| Pregnant bird flu patient may add to information on Tamiflu
A pregnant woman in Indonesia who shows symptoms of bird flu agreed to take Tamiflu. The medicine, recommended by the World Health Organization to treat the lethal virus, may be a risk to her unborn fetus, a doctor said. The 35-year-old woman, two months pregnant, began a course of Roche Holding AG's antiviral to treat an infection possibly caused by the H5N1 avian influenza strain, said Luhur Soeroso, a doctor at the Adam Malik Hospital in Medan on Sumatra island. Clinicians have had little experience treating H5N1 in pregnant women, and if the woman has the disease, her case may provide needed information. There is no adequate data on the use of Tamiflu, known scientifically as oseltamivir, in pregnant women, according to the WHO. Animal studies don't indicate direct or indirect harmful effects on pregnancy or fetal development, the health agency said in March.
New Research Could Help Women Facing High Risk Of Stillbirth
The risk of stillbirth is particularly high for women with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who suffer four times as many stillbirths as non-diabetic women. The tools currently available to monitor such risks are limited and give results only at late stages of pregnancy. Now research by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick is identifying new methods of early and accurate monitoring of the risks faced by such women. .
Though now over the counter, pill still in question
Pregnancy from unprotected sex will be easier to prevent with the over-the-counter availability of Plan B - also known as the morning-after pill - starting in 2007.
The decision to allow access to the drug without a prescription came after three years of debate, but the positive aspects of this FDA-approved drug are still in question.
In regard to the possibility of women taking advantage of the drug's availability Hurtado Health Center pharmacist Jetsie Richardson said, "The drug is really for emergencies, and women should not use it as birth control."
"I think having the product over the counter will help women who don't have the same access to doctors or medical insurance as other women might," Richardson said.
Dr. Yolanda Wade - who also works at the Hurtado Health Center - said it gives women more reassurance.
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