Insights & Updates – Page 23 – Global Reproductive Health at Duke

Nesterone, a birth control gel for men, could come to the market soon

January 3, 2019December 4, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Story by Karina Moreno Bueno, T'21 A new form of contraceptive for men might be out on the market soon, in the form of a birth control gel. This gel is called NES/T and is rubbed on the back and shoulders on a daily basis to be absorbed by the skin. This gel is supposed to reversibly lower sperm count to a very they cannot get a woman pregnant. It contains segesterone acetate — which contains progestin — and a dose of testosterone and is made under the brand name Nestorone. Testosterone production in the testes is hindered by progestin, which results in very low sperm production. This gel is very similar to a vaginal ring used as a female contraceptive, which contains Nestorone combined with a hormone called estradiol. The hormone mimics pregnancy in women, which causes women to stop releasing eggs. If there aren’t any eggs released, she can’t get pregnant. In men, the hormone makes the body think it...

New Drugs for Resistant Strains for Gonorrhea

January 2, 2019December 4, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Story by Karina Moreno Bueno, T'21 About 78 million people around the world are infected with gonorrhea according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2017, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported gonorrhea as the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. According to WHO, two-thirds of the world’s countries have reported antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea to all antibiotics. This may result in not being able to treat gonorrhea at all. Although a gonorrhea infection is not life-threatening, it can lead to many health problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease which can lead to ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women. In men, untreated gonorrhea can lead to epididymitis which can also lead to infertility. The problem with the bacteria is that rather than losing resistance after not being exposed to an antibiotic, they instead retain their resistance genes. This allows for gonorrhea strains to become more resistant and transfer their genes to other strains, thus, allowing for gonorrhea...

The Effects of Complete Ban on Abortion in El Salvador

January 2, 2019December 4, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Story by Karina Moreno Bueno, T'21 With the reality overturning Roe vs Wade becoming increasingly likely, El Salvador can teach us what some of the consequences might be to that. El Salvador is one of six countries in Latin America that has an absolute ban on abortion. They imposed a total ban on abortion since 1998 and are very strict about the enforcement. There isn’t an exception, whether rape or incest was involved, or even if the pregnancy is life-threatening to the mother, an abortion remains completely legal. One of the biggest problems with this law, is that many times when a woman has a miscarriage, doctors can falsely assume that the woman had an aborted pregnancy, when in fact it was a miscarriage. Others can also report someone suspected of having an abortion, even if it was a miscarriage, and the woman can be prosecuted for an abortion. Many women have been incarcerated for supposed abortions. Many women’s rights groups...

How does pain after childbirth affect the risk of postpartum hemorrhage?

December 28, 2018December 4, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Story by Karina Moreno-Bueno, T'21 Previous research has focused on the link between pain during labor and delivery and postpartum depression. It wasn’t until recently that a study was presented at the Anesthesiology 2018 meeting suggesting that the pain experienced after childbirth is the bigger issue in terms of increasing postpartum depression. Researchers studied pain scores from 4,327 first-time mothers from the beginning of labor to the end of childbirth. One week later, researchers compared these pain scores to a mothers’ postnatal depression scale scores. They found that women who experienced postpartum depression had complaints more related to pain during recovery than anything else. As a result, women who had a higher postpartum pain score was more likely to develop postpartum depression. Additionally, women who had C-sections were more likely to experience postpartum depression. Postpartum pain can take forms of cramps, constipation, vaginal soreness, and painful C-section recovery. Postpartum depression affects 1 out of every 7 women, in which they experience disinterest in...

New South Wales Opening First Breast Milk Bank

December 24, 2018December 4, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Story by Karina Moreno Bueno, T'21 New South Wales (NSW), Australia has opened it’s the first ever Breast Milk Bank this month in order to aid the survival of premature babies. This is great, as donated human breast milk has not always been accessible in NSW. It relies on human donor breast milk, milk originating from lactating women in a center run by the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and NSW Health. The bank is designed to provide nutritious milk for premature babies. The premature babies have access to this nutrient-rich milk to fight off life-threatening infections and disease. This breast milk bank is very important because around 1000 babies are born before premature or with low birth-weight in NSW. Many are calling this milk “liquid gold” because the milk contains all of the nutrients that are essential for growth and for fending off diseases. Research has shown that breast milk reduces the risk of potentially life-threatening bacterial infections in premature babies,...

Yale implements Plan B in its vending machines

December 24, 2018December 4, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Story by Amelia Steinbach, T'21 Yale University recently announced that it would make emergency contraception, or Plan B, available in its school vending machines for $49.99 – a comparable price at local pharmacies. While emergency contraception is available through Yale Student Health, including it in vending machines is meant to make it more accessible to students, as well as remove some of the stigma surrounding the product. While emergency contraception is free to Yale students, no matter their health insurance plan, that fact on campus is plagued with rumors and misinformation. Even staff at student health are often unaware of the policies and regulations surrounding emergency contraception at the school, meaning that the majority of students are unable to take advantage of these services. As is the case with emergency contraception handed out by the school’s pharmacy, if a student purchases Plan B more than three times, they will be required to meet with an OB-GYN to discuss effective forms of birth...

Partner Updates: Tanzania

December 21, 2018December 4, 2024 by Yujung Choi2 Comments

Dr. Sia Msuya Dr. Msuya is the Director of Public Health, KCMU College, Moshi, Tanzania. On June 30th, 2018, she gave a keynote speech during the launching of the book titled “Climbing to the peak of learning success” by Jeremia J. Pyuza at KCMC Conference Hall. In her remarks, Dr. Msuya encouraged young people on the importance of mentorship—how mentors can help guide small thoughts into more innovative ideas to share. She encouraged young people to be proud of their ideas and to share them with others to combine various strengths for improved collaboration. In order to become an excellent author, Dr. Msuya states that an individual has to have passion—passion to share, passion to search for knowledge no matter how small it may be. The journey may be hard and long, and most times, we have hindrances before the journey even begins. However, in these instances, we should instead take responsibility and accountability for every opportunity we have and use it...

Director’s Blog: Winter 2018

December 21, 2018December 4, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Each year, when December comes around, people tend to reflect on the past year, sometimes through thoughtful reflections on progress, challenges or accomplishments, at times through lists of the best or worst and often culminating in resolutions for next year. Sometimes it takes the form of satire, such as the Center’s entry in the DGHI door decorating contest, which asks for some good news for reproductive health for Christmas, providing some tongue-in-cheek examples of what that would be. Indeed, 2018 was a roller coaster for global reproductive health news—key achievements, such as the repeal of the anti-abortion amendment in Ireland, often seemed to be immediately overshadowed by setbacks, such as the failure of a similar bill to pass in Argentina. Konyin Adewumi, DGHI MSc ’17, has reflected on the ups and downs of reproductive health this past year. While acknowledging that this year was difficult for many women, she concluded with overall optimism about the progress on women’s health and...

Egyptian women participant in run to show to campaign for end to Gender Based Violence

December 21, 2018July 15, 2025 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Story by Amelia Steinbach, T'21 In late November 2018, hundreds of women participated in a race in Cairo, Egypt in support of a campaign to end sexual violence. The race was planned after Cairo was ranked as the most dangerous megacity in the world for women. This was determined from a variety of factors, including sexual violence, cultural practices, healthcare, and financial abilities. Women in Egypt often do not engage in athletic activities in public spaces, as they are oftentimes subjected to harassment or assault. The goal of this race was to encourage women and girls to feel safe running and exercising in public spaces in the country. The third-place winner of the race, Amany Khalil, said “I came to this race today so that all women can run in the street without any fears or worries.” The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights has classified violence against women committed by state institutions, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and structural violence as...

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