Amid Social Upheaval and COVID-19, Black Women Create Their Own Health Care Support Networks
In early May, a group of 20 Black mothers in rural Mississippi logged onto a virtual group therapy session to discuss the immense, compounding pressures of providing for their families and caring for their children during a global pandemic and historic unemployment crisis. It was the first time any of them had talked to a traditional mental health counselor, and the results were cathartic.
“It’s important that we refuel — to be able to be better parents, to be able to be better daughters, to be better sisters and mothers,” says Dr. Erica Thompson, the executive director of Magnolia Medical Foundatio...
Source: TIME: Health - July 17, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Abigail Abrams Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news
Impact of COVID-19 on Women and Children in South Asia
Raghbendra Jha is Professor of Economics, and Executive Director Australian National University. By Raghbendra JhaCANBERRA, Australia, Jul 6 2020 (IPS) The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 set off a series of health and economic crises that feed upon each other. The health crisis exacerbates the economic crisis by disrupting supply chains, throwing large number of people (particularly those working in the informal sector) out of work and closing down large numbers of enterprises – particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
Raghbendra JhaThe economic crisis, in turn, exacerbates the health cr...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - July 6, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Raghbendra Jha Tags: Asia-Pacific Economy & Trade Featured Gender Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Labour TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
Featured Review: Induction of labour at or beyond 37 weeks ’ gestation
A normal pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks (the gestation period) from the start of the woman ' s last menstrual period. If a pregnancy lasts too long, a woman and her clinician may wish to stimulate the woman ’s body to begin labour. This is called induction.Babies may be at a greater risk of death, before or shortly after birth, after prolonged gestation. However, induction of labour may also have risks for mothers and their babies, especially if women are not ready to labour.Current tests cannot predict whether babies would be better to stay inside their mother or whether labour should be induced to make the birth happen...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - July 2, 2020 Category: Information Technology Authors: Lydia Parsonson Source Type: news
Reviving the Economy, Creating the ‘new Normal’
By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame SundaramSYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 16 2020 (IPS) The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted most economies in the world. Its full impacts will not be felt, let alone measured, until it runs its course. Many countries are still struggling to contain contagion, while the costs on both lives and livelihoods will undoubtedly have long-term repercussions.
Anis ChowdhuryBack to the future?
The pandemic has exposed economic vulnerabilities building up for decades, especially since the counter-revolution, against Keynesian and development economics in the 1980s, gathered pace with transnat...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - June 16, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Tags: Development & Aid Economy & Trade Financial Crisis Global Globalisation Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Inequity TerraViva United Nations Jomo Kwame Sundaram & Anis Chowdhury Source Type: news
Covid-19 Recessions: This Time It ’s Really Different
By Vladimir Popov and Jomo Kwame SundaramBERLIN and KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 4 2020 (IPS) The world economic contraction so far this year is largely due to measures, especially at the national or local level, to contain or prevent Covid-19 contagion, particularly those restricting business operations, thus reducing economic activity, output, incomes and spending.
Vladimir Popov
Lower business and worker incomes have reduced spending, for both consumption and investment, and thus overall or aggregate demand. While there has indeed been much novel ‘financial folly’ in the last decade, responsible for its dreary ‘recovery’,...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - June 4, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Vladimir Popov and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Tags: Development & Aid Economy & Trade Featured Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Labour TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
In Ethiopia, Nurses and Midwives Help Mothers Overcome the Pain and Shame of Fistula
By Katherine Seaton,
Editorial Officer ; Omar Mohammed,
Program OfficerApril 15, 2020Anab Farah, a young woman in Somali State, Ethiopia, thought she was prepared for the birth of her first child. But when she went into labor at her home, she wasn’t able to give birth. For 24 hours, she suffered from obstructed labor. Her traditional birth attendant didn’t know what to do and, after using inappropriate procedures to induce delivery, Anab was told she had to go to a nearby health center to complete her delivery.When she arrived at the Lafa Ciise Health Center, a midwife helped her deliver a healthy baby boy....
Source: IntraHealth International - April 13, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: kseaton Tags: Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health Midwives Source Type: news
Gender and COVID-19: Where Can Research Help?
By Jemimah NjukiNAIROBI, Apr 10 2020 (IPS) As of April 8, there have been 1.5 million reported cases of coronavirus and over 83,000 deaths. Most of these deaths are of men. Italy, for example, has so far had 71 percent of all case deaths attributed to men while Spain, another major global hotspot, has seen 65 percent of all deaths being men.
While the mortality rates for men are higher, women are disproportionally affected by the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Indeed, there is evidence that pandemics affect men and women in different ways, and COVID19 is no different.
Women comprise seven out of ten health an...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - April 10, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Jemimah Njuki Tags: Featured Gender Global Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Coronavirus Source Type: news
COVID-19 and Education in Emergencies
Credit: Education Cannot Wait By External SourceMar 31 2020 (IPS-Partners) Armed conflicts, forced displacement, climate change induced disasters and protracted crises have disrupted the education of 75 million children and youth globally. And that number is growing in an unprecedented way with the spread of COVID-19. Education has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with 1.53 billion learners out of school and 184 country-wide school closures, impacting 87.6% of the world’s total enrolled learners. Drop-out rates across the globe are likely to rise as a result of this massive disruption to education acce...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - March 31, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: External Source Tags: Education Health Source Type: news
Coronavirus Threatens an Already Strained Maternal Health System
No visitors. Induced labor. Converted delivery wards. Tens of thousands of women across the country are giving birth in unprecedented circumstances. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - March 26, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Eileen Guo Tags: Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Pregnancy and Childbirth Hospitals Telemedicine Midwives and Doulas Quarantines Source Type: news
Stronger UN Leadership Needed to Cope with Coronavirus Threat
By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame SundaramSYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 24 2020 (IPS) The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is hard to predict as events are still unfolding, and estimates vary dramatically. UNCTAD estimates lost output in the order of US$1 trillion, just over a third of Bloomberg’s expectation of US$2.7 trillion in losses. The OECD expects global economic growth to halve from already anaemic levels.
Dire consequences for achieving the already failing Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are inevitable. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable, with meagre resources av...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - March 24, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Tags: Development & Aid Economy & Trade Global Headlines Health Labour Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Trade & Investment Jomo Kwame Sundaram & Anis Chowdhury Source Type: news
Fighting Coronavirus: It ’s Time to Invest in Universal Public Health
By Isabel Ortiz and Thomas StubbsNEW YORK and LONDON, Mar 23 2020 (IPS) Austerity policies pushed by international financial institutions have weakened public health systems, despite current financial support packages, condemning many people to die.
As health systems of East Asia, Europe, and the Americas buckle under the strain of coronavirus, developing countries are expecting an even higher human toll. Decades of austerity promoted by international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and regional development banks have weakened public health systems, impeding the...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - March 23, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Isabel Ortiz and Thomas Stubbs Tags: Development & Aid Economy & Trade Global Globalisation Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
The Big Number: Average U.S. birth weight drops 2.4 ounces in 23-year period
Researchers say the change might be related to increases in scheduled Caesarean sections and induced labor. (Source: Washington Post: To Your Health)
Source: Washington Post: To Your Health - February 10, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Linda Searing Source Type: news
School Lunch Programmes for Progress
School feeding programme in Togo. Credit: WFP/João CavalcanteBy Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Wan Manan MudaKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan 21 2020 (IPS) If well planned, coordinated and implemented, a government funded school feeding programme for all primary school children can be progressively transformative. Such a programme, involving government departments and agencies working together, can benefit schoolchildren, their families, farmers and public health, now and in the future.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Such a scheme should comprehensively supply adequate food for all, especially schoolchildren, and improve their nutrition, thus ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - January 21, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Wan Manan Muda Tags: Asia-Pacific Development & Aid Economy & Trade Education Featured Food & Agriculture Global Headlines Health Labour TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
Medical News Today: What are the risks of using castor oil to induce labor?
Using castor oil to induce labor is growing in popularity. In this article, learn about the risks, the research, and whether or not it actually works. (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 18, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy / Obstetrics Source Type: news
Cesarean Rates No Higher for Diabetes Patients Induced in 38th Week
THURSDAY, Jan. 16, 2020 -- In women with prepregnancy type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus (PDM), induction of labor (IOL) is not associated with increased cesarean section rates compared with expectant management beyond 39 weeks, but it is associated... (Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News)
Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News - January 16, 2020 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
