Reproductive Health Matters announces publication of its themed issue

Reproductive Health Matters announces publication of its themed issue: 'Sexual and Reproductive Morbidity: Not a Priority'

2012-12-18

(Press-News.org) Amsterdam, December 18, 2012 - Sexual and reproductive morbidities are not a priority in health policy. They do not feature among donors favourite health initiatives and remain outside the global health agenda. In many parts of the world practice is stubbornly failing to catch up with national policies, leaving shortfalls in every area of care. This, despite the enormous impact such morbidities have on the lives of women, men and their families, is something that is illustrated in a number of papers published in the latest issue of Reproductive Health Matters (RHM) which describe devastating personal experiences.

Editor of RHM, Marge Berer characterises this lack of priority as: "A distortion of the global public health agenda and everything we know about addressing the burden of disease. It should send up alarm signals [as to] what the content and focus of the Sustainable Development Goals related to health should be."

The issue captures a range of perspectives focusing not just on clinical issues, but also health law and policy, service delivery, the social and political determinants of health, and the personal and professional experiences of women, men and service providers. For example, in the paper titled, 'No safe place for children' by Laura Wick and Sahar Hassan, women and midwives in Gaza bear witness to the experience of delivering babies while under military attack from Israel.

Papers included are from Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Central America, Chile, India, Kenya, Laos, Nepal, Peru, Poland, Sri Lanka, sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen and address a plethora of sexual and reproductive morbidities including: complications following treatment for fistula; the threat of untreatable gonorrhoea; regulation of breast implants; services for sexual violence; maternal health; cervical cancer; uterine prolapse, infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease; and more. Some papers address prevailing myths including the beliefs that female genital mutilation can be used to treat genital infections, and that children born through IVF technology are monsters.

One of the non-theme papers looks at the eight new types of female condoms that are in the pipeline, and may reduce costs and increase choice for couples who want to use them.

### Notes to editors The issue "Sexual and Reproductive Morbidity: Not a Priority" of Reproductive Health Matters, Volume 20, Issue 40, p 4-228 (December 2012) published by Elsevier, is now available on ScienceDirect.

Full texts of articles are available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Lisa Hallgarten at +44 207 267 6567 or lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk.

About Reproductive Health Matters (RHM) Reproductive Health Matters is published twice a year, in May and November in English, with editions in translation in Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. RHM covers laws, policies, research and services that meet women's reproductive health needs. Each issue focuses on a main theme and includes feature papers, topical papers on other subjects and a round-up of information from published literature. www.rhmjournal.org.uk

About Elsevier Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact Lisa Hallgarten
Editorial Office RHM
+44 207 267 6567
lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk

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Reproductive Health Matters announces publication of its themed issue

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