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Changing Motherhood Demographics
The Pew Research Center released a report outlining the changing demographic characteristics of U.S. mothers after comparing data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau for women delivering in 2008 and 1990. Among the key findings was that new mothers are older now than in 1990. Teens gave birth to 13% of newborns and women aged 35 and older gave birth to 9% in 1990. In 2008, those numbers flipped, with 10% of newborns born to teens and 14% to women aged 35 and older. Pew analysts speculated that “the delay in the age of motherhood is associated with a delay in the age of marriage and with growing educational attainment. The more education a woman has, the later she tends to marry and have children. Birth rates also have risen for the most educated women, those with at least some college education, while being relatively stable for women with less education.” The percentage of births to unmarried women increased from 28% in 1990 to 41% in 2008. White women represented 53% of birth mothers in 2008, down from 65% in 1990.
Pelvic Floor Disorders Funding Opportunity Announcement
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development reissued two funding opportunity announcements for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network Data Coordinating Center, RFA-HD-10-002, which solicits funds under the NIH Cooperative Clinical Research award mechanism, and RFA-HD-10-024, which will use the NIH Cooperative Research Project award mechanism. The two funding opportunities share the identical scope, which is to participate with the institute in an ongoing multicenter clinical program to study clinical and health aspects of pelvic floor disorders in women, such as urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and other sensory and emptying abnormalities of the lower urinary and gastrointestinal tracts. Applications must be received by July 30, 2010.
FDA Approves Four-Phase Oral Contraceptive
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the oral contraceptive Natazia from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals in May. The doses of estradiol valerate and dienogest differ at four times within each 28-day cycle. It is the first contraceptive approved using estradiol valerate rather than ethinyl estradiol. Natazia should not be used in women with a high risk of arterial or venous thrombotic diseases, undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding, breast cancer or other estrogen-sensitive or progestin-sensitive cancer, benign or malignant liver tumors or liver disease, or who are pregnant. The most common side effects observed with Natazia include irregular bleeding, breast tenderness, headaches, nausea and vomiting, increased weight, and acne. Women older than 35 who smoke should not use this product. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular events from combination oral contraceptive use. Bayer expects Natazia will be available this summer.
HRSA Reports Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight Increasing Faster Among Girls
The Health Resources and Services Administration announced that the percentage of obese girls in the United States increased more than twice as much as the percentage of obese boys from 2003 to 2007. The obesity prevalence among all children increased by 10% nationwide from 14.8% in 2003 to 16.4% in 2007; however, it increased by 18% for female children aged 10 to 17 years. Overweight prevalence stayed about the same for the total population, but it rose 9% among female children. The analysis compared information from the 2003 and 2007 National Survey of Children's Health and included data from 46,707 and 44,101 children, respectively.
Guidelines Released for Breastfeeding and the Drug-Dependent Woman
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine has released guidelines for breastfeeding infants born to drug-dependent women. The academy reports benefits of breastfeeding exist for these women and their children and recommends preparing a prenatal plan for parenting, breastfeeding, and postpartum substance abuse treatment. Women should be informed of the consequences associated with relapsing and using drugs or alcohol during lactation and how to prepare formula and care for bottles if breastfeeding becomes contraindicated. The academy recommends supporting drug-dependent women who want to breastfeed provided they are engaged in substance abuse treatment, have been drug free for 90 days prior to delivery, have a negative urine toxicology test at delivery, received prenatal care, do not have a medical contraindication to breastfeeding, and have substance abuse counselors who endorse the plan. The women and the infant should be carefully monitored during the postpartum period. The guidelines also outline situations in which women should not breastfeed or need careful evaluation of the suitability of this feeding choice.
Women's Health Nurse Practitioners Launch Estrogen Therapy Education Campaign
The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health has created the Estrogen Therapy I.Q. campaign to raise women's awareness of Food and Drug Administration-approved bioidentical estrogen options to treat menopause symptoms. More than three quarters of its members believe patients are unaware of estrogen options and the differences in FDA-approved therapies and those that are compounded at pharmacies. Therefore, the organization set out to correct misconceptions through the Estrogen Therapy I.Q. campaign. The educational effort features a web site,
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development Vulvodynia Program Announcements
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, a part of the National Institutes of Health, released two new funding opportunity announcements in regard to grants related to vulvodynia, and it reissued one announcement on the same topic. The institute invites investigator-initiated applications that address basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological, or behavioral research on vulvodynia and related symptom-based conditions. The program announcement numbers are PAR-10-190, PAR-10-191, and PAR-10-192. All three funding opportunities are identical in scientific scope. PAR-10-190 encourages applications under the R01 Research Grant mechanism. PAR-10-191 falls under the R03 Small Research Grant mechanism, and PAR-10-192 is under the R21 Exploratory/Developmental Grant mechanism. Application due dates are September 21, 2010, September 21, 2011, and September 21, 2012.
UK IVF Incidents Double in One Year
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in London, an independent regulator for in vitro fertilization treatment and embryo research, cited a steep increase in reportable incidents, from 182 incidents in 2007–2008 to 334 from March 2008 to April 2009. The agency attributed the increase at least in part to an extension of the scope of reporting to include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. It said that the incidents represent less than 1% of the more than 50,000 cycles carried out.
Worldwide Mortality Data Show Women's Risk of Dying Has Declined
Women's risk of dying fell 34% from 1970 to 2010, according to an international study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Women in Cyprus have the lowest chance of dying between ages 15 and 59 years, and women in Zambia have the greatest chance of death during those years. The researchers, led by Julie Knoll Rajaratnam, Ph.D., at the University of Washington, Seattle, calculated mortality rates across 187 countries, using vital registration data, sample registration systems and survey/census data, deaths in household, and sibling survival data. Mortality increased in sub-Saharan Africa because of the HIV epidemic. In addition, people in countries in or related to the former Soviet Union had higher rates of adult mortality. The researchers said they found a “striking decline in female mortality in south Asia,” with the rate decreasing 56% from 1970 to 2010.
Payments for Oocyte Donations
After examining 105 oocyte donor recruitment ads published in 63 different college newspapers, Aaron D. Levine, an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, raised concerns about the self-regulatory approach to compensation provided to donors. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine Ethics Committee established a guideline in 2007, stating “total payments to donors in excess of $5,000 require justification and sums above $10,000 are not appropriate.” In addition, compensation should not vary because of donor ethnicity or personal characteristics. Levine found nearly half of the on-campus ads offered payments in excess of the recommended levels, with SAT scores a “strong predictor of compensation offered.” Nearly half of the advertisements Levine checked offered compensation of $5,000 or more, 27% offered compensation between $5,000 and $10,000, and 23% offered average payments to donors exceeding $10,000, many advertising reimbursement of as much as $20,000, with three of them, running in Harvard, Princeton, and Yale university newspapers, offering $35,000. Levine said, “These data suggest that violation of the ASRM Ethics Committee's compensation guidelines is relatively common.”
ARHP Releases Curriculum Development Tool
The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals has developed an updated, evidence-based Curricula Organizer for Reproductive Health Education (CORE) tool, available free to health educators, health providers, and the public. The tool provides people preparing and making presentions on reproductive health issues images, videos, case studies, handouts and other materials. All the materials are in English. Some patient education materials are available in other languages. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provided the funding that made the extensive redesign possible. Health educators and others can submit presentations, handouts, and other materials for inclusion in the CORE database after it has been peer reviewed.
Study Investigates Flaxseed to Treat Hot Flashes
A phase III study by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group at the Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, will investigate whether flaxseed is effective in treating postmenopausal women with hot flashes. The interventional, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, taking place at 262 study locations, will enroll 210 women who have cancer or who do not wish to take hormone replacement therapy for another reason. Participants will receive either oral flaxseed in the form of a bar, similar to a granola bar, or a placebo bar. Researchers will evaluate the efficacy of flaxseed on hot flash scores in the women, who will keep a daily prospective hot flash diary. The team will evaluate the side effect profile of flaxseed in this population and evaluate the effects of flaxseed on mood and broader menopausal symptoms. They will assess the women's daily interference from hot flashes and perception of flaxseed's benefit.
Society of Gynecologic Oncologists Elects New President
The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists elected as its 42nd president Daniel L. Clarke-Pearson, M.D., a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Clarke-Pearson has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and more than 40 book chapters, written four books, and made numerous regional, national, and international presentations throughout his career. “As the first SGO president of the new decade, I am committed to working with our society's leadership and members to advance initiatives and programming that will enable us to work toward our overall mission to eradicate women's cancers,” said Clarke-Pearson.
Two Gynecologic Organizations Name Joint Breast Cancer Fellowship Recipient
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists selected Marcia M. Humphrey Schmidt, M.D., as the initial recipient of their jointly developed 1-year Breast Cancer Fellowship for gynecologic oncologists. She will complete her fellowship at the Breast Health Center at Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, RI, which is affiliated with the Brown University Alpert Medical School, also in Providence. ACOG will provide a $75,000 grant to support the fellowship. The fellowship is offered at a different institution each year and affords a greater number of gynecologic oncology fellows interested in advanced training in breast disease the opportunity to apply regardless of their current location.