New guidelines for the care of transgender children and adolescents

New guidelines for the care of transgender children and adolescents

The Royal Children's Hospital Gender Service of Melbourne, Australia recently published the first guidelines focusing solely on the care of transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents. "Based on empirical evidence, clinician consensus, and results of non-randomised and observational studies, the guidelines were developed in consultation with multidisciplinary experts, support groups, and transgender children and adolescents, and their families," writes The Lancet. The 36-page document is intended to guide the respectful, gender-affirming care of transgender and gender diverse youth, thereby minimizing the consequences of  the stigma, bullying, and abuse that children and adolescents with gender dysphoria often suffer. It includes information on terminology and respectful language, psychological support, social transition, fertility counseling, hormone therapy, and surgical interventions. The guidelines also outline the roles of various health and legal practitioners in the care of transgender and gender diverse youth.   - Anna Katz, Communications Intern...
Read More
Thailand honored for Cervical Cancer Prevention Program

Thailand honored for Cervical Cancer Prevention Program

For years, Thailand had a high incidence of cervical cancer and had seen little success from their pap smear based screening approach. In 2000, Jhpiego, the government of Thailand, the Provincial Health Office of Roi Et, and the Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists implemented a pilot study using a screen-and-treat approach for cervical cancer prevention. This method allows women to attend a single visit with a health care provider and services can be provided by a nurse, allowing for task-sharing within the health system. Based on results from this study, the WHO adopted the screen-and-treat strategy as part of their comprehensive cervical cancer guidelines. These services are now offered in 32 Thai provinces and the government has recently introduced a HPV vaccination campaign to further efforts in cervical cancer prevention. This week, the Roi Et Provincial Health Office was awarded a United Nations Public Service Award honoring their pioneering efforts in cervical cancer prevention....
Read More
No remaining abortion providers in Guam

No remaining abortion providers in Guam

The Guam Women's Clinic is no longer performing abortions, seemingly leaving the small island without any abortion providers. Though the clinic is still operational, Dr. Jeffrey Gabel, unlike his retired predecessor Dr. William Freeman, does not perform abortions. Jamie Ward of The Guam Daily Post contacted several clinics searching for an abortion provider to no avail, and one of her contacts within the Guam women's health community confirmed that there is nobody on the island that women can be referred to for an abortion. Abortion access in Guam could be further restricted by a proposed bill that would permit abortions only up to 20 weeks, unless the life of the pregnant person was at risk. Guam's current law allows for abortions up to 26 weeks if the fetus has a serious physical or mental defect or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Abortions are allowed throughout at pregnancy if the pregnant person's life or health is seriously...
Read More
Refugees in Rwandan camp appeal for help with pregnancy prevention

Refugees in Rwandan camp appeal for help with pregnancy prevention

Refugees in Rwanda's Nyabiheke Refugee Camp have asked the government and other leaders to help reduce teen pregnancies in the camp. The camp, which has hosted Congolese refugees since 2005, is now home to nearly 17,000 refugees. Overcrowding is a key concern, and refugee representative Justin Byiringiro cites teen pregnancy as a driving force of the problem. "The overpopulation in the camp favors early [teen] pregnancies. Some students graduate from secondary schools but a very limited number are advancing to universities while others are dropping out of schools," he explained. While Byiringiro believes that vocational training programs will help prevent teen pregnancy, government officials are advocating for investment in family planning programs. Jeanne d’Arc De Bonheur, the Minister for Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, believes "reproductive health and family planning will surely be a durable solution to the issue." Organizations like the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are supporting family planning in Rwandan refugee camps, but significant unmet need remains.   - Anna Katz, Communications...
Read More
Walgreens pharmacist denies woman medication to end unviable pregnancy

Walgreens pharmacist denies woman medication to end unviable pregnancy

Arizona resident and first grade teacher Nicole Arteaga took to Facebook after a Walgreens pharmacist refused to fill her prescription for misoprostol, a medication that can be used to end a failed pregnancy. Nine weeks into her pregnancy, Arteaga learned that there was no fetal heartbeat--her pregnancy would end in miscarriage. Rather than undergo a surgical procedure to remove the fetal tissue from her uterus, Arteaga opted to take misoprostol, which can end a pregnancy up to 10 weeks in what is known as a medical abortion. Her doctor wrote a prescription, but when Arteaga went to pick the medication up, the pharmacist refused to give her the misoprostol, citing his ethical beliefs. "I stood at the mercy of this pharmacist explaining my situation in front of my 7-year-old, and five customers standing behind only to be denied because of his ethical beliefs," Arteaga wrote in her post, which has since been shared over 60,000 times. "I left Walgreens in tears, ashamed...
Read More
Experimental HIV vaccine could move to human trials next year

Experimental HIV vaccine could move to human trials next year

An HIV vaccine could be closer than we think. A study published in Nature Medicine earlier this month highlights significant progress in efforts by scientists at the National Institutes of Health to develop an HIV vaccine. By targeting a vulnerable part of the virus, scientists were able to elicit antibodies that neutralized almost one-third of HIV strains in mice. The vaccine produced a similar neutralizing response in guinea pigs and rhesus monkeys, suggesting that their approach is promising. The researchers will continue to optimize the vaccine in the coming months, and anticipate beginning a preliminary human trial of the new vaccine regimen in late 2019.   - Anna Katz, Communications Intern...
Read More
Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenges abstinence-only sex education program

Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenges abstinence-only sex education program

Planned Parenthood affiliates filed suit last week against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), challenging the administration's efforts to impose an abstinence-only until marriage (AOUM) curriculum on 1.2 million young people via the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP program). The suit comes shortly after the administration announced its plans to drastically remake the TPP program with an emphasis on AOUM programming, which has been repeatedly proven ineffective and misleading.  Established by the Obama administration in 2010, the TPP program was intended to reduce teen pregnancy by funding the evidence-based initiatives of individual communities and schools. The program, in combination with other pregnancy prevention initiatives, was effective--birth rates among teens aged 15 to 19 dropped by half from 2007 to 2017. The current administration's move to mandate AOUM curriculum, rebranded as "sexual risk avoidance," threatens to reverse this progress. If successful, Planned Parenthood's lawsuit will ensure that the TPP program continues to be guided by evidence-based principles and that recipients...
Read More
Brazilian protestors demand abortion be decriminalized

Brazilian protestors demand abortion be decriminalized

Hundreds marched in São Paulo last week protesting the criminalization of abortion and demanding that authorities take steps toward change. Abortion is currently a crime in Brazil, except when the pregnant person's life is in danger, in cases of rape, and when the fetus has anencephaly, a congenital brain disorder. Yet as many as one in five women in Brazil are estimated to have had an abortion, risking up to three years in prison if they are caught. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Brazilian women risk their health and lives to end their pregnancies. Protestors emphasized the grave consequences of the country's restrictive laws. "The rich have abortions, the poor die," one protestor's sign read. Brazil's Supreme Court will hold a public hearing in August to discuss the decriminalization of abortion within the first trimester.   - Anna Katz, Communications Intern...
Read More
India reduces maternal mortality ratio by 77 percent

India reduces maternal mortality ratio by 77 percent

The World Health Organization (WHO) commended India earlier this week for making a groundbreaking reduction in maternal mortality. The country reduced the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 77 percent, from 556 per 1,00,000 live births in 1990 to 130 per 1,00,000 live births in 2016. The present MMR is below the Millennium Development Goal target, and the country is on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of an MMR below 70 by 2030. WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Poonam Khetrapal Singh attributes India's success to a focus on improving access to maternal health services, an increase in institutional deliveries for both urban and rural women, an emphasis on mitigating the social determinants of health, and increased cooperation between the public and private sectors. "These factors alone have enabled Indian women to better control their reproductive lives and make decisions that reflect their own interests and wants," Singh said. Nations around the globe can look to India as an example of...
Read More
In Argentina, lawmakers move to expand reproductive freedom

In Argentina, lawmakers move to expand reproductive freedom

Lawmakers in Argentina's Congress narrowly approved a bill to legalize abortion earlier today, marking a hard-won victory for abortion rights activists. The bill, which would allow women to terminate pregnancies during the first 14 weeks, now moves to the Senate where it will face an even greater challenge. Yet many Argentinian women remain inspired and hopeful. Valencia García, a 39-year-old teacher, was moved to tears by the victory: "I have this indescribable sense of freedom."  ...
Read More