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Integrating Leadership Skills in Cervical Cancer Prevention Efforts
›With a high burden of cervical cancer in Tanzania, we are advocating for the government’s parliament to prioritize cervical cancer prevention in its annual budget, said Dr. Safina Yuma, a Reproductive Cancer Coordinator at the Ministry of Health, Tanzania, at a recent event hosted by TogetHER for Health on cervical cancer leadership in recognition of cervical cancer awareness month. At least 270,000 women die globally from cervical cancer each year and in Tanzania, it is a leading cause of death, taking the lives of approximately 4,200 women annually. However, cervical cancer is 90 percent preventable with appropriate prevention strategies such as human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations and screenings. Expert leaders from NJIA, a leadership development program for practitioners working in cervical cancer research and prevention, discussed strategies for improving collaboration and leadership within the medical profession to reduce avoidable deaths.
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Has Maternal Mortality Risen During the COVID-19 Pandemic? The Need For More Data
›Since its onset, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mortality has been a question of great concern. And yet, few empirical attempts have been made to capture the potentially profound impact of the pandemic on maternal deaths, particularly in resource-limited settings.
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Through the COVID-19 Lens: Essential Services Needed to Prevent Unintended Pregnancies
›“The current pandemic is straining human resources, disrupting supply chains and service delivery, and negatively impacting service seeking among women and girls in countries across the globe,” said Sarah Barnes, Project Director of the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative. She spoke at a recent event, co-hosted by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), on unintended pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increasing rates of unintended pregnancies during the pandemic have exacerbated the vulnerabilities of many women, said Anneka Knutsson, Chief of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch at UNFPA.
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COVID-19 Pandemic Exacerbates Violence Against Refugee Women and Girls
›Currently, refugee women and girls are facing three concurrent crises: their ongoing humanitarian crisis, the health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the invisible crisis of gender-based violence (GBV). COVID-19 has severely worsened various dimensions of inequality for refugee women and girls. A 2020 report found that 73 percent of forcibly displaced women interviewed across 15 African countries reported elevated cases of domestic or intimate partner violence due to the pandemic. In addition, 51 percent reported sexual violence and 32 percent observed a rise in early and forced marriages.
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Seeing and Hearing Mothers: Uncovering Poor Perinatal Mental Health
›Globally, 15 to 20 percent of women experience a perinatal mental health condition, said Sarah Barnes, Project Director of the Maternal Health Initiative at a recent event, held in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), on mental health support for mothers in the perinatal period. Women are more likely to develop anxiety or depression in the year after giving birth than in any other time in their lives, with suicide and overdose the leading causes of death in the first year postpartum. “And yet, the prevention, early recognition, and treatment of perinatal mental health conditions is a challenge for many, if not most, healthcare systems across the world,” said Barnes.
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Mental Health Conditions: U.S. Policies and Practice to Address the Most Common Complication of Pregnancy and Childbirth
›Maternal mental health (MMH) conditions are the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting 1 in 5 women or childbearing individuals (800,000 U.S. families each year). Recent studies show that suicide and overdose combined are the leading cause of death for mothers in the first year postpartum, contributing to the distressingly high maternal mortality rate in the United States. Sadly, 75 percent of those experiencing MMH conditions go untreated, increasing the risk of multigenerational, long-term negative impacts on the physical, emotional, and developmental health of both the mother and child. The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a three-fold increase in the number of pregnant women and new mothers experiencing MMH conditions. Women of color are disproportionately impacted by both the pandemic and MMH conditions, experiencing both at rates 2-3 times higher than white women.
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Mental Health Conditions Are the Most Common Complication of Pregnancy and Childbirth
›Having a new baby should be the happiest time in a family’s life.
But it doesn’t always work out that way.
During pregnancy or the first year following pregnancy, 1 in 5 women or childbearing people will experience anxiety or depression. In fact, mental health issues are the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, turning joy into sadness, loneliness, confusion, regret, and guilt.
I experienced postpartum depression and anxiety after my son was born 20 years ago. We had a very scary emergency C-section. He refused to take a bottle, and I was exhausted and overwhelmed as I struggled to care for a newborn and a toddler. I told my husband I wanted a divorce and ran away from home, truly believing my family would be better off without me. It took almost six months to find the help I needed.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Has No Demonstrated Impact on Miscarriage Rates in the United States, Research Shows
›COVID-19 continues to pose a high risk to pregnant people who contract the virus. Despite this concern, hesitancy surrounding the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy remains, write the authors of a preprint article on COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy outcomes. As COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, some have raised concerns regarding potential links between receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and experiencing miscarriage (also known as spontaneous abortion), and other adverse outcomes. However, miscarriage is a common occurrence – around 10 to 15 percent of all pregnancies in the United States end in miscarriage – and multiple studies have found no increase in miscarriage in persons who received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Showing posts from category sexual and reproductive health.