An article presented estimates of annual mortality rates for women of working age by socio-economic classification for the period 2001-2008. Although overall mortality rates for women had declined over the period, this was not true for all classes. Routine occupations had had the greatest decline in mortality rate over the period, of approximately 5 deaths per 100,000 per annum.
Source: Brian Johnson and Alaa Al-Hamad, 'Trends in socio-economic inequalities in female mortality, 2001-08: intercensal estimates for England and Wales', Health Statistics Quarterly 52, Winter 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined the birth process from a socio-legal perspective.
Source: Fatemeh Ebtehaj, Jonathan Herring, Martin Johnson, and Martin Richards (eds.), Birth Rites and Rights, Hart Publishing
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2011-Aug
A report said that the delivery of maternity care in the existing configuration 'could not be sustained'. It recommended that services should be provided in managed clinical networks that linked primary, community, secondary, and tertiary services. A life-course approach to women's healthcare should be adopted, utilizing every interaction a woman had with the health service, irrespective of age, to promote health and lifestyle rather than the constant 'firefight' against disease and ill-health The variation in health service provision needed to be resolved by universally adopting clinical standards and guidelines, and mandating the reporting of outcomes.
Source: High Quality Women s Health Care: A proposal for change, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Links: Report | RCOG press release | NHS Confederation press release | RCM press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jul
A report said that antidepressants were too often prescribed to girls and women to treat mental health problems. A 'huge number' of women used antidepressants for long periods without being reviewed or offered any alternatives to drugs.
Source: Checks and Choices: Women and antidepressants, Platform 51 (formerly Young Women s Christian Association)
Links: Report | Platform 51 press release | Rethink press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A think-tank report said that girls were significantly more successful than boys in making the transition to adulthood: they did better in their exams, more of them went to university, and those aged 22-29 earned 2.1 per cent more than their male peers. But teenage girls had worse rates of binge drinking and physical inactivity than their male peers; and they had higher rates of teen pregnancy than their European counterparts.
Source: Richard Darlington, Julia Margo, and Sarah Sternberg, with Beatrice Karol Burks, Through the Looking Glass, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Apr
A report summarized qualitative research into how expectant and new parents experienced maternity and early years care. Parents did not perceive the health service as a service, but rather as a set of prescribed interactions at key stages: they needed to be encouraged to be more 'proactive' in accessing the help available to them.
Source: Parents Views on the Maternity Journey and Early Parenthood, Department of Health
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Apr
A report said that the overall number of maternal deaths had fallen over the period 2006-2008 despite a rise in the number of women dying from infection. For the first time there had been a reduction in the inequalities gap, with a significant decrease in maternal mortality rates among those living in the most deprived areas and those in the lowest socio-economic group.
Source: Saving Mothers' Lives: Reviewing maternal deaths to make motherhood safer 2006-2008 – The eighth report of the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in the United Kingdom, Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries
Links: Report | CMACE press release | NCT press release | RCM press release | RCOG press release
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the literature concerning the involvement of European men during pregnancy and childbirth, and considered how this was related to health outcomes – for the men themselves, their partners, and their children.
Source: Lars Plantin, Adepeju Aderemi Olukoya, and Pernilla Ny, 'Positive health outcomes of fathers' involvement in pregnancy and childbirth paternal support: a scope study literature review', Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, Volume 9 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
A think-tank report recommended deploying midwife-led care much more widely for women at a low and medium risk of problems: this could improve outcomes for women and babies, and reduce costs for the National Health Service.
Source: Jane Sandall et al., Staffing in Maternity Units: Getting the right people in the right place at the right time, King s Fund
Links: Report | Kings Fund press release | NCT press release | RCM press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Mar
A report said that the increase in smoking by women and girls in European countries was in large part due to skilful and successful marketing by the tobacco industry. The industry had taken a tailored approach to targeting women and girls in their campaigns: the tobacco control community needed to do the same.
Source: Empower Women: Combating tobacco industry marketing in the European region, World Health Organisation
Links: Report | WHO press release
Date: 2011-Feb
An article said that smoking accounted for 40-60 per cent of the difference in mortality between men and women in European countries.
Source: Gerry McCartney, Lamia Mahmood, Alastair Leyland, David Batty, and Kate Hunt, 'Contribution of smoking-related and alcohol-related deaths to the gender gap in mortality: evidence from 30 European countries', Tobacco Control, Volume 20 Number 2
Links: Abstract | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined the state of girls' and women's mental health. Of those surveyed, more than 3 in 5 (63 per cent) felt that low-level mental health problems – depression, stress, and low self-esteem – had had a negative effect on their lives. Women with mental health problems were frequently not getting the right kind of help: 29 per cent had never sought professional help, and 63 per cent felt that doctors were too ready to prescribe drugs to treat low-level mental health problems.
Source: Women Like Me: Supporting wellbeing in girls and women, Platform 51 (formerly Young Women's Christian Association)
Links: Report | Platform 51 press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jan