Risky Pregnancy Research Articles

Methamphetamine use is Independently Associated with Risky Sexual Behaviors and Adolescent Pregnancy

Methamphetamine use is Independently Associated with Risky Sexual Behaviors and Adolescent Pregnancy

Effects of Increased Access to Infertility Treatment on Infant and Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from Health Insurance Mandates

This paper examines the association between use of infertility treatment and infant and child health outcomes. Infertility treatment makes conception possible for many couples who otherwise would have been unable to reproduce. Many treatments also increase the chance of having a multiple birth, typically a more risky pregnancy. State insurance mandates compelling insurers to cover or offer to cover infertility treatment induce variation across states over time in access to subsidized infertility treatment. Using birth certificate data, this paper finds the infertility mandates are associated with a statistically significant 10 percent increase in twin births among older mothers. Twin pregnancies are typically more dangerous (and costly) than singleton pregnancies. Thus, even if the only effect of the mandates is to increase twin births, they have likely had a negative effect on infant health. For twins born to older mothers, the mandates are also associated with small but statistically significant negative effects on birth weight, gestation, and the 5-minute Apgar score. Effects for singletons born to older mothers are smaller in magnitude but still negative. Using Census data, the paper finds more mixed evidence about longer term effects of the mandates on child health. The findings for twin birth outcomes suggest that positive effects of investment by older mothers in their pregnancies are outweighed by negative impacts of either the infertility treatments themselves or by the selection into pregnancy of women with reduced fecundity.

Age of sexual initiation and HIV-related behaviours: application of survival analysis

Previous studies have consistently suggested positive associations between early sexual initiation and subsequent risky sexual behaviours, HIV/STD infection, adolescent pregnancy and substance use. In the present study, survival curves for rural-to-urban migrants in China with and without HIV-related behaviours were analysed to determine (1) the risk of initiating sex at each ageand (2) the association between sexual initiation and HIV-related behaviours.

Medicine: Viagra might rescue risky pregnancies

Science NewsVolume 167, Issue 16 p. 254-254 Meeting Medicine: Viagra might rescue risky pregnancies First published: 25 September 2009 https://doi.org/10.1002/scin.5591671614AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume167, Issue1616 April 2005Pages 254-254 RelatedInformation

Mixed blessings: ethical issues in assisted conception

Mixed blessings: ethical issues in assisted conception

Inconceivable? Deducting the Costs of Fertility Treatment

This Article considers whether infertile taxpayers can deduct their fertility treatment costs as medical expenses under Internal Revenue Code section 213 and whether they should be able to deduct them. Internal Revenue Code section 213 defines medical expenses as "amounts paid-for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body." This definition is interpreted by reference to a baseline of normal biological functioning, which includes reproductive functioning. Most people conceive and bear children without having to incur expenses for fertility treatment. Expenses incurred to approximate the baseline of normal reproductive health are deductible, even if the taxpayer winds up better off, with a child, after the fertility treatment. The medical profession recognizes that infertility is a disease or condition. Infertility is a loss, just as a broken leg is a loss. Fertility treatment costs are thus medical expenses under section 213. In addition, given the existence of the medical expense deduction, taxpayers should be able to deduct the cost of fertility treatments, including IVF, egg donor, and surrogate procedures, under either an "ability-to-pay" or consequentialist normative approach. Reproduction is extremely important to most people. In addition, allowing taxpayers to deduct the costs of fertility treatment will encourage infertile taxpayers to elect the most effective treatment option and reduce the rate of risky multifetal pregnancies. This Article concludes that fertility treatment costs are deductible as medical expenses under current law and should be deductible as medical expenses.

Aboriginal nurses' beliefs, attitudes, and values about sexuality in Taiwan.

The potential of risky sexual behaviors and adolescent unplanned pregnancy has become a primary issue in the health care system for aborigines in eastern Taiwan. Using aboriginal nurses to provide information on sexual behaviors may have potential in promoting healthy sexual practices among aborigines. The purposes of this study were to explore Taiwanese aboriginal nurses beliefs. attitudes, and values about sexuality. Several health centers in eastern Taiwan were randomly selected to recruit participants in the year 2000. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 206 female nurses (mean age = 28.4, SD = 7.4) who worked in various clinical units. The results revealed that aboriginal nurses hold moderately positive beliefs, attitudes, and values about sexuality. The conflict between aboriginal nurses' belief and value systems about sexuality was clear. A conflict between aboriginal nurses' value systems and patients behaviors also existed. Strategies to help aboriginal nurses to be more aware of their beliefs, attitudes, and values about sexuality should be an essential issue in the practice and education of nurses.

Pregnancy and women's lives in the twenty-first century: the United States Safe Motherhood movement.

In 1900, a pregnant woman in the United States faced serious threats to her life. Training in obstetrical care was not standardized for midwives or physicians, essentially no medical interventions were available, and ways to prevent a risky pregnancy were limited. Little wonder that maternal mortality was the second most common cause of death for women of reproductive age at the beginning of the twentieth century. On the other hand, these women usually had extended family nearby and experienced mothers, aunts, or other adult women to support them through pregnancy and infant care. By 1950, the situation had markedly changed. Obstetrical care was standardized and provided such “miracle interventions” as antibiotics, safe blood transfusion, and aseptic delivery. Most deliveries occurred in hospitals; maternal deaths became a rare event. Most middle-class women bore their children early and stayed home to raise them. The downside was that the extended family became the nuclear family, with less opportunity for community support, and obstetrical care became so medicalized that it was routine practice to anaesthetize women into unconsciousness during labor and delivery. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, new revolutions have occurred. Late childbearing has become commonplace. Between 1975 and 1997, the rate of first births to U.S. women aged 35–39 years more than doubled from 19.8 to 44.5 per 1000 child-

Epidemiological assessment of the influence of socio-family factors in adolescent pregnancy.

Pregnancy in adolescence constitutes a serious public health problem at these ages. It de-stabilizes family homeostasis; family and affective support received by the adolescent is recognized to be a factor of influence in the problem. The objective of the research presented is the empirical study in Cádiz, SW Spain, of the socio-family support received by a group of adolescent mothers, and the influence of this on the development of the pregnancy and the infant, in comparison with a group of adult mothers. A descriptive study of 305 adolescent mothers and 285 adult mothers who gave birth in 1996 and attended the family planning centers of the Primary Health Care District of Cádiz, Spain, in 1997. The variables used included socio-demographic data of the adolescents, information on the pregnancy and birth, on the health of the baby, and on social and family support (by means of the Duke-Inc and Apgar family questionnaires). In the statistical study of the data, frequencies, statistical association, and disequalities of prevalence in the variables were determined. Of the totals, 81.6% (77-86) of the adolescent mothers were unmarried, compared with 22% (17-26) of the adult mothers; 82.3% (78-87) of the adolescents were living with their parents, compared with 39.3% (34-45) of the adults. Family support received is greater among the adolescents (p < 0.01). In this group, in line with increasing family support, there is improvement in--the decision to continue the pregnancy (p < 0.0001), frequency of check-ups (p < 0.0001), less problems in the pregnancy (p < 0.01), differences in the anthropometric values of the baby at birth (p < 0.0001), and breast-feeding (p < 0.001). The conclusion is reached that juvenile pregnancy is not synonymous with more risky pregnancy. There is a positive correlation between the socio-family support received and the general success of the pregnancy and better health in the mother and baby.

Screening of maternal serum for prenatal Down's syndrome and neural tube defects: an Italian experience

Serum AFP, uE3, β-HCGare all non-invasive techniques able to identify pregnant women at high risk of Down's syndrome and neural tube defects (NTD). We collected 1017 sera from pregnant women (age range: 18–41 years; gestation: 15–21 weeks). It is important that to calculate Down's syndrome risk to be sure what population parameters in computer software are used, and how appropriate these are for the population being screened. Our results from the risky pregnancies show an acceptable agreement between the Triple tests and amniocentesis.

An automated intelligent diagnostic system for the interpretation of umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry

The objective is to develop an automated intelligent diagnostic system for the interpretation of umbilical artery velocity waveforms. An ultrasound instrument with pulsed-wave Doppler is connected to a microcomputer by means of a frame grabber. After data acquisition, umbilical Doppler velocimetry is handled as a pattern recognition (feature extraction and classification) and decision-making problem. Automated image processing (enhancement, smoothing/thresholding and edge detection) and analysis are used for feature extraction. Six waveform indices obtained by feature extraction are used as input layer to vector quantization which classifies waveforms into six groups. A clinical decision is assigned to each group by the medical expert. Our system is trained by 278 and 380 waveform images of 94 normal and 157 high risk pregnancies, respectively. The system was tested with 193 and 61 images of normal and risky pregnancies; it was demonstrated that sensitivity and specificity of the system are 54.1% and 80.3%, respectively.

Comparing Perceived Social Support and Perceived Stress in Healthy Pregnant Women and Pregnant Women with Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a prevalent side effect of pregnancy. Different studies have reported different results about the relationship between mental stress and blood pressure disorders. In addition, social support is highly important to help women who experience risky pregnancy in adapting to the stressors they experience. This study aimed to compare perceived social support and perceived stress in women with and without preeclampsia. Fifty pregnant women definitely diagnosed with preeclampsia and 50 healthy pregnant women visiting public hospitals including Hazrat Masoumeh, Motazedi, and Imam Reza in Kermanshah-Iran took part in a descriptiveanalytical study from June 2017 to January 2018. Data gathering tools included demographics questionnaire, social support appraisals scale and perceived stress scale. The collected data was analyzed with SPSS (v.20) using independent t-test. The mean score of perceived social support in the preeclampsia and non-preeclampsia groups were 69.88±7.3 and 76.80±7.6 respectively (P<0.01). The mean score of perceived stress in the preeclampsia and non-preeclampsia groups were 35.6±8.7 and 26.01±5.56 respectively (P<0.01). This means that compared with healthy women, women with preeclampsia perceived more stress and less social support. In comparison with healthy pregnant women, women with preeclampsia perceived more stress and less social support. Healthcare providers should recommended to pay more attention to improving social support and attenuating stress in pregnant women.