FP access reduces high school dropouts

Venus was not surprised to read that girls who have easy access to family planning (FP) services are less likely to drop out of high school. An analysis of data from the 2012–2013 American Community Surveys merged with geographical location of FP clinics in the USA concluded that even accounting for sociodemographic differences, having local access to Planned Parenthood FP services is consistently associated with fewer young women dropping out of high school, and childbearing.

Obstet Gynecol 2016;127:699–704. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000001344

Rapid malaria screening may improve pregnancy outcomes

Malaria during pregnancy causes maternal anaemia, low birth weight and neonatal mortality, and it's common in West Africa. One adopted strategy is intermittent screening and treatment in pregnancy, although some tests fail to detect malaria. A recent study reports high sensitivity of a rapid diagnostic test in pregnant women at antenatal booking, and in Ghana, also at subsequent antenatal appointments. Interestingly, women who tested negative but were actually infected, suffered fewer adverse outcomes.

Clin Infect Dis 2016;62:837–44. doi:10.1093/cid/civ1198

Doctors’ weekend working does not affect on pregnancy outcomes

Weekend working has been at the heart of the junior doctors’ …