Health & Safety

Most women get prenatal care from the doctor they expect will deliver the baby, which can make it difficult if the doctor and hospital are far away.

More Rural Hospitals Are Closing Their Maternity Units

11:37am February 24, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Facilities for delivering babies are expensive to run and hard to staff. But when small rural hospitals close their birthing units, pregnant women must travel much farther for care.

Two More U.S. Cases Of Zika Virus Likely Shared Via Sex

8:55pm February 23, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

U.S. health officials say they have confirmed the two women had Zika. And their only risk factor was having slept with male partners who had recently traveled to places with active virus transmission.

Academic Medical Centers Get An F In Sharing Research Results

8:20pm February 23, 2016

by Harlan Krumholz

There's no excuse for not reporting all findings within two years of finishing a clinical study, says Yale University's Dr. Harlan Krumholz. He calls on his colleagues to do a better job.

Health & Safety

Study Finds HPV Vaccine Has Lowered Number Of Women With Disease

6:31pm February 23, 2016

The HPV vaccine has lowered the number of women with HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cancer, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics. NPR's Audie Cornish talks to Dr. Joseph Bocchini from Louisiana State University to get his read on the results.

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These people have just walked across the bridge from Venezuela to Colombia, where the Colombian immigration authorities are on duty. Many people live on one side and work on the other, crossing so frequently they don't have to register with officials each

Health & Safety

Venezuela Won't Talk To Colombia About Zika — And That's A Problem

5:51pm February 23, 2016

Colombia would like to coordinate with Venezuela to fight the virus. That's not happening. Meanwhile, Venezuelans who cross the border may be bringing Zika with them.

Ratings on patient satisfaction and quality of care often don't match.

Conflicting Ratings For Home Health Agencies Can Be Puzzling

5:33pm February 23, 2016

by Jordan Rau

Medicare compiles ratings of agencies' quality and of patients' perceptions. But the stars assigned by the government often don't align.

Health & Safety

Puerto Rico Waits To See If Zika Scares Off Tourists

5:30pm February 23, 2016

by Greg Allen

In the Old San Juan district, tourists pour out of cruise ships to shop and take in the sights. Officials worry they could start to see a decline in tourists due to the rising number of Zika cases.

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As part of an alternative rite of passage, these Maasai girls wear beaded jewelry given to them by their mothers.

Can A Bath Of Milk And Honey Replace Female Genital Mutilation?

5:09pm February 23, 2016

by Diane Cole

The chief of the U.N. has called for a "better way" to mark the coming-of-age of girls. Some communities are paving the way with a new kind of ritual.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a Las Vegas high school last Friday.

Hillary Clinton Hitches Her Health Care Wagon To Obamacare

4:33pm February 23, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Rather than sweeping reform, Clinton's health plan is a collection of tweaks to the Affordable Care Act. The proposed changes are aimed at trimming consumer costs and improving coverage.

"Just because Zika is here, doesn't mean we're going to raise the price" for condoms, says sales clerk Coralis Ferrer-Marrero.

Puerto Rico Freezes Condom Prices To Prevent Zika Profiteering

4:02pm February 23, 2016

by Rolando Arrieta

With Zika spreading in Puerto Rico, the government has forbidden stores from raising prices on mosquito repellent, window screens, larvicides and condoms.