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Latest Sexual Health News<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Greater reproductive rights for women — such as access to sex education and birth control<\/a> — are associated with lower rates of low birth weight babies<\/a>, a new study finds.<\/p>\n Reproductive rights refer to a woman’s right to plan motherhood. This includes use of birth control<\/a> or abortion, access to reproductive health<\/a> services and sex ed in the public schools.<\/p>\n “Our study provides evidence that reproductive rights policies play a critical role in advancing maternal and child health<\/a> equity,” said lead investigator May Sudhinaraset. She’s with the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles.<\/p>\n For the study, the researchers analyzed data on nearly 4 million births that occurred in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in 2016.<\/p>\n Compared with women living in states with the most restrictive reproductive rights policies, women in the least restrictive states had a 7% lower risk of having a low birth weight baby. (A low birth weight is less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces, according to the March of Dimes.)<\/p>\n The low birth weight risk was 8% lower among Black women in states with the least restrictive reproductive rights policies compared with their counterparts living in the most restrictive states, the findings showed.<\/p>\n The study was published Oct. 13 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine<\/i>.<\/p>\n Underweight babies<\/a> are at increased risk for health problems, the study authors noted. Some may become sick in the first few days of life or develop infections, and others may have long-term problems, including delayed motor and social development or learning disabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n The study findings suggest that expanding women’s reproductive rights may decrease the risk of low birth weight infants, particularly for Black women, the researchers said.<\/p>\n Black women are more likely to die during pregnancy<\/a> and childbirth<\/a> than any other racial group in the United States. They have more pregnancy<\/a> health complications than white women, and have lower quality maternity care, including disrespectful care during childbirth<\/a>, the study authors said in a journal news release.<\/p>\n “Addressing the adverse consequences of structural racism requires examination of the historical and present-day policies that negatively affect women of color,” Sudhinaraset said.<\/p>\n Additional research should assess women’s experiences of policy exclusion or inclusion, and the effects on women and newborn<\/a> health, she added.<\/p>\n “Important policy levers can and should be implemented to improve women’s reproductive health<\/a> overall, including increasing abortion access and mandatory sex education in schools,” Sudhinaraset said in the news release.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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