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Ulipristal is a safe and effective option for women with uterine fibroids, according to two new studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In both studies, the oral selective progesterone receptor modulator was well-tolerated, rapidly reduced excessive bleeding, and decreased the size of uterine fibroids.

Overweight women with diabetes can cut their risk of developing urinary incontinence (UI) by shedding 5% to 10% of their body weight or as little as 15 lbs (7.7 kg), according to findings from the Look AHEAD trial, a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes.

There is no association between pre-pregnancy LEEP and preterm birth or pregnancy loss before 20 weeks, according to a 7-year multicenter cohort study presented at the Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine's Annual Meeting. The study, by George A. Macones, MD, contradicts earlier findings.

The live birth rate, per implanted embryo, is higher in twin than in singleton pregnancies resulting from assisted conception (83 vs 76%, respectively) because embryos that might otherwise fail as singletons survive when implanted next to healthy siblings, according to a Spanish study.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. African American, Hispanic, and Native American women have a higher incidence of GDM, although studies indicate that socioeconomic status may be more strongly associated with GDM than race or ethnicity.

US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by refusing to allow emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step to be sold over the counter to women younger than 16. It is the first time a health secretary has ever overruled the FDA.

Children born just moderately premature (between 32 and 35 weeks' gestation) are about 4 times as likely as term-born infants to demonstate behavioral and emotional problems by the age of 4 years, according to a study from the Netherlands.

The parents alleged that there was no medical indication for induction of labor and that informed consent had not been obtained; specifically, that they were not informed tht induced labor increases the risk of tachysystole, failure to progress, and the risk of caesarean delivery.

Your October editorial titled "Training system-based physicians' (Contemporary OB/GYN. 2011; 56(19):8-12) evoked some mixed reactions. Although I agree with many of your comments, I was disappointed in the black-and-white image you paint for your students and because nowhere in your address do you mention the humanistic aspect of medicine. Words such as "caring for," "empathy," "sympathy," and "compassion" are conspicuously absent.

Although the current literature on management and outcomes of pregnancy among women with spinal cord injury (SCI) is limited, available evidence suggests that most gravidas with SCI will experience few serious complications of pregnancy and deliver healthy infants.

Many in the world are envious of our seemingly inexhaustible national healthcare resources. We have no long waits for surgery, and our hospitals rival their best hotels. To many foreigners US healthcare appears to be a "land of plenty." But for American obstetricians the first blemish in this idyllic facade appeared in the late 1990s when a serious shortage of betamethasone forced many of us to think critically about the use of other agents to accelerate fetal lung maturity and consider rationing our short supply.

The latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2009-2010 reveal that more than 1 in 3 adult men and women in the United States are obese, as are more than 1 in 6 children and adolescents. The good news I that the figures for both adults and children are largely unchanged from previous periods, suggesting a slowing or leveling off of obesity prevalence.

The pivotal roles of vitamin D and calcium in skeletan metabolism are well known. It's their potential non-skeletal health effects-particularly in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD)-that are controversial. In vitro and in vivo experimental studies have shown that vitamin D (Figure 1) and calcium (Figure 2) act independently and together to influence multiple physiologic processes that may modify CVD risk.

An estimated 12 million woemn in the United States use the oral contraceptive (OC) pill, making it the most popular reversible method of birth control. Many new hormonal delivery systems offer benefit superior to those of the pill. The vaginal ring, injection, and patch allow less-frequent dosing, which may improve compliance. The intrauterine device and implant are significantly more effective than the pill, with failure rates rivaling those of sterilization. Nevertheless, the pill remains the method of choice for the majority of women, and pharmaceutical companies are therefore eager to develop new formulations. Since the pill was first introduced more than 50 years ago, many of these new formulations have been little more than updated packaging. However, several new brands have emerged recently that are advertised as having noncontraceptive benefits beyond those of older pill formulations, as well as improved bleeding and side-effect profiles.