Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health articles from March 2004

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health archives from March 2004

In this issue.(Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health )
March 1, 2004... In the debate about the content of and approaches to sex education, one view seems to be almost a given: that parents have the primary responsibility for teaching their daughters and sons about appropriate, safe sexual behavior. But can it be...

If you sell it, will they come?(FYI)(emergency contraceptive pills)
March 1, 2004... Roughly a year after California enacted a law allowing pharmacists to dispense emergency contraceptive pills without a prescription, state residents were largely unaware of this option. (1) In a telephone survey conducted in 2003 among a...

What women need to know.(FYI)
March 1, 2004... Only 59% of U.S. women of reproductive age know that treatment is available to reduce the chance that an HIV-positive woman will transmit the virus to her baby. (1) Using data from the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System,...

Minnesota students just say no to abstinence.(FYI)
March 1, 2004... After taking an abstinence-only sex education course, 12% of students in three Minnesota junior high schools said that they were sexually active--twice the proportion who gave this response before taking the course. (1) A similar pattern is...

When is a test a red flag?(FYI)
March 1, 2004... Teenagers' use of home pregnancy tests may be an indicator of their attitude toward early childbearing, according to findings from a study of 340 sexually active patients at three urban adolescent health clinics. (1) Twenty-eight percent of the...

Money-saving pill regimen.(FYI)
March 1, 2004... An oral contraceptive regimen consisting of 84 days of hormonally active pills followed by a seven-day pill-free interval could be less costly to users and society than the standard regimen of 27 days of active pills followed by a weeklong...

Smoking is hazardous to ...(FYI)
March 1, 2004... Smoking is harmful to sexual and reproductive health, in men and women, from puberty onward; this is the message of a report issued by the British Medical Association in February 2004. (1) Using the most up-to-date data, researchers estimated...

Catch the wave, prevent miscarriage?(FYI)
March 1, 2004... Doppler ultrasound, a more sensitive technology than conventional ultrasound, can detect congestive heart failure in a six-week-old embryo, according to a study based on results for 1,530 pregnant women. (1) Embryonic congestive heart failure...

Men, women and HIV.(FYI)
March 1, 2004... In 29 states with name-based reporting of HIV or AIDS, 35% of newly diagnosed HIV infections reported among individuals aged 13 and older in 1999-2002 were acquired through heterosexual contact. (1) According to an analysis by the Centers for...

In response to research indicating that nonoxynol-9 may increase women's risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases by damaging the lining of the vagina and cervix, the manufacturer of Durex condoms has stopped making condoms containing the spermicide.
March 1, 2004... In response to research indicating that nonoxynol-9 may increase women's risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases by damaging the lining of the vagina and cervix, the manufacturer of Durex condoms has stopped making condoms...

The second edition of State Minor Consent Laws: A Summary is available from the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law.
March 1, 2004... The second edition of State Minor Consent Laws: A Summary is available from the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law. The monograph describes relevant laws in each state and the District of Columbia, includes information about the legal...

New Frontiers in Contraceptive Research: A Blueprint for Action can be purchased or read online at www.nap.edu.
March 1, 2004... New Frontiers in Contraceptive Research: A Blueprint for Action can be purchased or read online at www.nap.edu. The report, by an Institute of Medicine committee, reviews advances in contraceptive research and presents recommendations aimed at...

Parents' beliefs about condoms and oral contraceptives: are they medically accurate?
March 1, 2004... National and local debates persist about the appropriate content of school-based sex education. Meanwhile, a patchwork of federal, state and local laws mandate the teaching of certain topics and forbid the teaching of others. Amid this ongoing...

Attitudes and intentions of future health care providers toward abortion provision.
March 1, 2004... Women have long used various techniques to terminate unwanted pregnancies--whether abortion has been accessible, safe or legal. (1) Currently, more than one-fifth of all pregnancies (2) and half of unintended pregnancies in the United States...

Acceptability of the vaginal diaphragm among current users.
March 1, 2004... The development of methods that women can use to protect themselves against HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) * is an emerging public health priority. Despite efforts to develop chemical barrier methods that women can...

U.S. insurance coverage of contraceptives and the impact of contraceptive coverage mandates, 2002.
March 1, 2004... In the early 1990s, private health insurance plans covered prescription contraceptives much less frequently than they did other prescription drugs and devices. (1) Since then, policymakers and advocates have attempted to eliminate this...

The HIPAA privacy rule and adolescents: legal questions and clinical challenges.(Comment)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
March 1, 2004... In August 2002, a new federal rule took effect that protects the privacy of individuals' health information and medical records. (1) The rule, which is based on requirements contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...

Source and perceived quality of information are linked to users' odds of discontinuing hormone therapy.(Digests)
March 1, 2004... In the 6-8 months after publication of findings from the Women's Health Initiative on the risks associated with postmenopausal hormone therapy, more than half of women in a large California health plan who had been regularly using hormone...

Power in relationship and pressure to have sex may affect women's use of emergency contraception.(Digests)
March 1, 2004... The power dynamics in a relationship and pressure to have sex may be associated with a woman's decision to use emergency contraception. (1) In a clinic-based survey of women aged 15-30 years, the likelihood of emergency contraception use was...

Teenage pregnancy risk rises with childhood exposure to family strife.(Digests)
March 1, 2004... Women exposed to abuse, violence and family strife in childhood are more likely than those without such experiences to have a teenage pregnancy; the greater the number of adverse childhood experiences, the higher the likelihood of pregnancy,...

Risk of pregnancy-related death is sharply elevated for women 35 and older.(Digests)
March 1, 2004... Women aged 35 or older have a risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes almost three times as high as that among women aged 25-29. (1) According to a population-based study among U.S. women, the risk is roughly twice as high for women aged...

Family planning clinic visits presents opportunities for providers to screen for mental health problems.(Digests)
March 1, 2004... Depression is not uncommon among women attending family planning clinics, and its association with sexual and reproductive health characteristics suggests that obstetricians and gynecologists are well situated to identify women with mood...

Sexual inexperience does not preclude some risk of bacterial vaginosis.(Digests)
March 1, 2004... Bacterial vaginosis occurs among substantial proportions of healthy, nonpregnant young women, regardless of whether they have ever had intercourse. (1) Almost three in 10 sexually experienced women in a sample tested in 1999-2000 and one in...

Most women are unlikely to experience premenstrual mood change with pill use.(Digests)
March 1, 2004... For most women, pill use has no impact on premenstrual mood symptoms, according to a community-based study of women from the Boston area. (1) Roughly three-quarters of participants (71%) reported that premenstrual mood symptoms neither improved...