by Martha C. Carlough, MD, MPH           March 8th was the 101st time International Women’s day has been celebrated (first marked in 1910 in Germany by a political leader of the Social Demographic party). What began as a political movement has become an opportunity to annually mark progress (and lack of) towards better health and equity for girls and women around the globe.     But as we all know, there is still a lot that needs to be done. In the words of Dr. Mahmoud Fathalla, Founder of the WHO Safer Motherhood Initiative: “Women are not dying because of diseases and problems we cannot treat, they are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving.” Ten key facts (according to WHO, UN, UNESCO, UNAIDS  and UNICEF):1.    There are currently 17 countries with women as head of government, head of state, or both, which, according to the UN, has more than doubled since 2005 but there are still six countries where women are not allowed to vote (Bhutan, Lebanon, Brunei, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Vatican City) and women hold only 17% of parliamentary seats worldwide. 2.    Approximately 358,000 women die annually of complications during pregnancy or childbirth, which represents a decline of almost one-third in the last 15 years, but is still far less than the 5% decline annually that would be needed to reach MDG5 (the reduction of maternal deaths by 75% by 2015).  Though not preventable, most of these deaths are avoidable, as the necessary medical interventions exist. The key obstacle is pregnant women’s lack of access to quality care before, during, and after childbirth. 3.    On average, women live six to eight years longer than men, but there continue to be vast geographic discrepancies with life expectancy of more than 80 years for women in 35 countries, and less than fifty years still in others (largely Sub-Saharan Africa)4.    Globally, cardiovascular disease, which is widely considered a male problem, is the leading cause of death for women overall (and responsible for 40% of deaths to women over 60 years of age). For women of reproductive age, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death.5.    In 2010, UNAIDS estimated that of the 34 million people living with HIV/AIDS, half are women. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where 75% of people living with HIV/AIDS are, there are an estimated 12 million women with HIV/AIDS (compared to 8.2 million men) … Read More

Postpartum depression is a debilitating condition that affects 10-15% of new mothers.  Researchers at UNC are investigating a promising new treatment for postpartum depression and recently came to speak to the WBWC staff about it.  Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a treatment that uses magnetic fields to generate electrical currents in the areas of the brain believed to control mood.  This is a non-invasive, outpatient procedure.  40-minute sessions are performed five days a week over the course of 6 weeks.   The researchers are interested in recruiting women age 18-45 who have given birth to a healthy singleton baby in the past 12 months, and are currently depressed but are NOT taking antidepressants.  If you are interested in participating in the study, call the birth center for more details.