Reproductive medicine in northwest Argentina: traditional and institutional systems.
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BACKGROUND: The state of conservation of the traditional cultures of Northwest Argentina is variable and somewhat problematic but to a lesser or a greater extent all the peoples are related to an hegemonic culture. We present a case study carried out in the rural communities of the Yungas biome (Salta) where the extent of isolation varies as does the type of access to public health services. The use of medicinal plants in the area is ordinary and widely spread. METHODS: The data can be organized in two categories, as medical systems public records (for the regional hospital at Los Toldos), and as ethnobotanical sets. A total of 59 surveys to 40 interviewees were undertaken using a semi structured questionnaire. We present an analysis of the relative importance of the medicinal herbs used in reproductive medicine considering the plants used in the traditional medical system and the factors that can affect the relationship between formal medicine and patients. We further analyzed how the degree of accessibility to the local hospital influences the diversity of use of plant species used to assist deliveries and to decrease infant mortality in children minor than one year of age. RESULTS: In reproductive medicine, 13 ailments and/or different physiological states are locally identified and treated. Local population uses 108 ethnospecies for this kind of illnesses. According to the local conception the hot/cold imbalance could be the principal cause for reproductive illnesses; pregnancy may have natural or supernatural origin, post partum and menstruation involve similar sanitary risks, and neonatal care has a strong magic connotation. In relation with the formal medicine, the more accessible is the health center the more women assist to it. We have not found a relation between accessibility and infant mortality. CONCLUSION: In the local reproductive medicine, most of the practices are concerned with the hot/cold balance. According to their importance the factors involved are: the family medicine, the midwife, and the formal doctors. Plants have an important role; however there is a lack of total agreement among the families who use them. Reluctance to institutional deliveries may be due to the weak relationship between patients and doctors, and the lack of logistic assistance to delivering mothers coming from far away locations. (+info)
Emergency contraception pill--controversies and use.
(26/75)
Emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) are effective, safe and cheap, with profound global health and economic benefits. Patient education and easy access to ECP will contribute immensely to avoiding unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Issues related to morality, its perceived status as an abortifacient and harmful behaviour should it be easily available, has limited the widespread use of ECP in many countries. (+info)
Medical abortion and the risk of subsequent adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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BACKGROUND: The long-term safety of surgical abortion in the first trimester is well established. Despite the increasing use of medical abortion (abortion by means of medication), limited information is available regarding the effects of this procedure on subsequent pregnancies. METHODS: We identified all women living in Denmark who had undergone an abortion for nonmedical reasons between 1999 and 2004 and obtained information regarding subsequent pregnancies from national registries. Risks of ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, preterm birth (at <37 weeks of gestation), and low birth weight (<2500 g) in the first subsequent pregnancy in women who had had a first-trimester medical abortion were compared with risks in women who had had a first-trimester surgical abortion. RESULTS: Among 11,814 pregnancies in women who had had a previous first-trimester medical abortion (2710 women) or surgical abortion (9104 women), there were 274 ectopic pregnancies (respective incidence rates, 2.4% and 2.3%), 1426 spontaneous abortions (12.2% and 12.7%), 552 preterm births (5.4% and 6.7%), and 478 births with low birth weight (4.0% and 5.1%). After adjustment for maternal age, interval between pregnancies, gestational age at abortion, parity, cohabitation status, and urban or nonurban residence, medical abortion was not associated with a significantly increased risk of ectopic pregnancy (relative risk, 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 1.41), spontaneous abortion (relative risk, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.05), preterm birth (relative risk, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.18), or low birth weight (relative risk, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.11). Gestational age at medical abortion was not significantly associated with any of these adverse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that a previous medical abortion, as compared with a previous surgical abortion, increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, preterm birth, or low birth weight. (+info)
Effects of adlay hull extracts on uterine contraction and Ca2+ mobilization in the rat.
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Antifertility activity of aqueous ethanolic leaf extract of Spondias mombin (Anacardiaceae) in rats.
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BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of modern (orthodox) medicine, many developing countries, especially in the rural areas, still rely heavily on traditional healers and medicinal plants to meet their primary health care needs and that of their domestic animals. This has been attributed to easy accessibility and low cost of herbal medicine. In Eastern Nigeria, fresh leaves of Spondias mombin is widely used by the natives to aid delivery and to expel the placenta in small ruminants (sheep and goats), especially during difficult labour. OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to evaluate the in vivo effects of leaf extracts of S. mombin on reproductive performance of female rats. METHODS: Acute toxicity test of the plant extract was carried out in rats of both sexes. The anticonceptive and abortifacient activity of the extract were investigated, including the Fertility Index or embryo score of control and treated animals. The estrogenic activity was determined using ovariectomized rats. RESULTS: The results revealed a relatively non-toxic plant extract. The extract displayed anticonceptive but not abortifacient activity as judged by the number of pregnant animals at the end of the third trimester of pregnancy. The extract did not exhibit any oestrogenic activity. CONCLUSION: Aqueous ethanol leaf extract of S. mombin has significant anticonceptive activity attributed to a direct action of the extract on the uterus. (+info)
Antifertility potential of Neem flower extract on adult female Sprague-Dawley rats.
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BACKGROUND: The search for a relatively cheap, widely available, widely accepted and effective contraceptive of plant origin; that is equally non-invasive in administration, non-hormonal in action, non-toxic and that is relatively long-acting, generated our interest in this study (in order to meet the increasing need for population control). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of alcoholic extract of Neem flowers on the estrous cycle, ovulation, fertility and foetal morphology of cyclic adult Sprague-Dawley rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing between 140-180 g were used. There were 3 main experimental groups. Group 1 rats received 1 g/kg of alcoholic extract of Neem flower by gavage for 3 weeks and the effect on estrous cycle studied. Group 2 rats were administered 1 g/kg of Neem flower alcoholic extract at 9 a.m. and at 6 p.m. on proestrus and the effect on the number of ova shed on the morning of estrus observed. Rats in Group 3 were treated with 1 g/kg of alcoholic extract of Neem flower on days 1 to 5 postcoitum, and observation was made for anti-implantation / abortifacient effects and possible teratogenic effects on the foetuses. All the groups were control-matched. RESULTS: The estrous cycle of 80% of the rats was altered with a marked prolongation of the diestrus phase. Neem flower caused a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the number of ova shed in the morning of estrus in rats fed with the extract at 9 a.m. on proestrus. Neither anti-implantation / abortifacient nor teratogenic effect was observed in the rats treated with Neem flower. CONCLUSION: Administration of alcoholic extract of Neem flower disrupted the estrous cycle in Sprague-Dawley rats and caused a partial block in ovulation and thus has the potential of being developed into a female contraceptive. (+info)
Effect of mifepristone on the corpus luteum in early pregnancy.
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