Women's Healthcare Topics

WebMD Health Headlines Deep Brain Stimulation Stops Seizures Deep brain stimulation may offer a new treatment option for fighting epileptic seizures in those who don't respond well to other therapies. Brief Meditation Training Brings Pain Relief Meditation increases pain tolerance, but you don't have to devote your life to the practice to derive benefits, new research shows. How to Treat Kids' Hard-to-Control Asthma What's the next step when a child's controller drugs fail to prevent asthma attacks? Different kids do best with different step-up treatments, an NIH-funded study finds. When Stocks Go Down, Heart Attacks Go Up When the stock market dips, your heart health may too. New research hints at a link between market volatility and rising heart attack rates. Clip Closes Door on Leaky Heart Valves A clothespin-type device that clips together the partially open doors of leaky heart valves may obviate the need for open heart surgery in some patients, doctors say. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Pregnancy Sex During Pregnancy: Women Tell All Pregnant women often wrongly fear that having sex will harm their baby, but sex is okay throughout a normal pregnancy. Nearly 40% of women have sex in their birth week, researchers find. Just How Real Is 'Pregnancy Brain'? Pregnancy and motherhood don't cause women to have memory lapses and other cognitive problems, even though the concept of ''pregnancy brain'' and ''momnesia'' are widely accepted, according to a new study. How Medicines Affect Pregnancy: At Last, a Study How do common medications affect pregnancy? Nobody really knows. Now the FDA and a consortium of HMOs have launched a huge study to find out. Teen Births Rise for Second Year The teen birth rate rose for the second year in a row in 2007, reversing a 14-year decline, new CDC figures confirm. Beauty Product Safety When You’re Pregnant: Makeup, Sunscreen, Hair Dye, and More WebMD discusses how you can alter your beauty regimen when you’re pregnant to avoid chemicals in common skin care and beauty products. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Genital Herpes CDC: Genital Herpes Rates Still High One in six Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 have genital herpes and close to 1 in 2 black women are infected, new figures from the CDC reveal. Condoms Help Cut Risk of Genital Herpes Condom use reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of contracting genital herpes, according to a new review of research. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Getting Pregnant 7 Tips for Getting Pregnant Faster What should you do – or not do – to help increase your chances of getting pregnant ASAP? Read on for seven WebMD expert-approved tips for getting pregnant. 8 Ways to Boost Your Fertility Trying to get pregnant? Pay attention to simple things -- diet, timing of sex, even your lubricant -- and you may conceive faster. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Healthy Sexuality Good Health Boosts Sexual Life Expectancy Good health may not only help you live longer, it could help you enjoy a longer, more satisfying sex life as well, a study shows. Which Marriages Last 10 Years? Being young, being childless, and, for women, not living with two parents at age 14 all predict lower odds of a marriage surviving 10 years, the CDC reports. Oral Sex: Safety, Risks, Relationships, STD Transmission WebMD discusses the health risks of oral sex, how to protect yourself, and more. Revving Up a Low Libido Men with a low libido aren’t as uncommon as you might think. Here’s some insight into what causes a low sex drive in men and how to revive a libido that’s lagging. Why Men Like Porn As it turns out, men are pretty much hard-wired to like watching -- or reading about -- other people having sex. Here's why they do it -- and why it's probably ok. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Healthy Women New Way to Predict Women's Heart Risk New guidelines for predicting women's heart disease risk work well, according to researchers who put the new strategy to the test. Fun Fitness Tips for Your Family Fitness can be a family affair. Here’s how you and your family can stay fit, safely and effectively. Shortcuts to a Clean House Clean up quick with these tips on how to speed-clean clean your house. Easy Ways to Get More Closet Space Who doesn't need more closet space? These tips from experts on organizing your closet will help you get the storage space you need. Cervical Cancer and the HPV Vaccine: A Shot of Prevention Regular Pap tests and the HPV vaccine -- do you really need both? ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Infertility_Reproduction Ovarian Transplant Recipient Gives Birth Twice A former cancer patient in Denmark who had an ovarian transplant and gave birth to a daughter after IVF has also had another child who was conceived naturally. Flame-Retardant Exposure May Harm Fertility Women with higher blood levels of flame retardants known as PBDEs, found in household objects, took about twice as long to become pregnant as those with lower blood levels, according to a new study. Getting Pregnant: Easy Ways To Encourage Fertility Having trouble getting pregnant? Standard fertility treatments can usually help, but so can a host of other, less costly techniques -- some of which couples can try on their own. Gene Discovery May Inspire Male Contraceptive Researchers have found mutations on the CATSPER1 gene that are linked to male infertility and may inspire development of a male contraceptive. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Menopause LDL Rises Around Time of Menopause Blood levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol increase dramatically in women around the time of menopause, and the rise is not related to aging, new research confirms. Hormone Replacement Therapy A few years ago, the use of hormone replacement therapy looked like a medical mess. For decades, women were told that HRT -- usually a combination of estrogen and progestin -- was good for them during and after menopause. Then, the 2002 results of the Women's Health Initiative study seemed to show just the opposite: hormone replacement therapy actually had life-threatening risks. How to Whittle Your Middle After Menopause Losing weight once you're past menopause can be harder than when you were in your 20s. But it's not impossible. Fertility Drug May Be New Hot Flash Treatment Women suffering severe postmenopausal hot flashes get relief from daily injections of the fertility drug Cetrotide, a small Dutch study shows. HRT Is Linked to Deaths From Lung Cancer Hormone replacement therapy may raise women's risk of dying from lung cancer, a study shows. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Sexual Conditions Is HPV Running Rampant Cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) spreads readily and quickly among partners in new sexual relationships, new research indicates. 1 in 4 Teen Girls Have STI One in four teen girls has a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according to a new study. Penis Spray Makes Men Last Longer Men suffering premature ejaculation -- less than a minute after penetration -- last 5 to 6 times longer if they use an experimental penis spray 5 minutes before sex. Teen Girls' Chlamydia Drives STD Rate Up U.S. chlamydia cases increased 9.2% last year, with highest rates in teen girls and young women. Study: High BPA Linked to Sex Problems in Men Workers exposed to very high levels of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) were four to seven times as likely to report sexual function problems as workers with no occupational exposure to the chemical in a new study. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Womens Conditions Before You Pierce, Wax, or Shave Before you pierce, wax, or shave, read on to learn the best -- and safest -- techniques for protecting your private parts. Green Tea Extract May Treat Uterine Fibroids An extract from green tea may be useful in treating uterine fibroids, a condition that affects 25%-30% of U.S. women, new research indicates. Chemical May Be Linked to Thyroid Disease A chemical compound used to make non-stick cookware, food wrappers, and water-resistant coatings for carpets and fabrics has been linked to an increased risk for thyroid disease in an early study. Fatigued or Full Throttle: Is Your Thyroid to Blame? Feeling all revved up, even at bedtime? Or maybe your throttle’s on idle with symptoms of depression, fatigue, and weight gain. In both cases, the root cause may be your thyroid. Drug May Boost Women's Sexual Desire An investigational drug that didn't perform well as an antidepressant appears to slightly boost sexual desire as well as the number of satisfying sexual encounters in women with lagging libidos, a study shows. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD Health - Breast Cancer Breast Cancer Treated by Freezing Tumors In a small but promising study, researchers were able to kill breast cancer tumors by freezing them using a technique known as image-guided, multiprobe cryotherapy. Anticancer Effects of Aspirin: FAQ Regular aspirin lowers the risk of breast cancer recurrence. WebMD answers frequently asked questions about aspirin and cancer. Paxil, Tamoxifen May Be a Risky Combo Breast cancer patients who take the antidepressant Paxil at the same time as tamoxifen face an increased risk of dying from their disease, a new study shows. Radiologists: Get Mammograms Early, Often Blasting new breast-cancer screening advice from an HHS panel, radiologists say women need annual mammograms starting no later than age 40. Pomegranates May Stall Breast Cancer Eating pomegranates or drinking pomegranate juice may help prevent and slow the growth of some types of breast cancer. ©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.