Womens Health News Internal

Women backed Barack Obama in big numbers in 2008 but then swung right in 2010. If the president is to win reelection in 2012, he’ll need to win women back — and Lake and other Democrats see the GOP push on contraception as a gift that will make that easier.

Be open and honest and educate your daughter on her body and hygiene as early as possible. The discussion of menstruation could also be an opening to talk about the use of deodorant, shaving, sexuality, and vice versa. Also, remember this isn’t just a conversation that should be given by or with mothers. Fathers should be participants as well.

A new study by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute has found that young minority women are screened for chlamydia at a significantly higher rate than young white women, and this discrepancy may contribute to nationwide reporting of higher rates of this sexually transmitted disease among black and Hispanic women.

In America, data consistently shows that black women experience the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality compared to other ethnicities.

We look at how reproductive rights could become major issues in the 2012 race with three guests: Michael Brendan Dougherty of Business Insider and the American Conservative; Loretta Ross of the SisterSong Reproductive Justice Collective; and Jon O’Brien of Catholics for Choice.

While dating, domestic and sexual violence affect women regardless of their age, teens and young women are especially vulnerable. Young people age 12 to 19 experience the highest rates of rape and sexual assault,and people age 18 and 19 experience the highest rates of stalking.

We, at the Black Women’s Health Imperative, see the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act as an opportunity to strengthen efforts to combat violence against women. Enacted in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) helped to establish programs, policies and prevention practices that protect and assist victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Pfizer Inc. announced today that it has voluntarily recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral®-28 (norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol)Tablets and 14 lots of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets (generic) for customers in the U.S. market. An investigation by Pfizer found that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets and that the tablets may be out of sequence.