Birth control Health Dictionary

Birth Control: From 3 Different Sources


Limitation of the number of children born, either to an individual or within a population.

Family planning allows men and women to choose if and when to have children; contraception can prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association

Case Control Study

A study that starts with the identification of persons with the disease (or other outcome variable) of interest, and a suitable control (comparison, reference) group of persons without the disease. The relationship of an attribute to the disease is examined by comparing the diseased and non-diseased with regard to how frequently the attribute is present or, if quantitative, the level of the attribute, in each of the groups.... case control study

Birth Rate

In 2003, 695,500 live births were registered in the United Kingdom; 38 per cent occurred outside marriage. Overall, total fertility is falling slowly. The number of births per 1,000 women aged over 40 years has been rising, and in 1999 was 8.9 per cent. In Great Britain in 2003, 193,817 legal abortions were performed under the Abortion Act 1967.... birth rate

Birth

North of England midwives ‘birth’ tea. Equal parts: Basil, Lavender and Raspberry leaves in infusion. To each cupful add few grains grated Nutmeg.

To arrest excessive bleeding: Yarrow or Nettle tea. After the event; to restore – Alfalfa tea.

To heal the placenta: inserts of powdered Comfrey. ... birth

Birth Canal

The passage that extends from the neck of the womb (UTERUS), known as the CERVIX UTERI, to the opening of the VAGINA. The baby passes along this passage during childbirth.... birth canal

Birth Defects

See CONGENITAL.... birth defects

Premature Birth

See ABORTION; FETUS; PREGNANCY AND LABOUR.... premature birth

Controlled Drug

One of a number of drugs subject to restricted use because of their potential for abuse. They include

opiates such as cocaine and morphine, amfetamine drugs, and barbiturate drugs. controlled trial A method of testing the effectiveness of new treatments or comparing different treatments. In a typical controlled drug trial, 2 comparable groups of patients suffering from the same illness are given courses of apparently identical treatment. However, only one group receives the new treatment; the second control group is given a placebo. Alternatively, the control group may be given an established drug that is already known to be effective. After a predetermined period, the 2 groups are assessed medically. Controlled trials must be conducted “blind’’ (the patients do not know which treatment they are receiving). In a “double-blind’’ trial, neither the patients nor the doctors who assess them know who is receiving which treatment. contusion Bruising to the skin and underlying tissues from an injury. convalescence The recovery period following an illness or surgery during which the patient regains strength before returning to normal activities.... controlled drug

Biological Control

Use of natural, indigenous predators or organisms to control medically important insects.... biological control

Birth Marks

Birth marks are of various kinds; the most common are port-wine marks (see NAEVUS). Pigment spots are found, very often raised above the skin surface and more or less hairy, being then called moles (see MOLE).... birth marks

Birth Pool

A pool of warm water in which a woman can give birth to her baby. The infant is delivered into the water. The method was introduced during the 1980s and is claimed to make delivery less painful and upsetting.... birth pool

Budgetary Control

The set of actions taken to ensure that spending is in line with budgeted amounts and the regulations for spending them.... budgetary control

Communicable Diseases Control

The control of disease caused by infectious agents or their toxic products. Successes in the 19th and 20th centuries in the treatment and control of communicable diseases such as SMALLPOX, CHOLERA, TUBERCULOSIS, gastrointestinal infections, POLIOMYELITIS and SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES (STDS) resulted in an erroneous conception that they no longer posed a serious threat to public health, and certainly not in developed countries. As a consequence, the maintenance of e?ective public health strategies steadily lost out in the competition for resources to the more ‘glamorous’ developments in medicine, such as improved CANCER treatments, HEART surgery, kidney DIALYSIS and organ TRANSPLANTATION. However, in recent decades the dangers of this approach have become increasingly apparent. Rapidly expanding urban populations, more complex lifestyles, new and resurgent infections (some linked to a spread of antibiotic resistance) such as AIDS/HIV and variant CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD), and the ease with which infection can be spread by the enormous growth of long-distance travel and population migrations are severely straining existing public health measures. The supply of clean water, e?ective waste- and sewage-disposal measures, the hygienic production and delivery of food and early detection and subsequent prevention of infectious diseases can no longer be taken for granted. Governments will need to strengthen the provision of workable, properly resourced public health facilities, and developing countries will need ?nancial support and expert help from developed nations to achieve this objective. Timely recognition of new and resurgent infectious diseases requires national and international early-warning mechanisms to ensure rapid investigation and implementation of e?ective control measures. Otherwise, serious breakdowns in public health will occur, and international co-operation is vital to provide and support control measures. (See also COMMUNICABLE DISEASE; NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.)... communicable diseases control

Concurrent Nonrandomized Control

A control group that is observed by investigators at the same time as the treatment group but that was not established using random assignment of participants to control and treatment groups. Differences in the composition of the treatment and control groups may result.... concurrent nonrandomized control

Control Group

A group of participants that serves as the basis of comparison when assessing the effects of the intervention of interest that is given to the participants in the treatment group. Depending upon the circumstances of the trial, a control group may receive no treatment, a ‘usual’ or ‘standard’ treatment, or a placebo. To make the comparison valid, the composition of the control group should resemble that of the treatment group as closely as possible.... control group

Disease Control

All the measures designed to prevent or reduce as much as possible the incidence, prevalence and consequences of disease, such as the control of disease vectors, the removal or reduction of the influence of predisposing factors in the environment, immunization and curative care.... disease control

Integrated Control

A combination of biological and insecticidal methods of control, e.g. the introduction of predacious fish to breeding places which are also sprayed with insecticides that have minimum effect on the fish.... integrated control

Medicines Control Agency

An executive agency of the Department of Health with the prime function of safeguarding the public health. It ensures that branded and non-branded MEDICINES on the UK market meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and e?cacy. The agency applies the strict standards set by the UK Medicines Act (1968) and relevant European Community legislation.... medicines control agency

National Infection Control And Health Protection Agency

A National Health Service body intended to combat the increasing threat from infectious diseases and biological, chemical and radiological hazards. Covering England, the agency includes the Public Health Laboratory Service, the National Radiological Protection Board, the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, and the National Focus Group for Chemical Incidents.... national infection control and health protection agency

Controlled Drugs

In the United Kingdom, controlled drugs are those preparations referred to under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The Act prohibits activities related to the manufacture, supply and possession of these drugs, and they are classi?ed into three groups which determine the penalties for o?ences involving their misuse. For example, class A includes COCAINE, DIAMORPHINE, MORPHINE, LSD (see LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE and PETHIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE. Class B includes AMPHETAMINES, BARBITURATES and CODEINE. Class C includes drugs related to amphetamines such as diethylpropion and chlorphentermine, meprobamate and most BENZODIAZEPINES and CANNABIS.

The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 de?ne the classes of person authorised to supply and possess controlled drugs, and lay down the conditions under which these activities may be carried out. In the Regulations, drugs are divided into ?ve schedules specifying the requirements for supply, possession, prescribing and record-keeping. Schedule I contains drugs which are not used as medicines. Schedules II and III contain drugs which are subject to the prescription requirements of the Act (see below). They are distinguished in the British National Formulary (BNF) by the symbol CD and they include morphine, diamorphine (heroin), other opioid analgesics, barbiturates, amphetamines, cocaine and diethylpropion. Schedules IV and V contain drugs such as the benzodiazepines which are subject to minimal control. A full list of the drugs in each schedule can be found in the BNF.

Prescriptions for drugs in schedules II and III must be signed and dated by the prescriber, who must give his or her address. The prescription must be in the prescriber’s own handwriting and provide the name and address of the patient and the total quantity of the preparation in both words and ?gures. The pharmacist is not allowed to dispense a controlled drug unless all the information required by law is given on the prescription.

Until 1997 the Misuse of Drugs (Noti?cation and Supply of Addicts) Regulations 1973 governed the noti?cation of addicts. This was required in respect of the following commonly used drugs: cocaine, dextromoramide, diamorphine, dipipanone, hydrocodeine, hydromorphone, levorphanol, methadone, morphine, opium, oxycodone, pethidine, phenazocine and piritranide.

In 1997 the Misuse of Drugs (Supply to Addicts) Regulations 1997 revoked the 1973 requirement for noti?cation. Doctors are now expected to report (on a standard form) cases of drug misuse to their local Drug Misuse Database (DMD). Noti?cation by the doctor should be made when a patient ?rst presents with a drug problem or when he or she visits again after a gap of six months or more. All types of misuse should be reported: this includes opioids, benzodiazepines and central nervous system stimulants. The data in the DMD are anonymised, which means that doctors cannot check on possible multiple prescribing for drug addicts.

The 1997 Regulations restrict the prescribing of diamorphine (heroin), Diconal® (a morphine-based drug) or cocaine to medical practitioners holding a special licence issued by the Home Secretary.

Fuller details about the prescription of controlled drugs are in the British National Formulary, updated twice a year, and available on the Internet (see www.bnf.org).... controlled drugs

Patient-controlled Analgesia

A technique whereby a patient can deliver an analgesic substance (see ANALGESICS) in amounts related to the extent of the PAIN that he or she is suffering. For example, to combat post-operative pain, some hospitals use devices which allow patients to give themselves small intravenous amounts of opiates when they are needed. Pain is more e?ectively controlled if it is not allowed to reach a high level, a situation which tends to happen when patients receive analgesics only on ward drug rounds or when they ask the nursing sta? for them.... patient-controlled analgesia

Quality Control (qc)

The sum of all the activities which prevent unwanted change in quality. In the health care setting, quality control requires a repeated series of feedback loops which monitor and evaluate the care of the individual (and other elements in the health care process). These feedback loops involve checking the care being delivered against standards of care, identification of any problems or opportunities for improvement, and prompt corrective action, so that the quality is maintained.... quality control (qc)

Randomised Controlled Trial

A method of comparing the results between two or more groups of patients intentionally subjected to di?erent methods of treatment – or sometimes of prevention. Those subjects entering the trial have to give their informed permission. They are allocated to their respective groups using random numbers, with one group (controls) receiving no active treatment, instead receiving either PLACEBO or a traditional treatment. Preferably, neither the subject nor the assessor should know which ‘regimen’ is allocated to which subject: this is known as a double-blind trial.... randomised controlled trial

Social Control

A process within society which both formally, through law, and informally, through customs, norms and mores, attempts to influence and order the actions of social groups and their members and thus maintain public order.... social control

Birth Injury

Damage sustained during birth. Minor injuries, such as bruising and swelling of the scalp during a vaginal delivery (see cephalhaematoma) are common. More serious injury can occur, particularly if the baby is excessively large and has difficulty in passing through the birth canal. A breech delivery may result in injury to nerves in the shoulder, causing temporary paralysis in the arm. The face may be paralysed temporarily if the facial nerve is traumatized by forceps. Fractured bones are another hazard of difficult deliveries, but the bones usually heal easily. (See also birth defects; brain damage.)... birth injury

Randomized Controlled Trials

A form of controlled trial that evaluates the effectiveness of a drug, or other treatment, in which subjects are randomly allocated to one of the study groups.

This random allocation means individuals are equally likely to be selected for the particular treatment being investigated or for the control group of the trial.... randomized controlled trials

Birth Asphyxia

see hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.... birth asphyxia

Communicable Disease Control

the control of disease due to infectious agents or their toxic products. See Consultant in Health Protection.... communicable disease control

Controlled Ovarian Stimulation

(COS) see superovulation.... controlled ovarian stimulation

Controlled Trial

see intervention study.... controlled trial

Posthumous Birth

1. delivery of a child by *Caesarean section after the mother’s death. 2. birth of a child after the father’s death.... posthumous birth

Preterm Birth

(premature birth) birth of a baby before 37 weeks (259 days) of gestation (calculated from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual period); a birth at less than 23 weeks is at present incompatible with life. Such factors as *pre-eclampsia, multiple pregnancies (e.g. twins), maternal infection, and *cervical incompetence may all result in preterm births, but in the majority of cases the cause is unknown. Conditions affecting preterm babies may include *respiratory distress syndrome, feeding difficulties, inability to maintain normal body temperature, *apnoea, infection, *necrotizing enterocolitis, and brain haemorrhages. Supportive treatment is provided in an incubator in a neonatal unit; many infants survive with no residual impairment but the shorter the gestation period, the more serious are the problems to be overcome.... preterm birth

Randomized Controlled Trial

see intervention study.... randomized controlled trial



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