Abortion does not raise the risk of a woman suffering mental health problems, a major review by experts concludes.

Seeking more assistance to improve Bangladesh’s healthcare facilities, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for early fulfilment of campaign partners’ pledge to provide $40 billion as mentioned in the global strategy last year.

Researchers say just nine of 137 developing countries will achieve ambitious targets to improve the health of women and children.

Pregnant women who eat low-fat yoghurt can increase the risk of their child developing asthma and hay fever, a study says.

The participants in a function on Monday stressed the need for ensuring health care services,  including family planning activities,  for the neglected char dwellers of the district.

The World Bank will provide $ 359 million loan for implementing the Health Sector Development Programme (HSDP).

The government will establish a diabetic hospital for women at Uttara Model Town in the city to cope with increasing number of diabetic patients in the country.

Taking a multivitamin around the time of conception may help women lower their risk of delivering low-birth-weight babies, new research shows.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has pledged to fund $70 million in the next five-year (2012-16) plan to improve the country’s maternal and reproductive health and tackle violence against women.

Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni reaffirmed the present government’s unequivocal commitment to place woman and child health at the centre of its development agenda and sought UNFPA’s continued support to achieve that end.

A woman died Saturday morning due to alleged negligence by her doctor, hours after she gave birth to a baby girl in a private hospital in Sirajganj Sadar upazila.

Japanese women remained the world’s longest-living last year, although their average life expectancy edged down slightly to 86.39 years, the government said yesterday.

Women who smoke while pregnant should be aware that they are increasing the chance their baby will be born malformed, say experts. The risk for having a baby with missing or deformed limbs or a cleft lip is over 25% higher for smokers, data show.

Anti-tobacco activists in a workshop on Saturday laid stress on raising awareness to keep the women away from smoking and urged the government take action to stop smoking in public places.

Hundreds of thousands of babies’ lives could be saved each year if pregnant women were screened for syphilis, researchers say.