Women living in poor countries are 300 times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than if they lived in rich countries, UNICEF said in a report released Thursday in Johannesburg. "The divide between industrialised countries and developing regions -- particularly the least developed countries -- is perhaps greater on maternal mortality than on almost any other issue," the UN Children ...

A new study gives fresh evidence that many people with clogged heart arteries are being overtreated with stents, and that a simple blood-flow test might help prevent unnecessary care. Fewer deaths, heart attacks and repeat procedures occurred when doctors implanted fewer of these tiny artery ...

Patricia is lucky and her mother relieved. In a country with one of the highest mortality rates for women giving birth, the 21-year old Liberian has made it to hospital in time after a difficult birth. "It is her first child, she lost too much blood," her mother Rose Soko said. "So many women of my family died when giving ...

There is little or no evidence to back claims that herbal treatments can alleviate the symptoms of menopause, according to a medical review published on Wednesday. The paper appears in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, published by the British Medical Association (BMA). It looks at clinical studies into plants whose extracts are becoming increasingly popular among women eager to ease ...