The Importance of Preconception Care in the Continuum of Women's Health Care

Number 313

(Reaffirmed 2012)

ABSTRACT: The goal of preconception care is to reduce the risk of adverse health effects for the woman, fetus, or neonate by optimizing the woman's health and knowledge before planning and conceiving...

Screening for Tay - Sachs Disease

Number 318

(Reaffirmed 2010, Replaces No. 162, November 1995)

ABSTRACT: Tay–Sachs disease (TSD) is a severe progressive neurologic disease that causes death in early childhood. Carrier screening should be offered before pregnancy to individuals and couples at h...

ACOG, AAP Develop First Collaborative Physician-Focused Breastfeeding Handbook

Washington, DC -- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are pleased to announce the publication of the first collaborative breast...

Alcohol and Pregnancy: Know the Facts

Washington, DC -- The recent news story "Can Pregnant Women Drink Alcohol in Moderation?", which aired on ABC's Good Morning America Weekend, has created tremendous confusion among women about the sa...

Ob-Gyns Urged to Help Reduce Health Disparities for Rural Women

Washington, DC -- Lack of access to adequate women's health care puts rural women in the US at a greatly increased risk of poor health outcomes compared with women in urban areas. The physician short...

Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Number 432

ABSTRACT: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease that results from degeneration of spinal cord motor neurons leading to atrophy of skeletal muscle and overa...

Maternal Health Must Become a Priority in Developing Countries

Chicago, IL -- "Mothers are the backbones of communities. When they die, children become orphaned, families are fragmented," said Jean Chamberlain Froese, MD, today during the President's Program at ...

Depression During Pregnancy: Treatment Recommendations

Washington, DC -- Pregnant women with depression face complicated treatment decisions because of the risks associated with both untreated depression and the use of antidepressants. A new report from ...

Preconception and Prenatal Carrier Screening for Genetic Diseases in Individuals of Eastern European Jewish Descent

Number 442

(Replaces No. 298, August 2004)

ABSTRACT: Certain autosomal recessive disease conditions are more prevalent in individuals of Eastern European Jewish (Ashkenazi) descent. Previously, the American College of Obstetricians and Gyneco...

Ob Gyns Encouraged to Screen Women for Depression During and After Pregnancy

Washington, DC -- Screening for depression during pregnancy and afterward benefits women, infants, and families, according to a new Committee Opinion issued today by The American College of Obstetric...

Women with Cancer Have Options for Preserving Fertility

San Francisco, CA -- Young women undergoing cancer treatment have an increasing number of options for preserving their fertility, a leading researcher told attendees today at the 58th Annual Clinical...

Carrier Screening for Fragile X Syndrome

Number 469

(Replaces No. 338, June 2006)

ABSTRACT: Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited form of mental retardation. The syndrome occurs in approximately 1 in 3,600 males and 1 in 4,000–6,000 females. Approximately 1 in 250 female...

Challenges for Overweight and Obese Urban Women

Number 470

ABSTRACT: Overweight and obesity are epidemic in the United States. Obesity is a risk factor for numerous conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, certai...

Smoking Cessation During Pregnancy

Number 471

(Reaffirmed 2012, Replaces No. 316, October 2005)

ABSTRACT: Smoking is the one of the most important modifiable causes of poor pregnancy outcomes in the United States, and is associated with maternal, fetal, and infant morbidity and mortality. The p...

New Focus on Care for HIV Women as More Live Longer with the Disease

Washington, DC -- As the number of women in the US living with HIV/AIDS increases, ob-gyns will need to address their unique contraception, preconception and prenatal care, and general gynecologic re...

Family Health History is Important Screening Tool

Washington, DC -- All women should have a family health history on file and it should be reviewed and updated regularly, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The Coll...

Family History as a Risk Assessment Tool

Number 478

ABSTRACT: Family history plays a critical role in assessing the risk of inherited medical conditions and single gene disorders. Several methods have been established to obtain family medical historie...

All Women Should Be Offered Cystic Fibrosis Screening Regardless of Ethnicity

Washington, DC -- Preconception and prenatal cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier screening should be made available to all women of reproductive age as a routine part of obstetric care, according to a revis...

Update on Carrier Screening for Cystic Fibrosis

Number 486

(Replaces No. 325, December 2005)

ABSTRACT: In 2001, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Medical Genetics introduced guidelines for prenatal and preconception carrier screening for cyst...

ACOG Statement on Institute of Medicine Report Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps

Washington, DC -- The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) applauds the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for recommending private insurance coverage of key women's preventive health...

ACOG Applauds HHS for Requiring Insurance Coverage of Key Womens Preventive Health Services

Washington, DC -- The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) applauds the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the prompt acceptance of the Institute of Medicine's (...

Genetic Disorders

FAQ094

What are genes? Genes control your physical makeup. Genes come in pairs. Half of a fetus's genes come from the mother. The other half comes from the father. Some traits, such as blood type, are deter...

A Healthy Pregnancy for Women with Diabetes

FAQ176

What is diabetes mellitus? Diabetes mellitus (also called "diabetes") is caused by a problem with insulin. Insulin moves glucose out of the blood and into the body's cells where it can be turned int...

Health Care for Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Women

Number 515

ABSTRACT: Sixty percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women live in metropolitan areas. Most are not eligible for health care provided by the federal Indian Health Service (IHS). The IHS partl...

Health Care Systems for Underserved Women

Number 516

ABSTRACT: Underserved women are those who are unable to obtain quality health care by virtue of barriers created by poverty, cultural differences, race or ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, ge...