Obama addressed the health exception to abortion

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (Illinois), in an interview last week with Christian magazine said that "mental anguish" should not be used as an excuse for "late term abortions, AP / Google.com reports.

In an interview, Obama said: "Well, I do not believe that" mental anguish "qualifies as a mother of health. I think it is still a serious problem that is a natural during pregnancy, when there are real important questions for parents on child complete. " Last year, after the United States - The Supreme Court confirmed the decision that the ban on federal (PL 108-105) in the so-called "partial birth" abortion, Obama said that "totally rejects" the decision because "radically different from previous precedents, the health of pregnant women. " According to AP / Google.com, the health exception is "vitally important" for abortion-rights supporters and is considered a "loophole" opponents of abortion. By limiting health exception "serious physical problems," Obama, among other supporters of abortion rights, AP / Google.com reports (Kuhnhenn, AP / Google.com, 7 / 4).

January Crawford Green Castle - correspondent for ABC News, includes the Supreme Court, and provides legal analysis on the blog, ABC News "legal" - Obama stated that the declaration of perspective ", in contrast to 35 years of Supreme Court rulings on this issue, which always requires That the ban on abortion contain exceptions to permit procedures for the protection of women "mental health", as well as their physical health. "She said that Obama is the support of that law said - and away from support of freedom of choice of law, rights, it is one of the sponsors ", provides a much broader definition of mental health, he explained that this week." Green Castle notes that the Dow concentration problems against Bolton, the leading Supreme Court case decided on the same day in Roe v. manager in 1973, said a doctor may decide to conduct an abortion on the basis of "all factors - physical, emotional, psychological, family and woman, age - in terms of well-being of patients. After Green Castle, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia ", expressed the view that" mental health "exception was not necessary. "(Green Castle," legitimacy ", ABC News, 7 / 5).

The official position of NARAL Pro-Choice America, which was approved in May, Obama said that "except for medical psychiatric problems that may occur during pregnancy. Tyazhesti fetal anomalies, for example, can exact a huge emotional in the pregnant woman and her family." V recent statement in response to interview Obama, the group, said Obama views that are consistent with Roe v. Wade, and added that Obama "has serious statements against President Bush's Federal banning abortion, have no exceptions to protect women's health." Tommy Vietor, Obama press, said: "Obama argued that laws which restrict contain exceptions for abortions, should be health and life of the mother." (AP / Google.com, 7 / 4).

Obama on Saturday to clarify its position and said: "I said that you should have a health exception in many important restrictions or bans on abortion, abortion later date." He added: "My only point is that in an area such as partial birth abortion, mental [or] Health exception can be determined with precision. It can be defined by physical health [and] may be determined by clinical serious mental Diseases. "He said:" Now I do not believe that "mental anguish" qualifies as a mother of health ", adding:" I think it is still a serious problem that is a natural during pregnancy, when there are real problems for mother Child allowances. " Obama campaign representative Linda Douglas, said Senator makes a difference in an interview with the relevant medical diagnosis of mental illness and the nature of mental anguish that is not planned pregnancy can cause. "Fear is not a mental illness," said Douglas, adding: "zero Cree and always said there should be no exception for physical health and serious mental illness" (James, "swamp", Chicago Tribune, 7 / 5).

Green Castle writes that makes Obama so that the comments as "surprising" that the senator is trying to limit abortions after 22 weeks for those women who have serious illness or disease. But today, the law also covers some women are "mental anguish", these women may be affected emotionally and psychologically, without prejudice to abortion "(" legal ", ABC News, 7 / 5).

Rove attacks Obama stand against abortion

In related news, former Bush administration chief of staff Karl Rove on Friday during the speeches members of the National Council the right to life Obama attack from their positions on abortion, while praising Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (Arizona) for their values , New York Times "In Conclave", reported. During his speech said that Rove Obama threatened "to strike all the good deed that has [NRTL] Done for decades" in the framework of its support for freedom of choice Law and other measures , An abortion rights.

Obama is a man who receives and said that brings Republicans and Democrats together to great things for the country ", Rove said, adding:" How can [Obama] argue that to do if he [is] at the same time support the separation of practice the use of U.S. taxpayer funding of abortion? You can not. You can not square circle ". Rove also noted that Obama has a zero rating NRTL and 100% rating from NARAL. Rove also attacked Obama recent efforts to court" for the lives of leaders and values "and try to" convince them that it is reasonable person ". Rove said:" I understand that you are trying to do ", adding:" But there is a difference between talk and act. "Obama" actions over many years are much more important than any words he could, in private conversation. "

In response to comments made by Rove, Vietor, said that "Obama is working for the presidency, the country together and end kind of political division perfection by Karl Rove" (Falcone, "The Conclave", "New York Times, 7 / 4 ).

Reprinted with permission type http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You see, all Report Daily Women's Health Policy, search archives, or subscribe for delivery by e-mail here. Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Association of Women and Family Affairs, published by the Advisory Board Company.

adapted from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

Meditation is good for psychiatrists' mental health

Meditation sessions proved to be a success for the members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists at its annual meeting at Imperial College, London - the growing number are on the argument that the spiritual discipline against anxiety and burnout.

Meditation workshops under the guidance of college spirituality 2000 - a strong group of special interests, are overbooked. "How to be a reference to the need for spiritual food, that the members of the College not so easily to the outside world," said Dr. Sarah Eagger, Chairman of the Group of spirituality.

Dr. Eagger, consultant psychiatrist at St. Charles Hospital, London, said that his daily practice of meditation is so important in their daily work, as their medical training. "The strength of spiritual practice really happening in his own when the patient is in distress himself, while dealing with pressure of work in groups with a huge burden, and then have to spend time filling forms that you think are not reliable. I have enough . Without the practice of meditation to cultivate the area was still inside, I want to suffer burnout. "

Dr Andrew Powell, founder Chairman of the Group of spirituality, said: "There is the degree of concern in the profession to be caught up in a culture of measurement and in the box score. The result is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to practice Psychiatry, anxiety and concern for our patients to maintain human values and not caught up in "us and them" mentality. "

Nevertheless, many psychiatrists struggle to understand the importance of spirituality to their work, the meeting was told. Julia Head, a specialist chaplains in the Maudsley Hospital in London, told the conference that spirituality is increasingly recognized as an important part of good mental health.

"National Institute of Mental Health in England, is only the latest body to recognize the limits of modern medicine with the recommendation that experts in the field of spiritual support and physical therapy, including drugs," said Dr. chief, coordinates "the exploitation of training programmes for mental health 300 Specialists in areas of London Southwark and Lambeth.

"Experts should encourage hope and desire for change and the possibility of recovery. Nevertheless, the idea of healing, in contrast to clinical treatment, is that alien to many experts," he said. "You feel trapped in a culture where measuring clinical activities is a priority. It is time to realize that in order to support their patients recover, they must feel the assessment and allow time for their own growth."

The meeting also said that the evidence for the therapeutic benefits of meditation for a wide range of health problems was significantly stronger than most drugs. The new meta-analysis of 823 randomized controlled trials of meditation in which the United States - the National Institute of alternative and complementary medicine, showed clinical benefits of meditation through a wide range of physical and emotional disorders.

"Meditation is a way of life, not a rapid solution achieved through the payment of eight sessions or to use tricks, such as smoking, music and light", Dr Avdesh Sharma, former president of Psychiatric Association of India, he said. "It does not work immediately. We need to practice for several weeks before the consequences will be felt gradually."

Dr. Sharma added: "If meditation is a drug that we all want to see it in action. He has a positive influence on most of the problems of physical health and very effective for mental health significantly reduce depression and improve Fear relaxation, oxygen to the brain, insomnia and energy. "

Reference:

The Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Imperial College, London, 1 - 4 July 2008

adapted from www.rcpsych.ac.uk

Death of patients in a psychiatric hospital in New York presents mental health crisis

Death of woman in Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, demonstrates the need

for more public services for people with mental disorders, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

According to newspaper reports, the woman suffered from psychosis and agitation, is still waiting in the emergency room for nearly 24 hours because the hospital was clearly not a place for psychiatric patients. He fell to the floor and put it about an hour before emergency personnel tried to revive them. Unfortunately, women died from causes that have not yet been determined.

"The question is how and why the hospital staff can ignore that person, fell to the ground in an emergency or war, and went around them when they died," said APA President Nada Stotland, MD "However, the lack of emergency The patient psychiatric services only part of a global health crisis, and that includes mental health. "

Stotland pointed to the lack of state and municipal center of mental health services, which are used for intervention to avoid a crisis that would lead to the person who will help in an emergency, poorly equipped to prevent such crises. It is a fact that most hospitals financial losses for mental health services, and may also play a role, thin as a high priority to hospital, where mental health.

"Incidents of this kind reflect a complete breakdown of mental health," said Stotland. "There is little continuity of care, but there are only a few are not adequately funded outpatient services so that repeated mental breakdowns, visits to the emergency room, and the need for hospitalization in the sickest people. Personala and emergency treatment for patients with heart attacks and broken Boneless, faces hundreds, sometimes thousands of critically ill patients with mental problems, often compounded by general medical illness, homelessness, ill-treatment and lack of insurance. "

Lack of resources leads to a permanent reduction in the number of beds for these people. At the same time, many times hospitals have no emergency room physician in the use of the ability to handle psychological problems. Limited access to necessary services can only intensify the feeling of stigma, many patients believe, to seek mental health care problem in the first place.

"The time for action long before the person is in a state of emergency to require hospitals ill-equipped to combat it," said Stotland. "The tragedy is that we know how to help these people recover and remain useful members of society, unnecessary suffering and ends costs society as much or more than enough attention to cost. Our society is not the largest network of basic security for our most vulnerable citizens. "

adapted from http://www.psych.org

Happily married and sleepy

For many women the secret of good sleep is a happy marriage, according to the study in the United States.

University of Pittsburgh researchers studied nearly 2000 middle-aged women across the country. In particular, it covers issues its own assessment of their marital happiness and compare how well they slept.

The team led by Dr. Wendy Troxel fortunately, it was found that married women have less difficulty falling asleep, sleep, less Awakenings in early morning and go to bed in comparison with married women, unfortunately.

"The findings show that happily married women have fewer problems sleeping," he said.

The reference is not respected, but in a minority of women from ethnic minorities.

Written by Michael Day
Adapted from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Scottish murder and suicide rates, fueled by drink and drugs

Alcohol and drug addiction means Scots, almost two times more likely to kill or their own lives, compared with people in England and Wales, published research shows.

Results of the National University of Manchester confidential investigation of the killings and suicides of people with mental disorders (NIR), also show that the number of psychiatric patients to commit murder or suicide was proportionally much higher in Scotland.

"Lessons for the mentally ill in Scotland report, in Scotland, raises these high mortality rates north of the border for alcohol and drugs, as among the population in general and mental health patients.

NCI examined all suicides and murders in the total population in Scotland, as well as those committed by persons in support mental health services, and compared their results for England and Wales.

Suicide rates in Scotland equate to 18.7 per 100000 population, compared with 10.2 per 100000 in England and Wales, while murder rates north of the border was 2.12 per 100000 people, compared with 1.23 at 100000 in England and Wales. North and South is the highest among young people, the report found.

"During the period of training - six years for suicide and five years for murder - there were about 5000 suicides, homicides and 500 in Scotland," said Louis Appleby, professor of psychiatry and director of the NCI. "But the survey showed that only 28% of people her own life and 12% of the murderers, recently mental health patients.

"It was a positive recent decline in suicides among the general population of Scotland, but the most striking features of Boards north of the border is much higher than that in England and Wales.

"Even murder in Scotland is significantly higher than in England and Wales. But unlike the performance of suicides, homicides domestic prices are high mainly because of the high prices in some parts of the country, namely Glasgow and Argyll and Clyde."

In Scotland, as in England, Wales and elsewhere in the report notes that the murder was a crime committed mostly young people, against young people. The Panel noted that in the cases studied, alcohol and drugs often took a weapon, and usually a knife or other sharp objects.

"The drugs and knives are dangerously confused, so that the political reaction to these deaths are due to focus on alcoholism and drug addiction among youth and bear arms sheet of young people," said Professor Appleby.

"The growing number of crimes, killing in recent years, is the result of an increase of killings of young people, mostly men under the age of 25 years, but most of them are not mentally ill. This is a public health approach should be focused on the murder of alcohol and drugs, mental health until the disease.

"Alcoholism and drug addiction on the basis of these results, and that seems to be an important contribution to the risk for mental health and society at large. The results indicate that alcohol and drugs in Scotland are high suicide and homicide, and how often occurring as background in our report, frightening. "

Of the 1373 patients in the report was suicide history of alcoholism in 785 cases on average 131 deaths a year, the stories of drug abuse in 522 cases and 87 deaths per year.

Of the 58 patients, reported murders, 41 were stories of alcoholism and drug abuse were 45. Of all the authors, whether patients, drug addiction and alcoholism are the most common diagnoses. In both suicide and murder, most of them are not under the control of passions.

"Our results confirm the view that alcohol and drugs are the most pressing problems in the field of mental health in Scotland and psychiatric care can play its role", said Professor Appleby, based in Manchester School of Medicine and Humanities.

"They must ensure that frontline medical staff are qualified and confident in the assessment and management of abuse that the development of services dedicated dual diagnosis, and to establish close relations with groups of drug addiction."

The report also makes the following recommendations for clinical care:

• Specialist mental health teams, outreach services for patients who are at risk of losing contact with caution


• Fundamentals follow discharge after hospital, that risk management in the cooperative and patient and community groups


• More intensive monitoring of patients recently hospitalized


• Withdrawal of ligature points patient stations


• Prevention of room air into the hall of improvements in environmental protection and strict control exits


• Carefully assess risk during the prior consent to discharge from hospital
  
• To improve mental health for young people who have greater access and early intervention


• Clinical positive approach to risk management in a dialogue with the public


• An analysis of the reasons for detention of offenders with severe mental illness.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

Variety At Breakfast Linked With Better Mental Health For Teens

Adding a banana to a bowl of cereal and milk could be the key to better mental health in teenagers, according to Australian researchers who have found that a variety of foods at breakfast is linked to mental functioning.

Presenting her research at the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) national conference, dietitian Therese O'Sullivan from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research said a high quality breakfast, with foods from at least three different healthy food groups, was linked with better mental health in 14 year old boys and girls.

And she said that for every extra food group eaten at breakfast, the associated mental health score improved.

'Eating a breakfast of toast with a glass of milk and some fruit seems to be better than just a large serve of toast alone. This may be because mental functioning is affected by the absorption of a variety of nutrients, including calcium, iron and B group vitamins,' said Ms O'Sullivan, an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

The researchers asked more than 800 teenagers what they ate for breakfast, and scored this based on their intake of the core food groups. Mental health was assessed using a child behaviour checklist.

They found that just one in four teens ate a high quality breakfast, and the two most common core food groups eaten at breakfast were breads/cereals and dairy products.

Disturbingly, a small proportion of teens did not eat any items from the healthy core food groups for breakfast over the three day study period.

Research has already shown that students who eat breakfast pay more attention in class, retain more information and are more interested in learning, but this is the first study to show that variety at breakfast is also important.

According to Australia's last national nutrition survey, high school-aged girls were more likely to skip breakfast than boys. The report found that around one in three girls aged 12 to 15 did not eat a regular breakfast, compared with 13 per cent of boys.

Ms O'Sullivan suggests trying the following ideas to increase variety of nutrient intake at breakfast:

• Add a spoonful of sunflower seeds to your cereal


• Top your toast with a sliced banana


• Sprinkle diced dried fruit over your cereal or add some canned fruit


• For a quick breakfast on the go, prepare a whole grain sandwich with baked beans and cheese the night before and toast it in the sandwich maker the next morning.

The DAA 26th national conference will be held from May 29 - 31 at Conrad Jupiters at the Gold Coast. The conference is titled 'Improving nutrition - a social responsibility'.

The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) is the professional body representing dietitians nationally. Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) is the only national credential recognised by the Australian Government, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs and most private health funds as the quality standard for nutrition and dietetics services in Australia. For more information visit http://www.daa.asn.au

Taken from : http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Better Care Need For Lone Asylum Seeking Children

Lone asylum seeking children are more likely to have experienced high levels of war trauma, combat and torture than those who arrive in a country with adult carers, according to a new study looking at the mental health of asylum seeking children in the UK.

The authors of the research, which is published online this week in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, are calling on governments to ensure that children who arrive in a country on their own are offered appropriate support.

The study reveals that lone asylum seeking children are at much greater risk of mental health problems, such as post traumatic stress symptoms, than their accompanied peers. Such children are sent away from their families, or flee their communities, because of persecution, organised violence or war.

There are an estimated 5,500 unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the UK. According to the new research, placing such children in foster care greatly helps their mental health. In the UK, unaccompanied asylum seekers aged between 16 and 18 are often placed in bed and breakfast accommodation, receiving a lower level of support than children who come into the care system at an earlier age. Foster care and high support living arrangements can prove costly for local authorities.

The study showed that unaccompanied asylum seekers living independently had higher levels of post traumatic symptoms, such as preoccupation with the war events, flashbacks and nightmares, than those living in foster care.

Overall, more than half of the male (61%) and nearly three quarters of the female unaccompanied asylum seekers (73%) were assessed as having a high risk of post traumatic stress disorder, far more than the accompanied male and female refugee children (14% and 35% respectively).

Those who were unaccompanied had much greater personal experience of war, including combat, torture and detention, than those who were accompanied. Many more of the lone asylum seeking children in the new study (45%) had been involved in combat, compared with the accompanied children (12%). Nearly half had experienced torture of some kind (38%), whereas very few had been subjected to torture in the accompanied group (3%). In the lone group nearly one in five reported that they had been imprisoned or in detention of some kind (18%), compared with only one in twenty in the accompanied group (6%).

Dr Matthew Hodes, lead author of the new study from the Division of Neurosciences and Mental Health at Imperial College London, said: "Ours is the first study from the UK to directly investigate the war trauma that unaccompanied asylum seeking children have experienced and see how this relates to their psychological state. It shows that there is a close relationship between the levels of distress that these children experience and their living arrangements.

"These children often arrive in the UK after experiencing terrible things in their home country, and we would like to see foster care or special children's homes offered to them in order to reduce their suffering. Living with a foster family reduces a child's sense of isolation, provides them with someone who can care for them, and helps them to integrate with other children and adults. All of these factors can help lower their post traumatic stress symptoms and other studies show that many of the children much prefer this kind of care," added Dr Hodes.

The study compared the experiences of 78 unaccompanied asylum seeking children aged 18 and under, predominantly from the Balkans and Horn of Africa, who were supported by the City of Westminster local authority in London, with 35 accompanied refugee children living with family members. The children were interviewed about their experiences prior to reaching the UK and their current living arrangements, and completed questionnaires designed to reveal the state of their mental health, including post traumatic and depression symptoms.

taken from medicalnewstoday