Giving a local anaesthetic during a Caesarean section helps manage pain after the operation and can reduce consumption of painkillers, according to Cochrane Researchers. The researchers recommend local anaesthetics as part of integrated pain management strategies for Caesarean section operations, provided that consideration is given to the cost.
“This review is particularly important in light of [...]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first generic version of the emergency contraceptive Plan B (levonorgestrel) tablets, 0.75 mg. The generic product will be available by prescription only for women ages 17 and under.
Plan B was first approved in 1999 for prescription use only for women of all ages. Plan B [...]

A team of scientists in the US suggested that bisphenol A (BPA) may harm the heart, particularly in women, because of what they discovered in tests on female rats and mice. BPA is a chemical used in the manufacture of polycarbonate, a hard clear plastic used to make food containers, among other things.
The findings [...]

Variations in both milk feeding and in the weaning diet are linked to differences in growth and development, and they have independent influences on body composition in early childhood, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Societys Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Previous studies suggest that the early environment may [...]

President Obama on Tuesday in his official announcement of his nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court emphasized what he called her “extraordinary journey” from a modest background to the top of the judiciary, launching a “confirmation battle that he hopes to wage over biography more [...]

Health officials recently held a regional consultation in Kenya to examine mothertochild HIV transmission services and pediatric HIV/AIDS care in nine Eastern and Southern African countries, IRIN/PlusNews reports. The consultation hosted by UNICEF, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization included representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and [...]

In selecting a Supreme Court nominee, President Obama will have a more diverse pool of judges to choose from than his predecessors did, largely because the number of women on the federal bench has increased dramatically over the past two decades, the AP/Kansas City Star reports. Just two of the 110 justices that have served [...]

Newly released Census Bureau data show that even before the current economic recession began in September 2008, population growth among children younger than age one began to decline, the AP/Kansas City Star reports. Between July 2007 and July 2008, the number of children younger than age one in the U.S. increased 0.9%, compared with a [...]

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College have published results showing that a new contraceptive device may also effectively block the transmission of the HIV virus. Findings show that the device prevents infection by the HIV virus in laboratory testing. The promising results are published in the most recent issue of the journal AIDS.
The new device [...]

Newly identified gene variants associated with the age at which females experience their first menstrual period and the onset of menopause may help shed light on the prevention of breast and endometrial cancer, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease.
In a new study, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH), National Cancer [...]