Health Diaries > Health News > Women's Health News > November 2005
November 30, 2005
Fertility Drug Femara Linked to Birth Defects
The manufacturer of a breast cancer drug, letrozole, is warning fertility doctors that it has been associated with birth defects, a caution prompted by reports that the drug was being used to help a woman become pregnant.
Letrozole is approved for use only in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. But there is evidence some doctors have prescribed it as a fertility treatment because it suppresses estrogen and can promote ovulation. It is marketed under the name Femara. (Washington Post)
Posted by news editor at 07:58 AM
November 28, 2005
Once a C-Section, Always a C-Section?
When Karri Rickard moved from Pennsylvania to Maryland, it never occurred to her that she would have a problem finding a hospital to deliver her baby. But she did. So much trouble, in fact, that Rickard and her husband are giving up their home in Frederick and moving back to Pittsburgh.
"It's sad, because we're happy here," said Rickard, 32, who headed back to Pennsylvania this month with her husband and four children. "But we want to be somewhere where they'll let me trust my body." (Washington Post)
Posted by news editor at 05:06 AM
November 16, 2005
C-Sections at All-Time High
The rate of Caesarean sections in the U.S. has climbed to an all-time high, despite efforts by public health authorities to bring down the number of such deliveries, the government said Tuesday. (MSNBC)
Posted by news editor at 10:57 AM
November 15, 2005
In Special Ed Case, Court Backs Montgomery Schools
In a case involving the Montgomery County schools, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that parents of special-education students disputing proposed instructional plans for their children have the burden of proving why the plans are inadequate. (Washington Post)
Posted by news editor at 06:32 AM
Review of 'Plan B' Bill Is Faulted
Senior Food and Drug Administration officials were told that the application to sell the "morning-after pill" without prescription was going to be rejected before the staff completed its scientific review and months before the decision was made public, government investigators reported yesterday. (Washington Post)
Posted by news editor at 02:23 AM
November 12, 2005
Warning Issued for Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch
The Food and Drug Administration warned users of the popular Ortho Evra birth control patch that they are being exposed to more hormones, and are therefore at higher risk of blood clots and other serious side effects, than previously disclosed. (Washington Post)
Posted by news editor at 06:37 AM
November 10, 2005
Down Syndrome Now Detectable in First Trimester
A first-trimester screening test can reliably identify fetuses likely to be born with Down syndrome, providing expectant women with that information much earlier in a pregnancy than current testing allows, according to a major study being released today. (Washington Post)
Posted by news editor at 04:29 AM
November 03, 2005
Make-up May Mask the True Feminine Glow
Make-up, scientists believe, interferes with the most basic and instinctive lines of communication between male and female.
It masks the natural feminine glow which, through centuries of evolution, has been the signal to a man that a woman is fertile. (Daily Mail)
Posted by news editor at 02:41 AM