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Basic InformationMore InformationBarriers to Womens Health CareCancer and WomenChronic Disabling Conditions, Diabetes, Obesity and WomenChronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis and WomenDepression and WomenHeart Disease, Stroke, COPD and WomenHormones After MenopauseInfertility, Environmental Health and WomenMenopauseMinority, Adolescent, Older, and Incarerated WomenOsteoporosis: The Bone ThiefReproductive Health and WomenSmoking and WomenStress and Women's HealthSubstance Abuse, HIV/AIDS and WomenUrinary IncontinenceUrinary Incontinence, Alzheimer's Disease, Osteoporosis and WomenViolence, Mental Illness and WomenWomen and Physical ActivityWomen's Health Issues Fact SheetWomen, Obesity and Weight Loss Latest NewsCollege Women More Prone to Problem Drinking Than Men: StudyIs Menopause Overlooked in U.S. Medical Schools?Young Women Less Healthy Than Men Before Heart Attack: StudyCombo Drug Therapy May Work Best to Strengthen Bones: StudyHealth Tip: Manage Menopause'Eating More Protein' Strategy Helps Women Lose WeightJust How Might Exercise Lower Breast Cancer Risk?Can High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Boost Fertility Treatment?Potentially Toxic Metals Present in Lip CosmeticsLow-Dose 'Pill' Linked to Pain During Orgasm, Study FindsExercise May Lower Older Women's Risk for Kidney StonesNearly One-Third Don't Pick Up New Osteoporosis RxWhite House to Challenge Ruling on Unlimited Access to 'Morning-After' PillLipsticks, Glosses Contain Toxic Metals: ReportFDA Approves 'Morning-After' Pill Without a PrescriptionImplants May Delay Breast Cancer Detection, Raise Death RiskKeep Beauty Regimen Safe During Pregnancy, Doctor AdvisesPediatrician Group Issues Home Birth Policy StatementEven Light Smoking Increases Risk of RA Among WomenMammo Rates Unchanged Despite Controversial GuidelinesFamily Doc Counseling Fails to Lift QoL for Abused WomenEndometriosis Surgery Linked to Lower Ovarian Cancer RiskLaparoscopic Hysterectomy Rates on Rise Over Past DecadeMenopause-Like Woes Hinder Breast Cancer Treatment: StudyAACR: Exercise Tied to Reduced Estrogens Post-MenopauseNew Clues to How Exercise May Reduce Breast Cancer RiskDoctors Too Pap-Happy, Survey SuggestsFor Older Women, Missed Mammograms Tied to Worse Breast Cancer OutcomesExperimental Vaccine Shows Promise for Ovarian CancerFederal Judge Rules FDA Must Lift Restrictions on Plan BJudge: Make Morning-After Pill Available to All FemalesStudy Pinpoints Women at Risk for Blood Clots From PregnancyBreast Cancer Gene Tests Won't Help Most Women: ReportPhysical Activity Improves Sleep for Menopausal WomenMore Evidence Shows Hormone Therapy May Increase Breast Cancer RiskArtificial Ovaries Could Potentially Deliver Hormone TherapyNew Method May Help Pinpoint Woman's Final Menstrual PeriodHormone Pills in Menopause May Carry Gallstone Side EffectsFalse-Positive Mammograms Can Trigger Long-Term DistressData Insufficient to Link Declines in Breast Cancer, HRT UseMammograms Every Other Year OK for Women Over 50: StudyAbout 14 Percent of Moms Face Postpartum DepressionHigh-Fat Dairy Linked to All-Cause, Breast Cancer MortalityRobotic Surgery for Hysterectomy Often Not Best Option, Ob/Gyn Group SaysNight Shift Linked to Raised Risk of Ovarian CancerDNA Test Shows Promise in Guiding Advanced Breast Cancer CareObese New Mothers May Have Higher Heart Attack, Stroke RiskNew Pap Guidelines May Miss Aggressive Cancer in Young Women: StudyNonheme Iron Intake Linked to Reduced Risk of PMSMotherhood May Spur Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior in Some Questions and AnswersLinksBook Reviews |
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Infertility, Environmental Health and WomenOffice on Women's HealthInfertility
In 1997, there were 3,880,894 live births in the United States. From 1950 to 1997, the birth rate dropped from 24 live births per 1,000 population to 14.5 per 1,000. Most American women who bear children are between the ages of 20 and 29. However, the proportion of women in their thirties and forties who are having babies has increased throughout this decade. There were 483,220 births to teenage girls in 1997—representing a 16 percent drop since 1991.
Infertility affected 6.1 million women in 1997, up from 4.6 million in 1988—an increase due in part to delayed childbearing and the aging of the baby boom generation. The causes of infertility are equally distributed among conditions affecting the male partner, the female partner, and both partners. Approximately one in four infertile couples are unable to conceive as a result of sexually transmitted diseases, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
Research has repeatedly indicated that timely and adequate prenatal care greatly enhances the chances for positive pregnancy outcomes. In 1997, more than 82.5 percent of all pregnant women received prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy—reflecting a steady improvement since 1970. Still, 3.9 percent of pregnant women received prenatal care only in their third trimester or not at all.
The infant mortality rate reached a new low in 1997 of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. Approximately one-third of that reduction is associated with an estimated 15 percent decline in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) between 1995 and 1996. In spite of these improvements, the infant mortality rate in the United States remains one of the highest in the industrialized world.
The maternal mortality rate has decreased more than tenfold since 1950. In 1997, there were 7.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. However, new, improved data collection techniques suggest that the rate of maternal mortality associated with heart ailments, embolism, hemorrhage, high blood pressure, domestic violence, and infection may be higher than current measures indicate.
Environmental Health
Environmental factors contribute substantially to the cause of many diseases in women. Adverse environmental conditions range from water, air, and soil pollution to contamination through the workplace. Occupational hazards include exposure to lead, chemicals, pesticides, tobacco smoke, and continuous noise. Home and community environmental factors—from radon, lead-based paints, electromagnetic fields, food, and cosmetics to heatstroke, hypothermia, and violence—affect women’s health. The ways in which environmental factors may disrupt women’s endocrine, reproductive, central nervous, and immune systems and cause specific diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, endometriosis, and osteoporosis are only beginning to be understood.
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