Despite an influx of female candidates in this year's elections, the U.S. trails other nations in the proportion of women holding elected positions, the AP/Boston Globe reports. This week marks the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. The AP/Globe reports that only 17% of U.S...

Meconium, the dark and tarry stools passed by a baby during the first few days after birth, can be used to determine how much the mother smoked, or if she was exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy...

A new study shows that male rats prenatally exposed to low doses of atrazine, a widely used herbicide, are more likely to develop prostate inflammation and to go through puberty later than non-exposed animals. The research adds to a growing body of literature on atrazine, an herbicide predominantly used to control weeds and grasses in crops such as corn and sugar cane...

Male infertility is a common medical problem, affecting millions of men in the United States annually. Its causes include an inability to make productive sperm. Now, using yeast as a model organism, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are beginning to identify the molecular signals that could in part underlie that problem. Shelley Berger PhD, the Daniel S...

Even after leaving a violent or controlling relationship, the mental health of mothers may actually get worse before it gets better, a new study suggests. Researchers found that in the two years after the end of an abusive relationship, mothers showed poorer mental health, became more depressed and maintained high levels of anxiety...

Trying to conceive is like riding a roller coaster that won't stop. It's not so much going up that gets you, it's the fall on the other side. Lara Fetting from North Ridgeville, Ohio, remembers all too well how difficult it was to stay positive during preconception...

"A month ahead of the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) review summit at the United Nations, some women's groups are voicing concern that member states' commitment to women's issues is insufficient and slowing progress towards gender parity worldwide," Inter Press Service reports in an article that examines progress towards reaching women-centered MDGs...

U.N. Sends Top Aides To Investigate Alleged Mass Rapes In DRC "The United Nations is investigating claims that rebel fighters raped more than 150 women and baby boys in the Democratic Republic of Congo," the BBC reports. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "sending two top aides" to the country and "also urged the Congolese government to investigate the attacks...

A new study to be published in BJOG: The British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology shows how the use of epidurals during birth may have a protective effect on the levator ani muscles, which hold up the pelvic floor. The levator ani muscle is found in the pelvis attached to its sidewalls and forming a platform holding up the internal organs; in women this includes the uterus...

According to the results of a Government survey released this month, Angola has made significant strides towards reducing maternal and infant mortality since 2002, with the mortality rate for children under five dropping from 250 to 195 per 1,000 live births. During the same period, the maternal mortality ratio decreased from 1,400 to 660 per 100,000 live births...

A new study to be published in BJOG: The British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology shows how the use of epidurals during birth may have a protective effect on the levator ani muscles, which hold up the pelvic floor. The levator ani muscle is found in the pelvis attached to its sidewalls and forming a platform holding up the internal organs; in women this includes the uterus...

Cancer Research Technology has signed an agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany to evaluate new leptin antagonist peptides as potential experimental treatments initially in the area of gynaecological diseases, including cancer...

Three-dimensional MRI is an emerging and useful technique for displaying fetal anatomy and diagnosing problems in the womb in a wide spectrum of clinical applications, according to Jeffrey C. Hellinger, M.D., a pediatric imaging specialist at Stony Brook University Medical Center. "Through enhanced visualization, 3D MRI improves one's understanding and ability to display fetal anatomy...

A small amount of aspirin a day could help certain groups of pregnant women keep a potentially serious and sometimes fatal condition at bay. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says this is just one of a number of ways to help prevent and treat hypertension (high blood pressure) before, during and after pregnancy...

A guide to handling (unsolicited) parenting advice from your mother or mother-in-law, from rice cereal in the bottle to whiskey as a teething remedy

Cribs, chairs, baskets, rockers, and more nursery furniture that will make going girly super cool

Good for baby and the planet! Check out these adorable little clothes made from eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, bamboo, soy and recycled cashmere.

Scientists have discovered that when nicotine binds to nAchRs (nicotinic acetylcholine receptors), it may not only promote addiction, but breast cancer as well. We know that non-nicotine components of smoking are carcinogens, however, very little is known about how nicotine acts on cells to encourage cancer growth, the scientists explain...

Women who feel stressed early on during their menstrual cycle are more likely to have more severe symptoms during and before menstruation, says a report conducted by researchers at the NIH (National Institutes of Health, USA) and other centers...

The reported gang-rape of at least 179 women and girls in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) must serve as an urgent call to stop the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Egregious violations of human rights, including rape and sexual violence, have become endemic in the DRC...