Opponents of abstinence-only sex education plan to make an "aggressive push" to lobby Congress and President Obama to halt federal funding for abstinence-based programs and instead promote comprehensive sex education, the AP/Google.com reports.

An increase in the number of Caesarean sections performed in the U.S. coincides with an increase in severe complications during birth, according to a study scheduled to be published in the February issue of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USA Today reports.For the study, researchers analyzed data from the largest U.S.

Women who suffer abuse at the hands of a loved one may not be so quick to talk about it. However, their facial injuries speak volumes. Newly released research in the January/February issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, shows women who are victims of intimate partner violence tend to have different patterns of facial injury than women who experience facial trauma from other causes.

Birth defects are the second leading underlying cause of death for children in Nebraska, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The most common are defects of the central nervous and circulatory systems. While some birth defects are unavoidable, a woman's health before and during pregnancy is a significant contributor to the likelihood of delivering a healthy baby, says the state's Chief Medical Officer.

Female victims of intimate partner violence usually have distinct patterns of facial injury compared to women who have experienced facial trauma from other causes, according to an article published in Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, February 2008 issue. Such data, as well as other characteristics, such as delay before seeking medical help, may help surgeons and other doctors recognize women who are victims of this type of abuse.

Well-publicized celebrity teenage pregnancies and depictions of teen pregnancy in films represent a "squandered opportunity for a serious national discussion of teen motherhood," panelists said at a recent public policy forum organized by the University of Chicago's Chapin Hall Center for Children, the AP/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

New DNA tests to screen fetuses for a wider array of genetic abnormalities early in pregnancy are raising some hopes as well as concerns that the "flood of murky, misleading results" could lead to more abortions and "needlessly alarm" many people, the Washington Post reports.

According to preliminary research results from the Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 15 percent of recently returned female veterans utilizing the VA health care system report experiencing sexual trauma during military service.

Colonoscopy is especially important for women, because they're more likely to have polyps or lesions deeper in the colon. Only colonoscopy examines the entire length of the colon. Emptying the contents of the colon-a step called bowel prep-is essential to a successful colonoscopy. But there's some reason to believe that bowel prep for a colonoscopy is harder for women than for men, reports the November 2008 issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNSS) announced a presentation of updated interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial demonstrating that the Company's lead product candidate, voreloxin, shows promising efficacy and safety as a single agent in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

Scientists presenting findings of their research at a conference in the United States at the weekend said they found evidence that after four decades of decline, rheumatoid arthritis was on the rise among American women.

The British government on Thursday announced that sex education classes will be compulsory for children ages five to 16 enrolled in the country's public schools, Reuters reports. The announcement comes in response to recommendations from a review of sex education in Britain's public schools and in an effort to reduce teen pregnancies in the country.

The candidacy of Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin (Alaska), who opposes abortion rights, "has sent a jolt through traditional liberal women's organizations as she tries to redefine feminism," the Washington Post reports.

One in five black women in Oklahoma faces barriers to starting prenatal care, such as transportation problems, inability to obtain a doctor's appointment when wanted and not being able to begin prenatal treatment when wanted, according to an Oklahoma State Department of Health report released on Tuesday, the

The following is a summary of selected women's health-related blog entries.~ "At a Pharmacy it's Divine to Decline," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch:Page lists several "problems" with this week's

After four decades on the decline, rheumatoid arthritis is on the upswing among women in the United States. That's the finding presented by Mayo Clinic investigators at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals in San Francisco. "This is a significant finding and an indicator that more research needs to be done to better understand the causes and treatment of this devastating disease," says Sherine Gabriel, M.D.

A new study in the October issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, a CDC journal, examined rates of unplanned pregnancies, prenatal care and other reproductive health factors among women living in Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico, the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Black women in Duval County, Fla., are dying at a younger age than white women from a number of conditions, including HIV/AIDS, heart disease and diabetes, according to a report released on Wednesday, the Florida Times-Union reports. The report by the county

The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday included two opposing opinion pieces on Proposition 4, a California ballot measure that would require parental notification before minors receive abortions (Los Angeles Times, 10/22).

Imagine not being able to travel on a plane or avoiding physical activities for fear that, at any moment, your bladder may leak. Studies show many women simply "deal" with urinary incontinence (UI) because they deny the problem, are embarrassed or assume it is a normal part of the aging process. They experience feelings of low self-esteem and a lower quality of life, and often limit their physical activity to avoid accidents.