Serious birth complications rising in the U.S

Severe complications from childbirth are rare in the U.S., but they are becoming more common, a new government study finds.

Between 1998 and 2009, the rate of serious complications like heart attack, stroke, severe bleeding and kidney failure during or after childbirth roughly doubled among U.S. women, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 2008-2009, there were 129 cases of severe complications for every 10,000 women who delivered in a hospital. That was up 75 percent from a decade earlier.

At the same time, complications during women's post-delivery hospital stay also rose: There were 29 cases for every 10,000 women - up 114 percent from 10 years before.

Serious complications and deaths from childbirth are still uncommon in the U.S. Over four million women give birth each year, and this study found about 590,000 cases of severe complications over 11 years.

"We don't want to send the message that pregnant women should be afraid," said Dr. William M. Callaghan of the CDC, who led the study.

With this type of study, which used discharge records from U.S. hospitals, it's not possible to tell why childbirth complications rose, Callaghan said.

But it's "well-documented" from other research that more women are giving birth at older ages, are obese, or have certain health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, he added.

There are also more young women with serious conditions, like congenital heart defects, who are surviving and having children.

"The characteristics of the pregnant population are changing," Callaghan said, so it's not unexpected that rates of certain complications might rise.

Another recent CDC study found that minority women are at particular risk. Between 1993 and 2006, minority women accounted for 41 percent of all births nationwide, but 62 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths.

Black women were at greatest risk. For every 100,000 babies born to African Americans, 32 to 35 mothers died. That was roughly four times the rate among white mothers.

Heart problems were the most common cause of death. And in this latest study, Callaghan's team found that one childbirth complication - the need for cardiac surgery during or after delivery - showed a "dramatic" rise over time.

It was still rare: In 2008-2009, just under 5 per 10,000 women needed a heart procedure during delivery, for example. But that was up 75 percent from a decade before.

Callaghan said the bottom line for women is to be as healthy as possible before pregnancy. Losing weight if you are obese, and getting high blood pressure and diabetes under control, are some ways to do that.

If you have existing medical conditions, like heart disease, it's even more important to see your doctor before pregnancy, Callaghan said.

"Not all complications can be avoided, of course," he said. "But the best outcomes happen when a woman is as healthy as possible going into pregnancy."

He added that some women with pre-existing medical conditions may need to see an obstetrician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.

"Most women do fine," however, Callaghan said. "And even most women with significant disease before pregnancy do fine."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-birth-complications-idUSBRE89M1AL20121023

Heidi Stevenson - Gardasil Destroys Girl’s Ovaries: Research on Ovaries Never Considered

The BMJ has published the case report of a healthy 16-year-old Australian girl whose womanhood appears to have been stolen by Gardasil vaccinations. She has been thrust into full-fledged menopause, her ovaries irrevocably shut down, before becoming a woman. The authors, Deirdre Therese Little and Harvey Rodrick Grenville Ward¹, draw direct attention to the fact that, though the girl has been thoroughly examined and tested, there is no known explanation other than the series of three Gardasil vaccinations she had.

Making matters worse is that there may be many other such cases, but most are likely masked by the routine treatment of irregular or scanty menstruation with oral contraceptives. Indeed, it’s only because this girl refused them that the truth of her situation was unmasked. Just how many other girls have lost their chance at motherhood, but don’t know because their condition is masked?

Read More:

http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2012-10-17/gardasil-destroys-girls-ovaries-research-on-ovaries-never-considered/

Pesticide exposure linked to brain changes: study

When pregnant women are exposed to moderate levels of a common pesticide, their children may experience lasting changes in brain structure linked to lower intelligence, a US study said Monday.

The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined New York City pregnant mothers who were tested for exposure to chlorpyrifos, or CPF, which is widely used for pest control in farms and public spaces.

The women in the study, which included 369 subjects total, took part prior to 2001 when CPF was banned from household use in the United States, though the chemical continues to be used worldwide in agriculture.

Researchers compared 20 children -- age five to 11 -- whose mothers tested highest for levels of CPF and found "significant abnormalities" in brain structure compared to 20 children whose mothers showed lower exposures.

Read More:

http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Pesticide_exposure_linked_to_brain_changes_study_999.html

Does soy help cool hot flashes after all?

Despite a good amount of evidence to the contrary, a new research review suggests that soy supplements can indeed help women find relief from menopausal hot flashes.

So far, studies have come to conflicting findings on whether soy extracts are effective against the sudden bouts of feverish feeling experienced by many women transitioning to menopause.

Soy contains isoflavones, compounds that are thought to have weak estrogen-like effects in some body tissue. That hints that soy or soy extracts could help cool hot flashes. But whether that's actually the case has been unclear.

Last year, for example, a clinical trial of 248 women found no evidence that a soy isoflavone supplement worked better than placebo pills in easing menopausal symptoms. (See Reuters Health story of August 8, 2011.)

Read More:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_124619.html (*this news item will not be available after 07/26/2012)

WOMEN'S PRAYER GROUP: "GIVE THEM BREAST CANCER, IN JESUS' NAME!"

The latest salvo in the War on Women has been sadly and ironically perpetrated by an anonymous "womens prayer circle" sending a deplorable piece of hate mail to Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) President and Founder, Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein.

The following is the shocking crux of this hate message.  Please note that spelling and grammar mistakes are presented as originally received: 

"But [we pray] not against you Mickey. We know by your internet site and your book who it is to be. Now for our prayer, we pray that the women who work in your MFRR and the women in your family will befall fast moving breast cancer which can not everbe cured."

Read More: http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2012/04/we-pray-christ-jesus-to-stop-you/

Common Environmental Contaminant, Cadmium, Linked to Rapid Breast Cancer Cell Growth

Studies by researchers at Dominican University of California show that breast cancer cells become increasingly aggressive the longer they are exposed to small concentrations of cadmium, a heavy metal commonly found in cosmetics, food, water and air particles. The study by Maggie Louie, associate professor of biochemistry, shows exposure to cadmium for prolonged periods of time can cause the progression of breast cancer to become more aggressive. Her findings were presented April 23, at the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, held in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 2012 conference in San Diego.

Breast cancer results from the abnormal growth of the cells in the mammary gland. The normal growth of mammary gland epithelial cells is modulated by the circulating levels of estrogen, a hormone produced by the ovaries. The activity of estrogen is stimulated by the estrogen receptor (ER). Heavy metals such as cadmium can act as endocrine disruptors and mimic estrogen, thereby disrupting the hormone dependent pathways. While other studies have shown links between acute cadmium exposure and activation of the ER, Louie's study is one of few to focus on chronic cadmium exposure. "The relationship between cancer and chronic exposures at low levels is important to understand because most people are not exposed to high levels of heavy metals, unless they work in manufacturing plants that deal with such metals," Louie said.

She continued: "Unfortunately, cadmium is all around us -- it is in our food, our water, our makeup and our air. Understanding the role that cadmium plays in the progression of breast cancer is extremely important in order to find better ways to prevent the disease from advancing. Ninety percent of cancer deaths are associated with the cancer spreading to other parts of the body. If we can prevent the tumor from spreading, we have a better chance of treating cancer."

Read More:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120423184203.htm

War On Women Taking Its Toll On The GOP

A new poll of battleground states out yesterday underscores the political consequences of the GOP’s all-out war on women and their health care.

The poll’s key findings:

• Among all registered voters, the president leads Mitt Romney 51 percent to 42 percent after trailing Romney by 2 points in the same poll last month.
• Among women under 50, the president leads Romney by a more than 2:1 margin. Romney’s support among this group of women has dropped 14 points in the last month and is down to just 30 percent, while the president’s support has ticked by an even larger margin.

Read More:

http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=148196

"Metalloestrogens": A New Class Of Cancer-Causing Estrogens

Metals like aluminum have been linked to breast cancer for some time, but new research is confirming the existence of an entirely new class of cancer-causing estrogens known as "metalloestrogens," and which are in thousands of consumer products -- some which are even used in supplements and foods as "nutrients"...

A new study published in journal Cancer Research reveals that dietary cadmium exposure increases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, confirming earlier research that a broad range of metals we are now being increasingly exposed to represent an emerging class of “metalloestrogens” with the potential to add to the estrogenic burden of the human breast.

In a 2006 report published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, researchers found that the following metals were capable of binding to cellular estrogen receptors and then mimicking the actions of physiological estrogens: “aluminium, antimony, arsenite, barium, cadmium, chromium (Cr(II)), cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenite, tin and vanadate.”  

Read More:

http://greenmedinfo.com/blog/metalloestrogens-new-class-cancer-causing-estrogens

Andrea Grimes - Goodbye, Texas Women's Health Program

On March 14th, 2012, at least 300,000 low-income and uninsured Texas women will have no or greatly-reduced access to basic preventive and reproductive health care due to the loss of federal funding for the Medicaid Women's Health Program in the state. The program has been under threat for months as lawmakers fight over whether it's legal to exclude Planned Parenthood from the program.

On Friday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters in Houston that the federal government would not extend its waiver, which provided about 90 percent of the cost of the program. It is against federal law to exclude "qualified providers" from providing Medicaid care, and while the federal government considers Planned Parenthood "qualified," the state of Texas does not. Since 2005, legislators in Texas have sought specifically to block Planned Parenthood from participating in the Women's Health Program in Texas, when they voted into place a state law, only just now enforced, that bars "affiliates" of abortion providers from receiving funds. Planned Parenthood uses no taxpayer dollars to provide abortions and keeps its abortion services wholly financially separate from its non-abortion services.

Read More:

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/03/13/goodbye-texas-womens-health-program

Amanda Lang - AZ Now Moves To Allow Employers To Fire Women Who INDEPENDENTLY Choose To Obtain Insurance Coverage or Contraceptives

Arizona heard there was some serious crazy goin’ around the country, some of that fun vagina-hatin’ crazy, so they said to themselves, is someone doin’ crazy better than Arizona these days? STEP ASIDE. *CRACKS KNUCKLES.* Only a pansy lawmaking body would seek merely to exempt any religious employer from the birth control coverage mandate. Major league insanity, on the other hand, is a bill like this one: any religious employer can also fire “an employee who independently chooses to obtain insurance coverage or prescriptions for contraceptives from another source.” BAM. 

The bill, HB 2625, included the phrase, “A religious employer shall not discriminate against an employee who independently chooses to obtain insurance coverage or prescriptions for contraceptives from another source.” But now it doesn’t!

Read More:

http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/AZ-Moves-To-Allow-Employer-in-General_News-120314-974.html