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North America | United States | Activism

It’s All About Health for Women and Girls: Ghada Khan on Ending FGM

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An estimated 3.9 million girls around the world are at risk of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) every year. About 513,000 women and girls in the U.S. are at risk of or have undergone this procedure. Ending FGM/C is an issue that many funders can engage in; those who are interested in gender equality, who want to end gender-based violence and child abuse, who want to defend women’s bodily autonomy, and who want to make sure all girls are safe, educated and empowered. Dr. Ghada Khan is a health program analyst and the network coordinator for the U.S. End FGM/C Network, a colla
Africa | Burundi | Crimes

Merck Wants To ‘Empower’ Infertile Women In Africa. Can Music Videos Help?

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In June, an unusual email arrived in the inbox of an NPR global health correspondent. The headline was: "Merck Foundation together with First Lady of Burundi release 'Plus Qu'une Mere' an empowering French Song as courtesy to all infertile women in Burundi and Africa." The email had a link to a video of a performance with an all-female choir. Wearing traditional African clothing printed with the Merck Foundation's logo, they sing a song with lyrics that encourage people not to blame women for infertility. They're performing before an audience of maybe a hundred people, most of them in
South Asia | India | Career

Between domestic chores and agricultural work, rural Indian women have no time for child-rearing

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Working in agriculture-related jobs brings financial freedom to Indian women, but it comes at a cost. Intense work leads to stress and compromises in care responsibilities towards children and also affects the women’s own health, according to recent research published by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). “Women’s work in agriculture seems to have a negative effect on household nutrition through two pathways: lack of adequate time for care work in peak agricultural seasons and seasonal energy with consequent losses in body weight,” the study notes. “Recognition of women
Latin America | El Salvador | Crimes

Violence Against Women in El Salvador Is Driving Them to Suicide — Or to the U.S. Border

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It’s hard to grasp the scale of El Salvador’s problem with gender violence. In the Central American country of just six million people, one woman was the victim of a femicide — a man murdering of a woman or girl because of her gender — every 24 hours in 2018. That’s one of the worst rates of femicide in the world, according to the United Nations. Sixty-seven percent of Salvadoran women have suffered some form of violence in their lifetime, including sexual assault, intimate partner violence and abuse by family members, a 2017 national survey found. But only 6% of victims had re
North America | United States | Health

Allyson Felix, her life at risk before C-section, urges lawmakers to hear her story

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Allyson Felix shared the story of the two most terrifying days of her life, revealing she had a severe case of preeclampsia that led to her emergency C-section childbirth at 32 weeks on Nov. 28. Felix testified Thursday at the House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee hearing on overcoming racial disparities and social determinants in the maternal mortality crisis.
North America | United States | Health

Asbestos found in some Claire’s makeup, FDA says

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The FDA issued a warning advising consumers against using certain makeup products from Claire's, as they could be contaminated with asbestos. The FDA said samples of the following products tested positive for tremolite asbestos: o Claire's Eye Shadows - Batch No/Lot No: 08/17 o Claire's Compact Powder - Batch No/Lot No: 07/15 o Claire's Contour Palette - Batch No/Lot No: 04/17 The FDA sampled and had tested targeted cosmetic products following reports of contaminated cosmetics marketed by Claire's. Testing was conducted on behalf of FDA by the Occupational Safety and Health Administra
North America | United States | Corruption

FDA: Government Recommends Untested, Unlicensed Vaccines for Pregnant Women

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In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, the FDA has admitted, for the first time, that government agencies, including the CDC, are recommending vaccines for pregnant women that have neither been licensed for pregnant mothers by FDA nor tested for safety in clinical trials. The lawsuit, filed by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) attorney, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on behalf of Informed Consent Action Network(ICAN), a vaccine safety advocacy group, sought all clinical trial data used by FDA to approve influenza vaccines for pregnant women. The FDA’s terse reply: “We
Europe | U.K. | Health

The rate of suicides among women has increased to its highest level in a decade

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The number of suicides among women in the UK has increased to its highest level since 2005. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 6,188 people in the UK intentionally took their own lives in 2015, up from 6,122 in 2014. This increase was driven by a rise in deaths by suicide among women with the rate rising from 5.2 to 5.4 per 100,000 people. It means that the rate of suicides among women has now reached its highest level since 2005, although it is still significantly lower than in 1981 when 10.6 per 100,000 women intentionally took their own lives.
South Asia | Australia | Health

25-Year-Old Student Discovers Way to Kill Superbugs WITHOUT Antibiotics — Science Freaks Out

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The outlook for humanity is, indeed, bleak. However, thanks to a handful of research students from the University of Melbourne School, we may have hope after all. Ph.D. student Shu Lam, the study’s lead researcher, believes they’ve found a way around antibiotic dependency in the battle against bacteria. “We’ve developed a new class of antimicrobial agents, which are very unique. They come in the form of tiny star-shaped molecules that are made from short chains of proteins,” Lam told VICE. “We found that they are very effective at wiping out [bacterial] infections in mice and
Asia | China | Health

Woman, 61, gives birth in China as grieving ‘one child policy’ parents seek second chance

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A 61-year-old woman has became what is believed to be China’s second oldest mother, according to media reports, in a growing trend of older births among desperate couples who have been left childless by Beijing’s draconian one-child policy. The woman, who was identified by her surname Zhang, gave birth to a boy in China’s eastern Zhejiang province through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The C-section delivery came two years after the death of her 30-year-old daughter, who was her only child at the time.
Latin America | El Salvador | Health

El Salvador Advises Women to Delay Pregnancies Due to Virus

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Public health officials in El Salvador are advising women to put off pregnancies for the next two years to avoid passing on complications from the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Vice-minister of public health Eduardo Espinoza said Thursday women who are already pregnant should stay covered outdoors to reduce the risk of mosquito bites. There are 96 suspected cases of pregnant women with the virus in El Salvador. Some countries with Zika, such as Brazil, have seen spikes in the number of cases of microcephaly, a rare brain defect in babies. The infants tend to have smaller than normal heads a
North America | United States | Activism

5 Mothers are Victorious Against the New York City Flu Vaccine Mandate

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In a trailblazing victory for families with young children, and a triumph for liberty-minded citizens across the country, the New York State Supreme Court has just overturned a municipal ruling which would have mandated flu vaccines for young children attending day care programs and preschools in New York City. [1] This mandate had worrisome implications for families everywhere. The most amazing part of this historic decision? Five inspired mothers joined together, hired a lawyer, and sought the help of the state court. Their steadfast efforts will bring health and hope to families in New
South Asia | Australia | Health

One in five women giving birth in Australia are 35 or over, data shows

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More than one in five women giving birth in Australia are now aged 35 or over, the latest official figures show. The latest birth data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows the proportion of mothers aged 35 and older who gave birth increased by four percentage points to 22% in the decade to 2013. Women who gave birth aged under 24 decreased from 19% to 17%; 30.1 years was the average age in 2013, up from 29.5 years a decade earlier. First-time mothers had an average age of 28.6 years, up from 27.8 years in 2003, the data shows.
North America | Canada | Health

Pregnant Women on Antidepressants More Likely to Have Child With Autism

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A new study shows that women who take antidepressants in the later stages of pregnancy are more likely to have a child with autism. The study specifies one particular group of antidepressants in particular — the SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as Prozac, Zoloft or Paxil. "Use of antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, during the second and/or third trimester increases the risk of autism spectrum disease in children, even after considering maternal depression," Anick Berard of the University of Montreal and colleagues wrote in their

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