Women’s Health

Number of Unsafe Abortions in Kenya ‘Worrying’

Abortion is medically defined as the expulsion of a pregnancy before viability whether spontaneous or induced.

In Kenya, the new Constitution terms abortion as illegal. However, in circumstances where the pregnancy presents danger to the woman’s mental or physical health then she has the right to access safe and legal abortion.

According to Andrew Wamalwa, a health director with the Ministry of Health, Kenya records 465,000 unsafe abortions annually and this contributes to 20 percent of the total maternal deaths.

He further observed that community attitudes contribute to the alarmingly high numbers of unsafe abortions.

“Lack of knowledge, myths and misconceptions combined with health provider attitudes are partly to blame for this high numbers of unsafe abortions.”

“Interestingly, the women who come in for post abortion care or have procured an abortion are not just the marginalised or poor as has been the stereotype.”

“This calls for leadership right at the community level within the current legal and policy framework. Educate young girls how to manage crisis pregnancy safely, show them that there are options like adoption as opposed to harshly judging them which only pushes them to undertaking back street abortions.”

Wamalwa added that the ministry is on a campaign to increase access to effective family planning to women that are of reproductive age.

“More than 70 percent of the women that seek post abortion care were not using a method of contraception prior to them getting pregnant,” he said

He also advised on safe abortion methods that are available to the woman in a case where her life is in danger.

“A woman has various options of the abortion methods; first there is the vacuum aspiration which is a manual suction to remove the contents of the uterus. This method can only be done at three or less months of pregnancy by a trained medic. If done safely then there are no complications and 98 percent success rate.”

“The second method is referred to as medical abortion and it is performed using pills. A trained doctor administers pills which causes the uterus to shrink and expel the pregnancy. This method has a few side effects like abdominal cramps and has a 83 to 97 percent success rate,” he explained.

Vania Kibui a policy advisor at IPAS Africa Alliance disclosed that under Article 43 (1A) of the new Constitution, every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health care services including reproductive health.

She further elaborates on Article 43 (2) which says that a person shall not be denied emergency medical treatment.

“This means that one has a right to access contraceptives after a rape incident even in a private facility which includes those operated by churches that have traditionally refused to give those services,” she explained.

Kibui however raised concern in regard to Article 26 (4) which allows for safe abortion saying,” the article demands that abortions can only be performed by trained medical practitioners meaning that women that live in poor rural communities have no such services will have to procure an abortion from a clinical officer or nurse which has serious potentially fatal repercussions for the poor women,” she added.

Source: All africa

Woman faked quintuplet pregnancy for months

 

Barbara Bienvenue told Paul Servat that she became pregnant one month after they connected through an online dating site. She later told him she was going to have five babies. A visit to the doctor eventually exposed her.

A Quebec woman somehow duped her boyfriend into believing she was going to have quintuplets until the ninth month of her “pregnancy.”

Paul Servat said he was devastated when he found out that Barbara Bienvenue had never been pregnant when they went to the doctor last week.  “I lost everything, it was my whole life,” Servat told

Servat said Bienvenue told him she was pregnant about one month after they met  through an online dating site last summer. She told him they were expecting twins, and and eventually the baby number swelled to five.

Bienvenue not only fooled her boyfriend, but the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu  community, who showered them with gifts.

“I gave her tips on how to handle it, where to get financial support, where to get sponsors for diapers,” Geneviève Laflamme, a mother of triplets herself, told. Unbelievably, Bienvenue apparently had some practice.

“This isn’t the first time she’s done it,” a relative told QMI Agency. “But honestly, we never would have thought she was sick enough to do it again.”

The 37-year-old Bienvenue may have been suffering from pseudocyesis, which is  “the belief that you are expecting a baby when you are not really carrying a child,”.  Women with this condition have many of the symptoms of pregnancy except the actual fetus itself.

Bienvenue is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. Servat says on Facebook that he is not seeing Bienvenue anymore and that he is returning all gifts from the faux pregnancy, according to CTV News.

“She let me choose the names,” Servat told QMI Agency. “We were so happy. Even my parents, they were so looking forward to having grandchildren.”

Source: Daily news

Stress linked to infertility in some women

Women trying to get pregnant are often told, “Relax and it’ll happen.”  It turns out that the common advice may actually have some merit, according to a new study that suggests stress is linked to fertility problems.

Women who had high levels of a biomarker for stress in their saliva took 29 percent longer to become pregnant, compared to those with lower levels, a study published Monday in the journal Human Reproduction found. And those with high levels of the stress indicator were also twice as likely as others to meet the clinical definition for infertility — having unprotected sex for 12 months without becoming pregnant —by the end of the study.

It’s a common tale: women get pregnant while on vacation, or women with infertility problems become pregnant after adopting, said the study’s lead author, Courtney Lynch, director of reproductive epidemiology at The Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center. That’s not always a coincidence, she said.

The new study focused on 401 women ages 18 to 40 who had just decided to try to conceive. The women, who had no known fertility problems at the start of the study, were followed for 12 months, or until they became pregnant.

Saliva samples were collected from the women at the beginning of the study and analyzed for two stress biomarkers: cortisol and alpha-amylase, a digestive protein found in saliva. While levels of cortisol — the hormone most usually associated with stress — didn’t seem to be important, levels of alpha-amylase seemed to predict which women would have the easiest time getting pregnant.

In the big fertility picture, however, stress “is a minor issue,” compared to other factors that can affect it, such as blocked tubes, ovarian problems, smoking or age, Lynch said.

The point of the new research isn’t aimed at blaming the victim, she added. One-third to one-half of fertility issues are related to male factors. “Reducing stress won’t help if your husband has a low sperm count,” she said.

There is no current easy test to see who is is vulnerable to stressors, Lynch said, noting that’s a next step in the research. Infertility specialist Dr. Suleena Kansal Kalra, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, says the new research is interesting, but infertility is a complex problem.

“Women who are doing everything they can to get pregnant often are told by well-meaning people, ‘If you would just relax you would get pregnant.’ That can be very counterproductive.”

Still, women can try to control certain stress factors, perhaps even as soon as they decide they want to become pregnant, said Lynch. A solution can be as simple as making time to exercise 20 minutes to 30 minutes per day.

Abby David, 39, started trying to conceive a decade ago. At the time, she was teaching children with developmental disabilities from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. each day and also trying to start a new school for children with autism. After a year of trying, David started therapy to stimulate her ovaries, to no avail. Only after her school finally opened, did she conceive — with triplets.

If she’d known link between stress and infertility, she might have scaled back, she said. “When you don’t know if you’ll ever have kids, you’re willing to do whatever it takes,” David said.

Some studies show complementary therapies such as acupuncture can help with stress and infertility, said Dr. Joseph Sanfilippo, vice chairman of reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The bottom line, Sanfilippo said, is there is a delicate balance in the system that controls a woman’s reproductive cycles. “The hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis is the orchestra leader,” he explained. “It’s finely tuned. And stressors can affect it. Diet and exercise can help control stress. Beyond that, I say, look at the menstrual cycle if you are under a lot of stress. If it’s pretty regular, theoretically stress shouldn’t be affecting ovulation.”

Source: today

Women Face Delays in Heart Attack Care: Study

Among young and middle-aged adults, men tend to receive faster hospital care than women for heart attacks and chest pains, a new study finds.

Anxiety appeared to be a key factor — women who appeared anxious upon admittance to the hospital tended to have delays in crucial care, the study authors found.

“Patients with anxiety who present to the emergency department with noncardiac chest pain tend to be women, and the prevalence of [heart attack or chest pains] is lower among young women than among young men,” the Canadian researchers said. “These findings suggest that [emergency-room staff] might initially dismiss a cardiac event among young women with anxiety.”

One heart expert wasn’t surprised by the findings.

“It has been shown in multiple trials that there are gender differences in the treatment of heart disease between men and women entering a hospital,” said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

“In younger adults, ages 18 to 55, this reality has also shown to be true,” she said. “When women enter a hospital, it is critical that this bias is eradicated.”

In the study, researchers looked at more than 1,100 adults aged 55 or younger treated for heart attack or chest pains — also called angina — at 24 hospitals in Canada, one in the United States and one in Switzerland. The median ages of the patients were 50 for women and 49 for men.

After arriving at the hospital, men underwent electrocardiograms (ECGs) within 15 minutes and clot-dissolving therapy within 21 minutes, compared with 28 minutes and 36 minutes, respectively, for women, the researchers said in the March 17 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

“Anxiety was associated with failure to meet the 10-minute benchmark for ECG in women but not in men,” said the researchers, led by Dr. Louise Pilote, a professor of medicine at McGill University in Montreal.

Digging deeper, the researchers found that patients with multiple heart attack risk factors and those with heart attack symptoms that were considered outside the norm also faced delays in care.

Steinbaum pointed out the incongruity of some of these findings.

“When analyzed, the women patients were sicker and were more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure and a family history of heart disease,” she said. “With these multiple risk factors for heart disease, the likelihood of symptoms being heart-related are higher — yet they were not as expeditiously treated for a heart attack.”

“This delay in treatment is critical, especially in the setting of a heart attack, as death rates in patients who have multiple health problems is higher,” Steinbaum said.

Another heart specialist agreed.

“Since women often present with nontypical symptoms when having a heart attack, it is very important that physicians look at younger women, too, to make sure the symptoms they are having do not represent a developing heart attack,” said Dr. Lawrence Phillips, an assistant professor in the department of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

“One of the most important take-home points from this study is the need to have an electrocardiogram early,” Phillips said. “An ECG is able to, in many cases, diagnose a heart attack as it occurs. By improving the rapidity of this test, we can start needed therapy earlier and, in doing so, save lives.”

Source: web md

8 ways to keep your breasts young

In a new study of UCLA medical school is reported that women’s breasts age at a rate two to three years is ahead of the rest of their body. Before you schedule a consultation with the plastic surgeon’s office, here are some natural ways to keep your breasts healthy.

• Sunscreen. Most swimsuits and summer tops make the décolleté a prime target for sunrays, and it often gets missed with that slather of SPF moisturizer during your morning beauty routine. Some companies make all-natural, organic décolleté creams, but a broad-spectrum sunscreen will work too. Just make sure to visit the Environmental Working Group’s website, Skin Deep, to find natural, non-toxic products. You don’t want to add to the aging process by slathering chemicals on your breasts either.

• Organic coconut oil. Your breasts need moisture, especially with all the stretching the skin has to go through in the course of a lifetime. Through pregnancy, weight gain or loss, and monthly fluctuations that coincide with your menstrual cycle, you need to nurture the skin on your breasts. All-natural, organic coconut oil is a great choice, and you don’t have to worry about toxins.

• Support. Reports suggest that approximately 80 percent of women wear the wrong bra size. Lack of support can leave you with back pain, sagging and bad posture – advancing the aging process even further. Although monthly fluctuations are inevitable, getting fitted for new bras yearly will help ensure you are wearing the right size most of the time and avoid poor support that can contribute to advanced aging.

• Self check-ups. Do regular self-exams. If you know your breasts and monitor them regularly, you can detect abnormalities early and improve outcomes. Each month after your period, schedule a monthly self-exam and note changes in size, sensation, color or rashes, discharge, dimpling or bulges.

• Workout. Strengthening your pectoral muscles is an effective way to get a natural lift in the breasts. Your breasts sit right on top of these muscles, meaning if those muscles are sagging, your breasts will be too – and vice versa.

• Posture. Poor posture can cause your breasts to sag and droop, while sitting up straighter can actually make your breasts appear much bigger (and without surgery!)

• Nutrition. Your diet is a key factor for anti-aging, preventing disease and just about anything and everything that has to do with your health and quality of life. Your breasts are no different. Diets lacking in vitamins and minerals cause advanced aging. Vitamins A and C, for example, nourish the skin and promote collagen production, while too much sugar can lead to wrinkles.

• Excess alcohol. Moderate consumption of alcohol has its place, but excessive drinking – even wine – can cause increase in levels of estrogen. Estrogen contributes to increased risk of breast cancer, especially in high-risk individuals. Keep consumption moderate to protect your health. Aging is inevitable, but diligent care and a healthy lifestyle can turn back the clock a few years and preserve your health across the lifespan.

Source: News.am

Exercise advised for lymphoedema after breast cancer

Women who suffer swelling following breast cancer treatment should be encouraged to exercise, say experts.

New National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance says exercise will not make the problem worse and could improve well-being.

One in five people treated for breast cancer will go on to develop lymphoedema in their arm, hand, fingers or chest.

It is a long-term condition that can lead to pain and loss of mobility.

The new NICE guidance, which is subject to consultation, says doctors and nurses should discuss with patients how exercise may improve their quality of life.

They should also stress that the current evidence shows “exercise does not prevent, cause or worsen lymphoedema”.

Clearing ‘confusion’
Many people with breast cancer go on to develop lymphoedema in their arm or chest following surgical or radiotherapy treatment.

It occurs when the body’s lymphatic system becomes damaged and is unable to drain fluid in the normal way.

Prof Mark Baker, director of the NICE centre for clinical practice, said: “For breast cancer patients, lymphoedema may occur as a result of treatment – such as surgery or radiotherapy – or cancer cells blocking the lymph system.

“Some people may be cautious of taking up exercise as they may think it could make their lymphoedema worse or bring it about in the first place.

“Our proposed new recommendations should clear up any confusion relating to the role that exercise can play for people with or at risk of this condition.”

Jackie Harris, clinical nurse specialist at Breast Cancer Care, said lymphoedema can severely restrict movement and impact lives.

“Lymphoedema can be controlled but will never go away and we know that regular exercise has many benefits for those living with or at risk of lymphoedema,” she said.

“Regular movement in everyday life or work can help keep joints supple and aids lymph drainage and extra exercises can also be useful if swelling restricts movement of the arm.”

Source; BBC news

7 ‘women’s‘ diseases men should watch out for

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Due to variations in genes, anatomy, and hormone levels, some diseases conflict women some-more mostly than men, and vice-versa. However, meditative of diseases that women are some-more disposed to as “women’s diseases” can leave group exposed to critical health problems.

Here are 7 supposed “women’s diseases” that can also strike men. If we knowledge symptoms, don’t let your gender stop we from removing treatment.

1. Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis reduces a firmness of bone, creation it some-more exposed to fractures. One in 3 women are during risk, though so are one in 5 men. Women knowledge fast bone detriment following menopause, though by 65 to 70 years old, group remove bone mass during about a same rate.

Kidney and thyroid problems, vitamin D deficiency, and lengthened bearing to steroids, cancer therapies, and anti-convulsants put we some-more during risk. You might not have symptoms, so ask your alloy for a bone firmness test.

2. Breast Cancer
Women get breast cancer some-more mostly than group since they have some-more breast tissue. Although usually about one percent of all breast cancers impact men, investigate shows that occurrence is on a rise. Men frequency mind a warning signs, so a cancer is authorised to develop. Therefore, group typically don’t tarry as prolonged as women once a diagnosis is finally made.

If you’re over 50, of African-American descent, or obese, you’re some-more during risk. Watch for any surprising lumps or skin abnormalities in a chest.

3. Thyroid Problems
The thyroid is a tiny gland that rests in a center of a reduce neck, where it produces hormones to control metabolism. If it produces too much, hyperthyroidism results. Symptoms include:

  • fatigue
  • weight gain
  • forgetfulness
  • dry, counterfeit skin and hair

If a thyroid doesn’t furnish adequate hormones, hypothyroidism results. Symptoms include:

  • irritability
  • muscle weakness
  • sleep disturbances

Women are 5 to 8 times some-more expected to have some form of thyroid illness than men, though group can still be affected.

4. Eating Disorders
As some-more group feel a vigour to be skinny and demeanour good, some-more are descending plant to eating disorders. Only 10 to 15 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia are male, though a effects can be equally devastating. Men also are reduction expected to find treatment, withdrawal them some-more during risk for complications such as:

  • heart problems
  • bone loss
  • organ failure
  • death

Athletes, portly boys, group with gender issues, and those who are concerned or have captious personalities are some-more during risk.

5. Bladder Infections
Bladder infections are most some-more common in women, though group can get them, too— quite group with an lengthened prostate, kidney stones, or an aberrant squeezing of a urethra. Treatment involves antibiotics and is typically really effective, though group need to be wakeful of a symptoms.

They include:

  • frequent urination
  • cloudy urine or bloody urine
  • a clever titillate to urinate
  • a blazing or rawness prodigy during urination
  • low-grade fever

6. Depression
Women are dual times some-more expected than group to be diagnosed with depression, though that might be since their symptoms are different. Women might feel unhappy and cry some-more often, since group are some-more expected to uncover anger, irritation, frustration, and discouragement.

Men might spin to drugs or alcohol, or rivet in unsure behavior. They are also some-more expected to finish self-murder if they try it. Because of these differences, many group go undiagnosed. Without treatment, basin is expected to worsen.

7. Lupus
About 90 percent of those diagnosed with lupus are women, though this autoimmune commotion can also strike men. Symptoms include:

  • joint flourishing and pain
  • muscle weakness
  • extreme fatigue
  • unexplained fever
  • hair loss
  • leg swelling
  • eye puffiness
  • mouth sores
  • swollen glands
  • butterfly-shaped red unreasonable opposite a overpass of a nose and cheeks

The illness is treated likewise in both genders. Your alloy might disremember it since it is singular in men. If we have symptoms, ask for testing.

Always Check with Your Doctor
Studies uncover that group are reduction expected than women to demeanour after their health. They’re 25 percent reduction expected to have visited their alloy in a past year, and roughly 40 percent some-more expected to have skipped endorsed health screenings. They’re also 1.5 times some-more expected to die from heart disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases, and they die an normal of 5 years progressing than women.

If you’re not feeling right, check with your doctor. By removing a treatments we need, we can kick a odds.

Source: Health Medcine Network

 

IUDs may provide birth control protection for longer than approved duration

Some intrauterine devices (IUDs), already a long-term birth control option, are effective for even longer than recommended, according to a new review of past studies.

The older women are when certain IUDs are inserted, the longer they can leave them in, the review found.

IUDs, small plastic or metal devices inserted into the uterus, prevent pregnancy either by killing or damaging sperm or by releasing hormones that thicken the cervical mucus which does not allow sperm to pass. They are the most effective type of reversible birth control, with lower failure rates than the Pill, implants, patches or condoms.

Although recommendations on IUD use have stayed the same for some time, the finding that the devices are effective for longer than advertised is actually old news, Dr. Justine P. Wu told Reuters Health.

She worked on the study at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

“We have had these data in our hands for years,” Wu said. “Our hope is that this review will bolster clinician and patient confidence, both in the United States and worldwide, in the safety and benefits of extending use of certain IUDs beyond the manufacturer-approved time period, among select women.” That includes women who have had one or more children and were at least 25 years old when the IUD was inserted.

Among those women, copper IUDs seem to be effective birth control for at least nine years, depending on the brand. ParaGard, a copper IUD recommended for up to 10 years, is effective for at least 12.

Mirena, a plastic IUD which releases the hormone levonorgestrel to prevent pregnancy, is advertised as effective for five years, but is effective for at least seven years, according to the review published in the journal Contraception.

For women who were at least 35 when the IUD was placed, studies indicate ParaGard remains effective until menopause.

There were not enough studies of women under age 25 to determine how long Mirena and ParaGard are effective beyond recommendations in that group, the researchers said.

Extended use of an IUD among women over 25 who have had a child ultimately reduces costs, improves convenience and extends birth control benefits, Wu said.

Source: fox news

US reports rare case of woman-to-woman HIV transmission

A rare case of suspected HIV transmission from one woman to another was reported Thursday by US health authorities.

The 46-year-old woman “likely acquired” human immunodeficiency virus while in a monogamous relationship with an HIV-positive female partner in Texas, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The woman, whose name was not released, had engaged in heterosexual relationships in the past, but not in the 10 years prior to her HIV infection.

Her HIV-positive partner, a 43-year-old woman who first tested positive in 2008, was her only sexual partner in the six months leading up to the test that came back positive for HIV.

She did not report any other risk factors for acquiring the virus that causes AIDS, such as injection drug use, organ transplant, tattoos, acupuncture or unprotected sex with multiple partners.

The strain of HIV with which she was infected was a 98 percent genetic match to her partner’s, said the CDC in its weekly report.

Authorities first learned of the case in August 2012 from the Houston Department of Health.

The couple said they had not received any counseling about safe sex practices, and reported that they routinely had sex without barrier methods.

“They described their sexual contact as at times rough to the point of inducing bleeding in either woman,” said the CDC report.

“They also reported having unprotected sexual contact during the menses of either partner.”

The partner who was infected since 2008 had been prescribed antiretroviral drugs in 2009 but stopped taking them in November 2010, and was lost to follow up in January 2011.

The CDC warned that although such cases are rare, “female-to-female transmission is possible because HIV can be found in vaginal fluid and menstrual blood.”

People with HIV should be under the care of a doctor and take their prescribed medicines to keep their viral load down and reduce the risk of infecting a partner, the CDC said.

Very few cases of this kind have been documented, and confirmation “has been difficult because other risk factors almost always are present or cannot be ruled out,” said the report.

One survey of 960,000 female blood donors found 144 who tested positive for HIV and were therefore blocked from donating.

Of 106 of those women who agreed to interviews, none described female-to-female sexual contact as their only risk factor.

The CDC also described one case of a woman in the Philippines who tested positive for HIV and said she had sex only with women and did not inject drugs, though no source of infection could be confirmed.

One other case is known of a 20-year-old woman who was diagnosed with HIV after a two-year monogamous relationship with a female partner who was HIV positive. While both women had the same drug-resistant HIV mutations, no tests were done to identify if their HIV strains were a genetic match.

Source: Yahoo news

More Body Fat Raises Ovarian Cancer Risk, Study Suggests

The more a woman weighs, the greater her risk of ovarian cancer, a new report suggests.

It adds to strong suspicions that weight is somehow linked to ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest cancers and one that kills 14,000 U.S. women every year. And it adds ovarian cancer to a list of cancers affected by obesity or body fat, including breast cancer, colon cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer and pancreatic cancer.

There’s also a link with height, although it’s not as strong as the evidence showing that weight, especially body fat, raises the risk, the American Institute for Cancer Research reports.

A team at the AICR looked at 25 studies with data on 4 million women, 16,000 of whom developed ovarian cancer.

“Greater body fatness is a probable cause of ovarian cancer in women,” the report concludes.

“This is an important finding because it shows a way for women to reduce their chances of getting ovarian cancer,” said Dr. Elisa Bandera of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, who helped write the study. “There is so much we don’t know about preventing ovarian cancer, but now we can tell women that keeping to a healthy weight can help protect against this deadly disease.”

Both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute list obesity as a suspected cause of ovarian cancer.

But the AICR report suggests that a woman doesn’t have to be obese — with a BMI of 30 or greater — for the risk to start growing. Even overweight women have a higher risk, the data suggests, starting at a BMI of about 28, which is considered overweight but not quite obese. (There’s a BMI calculator here).

There are many reasons why fat may raise cancer risk. Fat cells secrete estrogen, a hormone that can help fuel cancer, and people who are overweight or obese have overall higher levels of inflammation, which can affect heart disease and cancer risk alike. Fat cells produce other hormones, such as leptin and growth factors, that may affect the out-of-control cell growth that underlies cancer.

It’s also possible that something else is driving both body growth and cancer — perhaps a genetic cause.

The AICR report looked for evidence of other causes of ovarian cancer but could not find enough evidence to implicate any specific foods such as eggs, milk, coffee, tea, meat, fats or vitamins.

Source: NBC news