The evaluation of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) by the Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (DCP3) focuses on maternal conditions, childhood illness, and malnutrition. Specifically, the chapters address acute illness and undernutrition in children, principally under age 5. It also covers maternal mortality, morbidity, stillbirth, and influences to pregnancy and pre-pregnancy. Volume 3 focuses on developments since the publication of DCP2 and will also include the transition to older childhood, in particular, the overlap and commonality with the child development volume. The DCP3 evaluation of these conditions produced three key findings: 1. There is significant difficulty in measuring the burden of key conditions such as unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, nonsexually transmitted infections, infertility, and violence against women. 2. Investments in the continuum of care can have significant returns for improved and equitable access, health, poverty, and health systems. 3. There is a large difference in how RMNCH conditions affect different income groups; investments in RMNCH can lessen the disparity in terms of both health and financial risk.

Female reproductive topics are very common and can affect the patient’s quality of life. Such topics include puberty, endometriosis, breastfeeding, subfertility, menstrual problems, polycystic ovary syndrome, problems during pregnancy, uterine fibroids, various benign and malignant conditions of the reproductive organs, various sexually transmitted infections, family planning, and contraception. Good reproductive health covers the physical, mental, and social well-being. However, to maintain it, women need to be informed and empowered to protect themselves through access to services that can help them have a fit pregnancy, safe delivery, and healthy baby. This book is intended to cover some of the female reproductive issues for all specialties involved in health care for women.

Winner, 2020 Senior Book Prize, given by the Association of Feminist Anthropology Winner, 2020 Eileen Basker Memorial Prize, given by the Society for Medical Anthropology Honorable Mention, 2020 Victor Turner Prize in Ethnographic Writing, given by the Society for Humanistic Anthropology Finalist, 2020 PROSE Award in the Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology category, given by the Association of American Publishers A troubling study of the role that medical racism plays in the lives of Black women who have given birth to premature and low birth weight infants Black women have higher rates of premature birth than other women in America. This cannot be simply explained by economic factors, with poorer women lacking resources or access to care. Even professional, middle-class Black women are at a much higher risk of premature birth than low-income white women in the United States. Dána-Ain Davis looks into this phenomenon, placing racial differences in birth outcomes into a historical context, revealing that ideas about reproduction and race today have been influenced by the legacy of ideas which developed during the era of slavery. While poor and low-income Black women are often the “mascots” of premature birth outcomes, this book focuses on professional Black women, who are just as likely to give birth prematurely. Drawing on an impressive array of interviews with nearly fifty mothers, fathers, neonatologists, nurses, midwives, and reproductive justice advocates, Dána-Ain Davis argues that events leading up to an infant’s arrival in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and the parents’ experiences while they are in the NICU, reveal subtle but pernicious forms of racism that confound the perceived class dynamics that are frequently understood to be a central factor of premature birth. The book argues not only that medical racism persists and must be considered when examining adverse outcomes—as well as upsetting experiences for parents—but also that NICUs and life-saving technologies should not be the only strategies for improving the outcomes for Black pregnant women and their babies. Davis makes the case for other avenues, such as community-based birthing projects, doulas, and midwives, that support women during pregnancy and labor are just as important and effective in avoiding premature births and mortality.

At a UN General Assembly Special Session in 1999, governments recognised unsafe abortion as a major public health concern, and pledged their commitment to reduce the need for abortion through expanded and improved family planning services, as well as ensure abortion services should be safe and accessible. This technical and policy guidance provides a comprehensive overview of the many actions that can be taken in health systems to ensure that women have access to good quality abortion services as allowed by law.

This is a program summary report recounting the history of support of the Ford Foundation for demography, reproductive science, contraceptive development and family planning, from 1950s-1980s, culminating in a presentation of the $125 million commitment emphasizing reproductive health for the 1990s. An introduction familiarizes the reader with essential points on world population, maternal mortality, needs for new contraceptives and contraceptive services. Central to all these problems is reproductive health and the status of women. The most common determinant of both is women's education, which affects their health, sexuality, nutrition, medical care, pregnancy outcome and family size. Important pronouncements by several world bodies have articulated the need for enhancement of the status of women, but responses of governments have been detached vertical programs in primary health care. The Ford Foundation has appropriated increasingly significant funds for women's projects in the 1980s. The proposed approach is to use the social sciences to attend to women's needs throughout their reproductive life cycles. The Foundation has the advantage of 14 staff members already allocated to reproductive health and population, and 12 social scientists, 10 of whom are located in field offices. The 3 specific objectives of the new program are: to develop a comprehensive, socioeconomic, legal and biomedical framework for reproductive health based on social science research, policy formation and service design; to empower women to understand articulate and act on their needs at the family, community and policy levels; and to promote public dialogue and awareness of reproductive health and population issues.

This edited book includes new policy-relevant research on women’s health issues in Africa. Scholars explore critical topics from different disciplinary traditions using a variety of research methodologies and data sources. The contributors include African scholars with in-depth knowledge of their home contexts, who can furnish nuanced interpretations of local health issues and trends; international researchers who bring vigorous comparative viewpoints; emerging scholars adding to scientific knowledge; and more established researchers with a deep global knowledge of women’s health issues. The range of women’s health issues is vast, including the HIV epidemic and its impacts; domestic violence; the persistence of homebirths; and abortion. In addition, the book investigates emerging health concerns such as CVDs and cancers. Readers will learn that, while old health issues have persisted and assumed new dimensions, newer concerns have materialized and are gaining momentum. The inability of health systems to tackle these issues complicates matters in Africa, creating a sense of desperation that can only be successfully confronted through strong political will and strategic planning, grounded in further research. This book was originally published as several special issues of Health Care for Women International.