Historical studies have shown that, since its beginnings, sex education in England has mostly focused on "damage limitation", emphasising only the dangerous inevitability of pregnancy and childbirth after unprotected sex and the hazards of sexually transmitted diseases. This approach is largely based on restrictive notions of teenage…

This paper explores the aspirations of a group of young women in a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia. It examines how their hopes and expectations are influenced by the reality of their everyday lives and the extent to which they are able to influence the course of their lives and become agents for change in their…

This paper presents results from fiscal impact simulations of three national-level policies designed to prevent unintended pregnancy: A media campaign encouraging condom use, a pregnancy prevention program for at-risk youth, and an expansion in Medicaid family planning services. These simulations were performed using FamilyScape, a recently…

Objective: To assess the basic knowledge about HIV and AIDS among young South Africans in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Design: A questionnaire-based cohort study, involving data collection from senior high school students. Setting: Randomly selected high schools in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South…

The life span of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) continues to extend due to advances in treatments and care. The rate of pregnancy for female patients with CF has also continued to rise. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the available literature on female patients with CF and their knowledge of sexual and reproductive…

Violence is an increasing and important community health problem that can be seen in any area of human life. Limited studies were found about domestic violence among pregnant women and its relation with social status of women. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and types of domestic violence during pregnancy, factors affecting…

Based on 65 interviews with professionals and parents conducted during 2007-2008, this 16-month, mainly qualitative evaluation of Parentline Plus' Time to Talk Community Programme (a preventative initiative within England's teenage pregnancy strategy) found that a community development approach and an ethos of partnership with parents and…

The current study, based on all births in Sweden from 1983 to 1991 (N = 654,707), explored the processes underlying the association between smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and offspring school grades and mathematic proficiency at age 15. The analyses compared relatives who varied in their exposure to SDP and who varied in their genetic relatedness.…

Drawing on data from 2 waves of the National Survey of Family Growth (N = 11,065), the current research addressed 2 overarching questions about the reproductive context of cohabitation in the United States. First, did patterns of contraceptive use among cohabitors change during the last 2 decades of the 20th century? Second, did patterns of…

This paper investigates the effect of the supply of birth control methods on fertility behavior by examining Romania's 23-year period of pronatalist policies. Following the lifting of the restrictions in 1989 the immediate decrease in fertility was 30 percent. Women who spent most of their reproductive years under the restrictive regime…

There is a growing practice of adoption services on the Internet with varying degrees of regulation, depending on whether it is domestic infant adoption, public foster care adoption, or international adoption. Regulation is particularly lacking in domestic infant adoptions, with Web sites connecting prospective birth and adoptive parents,…

In this study, the authors used a national, Web-based survey to examine female and male siblings of individuals with disabilities. More than 1,160 adult siblings completed a 163-question survey about themselves, their siblings, and their sibling relationships. Most respondents reported fairly close contact with their siblings and positive sibling…

Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this study investigates the role of ultrasound technology on feelings of attachment and emotions experienced by expectant grandmothers. A total of 109 expectant grandmothers complete the 84-question Web-based survey. A 12-item scale is used to assess the impact of ultrasound on attachment. As expected,…

The availability of abortion provides insurance against unwanted pregnancies since abortion is the only birth control method which allows women to avoid an unwanted birth once they are pregnant. Restrictive state abortion policies, which increase the cost of obtaining an abortion, may increase women's incentive to alter their pregnancy avoidance…

While many states mandate some type of sexuality education in schools, state legislation varies widely across the United States. Nevertheless, though much has been written about the behavioral outcomes of sexuality education programs shown to be effective at reducing one or more risky sexual behaviors in teenagers, less is known about the exact…