Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health articles from July 2002

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health archives from July 2002

Mifepristone on the (mis?)information superhighway. (FYI).(inaccurate abortion information on the web)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Women who search the Web to learn about medical abortion using mifepristone may not get a complete, objective picture, according to a review of 40 consumer-oriented Web sites providing detailed information about the procedure. (1) Regardless of...

How do children do after in vitro? (FYI).(risk for developmental neurological problems increased)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Children born after in vitro fertilization have elevated odds of developing neurological problems, according to a Swedish population-based study. (1) Of 5,680 children born to women who underwent in vitro fertilization between 1982 and 1995, 2%...

Must-see TV? (FYI).(teenagers on sex in television)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Three-quarters of 15-17-year-olds polled in April 2002 said that TV portrayals of sexual situations have an appreciable influence on the sexual behavior of youth their age, but only one in five said that what they see on TV influences their own...

Swiss movement. (FYI).(abortion law in Switzerland)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... As the result of a referendum held in June, women in Switzerland will soon be able to get a legal abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy simply by requesting it in writing and agreeing to receive counseling and medical advice. (1)...

Medical abortion: decisions, decisions. (FYI).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Two medical abortion regimens, one using methotrexate followed by misoprostol and the other using mifepristone followed by misoprostol, had generally similar profiles with respect to effectiveness, side effects, complications and acceptability...

Condoms as a political tool. (FYI).(political slogans on condoms)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Last issue's FYI reported on new, tony vending machines selling female condoms in Paris, which were installed as part of President Jacques Chirac's efforts to win women's votes in this spring's election. Now comes word that as nationwide...

U.S. teenage birthrate continues to fall. (FYI).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... For the 10th consecutive year, the birthrate among U.S. women aged 15-19 declined between 2000 and 2001; the 5% drop brought the rate to an all-time low of 45.9 births per 1,000 teenagers. (1) The decline was greater among 15-17-year-olds (8%)...

Heaviest women have the most pill failures. (FYI).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... A woman's weight may affect how well oral contraceptives work for her, according to results of a retrospective cohort analysis of 755 randomly selected members of a health maintenance organization in Washington State. (1) In the course of...

What is welfare reform doing for teenagers? (FYI).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Teenage women in the post-welfare reform era are less likely than their counterparts of two decades ago ever to have received welfare, and they have better outcomes related to welfare use, according to analyses of data from the 1979 and 1997...

Is lack of sexual assertiveness among adolescent and young adult women a cause for concern? (Articles).
July 1, 2002... An important part of adolescence is the development of sexuality and the achievement of good sexual health. Sexual development is characterized by the acquisition of skills used to control feelings of sexual arousal and to manage the...

The transition of adolescent males to first sexual intercourse: anticipated or delayed? (Articles).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... The initiation of sexual activity is important in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. (1) Early initiation of intercourse, however, increases the risk of premarital pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) among teenagers. To...

25 years ago in Perspectives.(female contraceptive use and family planning services efficiency)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... In the July/August 1977 issue of Perspectives, researchers reported that medical family planning services provided by organized--and mostly publicly funded--programs or private physicians greatly increased the effectiveness with which women...

Factors affecting British teenagers' contraceptive use at first intercourse: the importance of partner communication. (Articles).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... The teenage birthrate in the United Kingdom is the highest in western Europe--it is twice that in Germany, three times that in France and six times that in the Netherlands, (1) and shows few signs of experiencing any sustained declines. In...

Consequences for infants of parental disagreement in pregnancy intention. (Articles).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... What are the consequences for infants' health and development of disagreement in fertility intentions between parents? Is it better to be born as the result of a pregnancy that at least one parent intended or one that neither parent intended?...

The extent of pregnancy mistiming and its association with maternal characteristics and behaviors and pregnancy outcomes. (Research Note).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Over the last several decades, researchers and policymakers have devoted considerable attention to women's pregnancy intentions. Interest in the issue originated in concerns about declining, and later increasing, fertility and the need to...

Sexual assertiveness and adolescents' sexual rights. (Viewpoint).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Consider this: By at least some estimates, one in three teenage women will be in a controlling, abusive relationship before she graduates from high school; two-thirds of college freshman women report having been date-raped or having experienced...

Long-term pill use, high parity raise cervical cancer risk among women with human papillomavirus infection. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Use of oral contraceptives for five years or more appears to raise the risk of cervical cancer among women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV). The odds of developing cervical cancer are nearly tripled among women who used the pill for 5-9...

HIV-related stigma falls, but some misperceptions about transmission persist. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The level of stigmatization associated with HIV and AIDS has been declining within the United States, but the proportion of the public who hold misperceptions about how HIV is transmitted is rising. A national telephone survey of adults has...

Not all infants born to women with preeclampsia are low-birth-weight; gestational age is a key factor. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Infants born at term to mothers with preeclampsia have similar birth weights, on average, to those of infants born to women who do not experience this condition; however, infants born preterm to mothers with preeclampsia weigh significantly...

Circumcision may lower risk of both acquiring and transmitting HPV. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Circumcised men are less likely than uncircumcised men to have penile human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and female partners of men who engage in risky sexual behavior have a reduced likelihood of having cervical cancer if the man is...

Jail-based syphilis services can benefit both arrestees and the larger community. (Digests).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Programs offering routine testing and treatment for syphilis in jails can help prevent transmission of the disease by identifying infected individuals and treating them before they return to the community, a study conducted in Louisiana...

Prenatal cocaine and opiate use are linked to a wide variety of health hazards. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Women who use cocaine or opiates during pregnancy are at elevated risk of a number of high-risk conditions and behaviors. (1) Data collected at four clinical centers in the United States indicate that compared with women who were not exposed to...

Risk of low or very low birth weight rises after assisted reproduction. (Digests).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Infants conceived with the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are more likely than infants in the general population to have low or very low birth weight, a large population-based study reveals. (1) The increased prevalence of low or...

Chlamydia rates in public clinics: repeat infections exceed new diagnoses. (Digests).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Repeat infection with chlamydia appears to be a substantial problem among clients of public sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics, and continued exposure to the same infected partner may be a key factor, according to analyses of data from...