Elderly women can increase muscle strength as much as young women can, a new study from the University of New Hampshire finds, indicating that decline in muscle function is less a natural part of the aging process than due to a decline in physical activity. The research, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, compared strength gains of inactive elderly women and inactive young women after both groups participated in an eight-week training regime.

Depressed pregnant women have twice the risk of preterm delivery than pregnant women with no symptoms of depression, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study is published online in the Oxford University Press's journal Human Reproduction on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy opened Tuesday in Chantilly, Va., becoming at least the seventh pharmacy nationwide to refuse to sell contraception on religious grounds, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The organization that owns the pharmacy,

es Call for New Approa Citing concerns that the ABC prevention method -- which stands for Abstinence, Be faithful and use Condoms -- does not provide women with sufficient protection against HIV/AIDS because of issues such as rape, early marriage and low condom use, advocates for women's reproductive health recently called for new approaches to reducing the disease among women, Ghana's

The Detroit News on Tuesday examined "embryo adoption," the process by which individuals and couples donate unused embryos created for fertility treatments to other families who are trying to conceive.

The NSW&ACT Faculty of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) today joined the call for certainty for pregnant women in the Bega and Pambula region regarding the provision of a quality of obstetric service.

Some types of stress may increase risk for preterm delivery, but many stressful events do not, according to study by a researcher at RTI International. The study, published in RTI Press, found that being in debt, being injured by a partner, having someone close attempt suicide, and being divorced were associated with an increase risk of preterm delivery, but 13 other events were not.

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.

The power of the next president to make appointments to federal courts places women "at a crossroads in our struggle for legal equality as a means to social equality," including on policies related to reproductive health, Catharine MacKinnon, a professor of law at the University of Michigan, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

Today The Women's Sexual Health Foundation (TWSHF) released an issue of the Women's Sexual Health Foundation Journal devoted entirely to women's sexuality and cancer, a topic the Foundation frequently addresses with healthcare professionals, cancer patients and survivors. This journal, entitled Women's Sexuality and Cancer, is available as a free download on the Foundation's website, http://www.TWSHF.org.

The recent announcement by the Bush administration that U.S.-financed contraceptive supplies no longer can be distributed by six African countries through the British aid organization Marie Stopes International is the "latest bout of reproductive health madness," according to

Earlier this week, the pharmaceutical company Bayer agreed to stop airing commercials for the oral contraceptive YAZ in response to an Oct. 3 warning letter from FDA telling the company that the advertisements overstate the benefits of the drug. According to the FDA letter, the commercials "broaden the drug's indication, overstate the efficacy of YAZ and minimize serious risks associated with the use of the drug.

The European Court of Human Rights, which rules on cases in which applicants feel they cannot receive adequate legal redress in their home countries, is considering whether to take up an Irish case that would determine whether a woman in the country has a right to an abortion to preserve her health, the

The number of teen health clinics in New York City offering same-day pick up of emergency contraception dropped by 13% from 2007 to 2008, according to a report released Monday by New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the New York Daily News reports.

Women, the elderly, and patients admitted to the emergency department on weekends are all less likely to receive same-day coronary angioplasty for a life-threatening heart attack in Florida, University of South Florida researchers found. Their study was published this month (Oct. 1) in the American Journal of Cardiology.

At a recent workshop held by Women, Media and Change, Afua Ansre, national coordinator of the United Nations Development Fund for Women in Ghana, said that obstacles to HIV/AIDS prevention -- including a lack of access to information, education and health care -- are compounded by a deficit of sex-specific data on monitoring systems, Ghana's

Over 31% of U.S. births are now by cesarean section although a 5% to 10% rate is best for mothers and babies. The extra cost is well over $2.5 billion per year. The excess cesareans buy no reduction in maternal and newborn deaths. But they cause unneeded exposure to the dozens of adverse effects more common with c-sections. This is just the most striking example of how health care provided to mothers giving birth exposes them to avoidable harm and expense.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has joined forces with the nation's leading cancer advocacy groups in a landmark television event and education initiative, Frosted Pink with a Twist, dedicated to raising awareness of cancers primarily affecting women. Today, one in three women in the US will develop cancer in her lifetime.

~ "FRC Submits Comments to HHS on Conscience Protection," Family Research Council Blog: In a blog entry, the Family Research Council released comments it submitted to HHS on the proposed federal

Women who receive one to one instruction on how to contract the pelvic floor muscles and practice pelvic floor muscle exercises with health professional supervision are less likely to suffer urine leakage during or after pregnancy. A systematic review from The Cochrane Library suggests that these exercises are effective for preventing and treating incontinence.