Women's Health: Motherhood permanently alters brain ♦ False breast cancer alarm has negative impact on health ♦ Newer contraceptive pills linked to higher clot risks

Labor analgesia in low-income countries: Experience from Ghana

A program to improve pain control during labor at one of Ghana's largest maternity units greatly increased the use of safe and effective spinal analgesia for women undergoing cesarean section, reports a new article

Motherhood permanently alters brain and its response to hormone therapy later in life

The form of estrogens used in Hormone Therapy (HT) and previous motherhood are critical to explain why HT has variable effects on cognitive functions, new research suggests. In a recent study, estradiol had beneficial effects while estrone did not, researchers explain, adding that the effects of estrone also depended on the experience of motherhood.

False breast cancer alarm has negative impact on health The psychological strain of being told that you may have breast cancer may be severe, even if it turns out later to be a false alarm. Researchers are calling for improving screening accuracy, thus reducing the number of false-positive mammograms.

Newer contraceptive pills linked to higher clot risks New evidence to confirm the link between newer contraceptive pills and higher risk of serious blood clots (known as venous thromboembolism or VTE) has been provided by a new study. About 9% of women of reproductive age worldwide use oral contraceptives, rising to 18% of women in developed countries and 28% of women in the UK.