Health

This requires action.

It's old news, but I was shocked when I read it recently.  African women are 175 times more likely to die in childbirth than women from western nations and have a 1 in 16 chance of dying in childbirth.  Since many women deliver alone or with unskilled attendants, so better access to skilled health care workers and emergency care are required.

Chance of death in childbirth and pregnancy:

• Sierra Leone, Afghanistan: one in six
• Angola, Malawi, Niger: one in seven
• Nepal: one in 24
• Pakistan: one in 31
• India: one in 48
• Malaysia: one in 660
• China: one in 830
• US: one in 2,500
• South Korea: one in 2,800
• Britain: one in 3,300
• Japan: one in 6,000
• Sweden: one in 29,800

According to a study of 292 Greater Boston families, using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel significantly reduces the spread of gastrointestinal infections in the home.

"Although handwashing with soap and water is effective in reducing the spread of most infections, it requires access to a sink. In addition, there is evidence that rotavirus, the most common GI infection in the child-care setting, is not removed effectively by soap and water but is reliably killed by alcohol."

Alcohol based gels may be preferable to chemical-based anitmicrobial soaps that may lead to bacterial resistance.

A new study confirms the finding of several others that "...there is no substantial risk in the first decade after starting use [of cell phones]."  "The study, conducted by the London-based Institute of Cancer Research, and published this week on the British Journal of Cancer's Web site, found no increased risks of a rare benign tumor in the nerve that links the ear to the brain....it may not be a good idea for children to use the phones for long periods because their brains are still developing. Also, it is too early to tell what the effects of long-term use will be on adults."

"Too much time in front of the TV reduces children's learning abilities, academic achievement, and even the likelihood of their graduating from university, suggest three new studies. But it may be the quality, not quantity, of the programmes that really matters."

Following up on a previous study, University of Michigan researchers have found that children who snored regularly, in comparison to those who did not, were about four times more likely to have developed new hyperactivity by the time the U-M team contacted their families four years later.