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Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Reform Needs Healthy Life Incentives The Wall Street Journal

Most, But Not All, Canadians With Chronic Conditions Get Clinically Recommended Tests
Most Canadians with chronic conditions have a regular place of care, but there are some reported gaps in the management of their conditions according to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). The study, Experiences With Primary Health Care in Canada, measures access to and quality of care from a patient perspective across Canada"s 10 provinces. The study is based on the responses of more than 11,000 people age 18 and older to Statistics Canada"s 2008 Canadian Survey of Experiences With Primary Health Care, which was jointly funded by CIHI and the Health Council of Canada.
News of the day
Opinion Piece Examines Abortion-Rights Opponents' Response To Connection Between Recession, Abortion
In response to recent news reports from Reuters, the Associated Press and other media outlets tying the recession to an increase in demand for abortion, the antiabortion-rights community is arguing that women are "choosing their own material comfort over the life of their unborn children" -- an interpretation that is "wrong on several accounts" -- Double X contributor Anna Murphy Paul writes in an opinion piece."No one wants her most intimate decisions to be driven by money," but, at the same time, "opting not to have a child you can"t afford to raise can be a realistic and responsible -- if painful -- choice, one often based on taking good care of the kids you already have" Murphy Paul says. She continues, "Nor is the intrusion of economic concerns on childbearing a phenomenon of this recession, or even the loosening of sexual mores over the past half-century; historically, financial hardship has been an ever-present motivation for ending a pregnancy."Murphy Paul cites the results of a 2005 Guttmacher Institute survey that found that nearly three-fourths of respondents said that the reason they decided to have an abortion was that they "could not afford a baby right now," which was the second-most common reason. The report found that the top reason for having an abortion was that children would interfere with women"s education, work or ability to care for dependents, all "concerns that are also largely economic in nature," Murphy Paul writes. She notes that at the time the study was published, "the Dow was still riding high, and the housing bubble seemed it would never pop." Murphy Paul adds that a 1987 Guttmacher survey on the same subject produced results "almost identical" to the 2005 survey.However, "to hear the pro-life activists tell it, women aren"t really struggling with difficult choices -- they just don"t want to give up the luxuries to which they"ve become accustomed," Murphy Paul writes. Abortion-rights opponents promote offers of counseling and no-cost infant supplies provided through "pregnancy re centers" to support women who choose not to have an abortion, but such centers often provide misleading information or offer little assistance beyond the first few months after birth, she says."Pro-life activists are surely right about one thing: It"s tremendously sad when a woman decides that she can"t bring into the world a child whom under better circumstances she would have welcomed," Murphy Paul continues. However, the "harsh rhetoric about selfishness and irresponsibility help far less than an acknowledgement of -- and lasting aid with -- the true costs of raising a child," she writes. According to Murphy Paul, in "the absence of such help, the most responsible act is to face economic reality head-on. For some women, that may mean abortion" (Murphy Paul, Double X, 5/15).
Cardiovascular

In Pregnancy, Summer Heat Increases Risk Of Amniotic Fluid Level Deficiency, Ben-Gurion University Study Reveals

Pregnant women have a higher incidence of insufficient amniotic fluid levels (oligohydramnios) in the summer months due to dehydration, according to a study conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The retrospective population-based study was published in the July issue of Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The main objective of the study was to determine whether the summer season is a risk factor for oligohydramnios, by comparing the frequency of amniotic fluid loss during the summer months versus its frequency during the rest of the year. In the study at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel, the researchers evaluated pregnancies of patients with oligohydramnios that delivered from May to August during the years 1988-2007. After excluding other causes of fluid loss, such as premature rupture of membranes, intra-uterine growth restriction or malformations, the study determined that higher rates of oligohydramnios were found in the summer months as compared to the rest of the year. During the study period, there were 191,558 deliveries of which 4,335 were diagnosed with idiopathic oligohydramnios. Of these, a proportionally higher number, 1,553 deliveries (36 percent), occurred during these four summer months, while 2,782 deliveries occurred during the other eight months of the year (64 percent). "It is important for pregnant women to drink appropriate amounts of water specifically in the summer -- about 10 glasses per day -- and avoid direct sun, not only for the health of the mother, but also in order to avoid fetal dehydration," explains Prof. Eyal Sheiner of the Faculty of Health and Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Amniotic fluid is the nourishing and protecting liquid contained by the amnion of a pregnant woman. It protects the developing baby by cushioning the mother"s abdomen, promotes muscular and skeletal development, and helps to protect the fetus from heat loss. Notes: Ilan Feldman1, Michael Friger2, Arnon Wiznitzer1, Moshe Mazor1, Gershon Holcberg1 and Eyal Sheiner1. "Is Oligohydramnios More Common During the Summer Season?" Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics 280.1 (2009): 3-6. (1) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 151, Beer-Sheva, Israel (2) Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel Andrew Lavin American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev


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