future. (1) On average, the 209...

Two birds with one stone.(FYI)
January 1, 2004... Substituting a vaccine that is active against both hepatitis A and hepatitis B for the hepatitis B vaccine that many public sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics routinely offer clients would prevent a substantial amount of illness, and...

Fine-tuning cesarean risk.(FYI)
January 1, 2004... The risk that a woman will require a cesarean the first time she gives birth varies widely, but some measures that are easily assessed early in labor may be key factors. (1) In a case-control study of 325 nulliparous women who delivered in a...

Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000.
January 1, 2004... CONTEXT: In the United States, young people aged 15-24 represent 25% of the sexually experienced population. However, the incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among this age-group are unknown. METHODS: Data from...

The estimated direct medical cost of sexually transmitted diseases among American youth, 2000.
January 1, 2004... CONTEXT: Each year, millions of U.S. youth acquire sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Estimates of the economic burden of STDs can help to quantify the impact of STDs on the nation's youth and on the payers of the cost of their medical care....

Adolescent clinic visits for contraception: support from mothers, male partners and friends.
January 1, 2004... CONTEXT: To increase effective contraceptive use among adolescents at high risk of pregnancy, it is important to understand what factors influence them to visit a clinic for contraception, including support from their mothers, male partners and...

Characteristics of men receiving vasectomies in the United States, 1998-1999.
January 1, 2004... CONTEXT: Even though vasectomy is a popular method of contraception in the United States, there is limited information on the characteristics of men choosing vasectomy and why they decide to undergo the procedure. METHODS: A nationwide,...

Some teenage mothers place high priority on avoiding repeat pregnancy in their early postpartum months.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Among sexually active adolescents interviewed at urban clinics in Connecticut, (1) those who were pregnant were more likely than those who were not to report consistent use of hormonal contraceptives or dual methods six months later. By 12...

Women with HIV have changing odds of antiretroviral and substance abuse treatment around time of a birth.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Patterns of treatment for HIV infection and substance abuse among pregnant, low-income women with HIV infection or AIDS are likely to change during the months before and after childbirth. (1) In an analysis of matched data from Medicaid records...

Long-term use of female condom may hinge partly on depth of instruction.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... In the month after they were randomly assigned to an intervention that included the female condom in an array of strategies aimed at preventing unprotected intercourse, participants perceived the method to be more effective than nonparticipants...

Relationship type, goals predict the consistency of teenagers' condom use.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Adolescents who consistently use condoms during sex differ from those who do not in terms of the types of relationships in which they are involved, their goals in relationships and their motivations for having sex, according to a 2001 study of...

Maternal mortality risk rises with cesarean birth, falls with prenatal care.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Among the factors associated with maternal mortality, the "most mutable" are those to do with health care services. Two examples are the level of use of prenatal care and the rate of cesarean delivery, according to a population-based...

Reports to police of abuse during pregnancy signal risk of adverse outcomes.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Pregnant women who call the police to report that their partner has physically abused them are at increased risk of a number of adverse birth outcomes.(1) In a population-based study of women who gave birth in Washington State in 1995-1998, the...

Pregnancy outcomes and infant health surfer when a woman's first two children have different fathers.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Norwegian women, like their counterparts in other developed countries, are increasingly changing partners between their first two pregnancies, and evidence from a population-based study suggests that this trend may have adverse implications for...

Odds of single motherhood are increased if a child is valued as a social resource.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Although research on nonmarital fertility has typically focused on economic factors, unmarried women may have children for reasons unrelated to economic motivations. Findings of an analysis of national, longitudinal data (1) suggest that...

Heavy drinking is more strongly related to fetal growth than is bingeing.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Certain patterns of alcohol consumption shortly before conception and late in pregnancy are related to a woman's odds of giving birth to a full-term infant who is small for gestational age, according to an analysis of data from a multi-state...

Current hormone therapy use linked to 30-100% rise in risk of breast cancer.(Digests)
January 1, 2004... Postmenopausal women who use hormone therapy have an increased risk of breast cancer, but the elevation of risk vanes with the type of therapy, finds a nationwide British cohort study. (1) Current users of estrogen-only therapy had a roughly...