International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Ghana needs to introduce a strategy in order to continue making progress on reducing maternal mortality rates in the African nation, according to an independent United Nations (UN) expert.

Anand Grover, the special rapporteur on the right to health, praised the government in Ghana for its commitment to reducing the number of maternal deaths.

Scientists have established a way to predict when a woman will begin the menopause.

Researchers in the Netherlands said they hope the prediction will help women decide the age at which they have children.

Some 257 women were monitored for 11 years for the research, which analysed levels of the anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) in the body.

Ireland is calling for the reintroduction of legislation to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM).

Mothers who consume fish oil supplements during pregnancy may not be doing something which improves their babies' vision, a new study suggests.

Earlier research implied docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish oil, boosts the vision of premature babies if they are given supplements in the first few months of their lives.

The global infant and maternal mortality rates are "unacceptable", the United Nations (UN) chief has said.

Arriving in the African nation of Nigeria for a visit, Ban Ki-moon said the high number of maternal and infant deaths is down to poor health systems the world over.

A woman's risk of developing diabetes can be predicted seven years before she falls pregnant, it has been claimed.

According to US researchers, routinely assessed measures of blood sugar and body weight can help predict whether a woman will develop the condition during gestation.

Less than half of all women in Kenya, Africa, give birth in hospital, which puts their lives in danger, it has been claimed.

All the women who do not take advantage of delivery services provided by hospitals are also risking the lives of their unborn babies, warned Kenyan planning minister Wycliff Oparanya, local news provider the Daily Nation reported.

Lagos State government in Nigeria has revealed that it believes its Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) strategy will save thousands of lives in the African nation.

Caffeine can lower muscular activity in fallopian tubes which carry eggs from the ovaries to the womb, reducing female fertility, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the US carried out their study on mice, finding that caffeine stops the actions of specialised pacemaker cells in the wall of the fallopian tubes.

Women who have a variant of the obesity gene FTO are more likely to develop breast cancer, new research suggests.

According to scientists in the US, women with the gene variant have a 30 per cent higher chance of developing the disease.