Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2013
Is screening for depression in the perinatal period enough? The co-occurrence of depression, substance abuse, and intimate partner violence in culturally diverse pregnant women.
The perinatal period provides unique opportunities to identify and intervene with the co-occurrence of perinatal depression, intimate partner violence (IPV), and substance use problems. Psychosocial screening recommended for women seen in maternal child health settings tends to target single rather than multiple risk factors; there is limited research examining the co-occurrence of these issues especially in racially and ethnically diverse women across the perinatal period. These analyses explore the relationships of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral characteristics in a large, diverse sample of women. ⋯ In a predominately Latina sample, 1 in 5 mothers (20.4%) screened positive for depressive symptoms and over one third (36.7%) reported one or more psychosocial issues during the perinatal period. Screening for multiple risk factors rather than just one can help clinicians tailor interventions for the successful management of psychosocial issues.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2013
ReviewA national action plan for promoting preconception health and health care in the United States (2012-2014).
Preconception health and health care (PCHHC) has gained increasing popularity as a key prevention strategy for improving outcomes for women and infants, both domestically and internationally. The Action Plan for the National Initiative on Preconception Health and Health Care: A Report of the PCHHC Steering Committee (2012-2014) provides a model that states, communities, public, and private organizations can use to help guide strategic planning for promoting preconception care projects. Since 2005, a national public-private PCHHC initiative has worked to create and implement recommendations on this topic. ⋯ Key activities for this process included the identification of goals, objectives, strategies, actions, and anticipated timelines for the five workgroups that were established as part of the original PCHHC Initiative. These are further described in the action plan. To assist other groups doing similar work, this article discusses the approach members of the PCHHC Initiative took to convene local, state, and national leaders to enhance the implementation of preconception care nationally through accomplishments, lessons learned, and projections for future directions.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2013
ReviewChallenging and complex decisions in the management of the BRCA mutation carrier.
Women afflicted by the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome face complex decisions regarding medical interventions aimed at reducing their risk of ovarian and breast cancer, interventions which in turn may interfere with their fertility and cause early menopause. This review addresses selected topics of importance and controversy in the management of the BRCA mutation carrier, such as psychological well-being and quality of life, breast and ovarian cancer screening, risk-reducing interventions for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, the issue of hysterectomy at the time of the risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, health consequences of early surgical menopause, and safety of hormonal therapy after oophorectomy. The information presented is based on an extensive review of the literature on the selected topics and on the expertise of our multidisciplinary team.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2013
The association of migraine with menstrually related mood disorders and childhood sexual abuse.
Both female reproductive hormones and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are implicated in migraine and in menstrually related mood disorders (MRMD). We examined the association of migraine, including migraine with aura (MA), and history of MRMD or CSA. ⋯ Women with MRMD may be vulnerable to the development of MA, and a history of CSA in women with a MRMD appears to increase that vulnerability. MRMDs and MA should be included among other poor mental and physical health outcomes of an abuse history. Routine screening for abuse histories would potentially improve identification of women with increased risk of experiencing abuse-related disorders.
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Journal of women's health · Oct 2013
Pregnancy intention and use of contraception among Hispanic women in the United States: data from the National Survey of Family Growth, 2006-2010.
Both unintended and adolescent childbearing disproportionately impact the Hispanic population of the United States. ⋯ There is a high frequency of unintended pregnancy and lack of contraceptive use among Hispanic women. These findings highlight the need for improved reproductive education and contraceptive counseling in this population.