Newswise — Pregnancy weight and biochemical markers measured in blood from women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were related to increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, suggesting a new direction for precision diagnostics, according to researchers.
The study led by Ellen C. Francis, an assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health, and published in Nature Communications Medicine, evaluated the diagnostic value of these markers before or at the time of screening for GDM, a type of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy.
“Although we found that obesity is a risk factor for offspring born larger for their gestational age, evidence suggests that the metabolic alterations that accompany obesity increase the risk of adverse outcomes,” said Francis. GDM, characterized by elevated blood sugar (glucose) levels during pregnancy, is the most common metabolic condition among pregnant women and poses risks to both mother and child. While standard treatments are applied, clinical outcomes can differ among individuals.
Francis said the research demonstrates the need for a more nuanced approach to diagnose GDM, which may help improve outcomes. It is the first systematic review of the literature to assess the potential of subtypes in GDM and to examine whether nonglycemic markers could refine risk stratification. Francis said some of the literature suggested insulin profiles and triglyceride levels may serve as promising non-glucose indicators of risk.
“To really assess the clinical implications of precision diagnostics in GDM, we first need to understand if insulin resistance or higher triglycerides are causally linked to adverse outcomes, and whether we can safely target them in pregnancy,” Francis said.
Overall, researchers found a critical gap in the existing literature in which most studies hadn’t focused on comparing clinical, biochemical or sociocultural differences among women who develop GDM.
“In our full text screening of 775 studies, we found that only recently has there been a focus on clinical, biochemical, or sociocultural markers that could improve who is at greatest risk of poor outcomes, and on comparing clinical outcomes between different subtypes of GDM,” said Francis. “The data from these studies indicate that in the future, we may be able to refine how we diagnose GDM by using anthropometric or biochemical information in combination with current diagnostic approaches.”
Future research should delve into mechanistic studies on precision biomarkers, large diverse population studies for replication, and multinational studies focusing on environmental and behavioral factors, Francis said. It should also explore potential insights on casual pathways of heterogeneity within GDM and its outcomes from genetic and multi-omics data using advanced analytical approaches.
Study co-authors include researchers from collaborating institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, South Korea and Australia.
In an interview with UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming on the sidelines of SDG Summit 2023 held at UN Headquarters in New York in September, Ms. Portman discussed combatting violence against women and reframing masculinity to be less aggressive and more empathetic towards gender issues.
Melissa Fleming: The UN 2023 Gender Snapshot report painted a worrisome picture on how far away we are from reaching gender equality. What can we do to shift these trends?
Natalie Portman: Investing in women and girls’ education, safety and economic and social empowerment. More investment will accelerate the drive toward parity.
Melissa Fleming: Why is there under-investment in girls?
Natalie Portman: There is a deeply ingrained bias against women and girls that we really need to combat and obviously, education is a big part of that. The Spotlight Initiative that the UN launched [in partnership with the European Union and others] in 2017 is addressing a lot of the ingrained cultural biases that lead to the inequalities and injustices that we see.
It really is such a core part of women’s freedom to be free from the threat of violence. And until women and girls can feel safe walking down the street, going to school and going to work, nothing else can be achieved to the extent that we dream of.
Spotlight’s work has been really extraordinary at reaching many different countries to change laws, implement educational tools and change culture such that masculinity is reframed as empathy rather than aggression.
UNFPA/Olivier Girard
Young girls in the village of Danja in Niger hold signs in support of the Spotlight Initiative.
Melissa Fleming: We now have an online environment that has made a dangerous and threatening space for so many girls growing up in the social media age. Is that something you are concerned about?
Natalie Portman: Absolutely. The threat and danger that women and girls are subjected to in real life is just as bad, if not worse, online. I mean, it’s all different varieties of trying to silence us.
The more we can support and celebrate women and girls’ voices, the more we’re combating this horrible abuse of power.
Melissa Fleming: You were very much behind the Time’s Up movement supporting victims of sexual harassment. Why is it so important for women in Hollywood to raise their voices? Does this set an example for women in other industries?
Natalie Portman: Time’s Up was incredible because we gathered with women in other industries as well. We gathered with female farm workers, healthcare workers, journalists and women in tech and we noticed we were all facing the same sorts of challenges. Obviously in different locations or different flavours, but really the same threat.
The head of the Farm Workers Union, Monica Ramirez, said to me, “They tell us to shut up because we’re in the shadows and nobody cares about us and they tell you actresses to shut up because nobody cares.”
But, the common thread is that they’re trying to silence all our voices. That was really the power of Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement. It was breaking out of that silence and it was empowering women. We need to make their voices heard and not feel shame around these experiences. We must recognize that these were extreme injustices and that perpetrators needed to be held to account.
I think that people are very aware now and there isn’t a sense that you can just abuse as you wish without facing any consequences. People are a lot more open about it now.
We still have a far way to go, of course, but I think the #MeToo movement really cracked open a door that is not going to be shut anymore.
UNDP India
UNDP’s entrepreneurship development training programme is changing the lives of women in India.
Melissa Fleming: Is there a difference for women and girls that live in developing countries?
Natalie Portman: I think women and girls around the world can relate to each other in regard to living under the threat of violence. That, unfortunately, is everywhere.
Of course, there are different manifestations of violence toward women and girls in different places. Some girls are threatened with violence for going to school which, in the United States, we do not experience. But, in the United States, the number one cause of death for pregnant women is being murdered by their intimate partner. In Iran, we’re seeing women who are being murdered for exposing their hair.
So really the threat of women and girls being threatened and murdered exists everywhere.
Melissa Fleming: You mentioned the masculinity issue and educating men that masculinity is actually empathy. How does one do that?
Natalie Portman:I think that culture can play a big role in shaping that. I think when we see different models of masculinity on screen or in literature, we open up more possibilities for men.
I think that film and television can absolutely help shape new forms of masculinity that are much more reflective of what we know to be the human soul and not just this very narrow kind of aggressive, macho-type that we see so deeply ingrained in our culture.
And then of course education as well, showing the effects of toxic masculinity.
It opens up boys and men’s worlds too, to have more options of how you can be and not this very narrow, prescriptive definition of masculinity.
Melissa Fleming: You are a part owner of the Angel City Football Club in Los Angeles that made their debut at the Women’s Soccer League last year. Can you tell us a bit more about why you got involved?
Natalie Portman: It was very much about seeing both women and men in different ways than we traditionally have seen them. When I saw my son watching the Women’s World Cup four years ago, I realized that he looked up to the women athletes the same way he looked up to the male athletes. I realized, “Why don’t we have this on at home?”
What a different world it would be if all boys and girls could see women athletes given the value that they deserve, like the men are, so we started this women’s football club. We started playing two years ago and it’s just been an incredible thing to be a part of, to see the virtuosic athletes celebrated on a big stage.
Once it was something you had to go outside since you “forgot something in the car” – but now it has totally mainstreamed
The holidays have been filled with wine, eggnog and maybe one friend or relative who has been a bit over served. The stereotype is some of the younger cousins “forgetting something in the car” and having a little puff puff pass. But as over 50% of the country has access to legal weed, those imagines need to move over for modern times. And now data suggests cannabis is a new holiday tradition.
With the legal trend and states like Ohio, Arizona, Michigan, and Alaska having full recreational cannabis, it has become very mainstreamed. Even Fox News has come around as a majority of their viewers believe in some type of legalization. And, people age 65 and older are experimenting with marijuana more than any other age group.
TD Cowan released data to show marijuana continues to make inroads on alcohol. Viven Azur, from TD Cowan, is one of the top data and financial analysts in alcohol, cannabis and tobacco. According to data, states with access to legal cannabis marijuana are underperforming. Meanwhile, the 5-year alcohol volume for adult-use cannabis states has underperformed non-cannabis states.
TD Cowen shared historically alcohol purchases have grown at a 5% annual rate. However, younger consumers are opting to go sober for longer. As marijuana mainstreams, Azur expects cannabis sales to grow 11% in 2023 and alcohol to grow 3% in 2023. As cannabis consumers drink less, they report consuming cannabis on a more frequent basis.
And BDSA, a leading data analyst company which also covers the cannabis space released surprising data. Women have had a large embrace in use. In fall of 2019 43% of marijuana consumers were woman, in spring of 2023 it moved ot 47%. As the user market has grown, the portion of female users have grown with it.
Since women tend to drive holiday celebrations, meals and family gatherings, there almost equal use means marijuana is on the list of acceptable things more than before. And with the younger population drinking less and having a gummy more, it means a change during the festive season. So data suggests cannabis is a new holiday tradition and here to stay.
NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (IPS) – Criminal justice systems in South Asia are failing women, despite stark statistics on the prevalence of violence. WHO estimates translate to one in every two women and girls in the region experiencing violence daily.
Nawmi Naz Chowdhury, a Global Legal Advisor at Equality Now, told a webinar titled ‘Future of Legal Aid in South Asia for Sexual Violence Offenses Against Women and Girls: Lessons from the Past Five Years’ that women and girls experience indifference and neglect at all levels, and there are gaps in legal protections that leave them vulnerable to sexual violence. Where laws do exist, common failures in implementation effectively prevent survivors from accessing justice.
Research by Equality Now, Dignity Alliance International, and partners has revealed that sexual violence laws in South Asian countries are insufficient, inconsistent, and not systematically enforced, leading to extremely low conviction rates for rape.
Long delays in medical examinations, police investigations, prosecutions, and trials are widespread. Survivors often have difficulties filing cases with the police and face community pressure to withdraw criminal complaints and accept informal mediation. Other protection gaps in legal systems include overly burdensome or discriminatory evidence requirements in rape cases and the failure to fully criminalize marital or intimate partner rape.
To bring about change, more needs to be done by governments, and this requires an increase in budgeting and strategizing on a national level, taking lessons derived from best practices in the region and elsewhere.
Training and raising awareness must go hand in hand with giving the police the tools to operate and upgrade their role to better meet society’s needs. This could include being trained in sign language interpretation, using technology to offer services and information, understanding communities and their intersectionality, and including women and girls from various backgrounds and diversities within the police force.
Chowdhury spoke about how women from excluded groups are frequently targeted. “Women and girls from socially excluded communities are often at higher risk of being subjected to sexual violence as compared to other communities due to the use of rape as a weapon of suppression.
“This is accompanied by a general culture of impunity for sexual violence and particular impunity for those from dominant classes, castes, or religions, which often leads to a denial of justice,” she said, with Dalit women and girls and those from indigenous communities encountering even greater obstacles to accessing justice.
Legal weak spots also make young and adolescent girls more vulnerable to sexual violence and, in some circumstances, enable perpetrators of rape to avoid punishment, typically by marrying the victim or obtaining ‘forgiveness’ from the victim, says Choudhury. “Victims of crime have a right to free legal aid, but in countries where these protection gaps exist, access to legal aid for women and girls seeking justice for sexual violence is hindered.”
Choudhury pointed to the high levels of stigma attached to rape in South Asian societies that often lead to the non-reporting or withdrawal of cases or settlements outside the court. Other factors that impede the reporting of sexual violence include fear of repercussions, such as violence, threats to life, or social ostracization.
“How much support are women and girls in South Asia getting?” she asked. “While accessing the criminal justice system, they are met with indifference and neglect at all levels, and this often results in the withdrawal of cases or long delays in adjudication—despite the pervasiveness of sexual violence in the region.”
Governments in the area rarely provide psychosocial care. While India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka have schemes for the payment of compensation to rape survivors, practical barriers often make compensation inaccessible for survivors, Choudhury explained.
Participants in the webinar from various countries in the region offered insights into how access to justice rights functions on a practical level and shared methods by which civil society organizations nudge criminal justice systems to bring about progressive change.
Sushama Gautam, at the Forum for Women, Law, and Development (FWLD) in Nepal, said that legal aid provided by her organization went beyond assisting individuals and included advocacy with key players and institutions like the police and the courts through public interest litigation.
A significant achievement of FWLD was filing public interest litigation in 2001 to get the Supreme Court of Nepal to declare in 2002 that marital sex without the wife’s consent should be considered rape. Nepal’s parliament adopted in 2018 a new criminal code that increased punishment for marital rape but made it a lesser offense than non-marital rape.
Nepal’s constitution guarantees legal aid as a fundamental right, said Gautam, explaining, “The national policy on legal aid and the policy on unified legal aid have also been formulated. These policies promote victim-centered legal aid, and there are digital mechanisms to ensure that legal aid has been established.”
FWLD has an app that provides people with legal information on various violations and helps them contact legal aid providers. The organization also runs a Legal Clinic and Information Center that extends services to survivors of sexual violence, such as legal counseling, and helps take care of their immediate needs.
Manisha Biswas, senior advocacy officer at the Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust (BLAST), says that while Bangladesh has made progress in ensuring access to justice for rape victims, estimates show that only one in 90 cases of sexual violence reaches the stage where the victim gets compensation.
Leading the Rape Law Reform Coalition, comprising 17 rights organizations, BLAST was instrumental in getting the Bangladesh Parliament to amend evidence laws to disallow ‘character assassination’ of rape victims by questioning during prosecution.
BLAST offers a range of legal support, including providing information, advice, and free legal representation, underpinned by a network of paralegal workers, many of whom are recruited from different law colleges. Other activities include public interest litigation and advocacy campaigns to increase awareness and understanding of legal rights, remedies, and services.
“BLAST enjoys a good reputation that helps us to act as a guiding force and use our expertise in providing services such as training paralegal volunteers in police and court procedures and in proactively rehabilitating rape victims,” she said.
Biswas reflected that much remains to be done. Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with more than half of women marrying before reaching the minimum legal marriage age of 18. Bangladeshi laws also permit marital rape.
Overall, says Choudhury, the reality in South Asia is that “the burden of supporting survivors of sexual violence falls on underfunded NGOs, predominantly legal aid organizations that may not have adequate resources.”
This is particularly true for NGOs and CSOs that operate at the grassroots level, which affects access to justice rights for women and girls who have disabilities, indigenous women and girls, and women and girls from minority groups.
A new study published in the Journal of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders recentlyexamined the efficacy of CBD tampons as a method of treating severe menstrual cramps and associated pain.
In “Efficacy and usability of a cannabidiol-infused tampon for the relief of primary dysmenorrhea,” researchers found evidence that CBD-infused tampons “achieved statistically significant pain reduction” and that such tampons offer “fewer side effects than anti-inflammatories, while producing a similar pain-relieving effect.” The study was published on Dec. 19 but will be published in the March 2024 issue of Journal of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders.
The study team included five researchers from Anne’s Day Ltd. in the United Kingdom (described as a natural sciences and engineering development company), and one representative from the Institute for Medical Research in Bulgaria. Lead author Valentina Milanova is also CEO and founder of Daye, which puts a focus on conducting its own research to provide to its consumers. Daye sells a wide variety of tampons, pads, and claims to be the first company to make CBD-infused tampons.
“The findings indicate the potential of CBD-infused tampons as a promising option for managing menstrual pain,” the researchers wrote in their joint conclusion. “Further research and exploration of this innovative product can contribute to the management of primary dysmenorrhea.” According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, primary dysmenorrhea is another term to describe cramping pain brought on by menstrual periods, which affect anywhere between 50%-95% of menstruating individuals.
The study explores how the human body’s CB1 and CB2 receptors are present throughout uterine tissue, which makes cannabinoids in that area easy to administer and feel relief.
A total of 114 participants (18-45 years of age) in the study were either presented with a CBD-infused tampon, or a regular tampon, and were interviewed about their various levels of pain, “including vaginal irritation, sensitisation, systemic toxicity, material-mediated pyrogenicity, and potential toxic shock syndrome risk.” The study took place over the course of three months.
The results show that 37%-40% saw improvements with vaginal dryness, and 37%-40% said they experienced “improvements in mood or overall well-being.” Overall, over 80% described the product they tried as “satisfactory or enjoyable.”
While positive, the researchers admitted that the study sample size is small, and should they revisit the topic again, they would improve their scope of study by recording pain data from both before and after participants have applied their CBD-infused or normal tampon. Additionally, they said that more research should be conducted in order to determine the efficacy of CBD-infused tampons further. “Future clinical research recommendations would include understanding the effectiveness of using CBD tampons against menstrual pain,” researchers concluded. “To further investigate the effects of CBD on pain, a metabolomics study to evaluate pain serum biomarkers or to assess the levels of CBD and painkillers in blood samples would be recommended.”
Daye also features an article about CBD and explores what is currently known about CBD for period care and treatment. “CBD is often considered as a more natural and holistic approach to pain relief as opposed to taking opioids or traditional pain medication,” Dr. Semiya Aziz told Daye. “CBD is also generally considered to have lower risks and fewer side effects compared to traditional pain medication. There are promising results regarding CBD’s role in pain management, however, there is plenty more work that needs to be done in this field before it can be considered as an alternative option for traditional pain relief.”
Numerous other studies have been published on the topic of cannabis as a treatment alternative for other medications. Earlier this summer, the University of Alberta completed research on its review of middle aged women in Canada. It found that out of 1,485 participants, 499 said that they currently use cannabis, and 978 said they have used it in the past. “Of the 499 current cannabis users, over 75% were using cannabis for medical purposes. Most common reasons for current use were sleep (65%), anxiety (45%) and muscle/joint achiness (33%),” researchers explained. “In current users, 74% indicated that cannabis was helpful for symptoms. Current cannabis users were more likely to report experiencing menopause symptoms compared with non-users. History of smoking and general health status were associated with current cannabis use.”
A study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research, entitled “The holistic effects of medical cannabis compared to opioids on pain experience in Finnish patients with chronic pain,” found that opioids and cannabis are “equally efficacious” at reducing pain. The sample size of the study included 201 chronic pain participants, with 40 who use medical cannabis and 161 who use opioids to treat their pain symptoms. Of the two groups, 45% of medical cannabis consumers say they also have used opioids to treat their pain, while only 4.3% of the opioid consumers have tried using medical cannabis as an alternative treatment. Additionally, the medical cannabis group were more relaxed, slept better, and had improved moods. “The results of the present study underline that the psychoactive effects of [medical cannabis] can be therapeutically positive and have beneficial effects on mood and functioning,” the study authors concluded. “However, this conclusion would require more robust testing, ideally in randomized controlled trials.”
Even celebrities such as Hulk Hogan have come out in favor of supporting cannabis as a way to replace both opioids as well as alcohol.
Sehlisiwe Sibanda holds kindle that she uses for her energy-saving stove. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS
by Busani Bafana (kezi, zimbabwe)
Inter Press Service
KEZI, ZIMBABWE, Dec 20 (IPS) – Having this stove has made life easy for me; I do not worry about getting a lot of firewood to cook outside, and I have more time to do other tasks because cooking is less of a hassle. I no longer have to bend when cooking, which is good for my health; besides, my family now enjoys warm meals anytime, and I get to bake buns that I sell. – Sinikiwe Ngwenya on her energy-efficient stove
Five years ago, farmer Sehlisiwe Sisanda would walk into a nearby forested area to fill a scotch cart with huge wood logs for cooking and heating; a pile of firewood would last her a week during the summer.
But now she does not need a cartful of huge logs. Small branches and twigs are enough to last for more than a month.
Since building a wood-efficient stove, twigs and kindle have provided enough energy to cook meals, warm bath water, and bake scones for her family of five.
The tsotso stove is made of bricks in the shape of a box with two holes on top covered with repurposed plough iron wheels, an oven and a smoke chimney fixed to the wall. Tsotso is a local language word for kindle.
The stoves use less wood fuel and emit less pollution than cooking over an open fire. Now Sibanda can cook in her kitchen.
“The stove has been a life saver for me; my family now eats hot meals and has hot bath water every day,” she chuckles, showing the stove in the middle of her rondavel’s kitchen.
“Cooking in the kitchen has become an easy and enjoyable task; the stove is clean and does not produce irritating smoke, and now my family gathers around in the kitchen whenever I am cooking or baking. It has brought us together.”
Sinikiwe Ngwenya shows off her energy-saving stove, which uses twigs. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS
Sibanda bakes buns that she sells at local schools and to neighbours. She uses part of the income from her baking to buy feed for her chickens, which she sells for between USD 5 and USD 6. Selling six chickens earns her enough money to pay a tractor driver to plough her fields.
The stove has helped Sibanda and several women access energy efficiently and reduce deforestation in their village in Kezi, southern Zimbabwe. With many communities not connected to the electricity grid, wood is the key source of energy for cooking and heating. Firewood harvesting is a high price to pay for environmental protection in an arid region that experiences massive deforestation and desertification.
Biomass is a key source of energy for cooking across Zimbabwe. Most women carry the burden of collecting firewood and cooking on open fires, which exposes them to smoke pollution and puts their health at risk. The improved stoves are making a difference because they emit less smoke and use wood more efficiently, saving women the drudgery of collecting huge logs many kilometres from their homes.
Zimbabwe has been losing over 260,000 hectares of forests annually as a result of demand for wood fuel and land clearance for agriculture. This is worrisome given that the country is only planting an average of 34 hectares per year, according to the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission.
Sibanda was trained to build the stoves, and she is a community mobiliser and also trains other women to make them.
Another farmer, Sinikiwe Ngwenya, who had a stove built in her home, says the stove has also changed her life.
“Having this stove has made life easy for me; I do not worry about getting a lot of firewood to cook outside, and I have more time to do other tasks because cooking is less of a hassle,” says Ngwenya. “I no longer have to bend when cooking, which is good for my health; besides, my family now enjoys warm meals anytime, and I get to bake buns that I sell.”
Sehlisiwe Sibanda inside her kitchen. She says her kitchen is pleasant to work in because of an energy-efficient stove that does not emit a lot of smoke. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS
Saving Health, Maybe Trees Too
By getting women to use stoves, a local NGO is not only helping save trees from deforestation but also giving women a hand in easing unpaid care work and also a chance for them to generate income. The women construct the stoves themselves.
Adapting wood-efficient technologies, such as the tsotso stove, is helping women save trees and reduce the burden of unpaid care work.
Women bear the drudgery of collecting firewood, says Lakiness Zimanyiwa, a Programme Officer with the Hope for a Child in Christ (HOCIC), a local NGO that has trained women in rural areas on constructing tsotso stoves under its Securing Rights Programme (SRP PGII) to uplift women economically.
“Tsotso stoves were developed with the aim of reducing the burden of unpaid care work by women as they reduced time taken by women to fetch firewood, and they helped improve income through baking using the stove and selling scones to the community. The stoves are faster, so families have more time to participate in other essential tasks,” Zimanyiwa told IPS.
The stoves have also helped reduce deforestation in Maphisa, as women now take less time gathering firewood and only need to collect twigs, which are enough for cooking a family meal, says Pesistance Mukwena, a project officer with HOCIC.
The world is halfway to the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and Africa is off the mark on several of them, including SDG 7 on access to clean energy, according to the United Nations. A UN Policy Brief on Advancing SDG7 in Africa recommends that policies and financing for clean cooking should be integrated into poverty alleviation and health strategies at the national level.
Sehlisiwe Sibanda holds a dish of freshly baked buns from an energy-saving stove in her kitchen in Maphisa village, Zimbabwe. Credit: BusaniBafana/IPS
Gender Considerations Crucial to Energy Alternatives
“The gender element is also crucial, as engaging women in clean cooking businesses will boost results and make such endeavours more lasting. Addressing this should range from awareness-raising campaigns to directly engaging women as champions and entrepreneurs,” the UN notes.
Finding alternative and cleaner energy sources is a priority for Zimbabwe, which needs more than USD 55 billion for climate change mitigation activities, mostly in the energy sector. According to the country’s “intended nationally determined contribution” (INDC), Zimbabwe aims to cut carbon emissions by 33 percent by 2030 through clean energy initiatives like boosting hydroelectric power in its energy mix, biogas digesters, and improving energy efficiency.
More than 600 million people in Africa have no access to electricity, and many lack clean cooking energy.
A Vision for Clean Cooking by the International Energy Agency released ahead of the recent COP28 held in Dubai shows that in sub-Saharan Africa, only 20 percent of the population in 29 countries have access to clean cooking, with half of the nearly one billion people without access to clean cooking concentrated in five countries, such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.
“Financial incentives are a vital policy tool for facilitating the accelerated deployment of clean cooking technologies. In this regard, approximately USD 8 billion of equipment and infrastructure is required annually from now to 2030 to underpin universal access to clean cooking solutions. But this must be complemented by steadfast leadership from policymakers, given that governments are best placed to influence the future,” Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, says in the report’s foreword.
Indoor air pollution from biomass is one of the top 10 risks for the global burden of diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Household air pollution is responsible for an estimated 3.8 million premature deaths globally.
Leleti Maluleke, researcher, Good Governance, Africa.
Climate change has worsened the demand for energy in Africa, where fossil fuels are a top source of energy for cooking, transportation, and heating, says Leleti Maluleke, a researcher for the Human Security and Climate Change programme at Good Governance Africa.
“Unequal energy access disproportionately affects women and girls due to their gender roles and responsibilities at a domestic level,” Maluleke tells IPS. “Women, especially in rural and remote areas, use polluting energy for cooking and cutting trees, therefore contributing to emissions and deforestation. The lack of electricity, education, and access to information excludes them from safer and greener ways of performing their domestic duties.”
Maluleke bemoaned the fact that, when it comes to energy discussions, decision-makers frequently overlook the struggles of women and that projects involving energy rarely take gender into account. She adds that energy poverty is an inequality issue. Africa has had a slow uptake of clean energy sources compared to Europe and America, making it necessary to focus on regions and communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change.
“Africa happens to be one of those regions where more priority needs to be placed, as it contributes the least to emissions but is impacted the most,” she said. “Creating awareness of existing inequalities and injustices and how climate change exacerbates them will lead to the necessary dialogues, conversations, and actions that need to be taken on climate justice.”
The use of fossil fuels has taken centre stage on the back of growing climate change impacts, as seen in more and more intense floods, longer droughts, and high temperatures.
However, industrialised countries are not relenting on curbing carbon emissions, despite scientific research indicating that the world has a small window to avoid a catastrophe by phasing out fossil fuels and embracing cleaner renewable energy sources.
Clean Energy is Key to Climate Justice
Alia Kajee, a senior campaigner for public finance and climate justice at 350.org says the climate crisis will disproportionately affect those who are already vulnerable, whether because of poverty, inequality, unemployment, or gender.
“Climate justice would be that those who are most negatively impacted by the climate crisis are able to withstand extreme weather shocks and adapt to changing conditions so that effects of the climate crisis do not hinder and disrupt lives, health and livelihood, or any other human right,” Kajee said, emphasising the need to ensure that evidence-based decisions are made by the governments, ones that align with the science that shows the worsening of the climate crisis and decisions that need to be taken to mitigate the crisis.
“Government must protect society, whether by ensuring safe, reliable, and clean access to energy such as solar or wind power or by ensuring effective and efficient disaster relief,” Kajee said.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, called for decisive climate action at COP28, warning that “trading the future for 30 pieces of silver is immoral” and that developed countries must honour their commitments to provide USD 100 billion a year to developing countries for climate support. During COP28, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) received a boost, with six countries pledging new pledges, with total pledges now standing at a record USD 12.8 billion from 31 countries. Eight donor governments announced new commitments to the Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund totaling more than USD 174 million, while new pledges totaling nearly USD 188 million were made to the Adaptation Fund at COP28.
However, UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2023 highlights a worrisome increase in the SDG investment gap, surpassing USD 4 trillion annually in developing countries alone, with energy investment needs estimated at USD 2.2 trillion per year.
This feature was made possible with the support of Open Society Foundations.
Mumbai, India – Mallika Sagar’s introduction to the world of auctioneering came when, as a teenager in her hometown Mumbai, she read a book with a female auctioneer as its protagonist.
“And, perhaps, a bit frivolously, I thought: ‘That’s what I want to be,’” she recollects with a chuckle.
Three decades on, Sagar finds herself at the helm of making history.
After a successful 23-year career in art auctioneering, she is set to become the first female auctioneer at the richest franchise cricket league in the world when she takes the stage at the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
More than 300 cricketers will go under the hammer during the daylong event, which will be a breakaway from a trend that has seen only men – Welshman Richard Madley, Briton Hugh Edmeades and India’s Charu Sharma – spearhead the event.
“It’s extremely exciting to be asked to conduct an IPL auction,” Sagar told Al Jazeera during an hourlong chat at her Mumbai office last week.
Sagar was born into a business family in the capital of India’s Maharashtra state and has lived in the city since her return, from the United States, where she graduated with a degree in the history of art.
Now a specialist in modern art and an auctioneer at a privately-owned Mumbai-based auction house, she has long been a pathbreaker on the global art auctioneering circuit. In 2001, she became the first female auctioneer of Indian origin at the international art and luxury business Christie’s.
‘All about personality and skills’
Clad in a yellow drop-waist dress and with a cup of green tea in hand, Sagar explained how auctioneering is more down to personality and skills than gender.
“You could be the most engaging male auctioneer, the most boring female auctioneer or vice versa – it’s about personality and skills.”
The 48-year-old has been responsible for wielding the gavel at both the player auctions for the Women’s Premier League (WPL), India’s IPL-style five-team franchise tournament for women.
“Sport is gendered, so to be part of something where women cricketers have a platform at the highest level and the chance to be financially independent doing what they love, was really special.”
Being one of the few female auctioneers in India, Sagar acknowledged that the inaugural WPL auction in February may have been an unwitting stepping stone to bring her to the IPL auction, a far more scaled-up affair than its WPL equivalent.
Learning the ropes – with kabaddi
Sagar’s first stint at sport auctioneering came at the eighth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), an Indian men’s professional franchise kabaddi tournament that ranks second behind the IPL most-watched sports league in the country.
She admits sport auctioneering “was a new world” for her, given her longstanding association with art.
“It did take a little bit of training, largely to change my approach,” she said.
So what does it take to make a good auctioneer?
“Depending on what you’re selling, you have to learn the mechanics of the auctioneering process and blend it with math, theatre and drama – all wrapped up in a smile!”
The PKL experience, she said, warmed her up for the cricket auctions.
Despite a foray into sport, steering a cricket auction at the WPL proved to be a different ball game.
The scale of operations, including the requirements of catching the producer’s cue in the ear during live broadcast, added a different dimension to the job.
‘Can’t let your nervousness take over your job’
Sagar describes a usual auction as an “unknown” as it unfolds in real time.
The ones in cricket often come with last-minute mic-ups or touchups with the makeup, frenzied bidding wars traversing multiple parties or, something as seemingly easy-to-do as figuring out where the franchises are seated based on the draw that allots them their order. Their dynamism warrants significant focus and flexibility.
“You have to be alert and adaptable,” she said. “At times, despite your best efforts, there can be mistakes. You may get a syllable wrong when calling out hundreds of names. It’s best to acknowledge the error, apologise, fix it, and move on.
“Regardless of the situation, you can’t panic. You cannot let your nervousness take over your job. Having composure as part of your skillset is a must.”
Sagar swears by exercise and yoga to refuel quietude and strength of body and mind.
“There’s nothing a downward dog or a headstand doesn’t fix,” she quipped. On auction eve, she retires early to avoid mental exhaustion during the all-important hours on the job the next day.
The bedrock of a well-run auction, in her view, is being as even-keel as possible as an auctioneer, no matter the stature of the players on offer.
“It’s important to present a newcomer with the same amount of energy as you would a star player,” she said.
Among the other non-negotiables, Sagar places the utmost premium on knowing the subject – the order of the sets of players, similar to pieces of art.
“You’ve got to pace out each name well and give it enough time,” she said. “Especially, when there’s a flurry of bids for them.
“And when the frenzy slows down, give it a few seconds and ask the room, ‘Everybody sure? Last chance if you’d like to bid?’ Whether in art or cricket, rapid changes such as a last-minute raise of the paddle or a new entrant coming in are a given. It’s your job to factor them all in.”
Has her preparation for the IPL auction been any different from the WPL’s?
“No, because the basic formats are the same,” Sagar explained. “The key is to make sure you are familiar with the names. You don’t want to destroy someone’s name who’s coming up on a platform as prestigious as this – it’s their moment of glory, after all.”
On Tuesday, as Sagar reels off over 300 such names, it will be as much her moment in the sun as theirs.
Newswise — Exposure to phthalates, a group of plasticizing and solvent chemicals found in many household products, was linked to a lower probability of getting pregnant, but not to pregnancy loss, according to research by a University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental and reproductive epidemiologist.
The study, published this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, also noted an association between preconception exposure to phthalates and changes in women’s reproductive hormones, as well as increased inflammation and oxidative stress.
Phthalates are found in such common products as shampoo, makeup, vinyl flooring, toys and medical devices. People are exposed primarily by ingesting food and liquid that has come in contact with products containing the chemicals, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet.
Nobles and team analyzed data from a “unique cohort” of women in the preconception time-to-pregnancy study known as EAGeR (Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction), which evaluated the effect of low-dose aspirin on live-birth rates. The study includes detailed information on 1,228 participants during six menstrual cycles when they are attempting to get pregnant. The women who became pregnant were followed through pregnancy.
“We were able to look at some environmental exposures like phthalates and how that relates to how long it takes to get pregnant. There was detailed data for each menstrual cycle, so we had a good handle on the date of ovulation and the timing of pregnancy when that happened,” Nobles says.
The body breaks down phthalates into metabolites that are excreted in urine and can be analyzed. The researchers measured 20 phthalate metabolites in urine samples taken when the participants enrolled in the study.
“We found there were three parent compounds that seem to be most strongly associated with taking longer to get pregnant, although we saw a general trend toward it taking longer to get pregnant across the phthalates we looked at,” Nobles says. “As exposure got higher, we saw more and more of an effect.”
The researchers also looked at a global marker of inflammation, C-reactive protein, and found the women who had higher levels of phthalates exposure also had higher levels of inflammation and oxidative stress, which can lead to organ and tissue damage and ultimately to disease.
In addition, women who showed higher levels of phthalates had lower estradiol and higher follicle-stimulating hormone across the menstrual cycle, which play an important role in ovulation and the early establishment of pregnancy.
“This profile – estradiol staying low and follicle-stimulating hormone staying high – is actually something that we see in women who have ovarian insufficiency, which can happen with age as well as due to some other factors,” Nobles says. “Ovulation just isn’t happening as well as it used to.”
While women can check consumer product labels and look for phthalate-free options, the ubiquitous nature of the chemicals makes it difficult for an individual to control their exposure.
In Europe, certain phthalates are banned or severely restricted in their use, but the U.S. has no formal prohibitions. Nobles says the research findings add to the evidence that phthalates exposures have a negative impact on women’s reproductive health and can be used to help inform policy making.
“Maybe we want to think differently about our regulatory system and how we identify important exposures that are having adverse effects on whether people can get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy,” Nobles says.
Newswise — The average menstruator will use over 11,000 tampons or sanitary pads in their lifetime. Vaginal and vulvar tissue that touch pads and tampons is highly permeable. Through this permeable tissue chemicals are absorbed without being metabolized, which makes endocrine-disrupting chemicals potentially dangerous when found in menstrual products. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can interfere with human hormones and cause medical issues, including gynecological conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids.
Joanna Marroquin, a Mason PhD in Public Health student, and Associate Professor Anna Pollack, reviewed studies conducted since 2103 that measured chemicals in menstrual products and that measured human biomarkers of chemical exposure and determined that endocrine-disrupting chemicals were found in menstrual products including tampons, pads, and liners.
“Identifying chemicals in menstrual products that menstruators regularly use is important because exposure through these products can impact menstruators’ reproductive health,” said Marroquin, the paper’s first author.
The study found that menstrual products contain a variety of endocrine-disrupting chemicals including phthalates, volatile organic compounds, parabens, environmental phenols, fragrance chemicals, dioxins and dioxin-like compounds.
This issue is even more relevant thanks to the Robin Danielson Menstrual Product and Intimate Care Product Safety Act of 2023, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in October 2023. The Act would establish a program of research regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxins, phthalates, pesticides, chemical fragrances, and other components in menstrual products and intimate care products.
This literature reviewed 15 papers published between 2013 and 2023 that tested menstrual products in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. The researchers note that there are few publications available that measure chemicals in menstrual products.
Chemicals in menstrual products: A systematic review was published in BJOG, an international journal of obstetrics and gynecology in September 2023. Additional authors include Marianthi-Anna Kiomourtzoglou from Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University and Alexandra Scranton from Women’s Voices for the Earth.
The research was supported by Pollack’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences R01ES31079 award.
29-year-old Proud Mugunhu, a popular Zimbabwean dancer, has mesmerized crowds and onlookers with his dancing skills at events as he gyrates to gather sanitary pads in order to give them to girls and women who are too poor to afford them. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS
by Jeffrey Moyo (bulawayo)
Inter Press Service
BULAWAYO, Dec 13 (IPS) – At first, he danced for money, but later on, he realized the need to dance for sanitary pads in order to help poor girls and women. Now, 29-year-old Proud Mugunhu conducts dance tutorials that earn him 100 pads from each session.
Mugunhu started his commercial dancing in Zimbabwe’s Epworth informal settlement east of Harare, the country’s capital, where he said he grew up seeing poor girls and women making do without sanitary pads during menstruation.
Now, Mugunhu, who has turned into a popular dancer, has become famed for combating period poverty.
He (Mugunhu) does not only dance to please onlookers, but has now chosen to dance in order to be rewarded with sanitary pads to pass these on to the girls and women pounded by period poverty.
In and outside Zimbabwe, Mugunhu now dances at events where he has struck deals to receive sanitary pads as payment in his war against rampant poverty.
As a result, his dancing has seen many of the girls and women graduate from using rags to something that gives them dignity and confidence.
“I started dancing in 2015—dancing commercially at weddings. I only began dancing for sanitary pads last year, and I am gathering as many sanitary pads as I can in order to help,” Mugunhu told IPS.
“Growing up in Epworth, I saw a lot in terms of the ravages of poverty, especially on girls. So, what I do is that I conduct dance classes for ordinary people, and I choose to be paid using sanitary pads in order for me to then use these to donate to poor girls and women.”
He claims that he gets more than 100 pads per dancing class that he conducts.
“I just want to help those in need. I’m praying that I will be able to get more sanitary pads so that I will be able to give to many girls and women in need.”
The destitution Mugunhu witnessed as he grew up in Epworth compelled him to dance.
In 2019, Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, made a surprise announcement that US$12.5 million had been allocated to acquire sanitary pads for poor rural girls in the country who had reached puberty.
Apparently, the news brought joy to Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, the then chairperson of Zimbabwe’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education.
For many years, she (Misihairambwi) passionately lobbied for the provision of sanitary pads to schoolgirls, while she also made calls for a tax regime that made sanitary wear affordable to every woman in the country.
Whether or not the poor girls eventually received free sanitary pads from the government remains unclear to this day.
But a top government official in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Women Affairs has claimed that next year they are set to provide sanitary pads free of charge to the country’s poor women and girls.
“Next year, we have plans to work with women who are into sewing to sew reusable sanitary pads, which they will give to girls and women at no cost,” the Chief Director of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Lilian Matsika, told IPS.
With period poverty the norm in poor communities, women’s rights activists like Bridget Mushayahanya called on the government to end the crisis.
“What we want is for our government to understand that menstruation is something that women don’t choose to have. If it were possible, Mushayahanya said, “I would like for our government to work with other regional governments that do ‘pink tanks,’ which means that all items needed by women during menstruation are available for very low prices or free of charge.
Chipo Chikomo, founder of an organization called Nhanga Trust, which manufactures reusable sanitary pads for girls, bemoaned poverty, which she blamed for forcing many to be absent from school during their menstruation.
“We see many girls walking long distances to school; this means that during their monthly menstrual cycles, they don’t then go to school because they won’t have pads to use when they are having menstruation,” she told IPS.
Yet many, like Chikomo, complained of persistent period poverty. For others, like Anna Sande and Sharon Bare, heroic individuals such as Mugunhu stand out as saviors for poor girls and women hammered by period poverty.
Following this year’s elections, at 23 years of age, Sande became Epworth’s youngest mayor, taking charge of a poor local authority where period poverty is common for many.
“I am so grateful for the help I have obtained from Proud Tatenda Mugunhu, who gathers sanitary pads using his dancing talent to help poor girls and women in my community during their monthly periods,” Sande said in an interview with IPS.
Even ordinary Epworth residents like Sharon Bare cannot hide their joy as Mugunhu thwarts period poverty in their midst.
“I really appreciate everything that Mugunhu is doing. I am so proud he is doing a good thing to help poor girls and women get sanitary pads during menstruation,” Bare said.
Peace Hungwe, who is the founder of Peace Hub Zimbabwe, an organization that handles mental health cases in Harare, also showered Mugunhu with praise for his initiative to help poor girls and women surmount period poverty.
“At first, I want to thank Proud. Like his name suggests, he should be proud of himself. There are very few people who do what he is doing. Menstruation is a hard time for many poor girls and women, which leads them into sex work to merely get sanitary pads to use during menstruation,” she told IPS.
Newswise — Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) — a behavioral intervention that integrates training in mindfulness, emotion regulation strategies and savoring of natural rewards — could hold the key to mitigating relapse in women undergoing medically assisted opioid use disorder treatment, a Rutgers study found.
The pilot study published in the journal Explore, is the first to evaluate the potential neural changes that underlie women’s emotion regulation and craving after an eight-week MORE intervention.
Previous studies have shown that women report higher opioid craving and show a greater inability to control their drug urges than men. Although medications, like buprenorphine, can be effective in mitigating urges in the short-term by limiting biological changes associated with acute withdrawal, it is less effective at long-term adherence in avoiding relapse with other illicit drugs.
“While these medications help with withdrawal, they do not fully engage the core regulatory and affective processing circuits that give people control over negative emotion and do not help to address opioid craving in a sustainable way,” said the lead author Suchismita Ray, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Health Professions. “This is where complementary therapies, such as MORE, could play a key role.”
MORE, which was developed by Eric L. Garland at The University of Utah, is centered on three key therapeutic processes:
Mindfulness, which trains a person to become aware of when their attention has become fixated on addictive cues, stressors or pain, then to shift from affective to sensory processing of craving, stress or pain sensations and re-orient their attention through mindful breathing.
Reappraisal of thoughts to disengage from negative emotions and addictive behaviors and turn toward positive thoughts that promote resilience, meaning and active coping behaviors.
Savoring naturally rewarding experiences (nature, time with a loved one) in a mindful way and recognize the positive emotional responses to the experience.
Researchers studied nine women in residential treatment who were on medications for opioid use disorder and completed an eight-week MORE intervention once a week for two hours. Both before and after the eight-week period, researchers gave participants an emotion regulation questionnaire and then scanned their brains in a magnetic resonance imaging machine while they listening to a 10-minute guided MORE meditation and viewed a picture of an outdoor garden to measure the brain’s communication during the meditation.
“Prior studies have shown that the inability to handle negative emotion and drug craving are major determinants of drug relapse. We examined the immediate effects of the 10-minute guided MORE meditation on mood and craving, then looked at the effects of the eight-week MORE intervention on brain communication and how well the women regulated their emotions,” Ray said. “The results show that a single 10-minute guided MORE meditation without any prior meditation experience immediately improved participants’ mood. The eight-week MORE intervention boosted their emotional awareness and strengthened their impulse control — factors that are important in preventing relapse.”
In addition, researchers found that the eight-week MORE intervention resulted in significantly increased communication between the areas of the brain that may help women with opioid use disorder to better control their negative emotion and drug craving.
“What this could mean is if an opioid user experiences stress or a craving for an opioid, she can immediately practice a 10-minute MORE meditation, which will improve her mood in the moment and potentially prevent her from taking the drug,” Ray said. “If that person also takes part in the eight-week MORE intervention, she could reap additional long-term benefits to control negative emotion and opioid craving and better maintain sobriety.”
Other Rutgers authors include Jamil Bhanji and Mauricio Delgado (Rutgers–Newark) and Patricia Dooley Budsock and Nina A. Cooperman (Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School). Eric L. Garland from The University of Utah is also an author on this pilot study.
The authors would like to acknowledge The Rutgers University Brain Imaging Center in Newark where the subject scanning took place for this pilot study.
Newswise — Starting menstrual cycles at a young age—before the age of 13—is linked to a heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes in mid-life, finds US research published online in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.
And it also seems to be associated with an increased risk of having a stroke before the age of 65 in those with the disease, particularly those who started having periods before the age of 10 or younger, the findings indicate.
Diabetes and its complications are on the rise among young and middle aged US adults, while the age at which women start having periods is falling worldwide, note the researchers.
They therefore wanted to find out if there might be a link between these two phenomena in younger women, and drew on responses to the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2018.
Some 17,377 women aged between 20 and 65 were included in the study, all of whom specified the age at which they had had their first menstrual cycle. This was categorised as 10 or younger, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 and older.
Of the total, 1773 (10%) reported a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. And of these, 205 (11.5%) reported some type of cardiovascular disease.
Starting periods before the average age of 13 was associated with a heightened risk of type 2 diabetes, after accounting for a range of potentially influential factors, including age, race/ethnicity, education, motherhood, menopausal status and family history of diabetes, smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption and weight (BMI).
This ranged from 32% greater (10 or younger) through 14% greater (age 11) to 29% greater (age 12).
Among women with diabetes, earlier age at first menstrual cycle was associated with a heightened risk of stroke, although not cardiovascular disease in general, after accounting for the same set of potentially influential factors.
Very early age at first menstrual cycle—10 or younger—was associated with a more than doubling in stroke risk among women below the age of 65 with diabetes, after similar adjustments for influential factors.
This risk fell in tandem with increasing age: 81% among those with their first menstrual bleed at the age of 11, to 32% at the age of 12, and to 15% at the age of 14.
This is an observational study, and as such, can’t establish causal factors. But, suggest the researchers: “Earlier age at [first menstrual cycle] may be one of early life indicators of the cardiometabolic disease trajectory in women.”
They explain: “One potential pathway explanation may be that [such] women are exposed to oestrogen for longer periods of time, and early [menstruation] has been associated with higher oestrogen levels.”
They point out that while the observed associations between age at first menstrual cycle and stroke complications weakened slightly after accounting for weight, these still remained statistically significant.
“Therefore, adiposity may also play a role in the observed association between early age at [first menstrual cycle] and stroke complications, as higher childhood adiposity is associated with earlier age at [menstruation] and with cardiometabolic diseases later in life,” they suggest.
“These findings add another dimension to the potentially less well understood determinants of cardiometabolic risk, particularly in women who have been relatively underrepresented in this area of research,” comments Professor Sumantra Ray, Executive Director of the NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition & Health, which co-owns BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.
“And they provide a clear steer on the need to design interventional studies looking at the prevention of cardiometabolic disease in ethnically diverse groups of women who start menstruating at a young age,” he adds.
Cannabis is known for relaxing, chilling, and making life more pleasurable – in the right amounts. Data results indicated both men and women perceived cannabis use increased their sexual functioning and satisfaction, particularly increased desire and orgasm intensity. The modern medical community recognizes the importance of libido as one of the key indicators of general health and quality of life, and if a little weed could help….
“Several studies have evaluated the effects of marijuana on libido, and it seems changes in desire may be dose dependent,” explain the authors of the review. “Studies support lower doses improve desire but higher doses either lower desire or do not affect desire at all.”
The review surveyed 20 different studies published between 1970 and 2019. “We used the following search terms: ‘cannabinoids,’ ‘endocannabinoids,’ ‘marijuana,’ ‘cannabis,’ and ‘female sexual function’ or ‘sexual function’,” explain the authors.
The studies analyzed include 8 researches with animal subjects and 12 with human participants. The animal trials found THC had an effect on female hamsters’ libidos. When they consumed THC, they were more likely to mate. The review also found female hamsters who’d ingested too much THC weren’t as receptive to sex as those who’d consumed lower doses.
As to human studies, we’re still lacking researches conducted with human subjects, so most answers were obtained from questionnaires. Overall, women were more likely to report arousal when consuming marijuana. A study from 1974 revealed 57.8 percent of female college students had higher sex drives due to cannabis. Only 39.9 of male participants reported the same. Another study said women who consume cannabis before having sex were more likely to have pleasurable orgasms when compared to women who didn’t.
While marijuana’s exact role on sex remains unknown, reviews like this are important, re-contextualizing the information we have and guiding researchers for future studies. More and more data suggests cannabis’ impact on sex is positive, especially when it comes to women.
Turns out man’s best friend provides a HUGE benefit for women!
Dogs are the number one pet with over 25% of the global population having owned a dog at some point. In fact Argentina (82%), Mexico (81%) and Brazil (76%) have the highest rates of pet ownership – with dogs being at the top of the list. Bet did you know data has shown it seems women who share their bed with a dog get the best sleep.
There are multiple benefits not only. do they provide companionship, they provide other benefits. Dogs keep you active, help you become calmer and make you more social. The improve the lives of kids and older individuals. A portion of pet owners sleep with their pets. Exploring the realm of sleep and pet owners, researchers to discover the data if it has effects on humans.
Scientists from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York found the answer, publishing their findings in Anthrozoös, a journal studying human-animal interactions. While it’s known sleeping next to humans provides some positive and negative effects, much less is known about the benefits and hazards of sleeping with your pet. Until now.
Photo by Adrianna Calvo via Pexels
The researchers surveyed over 962 women who reside in the U.S., gathering data on their sleeping patterns and partners, specifically looking for information regarding the relationship between pet ownership and sleep. More than half, 57 percent, of participants slept with humans, 55 percent of them with dogs, and 31 percent of them with cats. Dog owners demonstrated earlier bed times and earlier wake up times, surprising everyone but dog owners, because we’ve all been awoken by a stray paw in the face just before your alarm clock rings.
Compared to human partners, dogs provided more security and comfort, and also disturbed women less as they slept. Sorry boyfriends and girlfriends, dogs are cuter and also quiet. Cats got the worst end of the deal, with the study finding them just as disruptive as human partners and less comforting than any other companion.
Science now supports the fact that there are no better cuddlers than a sleepy dog. Dog owners have known this all along, now they just have the chance to show it off to their germaphobe friends, proving to them that there’s a reason why they’re always covered in hair.
Nordan Otzer during a cancer awareness event in a village in Ladakh, India. Credit: Athar Parvaiz/IPS
by Athar Parvaiz (ladakh, india)
Inter Press Service
LADAKH, INDIA, Nov 29 (IPS) – While working as a doctor in the initial months of his medical career in southern India, a telephone call from his home in the Ladakh Himalayas convinced Nordan Otzer to involve himself with cervical cancer awareness.
“While I was working in a hospital in rural Tamil Nadu (in 2007), one day I received a distressing call from my family informing me that my mother’s health had deteriorated and she urgently needed my presence back home,” says Otzer, an ENT surgeon who is now in his mid-40s and works as a medical practitioner and social worker in Ladakh, a cold desert in the Himalayan Plateau in India.
“When I saw my mother lying on the bed, she was hardly recognizable. It was only at that point that she disclosed to me that she had been experiencing persistent spotting and occasional abdominal pain that had worsened over time,” Otzer tells IPS. “Unfortunately, she only sought medical assistance when her pain (because of cervical cancer) became intolerable.”
According to the WHO, a large majority of cervical cancers (more than 95%) are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract.
“Although most HPV infections clear up on their own and most pre-cancerous lesions resolve spontaneously, there is a risk for all women that HPV infection may become chronic and pre-cancerous lesions progress to invasive cervical cancer,” reads a segment of a fact sheet about cervical cancer on the WHO website.
“When screening detects an HPV infection or pre-cancerous lesions, these can easily be treated, and cancer can be avoided. Screening can also detect cancer at an early stage where treatment has a high potential for cure,” the WHO fact sheet says and urges the countries that screening (of women for HPV infection) “should start from 30 years of age in the general population of women, with regular screening with a validated HPV test every 5 to 10 years, and from 25 years of age for women living with HIV.”
Otzer says his mother was flown to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi for treatment, but her condition deteriorated, and she succumbed to the disease within days.
“Throughout the journey from my home to Delhi, she held my hand, perhaps also hoping that her doctor son would save her life. But unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything except watch helplessly while she slowly faded away,” Otzer recalls ruefully.
As someone who has studied medical sciences, says Otzer, “I knew my mother’s life could have been saved if she was aware of cervical cancer and its preventable measures.”
“My mother’s death due to cancer altered the course of my career, leading me to make the choice to remain and contribute to my own community.” Since those days, Otzer says that he started making efforts to launch an awareness campaign about cervical cancer and screening of women for HPV infection in Ladakh, a remote mountainous region more than 14,000 feet above sea level in the Tibetan Plateau, which remains cut off from the rest of the world in winters.
Since 2009, Otzer, with the help of his local supporter, Stanzin Dawa, and visiting doctors from Singapore led by Swee Chong Quek, has organized over 140 awareness and screening events for women across Ladakh, where villages are spread out across the terrain and not easily reachable.
“We have conducted screenings for 12,400 women thus far, among whom one out of every 10 women has precancerous lesions. This implies that without timely treatment, these lesions could progress into full-blown cancer,” Otzer says.
Besides the logistical challenges, such as travelling long distances and traversing tough terrain, other challenges, according to Otzer, included women being too shy and reticent.
“Women in Ladakh tend to be reticent about discussing women’s health matters openly, not even with their own family members. Therefore, when I initially launched a cervical cancer screening program, there was a noticeable reluctance among them to undergo checkups,” he says, adding that initially, women would avoid making eye contact and refrain from asking any questions.
“However, with the passage of time, they gradually became more receptive and started attending our screening camps for examinations.”
Cervical Cancer Awareness and India
In India, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, and India contributes the largest proportion of the global cervical cancer burden. In December last year, the federal government in India urged the state governments to create awareness and take steps to prevent cervical cancer.
According to an article published by Lancet in March 2023, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare plans to vaccinate 68 million girls across India against human papillomavirus (HPV) by the end of 2025, which will be followed by vaccination of a further 11,2 million girls aged 9 years and older each year.
Cervical cancer accounted for 9.4 percent of all cancers and 18.3 percent (123,907) of new cases in 2020 in India, says this December 2021 Springer study, adding that cervical cancer is still among the most common cancers in India and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women in low- and middle-income countries.
According to the Springer study, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths for females in 12 Indian states. “The situation is more alarming in rural areas where the majority of women are illiterate and ignorant about the hazards of cervical cancer and healthcare resources are scarce.
Research has established that awareness and the availability of medical infrastructure play a significant role in preventing cervical cancer. Results of a study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention have confirmed that stages (of cervical cancer) “are strongly correlated with survival outcome, and early stages of the disease are associated with an exceptionally favourable prognosis provided they are adequately treated, whereas survival for stage III and IV cancers was dismally low.”
A study published by Lancet in October 2023 found heterogeneity in cervical cancer survival across India, with higher survival rates in urban areas where healthcare facilities are much better than predominantly rural and mountainous north and northeastern regions.
“The disparity in survival between the populations could explain the overall effectiveness of the health care system. This informs policymakers to identify and address inequities in the health care system,” the study says, emphasizing the “importance of promoting awareness, early detection, and improving the health care system.”
As a village health worker, Mr. Masereka goes from house to house in some of the remotest locations in Kasese district in western Uganda.
He enjoys helping people and is adept at managing illnesses such as malaria and pneumonia. However, there was one health emergency that he didn’t know how to address: violence against women and girls.
“During my sessions [in people’s homes], I saw that gender-based violence was a problem, and I tried to handle it at a lower level, using my own reasoning, but I lacked the skills to really solve the issue,” he said.
What Mr. Masereka saw wasn’t unusual – violence against women and girls is the world’s most pervasive human rights violation, affecting one in three women globally. In Uganda, almost 30 per cent of women and girls reported experiencing intimate partner violence in the past 12 months.
Despite its prevalence, Mr. Masereka said violence against women and girls was treated as a private issue.
“In my community, men dominated, and gender-based violence wasn’t discussed openly,” he explained.
UN Women/Eva Sibanda
Men and boys have a critical role to play in reducing violence against women.
Change starts at home
When Mr. Masereka was approached to complete gender-based violence training supported by the Spotlight Initiative through the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, he jumped at the opportunity.
“The community development officer talked to me about the Spotlight Initiative and its work on preventing violence against women and girls,” he said. “She said men have a big role to play in preventing violence and asked whether I wanted to work as male action group mentor.”
He then attended a training run by ACORD, a national non-governmental organization that promotes social justice. During the course, he learned how to talk to men and boys about gender-based violence, how to counsel couples to resolve disputes through dialogue and how to identify and refer women and girls experiencing violence to the appropriate authorities and services.
The training also opened his eyes to subtler forms of violence, such as economic violence and unequal gender power dynamics.
“For example, the women plant [crops], but they were given no say in what happens to the crops; the men made [all] the decisions,” he explained.
Improving power dynamics
The course forced him to examine the distribution of power and labour in his own household.
“I learned that chores in the home can be performed by both men and women,” he said. “The pounding and cooking of food and bathing the children are all tasks that can be done by both the mother and the father.”
When he first began to take on domestic chores, he said people laughed at him: “They would say ‘He has been put down by his wife,’ things like that.” But when they saw how much more productive his house became, their attitudes changed.
“You get things done faster,” he said. “For example, if my wife is preparing food, I can wash the dishes. If my wife is collecting firewood, I can get water. [This way,] we all eat earlier.”
Mr. Masereka said this shift has improved his relationship with his wife and children.
“I feel happy because now the children can tell me anything, my wife doesn’t hide anything – she is very clear and transparent, as I am with her,” he said.
End all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls
Eliminate such harmful practices as early and forced marriages and female genital mutilation
Adapt and strengthen legislation to promote gender equality and empower women and girls
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in political, economic and public life
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care
Globally, almost half of all married women currently lack decision-making power over their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Shifting attitudes and supporting survivors
The Spotlight Initiative aims to eliminate violence against women and girls through comprehensive programming that addresses all key drivers of violence. It promotes laws and policies that prevent violence, strengthens institutions, promotes gender-equitable social norms, strengthens women’s movements and provides essential services to survivors of violence.
Since 2019, more than 1,500 men in Uganda have trained as positive male role models with the support of Spotlight Initiative through UNFPA. Each of them plays a critical role in changing the norms and attitudes that lead to violence and supporting survivors to access the services they need.
Mr. Masereka raises awareness of the issue by distributing information at church and community functions, conducts home visits to help couples resolve issues and leads discussions about violence among men and boys at the male action groups he visits.
He also follows up on girls who drop out of school and child marriage cases. He also supports survivors of violence to access health and justice services. This includes escorting women and girls to the police and local council offices to report violence.
To him, engaging men and boys is a critical step in eliminating violence.
“Most perpetrators of gender-based violence are men,” he said bluntly. “Men and boys can be part of the solution. They can use their power to change the community for the better.”
The global Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls is a United Nations joint effort with the European Union and other partners.
In Uganda, it is implemented by the Government of Uganda, the European Union, UN Women, UN entities for reproductive health (UNFPA), children (UNICEF), development (UNDP) and refugees (UNHCR) in partnership with UN agencies for human rights (OHCHR) and migration (IOM), the UN Pulse Lab in Uganda and civil society.
Since 2019, the Spotlight Initiative has supported almost one million women and girls in Uganda to access essential services.
“My life has been full of pain,” she said, surveying the green landscape where she spent her childhood in Kasese, in Uganda’s western region. “In my community, women have less power, but if you are disabled, you are even more vulnerable to exploitation.”
Ms. Muhindo, who has had a physical disability since childhood, said she has faced violence and exclusion throughout her life. Such treatment is the norm for many women and girls with disabilities, she said, noting that they also face challenges accessing education, employment and health care.
People think that “a person with disabilities cannot get married and have children” and that “you are going to stay in your father’s home [forever] because no one is going to take care of you”, Ms. Muhindo said.
Inheritance dispute
When her parents died, a dispute over the inheritance of their property set into motion events that changed how she lived as a person with a disability.
She said she was threatened and intimidated by her male relatives over the inheritance and felt powerless to advocate for herself.
Land disputes can be a catalyst for gender-based violence in Uganda, where it’s not uncommon for widows and children to be evicted from their home after the death of a husband or father, or in the event of a separation.
The effect of this is two-fold – violence may be used to evict women from property by force, and without a place to live or land to farm, they become more vulnerable to violence in the future.
Seeking to better understand her rights, she attended a Spotlight Initiative-supported training course implemented by the National Union of Women with Disabilities Uganda through UN Women.
At the course, she learned about inheritance rights and realized that she was the sole legal heir to the property, and she gained the confidence to stand up to her relatives.
“I realized that as a person living with disabilities, I can do whatever other people can do,” she said. “I can speak up just like any other person. I can buy land, have a job.”
WFP/Marco Frattini
Disputes over land ownership can lead to violence.
Advocating for others
It took over a year, but Ms. Muhindo successfully put the land in her name. She now has a safe place to live, food to eat and earns a living from the crops she grows. She also advocates for other women in her community, including those with disabilities, and speaks about gender-based violence on a local radio station.
“I do not want other women to go through what I went through,” she said.
The Spotlight Initiative aims to eliminate violence against women and girls through comprehensive programming that addresses all the key drivers.
This includes improving laws and policies that prevent violence, strengthening institutions, promoting gender-equitable social norms and strengthening women’s movements and essential services to survivors of violence.
End all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls
Eliminate such harmful practices as early and forced marriages and female genital mutilation
Adapt and strengthen legislation to promote gender equality and empower women and girls
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in political, economic and public life
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care
Globally, almost half of all married women currently lack decision-making power over their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
‘I felt empowered’
Spotlight and UN Women work with local organizations to help to change discriminatory attitudes and support those at risk of, or experiencing, violence. Since 2019, almost 300,000 people in Uganda have attended community programming on women’s rights with Spotlight Initiative support.
UN Women has also supported advocacy to change legislation that advantaged male children in inheritance and land issues. In March 2021, Uganda’s Parliament passed the Succession (Amendment) Bill, formally recognizing the equal rights of women to own land.
“I used to feel uncomfortable speaking up, but after the training I felt empowered,” Ms. Muhindo says.
The global Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls is a United Nations joint effort with the European Union and other partners.
In Uganda, it is implemented by the Government of Uganda, the European Union, UN Women, UN entities for reproductive health (UNFPA), children (UNICEF), development (UNDP) and refugees (UNHCR) in partnership with UN agencies for human rights (OHCHR) and migration (IOM), the UN Pulse Lab in Uganda and civil society.
Since 2019, the Spotlight Initiative has supported almost one million women and girls in Uganda to access essential services.
When Alicia Iveson joined the advertising agency world, she thought she was about to enjoy the young, progressive culture it’s famed for. “I was confronted with the exact opposite—just really archaic behaviors.”
Iveson could feel the sense of judgment (complete with actual “eye rolls”) coming from her coworkers as she left the office promptly to pick up her child from nursery. She even recalls being forced to join a regular team call during her child’s bathtime to avoid being ‘named and shamed’ for missing it.
“I wasn’t able to spend any quality time with my son because I always felt guilty,” she says, adding that juggling the demands of motherhood and her employer ended up with her dropping the laptop in the bath.
“I was never present to the point that my son would really actively shut down my laptop or tell me to get off the phone,” she adds. “When they’re starting to notice that at only two or three years old, it’s pretty horrific.”
This phenomenon is called the motherhood penalty whereby women are incorrectly prescribed as less aspirational because of their motherhood status and overlooked for promotions.
Ultimately it leaves many working moms forced to choose between being consigned to low-paying jobs with little opportunity for growth or leaving the workforce altogether.
On average, the Fawcett Society found that as a result of this prejudice mothers with two children earn 26% less than women without children. Fathers, on the other hand, see their earnings rise.
Sadly but unsurprisingly, this issue extends beyond British soil: Women around the world from France to the United States and Hong Kong told Fortune that they were asked to hide their baby bump from investors, pressured back to the office soon after giving birth and even outright told “mothers don’t succeed here”.
Women are wary of warning signs
Just insinuating you may one day have children is enough to be consigned to the “mommy track”. Lauren Tetenbaum, a lawyer-turned-social worker, told Fortune, adding that mothers are “aware of the motherhood penalty” before they even become mothers.
“They’re afraid in the U.S. to inquire about what the parental leave policies are at a company. They are afraid to ask about childcare benefits when they’re interviewing for a role,” Tetenbaum says. “It’s this unspoken secret that if they ask about it, even if they’re seeking information, they’ll be discriminated against.”
Iveson echoes that she saw warning signs of a toxic attitude around motherhood well before her baby was born. She recalls a coworker watching in horror while she progressively became slower as her pregnancy progressed.
“He said after a meeting that it was like watching his favorite race car breakdown,” she says.
Meanwhile, the 40 workers on a team call where a senior leader was mocking a working mom’s phased return calling her “effectively f–king pointless” seemed to reflect a similar, unwelcoming attitude.
Valerie Mocker of the careers consultancy Wingwomen echoes that any sniff of an outdated attitude towards working mothers is enough to make women leave an organization—whether or not they have children.
“Businesses wonder why do we not have more women at the top? Why do women seem to just leak out? One reason I see on a daily basis for the leaky pipeline is women witnessing the motherhood penalty,” Mocker warns.
Pandemic gains risk being erased
The world of work has changed—or at least, many would have hoped it has. Women increasingly have a seat at the top table of firms and the pandemic gave people an insight into what it’s like juggling childcare and work while nurseries and schools were closed.
“There were so many things that we’ve learned from that around the need for flexibility, particularly around the fact that you can still do the job, but it doesn’t have to be within the nine-to-five framework,” Iveson says.
Sara Madera, a certified career coach who works with working moms says return-to-office mandates are a big worry among “close to 100%” of her clients.
“Not having to commute has helped mums feel like they were on top of it—whether it’s the small tasks at home or being available—and feel more successful,” Madera adds. “So the idea of losing that is really frightening.”
The lack of flexibility across the board is already leaving working mothers with limited career options; According to Fawcett’s research, over a third of mothers could advance their careers but they are stuck in their current job due to the flexibility it provides.
As firms demand workers return to the office, working moms (who are often the lower-earning parent) will disproportionately have to weigh up whether they can afford to pay more for childcare—or take a step back in their careers.
Plus, although much of the anger around offices returning to more traditional timesis often directed at male bosses of a certain generation, in Iveson’s experience “women who didn’t have children” were almost equally to blame.
“They had the strongest point of view around it needing to be a bit more of a level playing field, almost like ‘why should you be treated special because you have a child type’ mentality.”
With the corporate world built by and for men, she says that women with “alpha” personalities are filling in the shoes at the top—and so even firms that are spearheaded by female leaders aren’t inherently inclusive for women with children.
“Even with women who do have children because they’re of the hazing mindset of, ‘I went through it, it was really crappy, and I never saw my child, that’s just how it is and I’m going to demand the same from you,’” Tetenbaum agrees.
Working moms are turning to entrepreneurship
Despite assumptions that pregnant women and mothers are less interested in career progression, Fawcett’s research found that most working moms remained just as ambitious after a baby—and nearly half became more ambitious.
It perhaps explains why, in response to their career aspirations being overlooked, working moms are taking matters into their own hands—and becoming their own bosses.
Now, Iveson is the co-founder and CEO at Hijinks Collective, an advertising agency with YouTube and the Royal Navy among its clients. “I’ve got more fire in my belly than I had, not the least because I’m not doing it for myself, but it’s also for myself and my son,” she says.
Meanwhile, Tetenbaum, Madera, and Mocker all claim to have gone self-employed as a direct result of the motherhood penalty. Research echoes that “mompreneurs” are on the rise, with the pandemic highlighting for many women just how much more they could get done with control over their own schedule.
Running your own business is by no means an easy feat—but for the women that Fortune spoke to it’s enabling them to be more present in both the proverbial boardroom and the playroom.
“Not everyone can leave the corporate workforce and be an entrepreneur. But I will say that, once I did, what I was seeking in terms of flexibility and really sort of acting as a grown-up—and what I mean by that is not being on someone’s schedule and being infantilized about signing in at a certain time—sealed the deal,” Tetenbaum says.
“There are still times when I have to work in the evenings but that’s okay. I can take a break in the afternoons and spend time with my kids when they come home from school,” echoes Madera. “I don’t have to ask somebody to do that and get that approval or feel like I’m asking for too much—I have the ownership of that.”
L&T Finance, one of the leading non-banking financial companies in the country, has signed a financing pact with ADB for $125 million to support financing in rural and peri-urban areas of India, particularly for women borrowers.
The funding comprises a loan of up to USD 125 million from ADB and an agreement to syndicate an additional $125 million in co-financing from other development partners. At least 40 percent of the proceeds are allocated to women borrowers, while the rest will support farmers, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), as well as loans to purchase new two-wheeled vehicles.
Commenting at the signing ceremony, Sachinn Joshi, Group Chief Financial Officer, L&T Finance, said, “This collaboration with ADB aligns with our core values of social responsibility. We believe this partnership with ADB is a significant step and will boost our ongoing efforts to bridge the financial gap and promote inclusive economic growth across the country. For our company, this long-term loan forms part of our continuous strategy of diversifying our funding sources. At L&T Finance, we recognise the deep impact that financial inclusion has on the communities we serve. And, through our on-lending activities in the underserved and lagging states in India, we pursue to be a catalyst for empowering individuals, especially women, farmers, and MSMEs, thus fostering economic resilience.”
A new study has found that babies exposed to cannabis in the womb may be at greater risk of certain adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm birth.
A peer-reviewed study published Thursday in Addiction was a meta-analysis, or a compilation of information from 57 previous studies. Data samples from just under 13 million infants were analyzed including 102,835 infants who were prenatally exposed to cannabis. Data surrounding the frequency of preterm birth, low birth weight and NICU admissions collectively ranged from 1.5 to over two times as likely in the infants exposed to cannabis than in those who were not.
“Prenatal cannabis use appears to be associated with lower birth weight, preterm birth and neonatal intensive care unit admission in newborns, but there is little evidence that prenatal cannabis exposure adversely impacts behavioral or cognitive outcomes in early childhood, with the exception of attention and externalizing problems,” the study said.
According to the study, cannabis use during pregnancy did not lead to higher rates of infant mortality, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or birth defects. However, of the 57 studies analyzed, at least 48 of them registered higher rates of low birth weight, preterm birth and NICU admissions.
20 of the studies analyzed looked at possible associations between cannabis use and preterm birth. Infants exposed to intrauterine cannabis in these cases were reportedly over 1.5 times as likely to deliver early compared to infants who were not.
18 of the studies analyzed possible associations between low birth weight and intrauterine cannabis exposure. Infants exposed to cannabis in these cases were over twice as likely to be born at a low weight than infants who were not exposed.
Ten of these studies looked at possible associations between rates of NICU admissions in infants and found that infants who were exposed to cannabis were over twice as likely to be admitted to intensive care than those who were not exposed.
First author of the study and PhD Candidate at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto Ms. Maryam Sorkhou said in a written statement that this study reinforces data showing THC can enter the placenta when used during pregnancy.
“The global increase in cannabis use among women of reproductive age also extends to pregnant women. We know that THC, the main psychoactive constituent in cannabis, can cross the placenta from mother to fetus and bind to receptors in the fetal brain,” said. “Our study adds to that knowledge by showing that prenatal exposure to cannabis heightens the risk of several adverse birth outcomes.”
There are many drawbacks to this study and how the data was presented that should be taken into consideration before drawing any drastic conclusions, primarily sample size. The sample size of infants who were not exposed to cannabis compared to those who were was 130:1 in this case.
Additionally, the study offered no data on exposure to other drugs during pregnancy, a litany of which are known to cause adverse birth outcomes similar to those named in this study. Cannabis use does not necessarily indicate the use of other drugs, but that data would have been a welcome addition to the rest of the data presented from this study.
The topic of cannabis use during pregnancy is still a bit of a mixed bag. A 2019 study found that cannabis use during pregnancy is increasing in the United States. There have also been previous studies that found negative correlations between cannabis use and pregnancy, including another meta-analysis in 2022 that looked at 27 previous studies from between 1986 and 2022 and found cannabis use carried an increased risk for preterm births.
However, another study published just this year that looked at data from just under 3,000 births that took place between 1989 and 1993 and found that cannabis use during pregnancy did not increase the child’s risk for mental impairments or cognitive disorders. A NORML review of this study in 2017 said the following:
[The] evidence base for maternal-infant health outcomes of cannabis use in pregnancy is more robust than for many other substances. … Although there is a theoretical potential for cannabis to interfere with neurodevelopment, human data drawn from four prospective cohorts have not identified any long-term or long-lasting meaningful differences between children exposed in utero to cannabis and those not.”
