The good news: Teen pregnancies are at their lowest rate in nearly 40 years, resulting in fewer abortions and births. The bad news: While overall rates have dropped, there is still a major gap among white, Hispanic and black teenagers.
International surrogate-pregnancy business booms. What is Medicare anyway? Five ways to cut health-care costs. And playing Medicare ‘Whac-A-Mole’
Early deliveries, from induced labor or C-sections, has been on the rise for more than a decade. One reason is that we’ve come to expect that babies born “a little bit early” will be fine. But babies born even a bit early are at risk for a variety of problems.
Many mothers and children qualify for WIC nutrition help. With just a phone call, parents get an appointment in one to two weeks, and will receive WIC checks at their first appointment.
C-section boom in Boston. A virus stalks the NBA. A hospital apologizes to actor James Wood. Personhood at conception? Judge-directed malpractice settlements. GOP missing the boat on health care reform?
Women who have private insurance plans can now get any contraceptive, including sterilization procedures, with the insurance plan picking up the entire cost.
Anti-abortion groups oppose the decision, arguing that contraception is against the religious beliefs of some Americans, and that some forms of emergency contraception, including Plan B, are akin to early abortion.
The influenza vaccine can not only protect pregnant women against the flu, it can also protect their newborn infants, health officials say.
Most individual polices don’t cover maternity care,
Since 1989, when the state’s rate peaked at 96 pregnancies per 1,000 teenaged women, the rate has halved to 46.6 per 1,000 last year.
Alternate birthing rooms cut use of epidural and anesthesia 18%, the need for drugs to speed labor 22% and the likelihood of Caesarian section surgery by 11%.
Some insurers treat pregnancy as a preexisting condition, charging pregnant women higher premiums, or refuse to cover childbirth costs.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
Enter your email address below to receive updates each time we publish new content.
Seattle Times Health News
Experts divided over recommendation to screen children for cholesterol
Some clinicians say universal screening is an important tool to help identify children who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and to pinpoint others who could benefit from treatment. Others express concerns that screening may do more harm than good.
People in state high-risk insurance plans often feel left behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Peeking in on your doctor’s notes
Although federal law guarantees patients the right to examine and get copies of their medical records, providers haven’t always made it easy to do so. But the movement to give patients direct access to their health information has picked up steam, and policymakers have encouraged it as a way to empower patients to help manage their health and their medical care.
Add to Google
Recent Comments