The latest in Birth Control

Women on the pill live longer: study

2010-03-12T14:15:22Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - One of the world's largest studies of the contraceptive pill has found that women who have taken it can expect longer lives and are less likely to die from any cause, including cancer and heart disease.</p><p>British researchers said their study, which should reassure many millions of women across the world who have taken oral birth control pills, found no link between the drugs a...

Women on the pill may live longer

2010-03-12T10:15:46Z

<div id="subtitle">Study: Women who took the birth control pill starting in the late 1960s lived longer</div><div><p>Women who took the birth control pill beginning in the late 1960s lived longer than those never on the pill, a new study says.</p><p>British researchers observed more than 46,000 women for nearly four decades from 1968. They compared the number of deaths in women on the pill to those who never took it.</p><p>In the study, women on th...

Women activists present condoms to Philippine bishops

2010-03-08T10:16:34Z

<div><p>Philippine Catholic bishops, already waging a bitter battle with the government over birth control, received an unwelcome gift Monday when female activists delivered them two baskets of condoms.</p><p>Members of the leftist Party of the Workers presented the condoms to mark International Women's Day as they picketed the headquarters of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference.</p><...

Philippine health chief, church fight over condoms

2010-03-08T00:45:13Z

<div id="subtitle">Philippine health chief takes on powerful Catholic church to hand out condoms to fight AIDS</div><div><p>On Valentine's Day, Philippine government health workers hit the streets of Manila to hand out roses and condoms to passers-by.</p><p>The message was clear in a country with a relatively small but rapidly growing HIV-positive population: Avoid unprotected sex.</p><p>It didn't get far...

Hysterectomy for bleeding may cause urinary woes

2010-03-04T12:30:07Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who undergo a hysterectomy to treat heavy menstrual bleeding may have higher rates of urinary tract problems over the long term than those treated with the contraceptive device Mirena, a new study suggests.</p><p>The findings, published in the medical journal BJOG, do not mean that Mirena is the better treatment option for heavy menstrual.</p><p>But they...

Mullahs help promote birth control in Afghanistan

2010-03-02T09:45:26Z

<div id="subtitle">Study: More Afghan women using contraceptives; 300 times safer than pregnancy</div><div><p>Some mullahs in Afghanistan are distributing condoms. Others are quoting the Quran to encourage longer breaks between births. Health experts say contraception is starting to catch on in a country where one in eight women dies during pregnancy.</p><p>Afghanistan has one of the world's highest fertili...

Sterilization surgery not linked to sexual problems

2010-02-22T09:26:40Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who have their "tubes tied" to prevent future pregnancies do not seem to have an increased risk of sexual dysfunction afterward, according to a new study.</p><p>In fact, researchers found, women in their study who'd had the procedure showed lower risks of certain sexual problems and tended to be happier with their sex lives than other...

Pentagon to offer emergency contraception abroad

2010-02-22T11:44:43Z

<div id="subtitle">Pentagon military treatment facilities to offer emergency contraception at locations worldwide</div><div><p>The Pentagon for the first time will require military bases worldwide to offer emergency contraception or the so-called morning-after pill, a military spokeswoman said Thursday.</p><p>The decision follows a recommendation by an indep...

New morning-after pill works for up to 5 days

2010-02-22T13:44:04Z

<div id="subtitle">Study: New morning-after pill works better and longer, up to 5 days after unprotected sex</div><div><p>A new type of morning-after pill is more effective than the most widely used drug at preventing pregnancies in women who had unprotected sex and also works longer, for up to five days, a new study says.</p><p>The report was published Friday in the British medical journal, Lancet.</p&...

One in three newborns in Philippines 'unwanted': study

2010-02-22T20:20:59Z

<div><p>One in three newborns in the Philippines is unwanted or unplanned, the government said Thursday, as the country struggles with a population explosion and the Church's opposition to birth control. </p><p>The fertility rate of Filipino women stood at 3.3 children, even though four out of 10 said they preferred to have only two children, the National Statis...

One in three newborns in Philippines 'unwanted'

2010-02-22T20:31:35Z

<div><p>One in three newborns in the Philippines is unwanted or unplanned, the government said Thursday, as the country struggles with a population explosion and the Church's opposition to birth control.</p><p>The fertility rate of Filipino women stood at 3.3 children, even though four out of 10 said they preferred to have only two children, the National Statist...

Italy allows RU-486 abortion pill in hospitals

2010-02-23T18:06:22Z

<div><p>Italy has given a final go-ahead to the abortion drug RU-486, capping years of debate and defying opposition from the Vatican.</p><p>The country's Drug Agency said Thursday that the last pending bureaucratic hurdle — publishing the new regulations in its official gazette — has been cleared and that the pill will be available in about two weeks.</p><p>Under the new...

U.N.: $24 billion could slash infant, maternal deaths

2010-02-23T21:31:51Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - Maternal deaths in developing countries could be slashed by 70 percent and newborn deaths cut by nearly half if investment in family planning and pregnancy care was doubled, the United Nations said Thursday.</p><p>A U.N.-backed report said investments in family planning and birth control wo...

US funding revamps African contraceptive drive

2010-02-24T03:44:17Z

<div><p>A new 12 million dollar family planning drive launched here Wednesday highlights how Obama administration funding has revamped a contraception drive in Africa and developing states, UN officials said, noting a sharp turnaround from the Bush era.</p><p>The change in Asia-Pacific market for contraceptives should post strong growth in the next decade as women shed their fears and new products are introduced, drugs giant Bayer Schering Pharma said Wednesday.</p><p>China, India and Vi...

Experts propose new ways to slow Africa's population growth

2010-02-24T04:44:15Z

<div><p>Pairing family planning services with HIV/AIDS treatment can help curb Africa's population growth rate which records a yearly increase of 2.5 percent, health experts said Monday.</p><p>Many of those seeking HIV/AIDS information are often the ones who need to be offered birth control services, Maggwa Ndugga of

ABORTION WORLDWIDE

2009-10-13T14:17:17Z

Chart shows worldwide pregnancy rates, abortion rates, and contraception usage. With BC-US-Abortion Worldwide.

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Report: Unsafe abortions kill 70,000 annually

2010-02-24T19:22:21Z

<div><p>Increased contraceptive use has led to fewer abortions worldwide, but deaths from unsafe abortion remain a severe problem, killing 70,000 women a year, a research institute reported Tuesday in a major global survey.</p><p>More than half the deaths, about 38,000, are in sub-Saharan Africa, which was singled out as the region with by far the lowest rates of contracept...

Unsafe abortions kill 70,000 a year, harm millions

2010-02-24T19:28:15Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - Increased use of contraceptives has pushed global abortion rates down, but unsafe abortions kill 70,000 women each year and seriously harm or maim millions more, a global report said on Tuesday.</p><p>Despite easier access to abortion with restrictions being relaxed in many countries, the number of abortions fell from an estimated 45.5 million in 19...

UN chief renews call for women's equality

2010-02-24T19:46:13Z

<div id="subtitle">UN chief urges new commitment to women's equality, girls education and access to birth control</div><div><p>Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked the 15th anniversary of a "watershed" U.N. conference that called for women's equality by urging all countries Monday to renew their commitment to educate girls, end ...