Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health articles from March 2009

Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health archives from March 2009

Disappointing results for peer-led sex education.(FYI)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... A peer-led sex education program in England had no effect on students' behavior in up to seven years of follow-up. (1) In a trial of the program, 27 schools, with a total of more than 9,000 students, were randomized to provide either the...

Teenager see, teenager do?(FYI)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... Teenagers who watch TV shows with a lot of sexual content have an elevated risk of being involved in a pregnancy before they are 20 years old, according to results of a national longitudinal study. (1) The study was based on telephone...

Intention status predicts maternal behavior.(FYI)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... Maryland women who had a live birth between 2001 and 2006 were more likely to engage in unhealthy pregnancy-related behavior before, during and after pregnancy if they had not intended to conceive than if they had. (1) An analysis of data from...

Is more leave better?(FYI)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... The European Commission plans to raise the minimum length of paid maternity leave from 14 to 18 continuous weeks--six weeks of mandatory leave after childbirth and 12 weeks before or after, at the parents' discretion. (1) According to a draft...

Squeaking by on prematurity.(FYI)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... To help raise awareness of "the growing crisis of preterm birth" in the United States, the March of Dimes has released its first Premature Birth Report Card, and the news is not good: As a nation, we are barely passing. (1) Under Healthy People...

Guidelines for preventing Vertical HIV transmission.(FYI)(human immunodeficiency virus)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... Despite the availability of interventions that can prevent HIV infection from being transmitted from a mother to her newborn, vertical transmission still occurs in the United States--mainly because HIV-positive women are not always identified...

So, like, teenagers don't know everything?(FYI)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... Eighty percent of 11th and 12th graders surveyed in Toronto in 2006 said that they know what infertility is, but their grasp of the subject was shaky. (1) For instance, nearly four in five thought that infertility affects only women, and three...

Labor's pain's lost.(FYI)(Abstract)
March 1, 2009... Women's memory of labor pain appears to fade over time, unless they viewed childbirth overall as a negative experience. (1) In a cohort study of 1,383 Swedish women who gave birth in 1999-2000, participants' average rating of the intensity of...

Incarcerated women and abortion provision: a survey of correctional health providers.(Report)
March 1, 2009... On October 20, 2005, a woman incarcerated at a Missouri state prison in Vandalia, 80 miles south of St. Louis, was transported to a St. Louis abortion provider for a second-trimester abortion. While her procedure was medically uncomplicated, it...

Taking be proud! Be Responsible! to the suburbs: a replication study.(Report)
March 1, 2009... Because minority adolescents and those living in impoverished areas have an increased risk of contracting HIV and other STDs, (1) prevention programs directed at urban, at-risk youth have received considerable attention. (2) As a result, many...

They "miss more than anything their normal life back home": masculinity and extramarital sex among Mexican migrants in Atlanta.
March 1, 2009... Circular patterns of labor migration between Mexico and the United States play a significant role in Mexico's rural HIV epidemic. (1-6) Migrants' vulnerability to HIV partly reflects that migrants tend to be young men with little formal...

Sexual insistence and disliked sexual activities in young adulthood: differences by gender and relationship characteristics.(Report)
March 1, 2009... When partners differ in their desire for sexual activity, conflict may ensue until one partner prevails. The partner who does not want sex may avoid the activity by using tactics ranging from gentle persuasion to firm refusal. Alternatively,...

Trends in family planning in Russia, 1994-2003.(Report)
March 1, 2009... Internationally, high abortion rates often are considered an indication that women's access to effective contraceptives is inadequate. (1) In Russia, rates of induced abortion have long been high, (2-4) and abortion-related complications are...

Contraceptive use and abortion among women of reproductive age in St. Petersburg, Russia.(Report)
March 1, 2009... Over the last several years, Russia has had one of the highest rates of induced abortions in the Baltic region, in addition to a comparatively low use of reliable contraceptives. (1) Although medical personnel generally discuss the use of...

Abortion access for incarcerated women: are correctional health practices in conflict with constitutional standards?(VIEWPOINT)(Viewpoint essay)
March 1, 2009... Does a pregnant woman who is in prison or jail still have the constitutional right to decide whether to continue her pregnancy or to have an abortion? The simple legal answer is yes. Of course, this provides little, if any, insight into what...

Virginity pledgers are just as likely as matched nonpledgers to report premarital intercourse.(DIGESTS)
March 1, 2009... Youth who took a virginity pledge reported a similar level of sexual intercourse to that of closely matched nonpledging youth in a longitudinal study that assessed outcomes five years after pledging. (1) Three-fourths of both pledgers and...

West Indian immigrants, U.S.-born blacks have different STD risk profiles.(DIGESTS)
March 1, 2009... West Indian-born black men attending two New York City STD clinics were less likely than U.S.-born black men to report a number of behaviors that potentially increase the risk of acquiring STDs, including having casual and onetime partners. (1)...

Sexual partnerships in Britain: characteristics differ by gender and predict likelihood of condom use.(Digests)
March 1, 2009... Men and women in Britain report many differences in the characteristics of their heterosexual partnerships, and some differences in partnership characteristics are reflected in the likelihood of risky behavior. For example, men are more likely...

Abortion or pill access is associated with lower birthrates among minors.(Digests)
March 1, 2009... The existence of state-level restrictions on minors' legal ability to obtain abortions or oral contraceptives in the 1960s and 1970s appears to have influenced their fertility, according to a study of birthrates among 15-21-year-olds during...

Heterosexual anal sex is common among STD clinic clients, but is frequently not protected by condom use.(Digests)
March 1, 2009... During the year following a visit to one of three public STD clinics, clients who returned for follow-up visits frequently reported engaging in heterosexual anal sex, mostly without using condoms. (1) Multivariate analyses identified several...

Pediatricians' support of breast-feeding is linked to their experience with it.(Digests)
March 1, 2009... Pediatricians' attitudes toward breast-feeding have worsened over time, according to a national study. (1) Although a higher proportion of pediatricians surveyed in 2004 than in 1995 recommended exclusive breast-feeding (74% vs. 65%), lower...