Pregnancy

Mar 21 2013

A Pasadena group teaches women self-care to stem infant mortality

With National Minority Health Month quickly approaching, a local organization confronts the Black infant mortality rate—a decades old problem—by empowering one college-educated woman at a time.

On behalf of iDream for Racial Health Equity, a project of Community Partners, applications for the iDream Millennial Leadership Program are now open.

Mar 4 2013

Ethnicity, socioeconomic not factors

Women who have strong support from their families during pregnancy appear to be less likely to experience depression after giving birth, according to a UCLA study published today.

“Our results, and those of other scientists, suggest that low or absent support is a significant risk factor for postpartum depression and that strong support is a protective factor,” said Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, lead author of the research.

Aug 23 2012

GOP refuses to back him financially

Loose lips sink ships, or in the case of Republican Congressman and aspiring Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akins, political careers.

Akins was on track to help the GOP recapture the senate before his comments on rape aired Sunday. “From what I understand from doctors ... if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down (getting pregnant).”

Sep 9 2011

The rate of teen pregnancy remains disproportionately high among African American teens

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Black youth report considerable pressure to have sex, according to a new survey of 1,500 Black youth ages 13-21 released by ESSENCE Magazine and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Of those who have had sex, 47% of those 13-21 (including 21% of those 13-15) say they have been pressured to go further sexually than they wanted to. The groundbreaking results are featured in the October issue of ESSENCE magazine.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
May 19 2011

Non-profits assistance spans continents

Two Los Angeles-based organizations are working to improve the quality of life in the Motherland, specifically Cameroon, where the rates of HIV infection, maternal mortality and lack of access to healthcare and education are major issues. Additionally, about half of Cameroonians lack sustainable access to safe sanitation while over one-third lacks sustainable access to safe water.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.