Bush Ally Orr Leaves Just as Domestic Gag Rule Is Reconsidered: RH Reality Check has good coverage of the surprise resignation of Dr. Susan Orr, the assistant deputy secretary for population affairs. Orr previously worked for the Family Research Council — one of several conservative groups now pressuring President Bush to cut Title X family planning funding for clinics who also provide abortion services.

“Her most notable accomplishment in the year she has served is to defend the abstinence-until-marriage approach in the face of incontrovertible evidence it has failed,” writes Cristina Page. “Now that the Unplanned Family Research Council is within days of hitting another nail into Title X’s coffin, Dr. Orr suddenly and quietly resigns from her post so, one suspects, to not appear to have orchestrated the undermining of her own program from within.”

Read related posts by Amie Newman and Emily Douglas, and here’s more on the domestic gag rule by Marilyn Keefe of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

Plus: The Hill reports on how a group of centrist House Republicans are squaring off with GOP conservatives over modifying Title X regulations.

Domestic Partners Can Wed Without Dissolution: “Same-sex couples who are registered as domestic partners do not have to dissolve that union before getting married, attorneys that advise the state Legislature said Thursday, just as county clerks and other local officials met to determine how they will enact last week’s historic state Supreme Court ruling,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Of course, there’s still the possibility of voters this November approving a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. State Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco warned that in light of future uncertainty, couples should not dissolve their domestic partnerships until that question is settled.

“It would be foolhardy to dissolve because it would create a period of vulnerability” for couples, Migden said.

For answers to more questions on the legality and logistics of same-sex marriage in California, check out this special news section.

FDA Warns Mothers About Nipple Cream: The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to nursing mothers on Friday not to use or purchase Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream, marketed by MOM Enterprises Inc. of San Rafael, Calif., The product label says there’s no need to remove the cream before nursing, but it contains ingredients that may cause respiratory distress, vomiting and diarrhea in infants. Whoa.

The potentially harmful ingredients in the cream are chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol. From the FDA release:

“Chlorphenesin relaxes skeletal muscle and can depress the central nervous system and cause respiratory depression (slow or shallow breathing) in infants. Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that is primarily used in cosmetics and medications. It also can depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in infants.”

“FDA is particularly concerned that nursing infants are being unwittingly exposed by their mothers to this product with dangerous side effects,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Additionally, these two ingredients may interact with one another to further compound and increase the risk of respiratory depression in nursing infants.”

The FDA said it has not received any reports of injury to infants. The company has stopped selling the cream.

Chemicals in Nail Salons Affect Workers: A new survey from the Northern California Cancer Center and Asian Health Services of Oakland has found that Vietnamese nail salon workers suffer from acute health effects associated with the chemicals they use in that work, according to this release. Toxic and potentially hazardous ingredients, including solvents, plasticizers, resins and acids, are commonly found in nail care products.

“A majority of the workers reported health concerns from exposures to workplace chemicals,” reports Dung Nguyen of Asian Health Services who directed the face-to-face interviews with 201 Vietnamese nail salon workers at 74 salons. “Many of them reported having some health problem after they began working in the industry, particularly skin and eye irritation, breathing difficulties and headaches.” said Nguyen.

“Our findings highlight a critical need for further investigation into the breast cancer risk of nail salon workers, underscored by the workers’ routine use of carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, their prevalent health concerns about such chemicals, and their high level of acute health problems,” adds Thu Quach, MPH, of the Northern California Cancer Center.

The study was published online and is scheduled to appear in the October issue of Journal of Community Health.

New Safety Program to Monitor Medicare Drug Use: “Federal health officials will begin monitoring prescription drug usage by millions of Medicare participants in an effort to identify potential safety problems,” reports the Associated Press. Kevin Freking writes:

The Food and Drug Administration has been under increasing pressure to develop a comprehensive drug surveillance system since the painkiller Vioxx was pulled from the market in 2004 after it was linked to increased risk of stroke and heart attack.

New regulations announced Thursday by the Health and Human Services Department will enable the FDA, states and academic researchers to screen the Medicare claims data. Under the regulation, the Medicare data can be made available in 30 days.

My favorite quote from the story: “The era of wait and see is going to become the era of tell me right now,” the FDA commissioner, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, said.

At first glance it sounds great. But then you read that only general details about the cost of enacting this new “Sentinel Initiative” were provided and, as Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said, it’s still in the planing states. Our verdict: We’ll wait and see.

Legal Rights of the Uninsured: The Chicago Tribune blog Triage, written by Judith Graham, covers issues related to the health-care industry. Here’s an interesting post on the legal rights of the uninsured — which in Illinois refers to 1.75 million people, almost 60 percent of whom are employed. For starters:

There is no such thing as a “right to care” for people who don’t have health insurance, with one major exception.

If you’re experiencing a medical emergency, you can go to any hospitals and get treatment. Hospitals are enjoined from turning you away under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal act passed by Congress in 1986.

Plus: For up-to-date statistics and analysis of health care coverage and the uninsured, visit this section of the Kaiser Family Foundation. And check out the new Kaiser Fast Facts.

My Veggie Hero: Meet Johanna McCloy, who is taking on one ballpark at a time, trying to get vegetarian hot dogs added to the menu so all baseball fans can experience the joy of filling a bun with sauerkraut and mustard (ketchup? yeah, right). Check out her site, SoyHappy.org. And go Cubs!

When Chick Flicks Get Knocked Up: “Eventually, your female friends — the ones who married late and retained youthful obsessions with Yo La Tengo and graphic art books until forty — may shock you by having children,” writes Alissa Quart at Mother Jones. “This year, at least, they have cinematic alter egos; those millennium Mary Tyler Moores Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt have left their cosmos and canned laughter behind and gotten knocked up onscreen too. In the process, they have created a new genre: The Fertility Film. But are the new fertility film stars actually feminists?” (via Feministing)

Silicone Gel Implants May Lose Approval: From our enlightened neighbor to the north … “Health Canada may have to reverse its controversial 2006 decision to allow women to get silicone gel-filled breast implants if it proceeds with a plan to declare key chemicals found in them to be toxic, experts say,” reports The Ottawa Citizen. (via Beauty and the Breast)

South Carolina Supreme Court Overturns Conviction: “A South Carolina woman convicted of homicide by child abuse after her stillborn baby tested positive for cocaine should get a new trial because of several mistakes her attorneys made, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday,” reports the Associated Press. “Attorneys for Regina McKnight did not introduce the baby’s autopsy report into evidence and failed to rebut the prosecution’s medical expert, the court said in the unanimous decision.”

Prosecutors have 15 days to decide whether to appeal. From the Myrtle Beach Online:

Attorneys for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women and the S.C. Civil Liberties Union became involved in McKnight’s case when she asked for post-conviction relief.

“The groups got involved because there is complete consensus that prosecuting pregnant women is bad for mothers and babies,” said Lynn Paltrow, with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women. “Regina McKnight was convicted on junk science and was not fairly represented at trial.”

A Place to Pump: “Washington area women have hooked up electric or manual versions in parked cars, restrooms, a telephone booth and the basement storage room of the National Zoo visitors center, where a box of panda costumes doubled this spring as a table on which one woman set her pump, bottles and other equipment,” writes Rebecca Adams at the Washington Post.

“Not perhaps what the D.C. Council had in mind when it passed a law in December requiring employers to provide female workers a private, clean space, outside a restroom, to express milk. The Child’s Right to Nurse Act also gives a woman the right to breast-feed, covered or not, in any place, public or private, where she has a right to be.”

Maternal Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants Linked to Urologic Conditions in Boys: This release from the American Urological Association summarizes studies that confirm existing hypotheses that maternal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals – including total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, such as Arochlor) and organochlorinated pesticides (such as dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane, or DDT) may contribute to an increased incidences of congenital anomalies.

Mammograms Coupled with Ultrasounds: Deborah Katz of U.S. News & World Report looks at new research on combining mammography and ultrasounds, which may be better for finding cancers in some women, but it also greatly increases the rate of false-positive results. Plus: Check out our analysis on routine mammograms for premenopausal women.

The Business of Bacteria: The L.A. Times reports on the popularity of probioitics, live "friendly" bacteria that is showing up in more foods, like Dannon’s Activia yogurt. “Companies claim that the daily consumption of probiotics can provide consumers with benefits such as a boost to the immune system and relief from intestinal distress — and researchers think that certain probiotic strains hold promise in a number of areas,” writes Brendan Borrell. “But how significant these benefits are is a matter of debate. And it can be tough to decipher which products offer verifiable health claims and which are piggybacking on the hype of the booming industry.

Doctors Start to Say “I’m Sorry” Long Before “See You in Court”: The New York Times reports on a change in hospital policy: full disclosure when a doctor makes a mistake. Kevin Sack writes:

For decades, malpractice lawyers and insurers have counseled doctors and hospitals to “deny and defend.” Many still warn clients that any admission of fault, or even expression of regret, is likely to invite litigation and imperil careers.

But with providers choking on malpractice costs and consumers demanding action against medical errors, a handful of prominent academic medical centers, like Johns Hopkins and Stanford, are trying a disarming approach.

By promptly disclosing medical errors and offering earnest apologies and fair compensation, they hope to restore integrity to dealings with patients, make it easier to learn from mistakes and dilute anger that often fuels lawsuits.

Malpractice lawyers say that what often transforms a reasonable patient into an indignant plaintiff is less an error than its concealment, and the victim’s concern that it will happen again.

Culture Affects How Teen Girls See Harassment: “Teenage girls of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds still experience sexism and sexual harassment – but cultural factors may control whether they perceive sexism as an environmental problem or as evidence of their own shortcomings,” according to this release from the University of Kentucky summarizing a study of 600 girls, ages 12 to 18, in California and Georgia.

Ninety percent of the girls reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual harassment, the researchers from University of Kentucky and University of California Santa Cruz found.

Specifically, 67 percent of girls reported receiving unwanted romantic attention, 62 percent were exposed to demeaning gender-related comments, 58 percent were teased because of their appearance, 52 percent received unwanted physical contact and 25 percent were bullied or threatened with harm by a male. 52 percent of girls also reported receiving discouraging gender-based comments on the math, science and computer abilities, usually from male peers, and 76 percent of girls reported sexist comments on their athletic abilities, again
predominantly from male peers.

The researchers found that girls have different levels of understanding of sexism and sexual harassment, which may affect reporting data. Older girls and those from a lower socioeconomic background reported more sexism than did their peers. Latin and Asian American girls reported less sexual harassment than did girls of other ethnic groups. Girls who had been exposed to feminist ideas, either through the media or an adult such as a mother or teacher, were more likely to identify and report sexist behavior than were girls who had no information about feminism. Girls who reported feeling pressure from their parents to conform to gender stereotypes were also more likely to perceive sexism. Girls who felt atypical for their gender and/or were unhappy with stereotypical gender roles were most likely to report sexism and harassment.

The study appears in the May/June issue of Child Development.

Federal Agencies Can Now Offer Secret Input on EPA Chemical Reviews: The Washington Post reports on changes the Bush administration has made to Environmental Protection Agency reviews of chemicals — changes that officials with the Government Accountability Office say will delay scientific assessments of health risks and open the process to politicization.

Richard Wiles, executive director of the Environmental Working Group, called the EPA process a “bureaucratic quagmire,” adding, “With these rules in place, it’s now official: The Bush White House is where all good public health protections go to die.”

Death in Childbirth a Health Scourge for Afghanistan: Reuters takes a close look at the staggering maternal death rate in Afghanistan, where about 1,600 Afghan women die in childbirth out of every 100,000 live births.

“In some of the most remote areas, the death rate is as high as 6,500. In comparison, the average rate in developing countries is 450 and in developed countries it is 9,” writes Tan Ee Lyn. “Virtually everyone in Afghanistan can recount a story about a relative dying in childbirth, often from minor complications that can be easily treated with proper medical care.”

Plus: Read our previous posts on Afghanistan and maternal health — and how the United States has mismanaged funding and programs intended to improve hospital conditions.

The Disney Hyprocrisy: From Slate: Forget Miley Cyrus. Check out Disney’s Chinese underwear ad. Just go.

Plus: There’s a new book out on the sexualization of ‘tween girls: “The Lolita Effect,” by Gigi Durham, a University of Iowa journalism professor.

“I’m criticizing the unhealthy and damaging representations of girls’ sexuality, and how the media present girls’ sexuality in a way that’s tied to their profit motives,” said Durham in this release. “The body ideals presented in the media are virtually impossible to attain, but girls don’t always realize that, and they’ll buy an awful lot of products to try to achieve those bodies. There’s endless consumerism built around that.”

Divorce Leads to Job Loss: So imagine you’re a professor and you’re going through a divorce. Your college requires that you talk with a staff member to see whether the grounds for divorce meet Biblical standards. If you don’t, you’ll lose your job. Yep, that’s what happened to a popular English professor who has taught at Wheaton College in Illinois for 20 years. From the Chicago Tribune:

Many theological conservatives say the New Testament permits divorce only in cases of adultery or desertion. Wheaton requires faculty and staff to sign a faith statement and adhere to standards of conduct in areas including marriage, said Provost Stan Jones.

Still, every year, the college has dealt with several cases in which it must evaluate the divorce of a job applicant or a staff or faculty member and consider whether it matches the exceptions laid out in Matthew 19 and the writings of the Apostle Paul.

I admit I’m not up on Bible readings, but what about, say, domestic abuse — along with a host of other very good reasons?

Genetic Link to Osteoporosis: “Researchers have identified two common genetic mutations that increase the risk of osteoporosis and related bone fractures, according to a study released Tuesday,” reports Reuters.

U.S. Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS: The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a new fact sheet on federal funding for HIV/AIDS in the President’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, and comparisons over time, with key funding highlights for domestic and global HIV/AIDS programs. It also includes additional information on federal funding for global TB, malaria and other global health efforts.

Can I Get A May Day for Immigrant Women’s Health?: “May Day, May 1st, has come to hold the promise of rallies for immigrant rights staged across the United States. And this year is no different. But with McCain’s more-of-the-same health care plan having just been released, it’s a perfect time to focus on why women’s reproductive health care must be a crucial part of any discussion about immigration reform,” begins Amie Newman’s essay at RH Reality Check.

Rescue Us From Our Bodies: Here’s a nice round-up of responses to Midol’s new “Reverse the Curse” campaign.

Stop the Mommy Madness: Salon talks with feminist activist Amy Richards, whose new book is titled “Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself.”

Plus: Rachel Fudge reviews “Opting In” for Mother Jones.

More Mothers Breast-Feed, in First Months at Least: “About 77 percent of new mothers breast-feed their infants at least briefly, the highest rate seen in the United States in more than a decade, according to a government survey released on Wednesday,” reports The New York Times. Enthusiasm, however, was tempered.

Breast-feeding experts said that they were cheered by the report’s numbers but noted that rates of breast-feeding at 6 months of age have remained unchanged and are significantly lower than goals set by government agencies. The most recent C.D.C. survey did not report breast-feeding rates at 6 months because of a lack of data. [...]

In the most recent survey, breast-feeding rates increased among non-Hispanic black women to 65 percent from 36 percent in 1993 and 1994. Eighty percent of Mexican-American infants and 79 percent of non-Hispanic white infants had been breast-fed.

The age and income of mothers played important roles. Just 57 percent of poor mothers and only 43 percent of mothers under 20 breast-fed their infants, the survey found.

Dr. Barbara L. Philipp, associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University, said the C.D.C. survey had not asked mothers whether they breast-fed exclusively. “One sip was positive, so they set the bar very low,” Dr. Philipp said.

Celebrate International Women’s Day: Happy IWD to everyone! Here’s the 100-year history and hundreds of events taking place in more than 50 countries.

Lucinda Marshall has reflections on the importance of IWD — and plenty more at Feminist Peace Network. Women’s eNews’ weekly Cheers & Jeers focuses on equality gains and disappointments around the world. Carolyn Byerly writes about the lack of U.S. media coverage.

State of Black America: The State of Black America report was issued this week by the National Urban League. The 2008 edition is subtitled “In the Black Woman’s Voice” and includes essays on the economic, social, psychological and medical challenges that black women face. An executive summary, abstracts and order form can be found in the Urban League’s publication section.

This AP story describes some of the essays. Julianne Malveaux’s “The Status of African-American Women” was republished in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.

Legislation on Drive-By Mastectomies Stuck in Neutral: “Despite an online petition with 20 million signatures supporting federal legislation that could prevent insurance companies from covering only these so-called drive-through — or outpatient — mastectomies, Congress has been slow to act,” reports the Chicago Tribune. “But after more than 10 years of proposing similar legislation, proponents of the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act are hoping that with Democrats controlling Congress, the measure might finally be approved.”

Conflict of Interest Much?: “A dispute over food industry influence has resulted in the resignation of the incoming president of the Obesity Society,” reports The New York Times. It seems that Dr. David B. Allison came under fire after the society, which represents obesity doctors and researchers, learned Allison had written an affidavit “as a paid consultant on behalf of the restaurant industry, which is trying to block new rules in New York City that at the end of March will require fast-food and other restaurant chains to list the calories of menu items.”

Plus: “According to some experts whose views are public health heresy, the jury is still out on how dangerous it is to be fat. ‘The obesity epidemic has absolutely been exaggerated,’ said Dr. Vincent Marks, emeritus professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Surrey,” reports the AP.

Maternal Instinct Wired into the Brain: That’s the headline, anyway, on this incomplete New York Times summary of a study that appeared in Biological Psychiatry. On the upside, it’s a great example of the added-value of commenters, who smartly question the lack of context and potential implications.

Texas Twofer: Rachel points to two Texas stories — the first about a woman kicked out of a mall’s salon for breastfeeding (a violation of company policy and a state statute), and the other about a mother pushing for a policy change after the teenager who raped her now 12-year-daughter was allowed to return to school.

What’s in a Name?: Last month, the Rape Crisis & Abuse Center in Ohio switched back to its old name – Women Helping Women, with the added tagline “Serving Women & Men Who are Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault & Stalking.”

The change was originally made because the agency also helped male victims of domestic violence, but the new name was considered too off-putting and fundraising dropped, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It was the word,” said Executive Director Ann McDonald. “The word rape scares people.”

An editorial in support of the agency’s decision reads in part:

Besides clouding the fact that the center also works heavily with victims of domestic violence, the old name created distance – the very thing a victims’ advocacy group can’t afford. “We need people to hear us,” McDonald says.

Critics may say the center should have maintained its name on principle, that refusing to back off the word is one way to shatter the stigma. But in this case, a challenge to semantics isn’t as important as keeping a vital service viable and alive.

Call for Abstracts: The Black Women’s Health Imperative invites abstracts from individuals interested in presenting a workshop at the national black women’s health conference, June 20, 2008. The abstract must address topics within one of the three conference tracks: mental health, HIV/AIDS and overweight and obesity. The deadline is March 28.

Pro-Choice Carnival: The first Pro-Choice Carnival was recently published at Abortion is a Woman’s Right. Two of Rachel’s posts are featured: “More Disturbing Ballot Initiatives – Abortion Access in Missouri,” from Our Bodies Our Blog, and “How Operation Rescue and National Right to Life Spin Abortion Research,” from Women’s Health News.

The second edition will be posted at the same blog Feb. 28; submissions deadline is Feb. 27. Check here for more information.

21 Leaders Worth Getting to Know: Women’s eNews has announced its 21 Leaders for the 21st Century 2008: “20 women and one man who are dedicated to improving the lives of women in their homes, in their communities, in their nations and across the globe.” Included among them are four women being honored for their work on behalf of women’s health.

Civil Unions Spark Excitement as Well as Yawns: On Jan. 1, New Hampshire became the fourth state — behind Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey — to allow civil unions, and the first to do so without legal challenge. Massachusetts remains the only state that allows gays and lesbians to marry.

This Boston Globe editorial page notes that “the event was met with a collective yawn,” adding: “There are several reasons for this change, but the most important is that residents of New Hampshire have had a chance to observe Vermont and Connecticut’s civil unions and Massachusetts’ same-sex marriage, and realized that extending rights to a minority is no threat to the majority — or to the institution of marriage.”

Prescription Plan Includes Pill: In Oregon, a state law that went into effect Jan. 1 requires health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs to include contraception and requires hospitals to offer emergency contraceptives to women who seek care after a sexual assault, reports The Oregonian.

A separate Oregonian story describes a state law requiring employers with 25 or more workers to provide a separate space and adequate time for mothers to pump breast milk.

“This law is national-precedent setting,” said Amelia Psmythe, executive director of the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon. “It is the most detailed, toughest mandate of its kind in the country, so all eyes are on Oregon.”

Most Free Products Go to the Insured: “Free drug samples are more likely to go to wealthy and insured people than to poor or uninsured Americans, according to a study by Boston-area doctors that conflicts with the view that giving away prescription medications forms a safety net for low-income patients,” reports the Boston Globe.

“That finding suggests that the samples were a marketing tool and not a safety net because the poor and uninsured patients were not finding their way to where the samples were,” said lead author Dr. Sarah L. Cutrona. The study appears in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Doctors Connect with the Mind-Body: The Chicago Tribune reports on the medical community’s growing acceptance of the mind-body connection. In fact, “About 75 percent of medical schools now have some CAM [complementary and alternative medicine] courses in the curriculum, and the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine includes 39 academic health centers, including the Mayo Clinic plus Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Duke and Yale Universities.”

Blog for Choice: The annual Blog for Choice Day takes place Jan. 22, the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This year’s topic — why it’s important to vote pro-choice.

FDA Panel Rejects Breast Cancer Drug: “A Food and Drug Administration panel dealt a sharp blow to biotech giant Genentech Inc. on Wednesday by refusing to recommend approval for the company’s high-profile drug Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer,” reports the L.A. Times. “The cancer drugs are controversial: They extend patients’ lives in some cases only by several months, and they can cost as much as $100,000 per patient per year. In recent years, federal regulators have been willing to approve drugs even if the benefits were only marginal. But that may be changing.”

Health Care Debate Needs to Include Women: “As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic leadership in the Legislature negotiate a health care proposal that they hope everyone can agree upon, it’s important to consider a California constituency that hasn’t received enough attention during this debate: women,” writes Carlina Hansen, executive director of the Women’s Community Clinic in San Francisco, in an op-ed published in the Sacramento Bee.

The op-ed was co-signed by other representatives of the Women’s Working Group on Universal Health Care, a California-based organization that focuses on educating and involving women and women’s organizations in state and local health reform efforts. Check them out.

The Doctor Will Email You Now: “Unlike the banking, restaurant and travel industries, the medical profession has been slow to embrace the Internet’s potential customer service benefits,” reports the Chicago Tribune. “But despite concerns about patient privacy, costs and time constraints, a growing number of physicians are encouraging patients to go online to do things such as check lab results and immunization records, request refills and appointments, and e-mail their physicians with non-urgent medical questions.”

What Says Love Like Diamonds in the Delivery Room? In another example of All The News That’s Fit for Wealthy Heterosexual White Women, the New York Times turns attention to “push presents,” given to the mother following childbirth. Art commemorating the baby’s birth — I get that. I also understand, as one commenter points out, the desire to celebrate the birth with something that can be passed down for generations. But the materialism depicted in this story is disturbing. What’s nine months of pregnancy and labor worth? How about at least six months of paid maternity leave — now that’s priceless.

Plus: New word association game — read the word “push,” visit Pushed Birth.

Environmental Toxin Can Collect in Breast Milk: “Scientists have discovered the mechanism by which a chemical known as perchlorate can collect in breast milk and cause cognitive and motor deficits in newborns,” reports HealthDay News. “Used since the 1940s to manufacture explosives and rocket fuel, the contaminant is still widely present in the water and food supply, experts say.”

The study by scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University appeared in the Dec. 3-7 advance online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Here’s more from the EPA on perchlorate.

A Special Delivery: “‘Juno’ is the only film in recent history in which the protagonist seriously considers termination,” writes Jennie Yarbroff in Newsweek. Of course if you’ve read any of the reviews (which are almost uniformly stellar) you know that consideration is as far as it goes.

EW’s Lisa Schwarzbaum writes in her review: “The old-school feminist in me wishes Juno spent more time, even a tart sentence or two, acknowledging that the options taken for granted by this one attractive, articulate teen are in fact hard-won, precious rights, and need to be guarded by a new-generation army of Junos and Bleekers, spreading the word by text message as well as by hamburger phone. Separate but equal truth: This movie is so delightful and good-hearted a portrait of the kind of new-generation army I’d like to hang with that I accept the admonition ‘Silencio, old woman.’”

Plus: NPR’s “All Things Considered” interviews crush-worthy Ellen Page, and critic Bob Mondello finds this season’s films are where the girls are.

Environmental and Occupational Causes of Cancer: Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Lowell & Boston University last month published an updated scientific review, Environmental and Occupational Causes of Cancer: New Evidence, 2005-2007. According to the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, the report concludes that “mounting evidence linking unintentional exposures to toxins in our workplaces and general environment contribute to the nearly one and a half million new cases of cancer in the U.S. in just 2007 alone.”

The report synthesizes the recent peer-reviewed scientific literature and finds compelling new evidence linking cancer with specific exposures, namely:

* Breast cancer from exposure to the pesticide DDT before puberty;
* Leukemia from exposure to 1,3-butadiene;
* Lung cancer from exposure to air pollution;
* Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from exposure to pesticides and solvents;
* Prostate cancer from exposure to pesticides and metal working fluids;
* Brain cancer from exposure to non-ionizing radiation; and
* A range of cancers from exposure to pesticides based on early findings from the Agricultural Health Study

Here’s the executive summary and the full 45-page report (PDF).

FirstRight is a new grassroots breastfeeding advocacy group with the following stated core values:

• Breastfeeding is a normal, natural, healthy part of skilled and loving parenting.
  
• Every mother has the right to breastfeed her child in private or public without being subjected to discriminatory actions or harassment.
  
• A breastfeeding mother should not be interfered with or intruded upon as she is feeding her child.

FirstRight plans to gather reports of discrimination against breastfeeding women, work to education businesses about breastfeeding rights, and push for legislative action on this issue. Breastfeeding 1-2-3 has suggestions for the group on strategies for becoming successful.

Also related to women and children, Women’s eNews reports that donations have been pouring in to the U.N. Population Fund to support maternal health initiatives in the wake of the Bush administration’s refusal to release allocated funding to the agency. The UNFPA now allows individuals to make donations online to support their global work.

Finally, a piece in today’s LA Times explores outside influences on pregnancy, including food concerns and exposure to environmental toxins.

Weird news of the day:
-A Department of Defense spending bill will include $138 million for breast cancer research programs.
-A women’s health institute at Texas Tech University has been renamed for Laura Bush.

Black Women and Maternal Health: Molly M. Ginty, writing at Women’s eNews, covers the findings of five reports released by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies on black maternal health and racial inequities:

The center’s 19-member Courage to Love: Infant Mortality Commission — funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and partnering with the UCLA School of Public Affairs and the University of Michigan’s NIH Roadmap Disparities Center — says the health problems of black women and black infants stem not just from inadequate medical care but from stress, racism, poverty and other social pressures.

Released during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference from Sept. 26 to 29, the reports also coincide with a meeting organized by the Joint Center and the Washington-based Black Women’s Agenda for 250 representatives of black women’s organizations in Washington, D.C. Attendees will discuss the reports and preview “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” an upcoming PBS television series that explores race and health.

In the five reports — one on breastfeeding, one on nutrition, two on infant mortality and one summarizing the others — commission members address the possible reasons for black women’s negative birth outcomes.

Continue reading Ginty’s story here.

For Starters, Try Talking to Women: Laura L. Mays Hoopes, a writer and molecular biology professor at Pomona College, offers 10 suggestions aimed at men who want to help retain women working in the sciences. The Scientist magazine published the suggestions online last week, ahead of publication in the magazine’s January issue, to spark a discussion of gender bias in science. Suggestions and comments are encouraged.

Using a Breast Pump from the Start: Chicago Tribune health columnist Julie Deardorff writes about skipping breastfeeding directly and going straight to using a breast pump. Predictably, debate follows. Earlier entries on breastfeeding, including a history of La Leche League International, are here.

Plus: “Facebook is getting an online scolding after the social networking site deleted pictures of nursing babies it considered “obscene content” and closed the account of at least one Canadian mom,” reports the Toronto Star. (via Aetiology, which has lots more good links and analysis.)

Condom Accusations Spark Anger: The head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique, Maputo Archbishop Francisco Chimoio, angered AIDS activists last week after telling the BBC he believes some European-made condoms and some anti-retroviral drugs have been deliberately infected with HIV “in order to finish quickly the African people.”

According to the BBC, it is estimated that 16.2 percent of Mozambique’s 19 million inhabitants are HIV positive. The Catholic Church’s official doctrines oppose condoms.

Plus: Broadsheet did a wrap-up Friday of other condom-related news …

Rural Mothers Have Higher Employment Rate: A new study by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire shows that rural mothers with children under age 6 have higher employment rates than their urban counterparts, but have higher poverty rates, lower wages, and lower family income.

The Happiness Gap: Is there a growing “happiness gap” between men and women? Researchers seem to think so, reports The New York Times.

What’s Missing on TV: “Your chances of seeing a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender character on the broadcast networks in prime time this new TV season are about the same as your chances of seeing a talking fish or caveman,” writes Washington Post TV critic Lisa de Moraes.

The latest “Where We Are on TV” report, created by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, found that there are only seven regular LGBT television characters this season, out of 650 regular lead or supporting characters, featured in just five scripted programs.

“On the new prime-time schedules, LGBT characters represent just 1.1 percent of those 650 characters,” adds de Moreas. “In real life, based on U.S. Census projections, LGBT marketing companies estimate 15.3 million adults identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, which would be about 6.8 percent of the population.”

We seem to have covered a lot of breastfeeding news recently, and now here’s info about a cool annual conference that is aiming to “re-position breastfeeding as an issue of women’s reproductive health, rights and justice.”

The Third Annual Breastfeeding and Feminism Symposium, scheduled for Sept. 24-25 at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill, N.C., is sponsored by the Center for Women’s Health & Wellness, UNCG and the Center for Infant & Young Child Feeding & Care, UNC-CH.

Online registration is still available. Here’s the context for the conference:

Advocacy for women’s equality and for breastfeeding behavior has not been adequately supportive of women’s roles and needs as mothers. Many scholars have conceived of breastfeeding as a practice that constrains women from achieving social and economic gains, while breastfeeding programs have not necessarily included the needs of mothers. It has been viewed as a “choice” rather than a rights or health issue. This symposium aims to re-position breastfeeding as an issue of women’s reproductive health, rights and justice.

And the expected outcomes:

This meeting is designed to enhance coalitions between breastfeeding advocates, professionals, and researchers and those concerned with contraception and abortion, worker and maternity rights, adequate health insurance, women’s economic and professional advancement, public health, and health systems and services, and to identify collaborative actions.

The keynote speaker on Monday, Sept. 24 is Barbara Katz Rothman, a professor of sociology at the City University of New York and author of “Laboring On: Birth in Transition in the United States” and “Weaving a Family: Untangling Race and Adoption.”

OBOS Executive Director Judy Norsigian is delivering the keynote on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

Check out the other speakers, or take a look at the full brochure (PDF). Pretty cool mix of people and perspectives.

Last week, the Washington Post published a front-page, 2,050-word story that explains quite clearly how the Bush administration put the wishes of lobbyists ahead of access to important information about the health benefits of breastfeeding.

Here’s an excerpt from the story by Marc Kaufman and Christopher Lee:

In an attempt to raise the nation’s historically low rate of breast-feeding, federal health officials commissioned an attention-grabbing advertising campaign a few years ago to convince mothers that their babies faced real health risks if they did not breast-feed. It featured striking photos of insulin syringes and asthma inhalers topped with rubber nipples.

Plans to run these blunt ads infuriated the politically powerful infant formula industry, which hired a former chairman of the Republican National Committee and a former top regulatory official to lobby the Health and Human Services Department. Not long afterward, department political appointees toned down the campaign.

The ads ran instead with more friendly images of dandelions and cherry-topped ice cream scoops, to dramatize how breast-feeding could help avert respiratory problems and obesity. In a February 2004 letter (pdf), the lobbyists told then-HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson they were “grateful” for his staff’s intervention to stop health officials from “scaring expectant mothers into breast-feeding,” and asked for help in scaling back more of the ads.

The formula industry’s intervention — which did not block the ads but helped change their content — is being scrutinized by Congress in the wake of last month’s testimony by former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona that the Bush administration repeatedly allowed political considerations to interfere with his efforts to promote public health.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating allegations from former officials that Carmona was blocked from participating in the breast-feeding advocacy effort and that those designing the ad campaign were overruled by superiors at the formula industry’s insistence.

“This is a credible allegation of political interference that might have had serious public health consequences,” said Waxman, a California Democrat.

The milder campaign HHS eventually used had no discernible impact on the nation’s breast-feeding rate, which lags behind the rate in many European countries.

And here’s the other kicker: this wasn’t the only situation in which political meddling trumped science:

In April, according to officials and documents, the department chose not to promote a comprehensive analysis by its own Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of multiple studies on breast-feeding, which generally found it was associated with fewer ear and gastrointestinal infections, as well as lower rates of diabetes, leukemia, obesity, asthma and sudden infant death syndrome.

The report did not assert a direct cause and effect, because doing so would require studies in which some women are told not to breast-feed their infants — a request considered unethical, given the obvious health benefits of the practice.

A top HHS official said that at the time, Suzanne Haynes, an epidemiologist and senior science adviser for the department’s Office on Women’s Health, argued strongly in favor of promoting the new conclusions in the media and among medical professionals. But her office, which commissioned the report, was specifically instructed by political appointees not to disseminate a news release.

Wanda K. Jones, director of the women’s health office, said agency media officials have “all been hammering me” about getting Haynes to stop trying to draw attention to the AHRQ report. HHS press officer Rebecca Ayer emphatically told Haynes and others in mid-July that there should be “no media outreach to anyone” on that topic, current and former officials said.

Both HHS and AHRQ ultimately sent out a few e-mail notices, but the report was generally ignored. Requests to speak with Haynes were turned down by other HHS officials.

I wish it were shocking that HHS sat on its own research and refused to to allow its science advisers to speak to the press. But for this “pro-life” administration, it’s yet another example of how concern over an infant’s well-being stops at the point of birth.

Oh, and if you want to take a look, here’s that AHRQ report.

The history on the federal breastfeeding ad campaign goes back to 2000, and the Post’s reporters do an excellent job of explaining the various lobbyists and HHS officials who played a role in watering down the message. Ads discussed in this story are available here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Now that Congress is back from its August recess, you may want to keep an eye out for movement on HR 2236, better known as the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007.

Introduced in May by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, the proposed legislation would accomplish the following:

- Amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding women from discrimination in the workplace, and would include pumping in the definition of lactation

- Give employers with a tax credit of up to $10,000/year if they provide employees with access to qualified breast pumps, lactation consult services, and/or dedicated lactation space.

- Establish performance standards for breast pumps and identify those approved for the workplace credit “based on the efficiency and effectiveness of the pump and on sanitation factors related to communal use.” The Department of Health and Human Services would also produce a guide to the evaluated pumps.

- Create tax breaks for women purchasing qualified breast pumps or lactation consultation services.

Seventeen cosponsors signed onto the bill, with is currently stuck in committee purgatory, having been referred to House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, where it was kicked to a subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

If you have a representative on one of these committees, you may want to contact him or her to express your opinion on the legislation. It is not yet clear when the committees will consider this legislation, and I was unable to locate a companion bill in the Senate. Look for updates here and contact your senator if you’re interested in making sure a companion bill is introduced, which would be necessary to give the act a chance of becoming law.

Maloney’s support of federal breastfeeding legislation was mentioned in this previous post; the congresswoman also helped convene a nurse-in on Capitol Hill last May to introduce the Act.

One minor quibble: I’d like to see the requirements better detailed for the level of access employers must provide in order to receive the tax credit. For example, an employer of a few thousand employees in multiple buildings might technically qualify with one central lactation room and a single pump, but is that truly the kind of broad access the bill is intended to provide?

Some guidance on the recommended average ratio of eligible women to pumps, or otherwise dealing with access in large workplaces, would be a welcome addition that would strengthen the access of working women to lactation spaces and equipment, and by doing so increase the odds of continued breastfeeding.

Guest blogger Rachel Walden of Women’s Health News is posting here this week, while Christine is on vacation.

Despite the recent ban, female circumcision continues in Egypt.

A vaccine for some types of breast cancer makes it through the safety phase of research.

Unsafe sex has outstripped IV drug use as the number one cause of new HIV infections in China.

The American Prospect reviews a new book on judicial bypass for minors’ abortions.

Soon-to-announce Presidential candidate Fred Thompson reveals that he would work to overturn Roe v. Wade and push for a constitutional amendment to keep states from being required to recognize gay marriages performed in other states.

The Navelgaving Midwife tells an impressive birth story, complete with photographs.

The FDA warns breastfeeding women about codeine consumption.

BET Networks is hosting a Rap-It-Up Women’s Health Conference tomorrow in Baton Rouge, LA to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention.

Minneapolis paper offers an obituary and profile of home birth advocate Gail Mraz. One New York paper also reports on women opting for home births.

Disturbing new survey data on domestic violence in Uganda – “…seven in 10 women and about 60% of men believe that there are some situations in which a husband is justified when he beats his wife.”

New Planned Parenthood location predictably draws controversy.

A London service offers sexual health advice via text message.

AP story suggests teens may not be properly educated on laws regarding sex, as few sex ed programs address age of consent and other legal issues.

Women’s eNews has a comprehensive story about breastfeeding legislation and the differences that exist between some states.

“With states so uneven on breastfeeding rights, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., thinks a federal law is needed and introduced the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007 to encourage continued breastfeeding by working mothers,” writes Nancy Cook Lauer, a reporter in Hawaii who has covered the battle in that state for increased protections for women breastfeeding in public.

“While the health, social and economic benefits are many, the barriers to breastfeeding are numerous as well, from the challenges of working mothers, short maternity leaves and general employer and public lack of awareness and support for mothers who breastfeed,” Nancy Partika, executive director of the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, told lawmakers considering that state’s resolution.

We’re now in the midst of World Breastfeeding Week, which is sponsored by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, a partnership that includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, La Leche League International and a host of lactation specialists and consultants.

“The event, which will be celebrated in more than 120 countries from Aug. 1 through Aug. 7 this year, includes an attempt to create a Guinness World Record on synchronized breastfeeding in multiple sites,” writes Lauer. “The event will start at 10 a.m. local time in each country on Aug. 8. Participants register at the Breastfeeding World Web site to be counted.”

Foreign Policy interviews Minnesota mother Jill Youse, who decided to send her extra breast milk to children in South Africa orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS.

“Breast milk has this fascinating aspect to it. It’s not something you look at in your freezer and say, ‘Mmmm, boy, I’m hungry.’ It’s kind of gross, but it’s also kind of cool, and there’s this element of pride to it,” said Youse. “It’s got this ick factor and this awe factor. So I had my baby and I had my breast milk, and I thought that donating seemed like an easy thing that I could do.”

Youse turned a personal mission into a national crusade and is now the founder and executive director of International Breast Milk Project, which collects and ships breast milk from U.S. women. The milk is delivered to the IThemba Lethu orphanage in Durban, which had already set up a milk bank to collect breast milk donated mainly by white South African women.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

FP: How did you send your first shipment?

JY: I did a Google search to find out how I could donate. There’s a whole network of nonprofit milk banks called HMBANA (Human Milk Banking Association of North America) that provides breast milk for sick babies in neonatal and intensive care units in the United States. I also stumbled upon an orphan clinic with a milk bank in Durban, South Africa. It’s called iThemba Lethu, which means “I have a destiny.” For some reason, I just felt I had to donate my milk to them. I figured a lot of women had already done it. So I just e-mailed them and asked them how to donate milk. And they e-mailed back saying, “Uh … we’re in South Africa. Do you realize that?”

Shipping breast milk to Africa seemed like nothing compared to waddling around for nine months, labor and delivery. I called DHL or FedEx for an estimate over the phone and found that if you wanted to ship a frozen packet to Africa, it would cost about $2,000 for a small cooler. That was expensive, but I was hell bent on getting my milk to Africa. So I thought I’d fly it there myself. That would be cheaper, and then I’d get to visit Africa, too. What ended up happening is that someone from iThemba Lethu was visiting the United States and was flying back to South Africa. I was living close to St. Louis at the time, and my husband and I drove about six and a half hours to Chicago and met him at the airport. We had the milk on dry ice; we checked it in through security and followed all the flying-breast-milk-on-an-airplane protocols at the time. The guy checked it in with his luggage, and it arrived safely the next day with him. So the first shipment was free.

FP: How did other mothers start taking an interest in your project?

JY: The local media picked up on the trip to Chicago, and before I realized it, I was the person to contact for people who wanted to donate their milk to African babies. Two weeks after the first shipment, which was in April, I called DHL and asked them if they would donate the second shipment. They said yes, and within 48 hours, the plane was ready to go with the milk on board. It happened really fast. FedEx donated the third shipment, which was on Thanksgiving. That was milk from about 10 moms nationwide. And now we have 500 applications for the next shipment. I guess there was an interest among women in the United States who wanted to do anything they could to help children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Continue reading here.

If you want to learn more, ABCNews did a story about IThemba Lethu last fall. Here’s video footage and a transcript.

“Decades of medical research prove that mother’s milk has extraordinary health benefits for babies. But does breast-feeding also make babies smarter, as some advocates claim?” asks Judith Graham of the Chicago Tribune.

The answer isn’t simple. Graham looks at a new study by three Scottish scientists whose findings on breastfeeding and intelligence was recently published in the British Medical Journal. The scientists found that “breast-fed children scored higher on measures of cognitive functioning than other kids. The gain was about 4 points; altogether, data for 5,475 U.S. children were analyzed. A combined ‘meta’ analysis of eight studies also was part of the report,” writes Graham.

Earlier research has pointed to the possible health value of mother’s milk itself — perhaps provided by “long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids” — while other scientists have suggested that the bonding that occurs while breastfeeding might influence cognitive development. The most recent study points to a host of other factors.

[A]fter examining a host of potential influences, the Scottish scientists determined that the act of breast-feeding couldn’t explain why children performed better on tests of mental acuity. Instead, their analysis found that environmental and genetic factors explained higher scores for breast-fed children, especially the intelligence levels of mothers.

“Children who were breast-fed had mothers with higher IQ and with more education and who were older, less likely to be in poverty or to smoke and more likely to provide a more stimulating and supportive home environment,” the authors wrote. Because moms with higher IQs are more likely to breast-feed, breast-fed babies on average exhibit more cognitive competence than their bottle-fed counterparts, they suggest.

But that’s not the end of it. The findings have come under fire because the researchers didn’t create clear parameters defining which children were breastfed. “As a result, infants who were breast-fed exclusively were lumped in with babies who got very little mother’s milk,” writes Graham.

The study also relied on mothers’ memories (as many studies do) of how much and how often they breastfed. “It’s not easy to get accurate information when you’re doing recall interviews and when you’re lumping together any breast-feeding with exclusive breast-feeding,” said Dr. Cathy Spong, chief of the pregnancy and perinatology branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The story concludes with this reminder: “It’s almost always better to breast-feed, without exception, even though we don’t know all the answers to all the questions we have about its impact,” says Brenda Snyder, breast-feeding coordinator for the Illinois Department of Human Services.

For more on breastfeeding, “Our Bodies, Ourselves” points to plenty of online resources.