Introduction Tackling teenage pregnancy has been high on the political agenda since 1999, when the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was published. Teenagers who become pregnant probably need more support than older mothers-to-be. Young women often become pregnant because they come from unsupported backgrounds and have no ambition or self-belief, and where they have access to alcohol [read the full story…]
The period after giving birth to a child can be difficult for women and in the first twelve weeks after childbirth 13-19% of women will experience post-partum depression (O’Hara 1996, Gaynes 2005). Post-partum depression is bad news – not only does it increase the chance of the mother going onto develop a severe clinical depression [read the full story…]
Human pregnancy is considered to be full-term when it lasts between 37-42 weeks. Anything shorter is considered to be a pre-term birth and anything longer is considered post-term. Longer pregnancies can be a risk to both the mother and infant and so labour tends to be induced if a pregnancy goes on past 42 weeks. [read the full story…]
For many mums-to-be it is advised that taking regular folic acid supplements during pregnancy, and whilst trying to conceive, has significant health benefits for their unborn baby, namely around reducing the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida (NHS, 2013). However, do these supplements also affect the risk of the unborn baby developing [read the full story…]
For many mums-to-be it is advised that taking regular folic acid supplements during pregnancy, and whilst trying to conceive, has significant health benefits for their unborn baby, namely around reducing the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida (NHS, 2013). However, do these supplements also affect the risk of the unborn baby developing [read the full story…]
Access to information about pregnancy is crucial for parents to be. For people with learning disabilities, faced with a variety of new choices to make, this is especially true. However, there is little information currently available about pregnancy for people with learning disabilities. As the number of women with learning disabilities becoming pregnant increases, it [read the full story…]
Introduction This report was written to identify the various consequences of reducing access to contraceptive and sexual health services in the UK, a resulting consequence of changes to commissioning in the UK. The implications are not just for short-term health care costs, but for medium and long-term financial aspects of all public sector departments, [read the full story…]
Periodontal disease is common as is pregnancy and preterm labour is a complication in 10-15% of all pregnancies. It is therefore not unsurprising that an association between periodontal disease and pre-term labour has been noted in a number of studies. The aim of this latest review was quantify the relationship between periodontal disease, preterm birth [read the full story…]
Hormonal changes during pregnancy are considered to affect the response of the gingival tissues, with studies suggesting that 36% – 100% of pregnant women suffer pregnancy gingivitis. The aim of this review was to assess the effect of pregnancy on systemically healthy women in terms of gingival inflammation. The Medline and Embase databases were searched [read the full story…]
Studies have shown that the prevalence of depression in pregnant women is 7-19%. Being depressed during pregnancy can result in preterm delivery, which can in turn lead to illness and even death of the newborn child. Researchers have struggled to single out the causes of these risks. Is it the depression, the medical treatment being [read the full story…]
