The Professionalization of International Disaster Response: It Is Time for Midwives to Get Ready.

Disasters and humanitarian emergencies due to natural or human origins result in severe and often prolonged suffering of the affected population. Midwives have a role to play in providing assistance because women and their infants experiencing such crises have unique vulnerabilities and needs. This article introduces midwives and other women's health care practitioners to international humanitarian emergency response efforts and describes preparation and training activities they can undertake to get ready to volunteer with an international health aid agency.

Gestational diabetes mellitus management with oral hypoglycemic agents.

Oral hypoglycemic agents such as glyburide (second-generation sulfonylurea) and metformin (biguanide) are attractive alternatives to insulin due to lower cost, ease of administration, and better patient adherence. The majority of evidence from retrospective and prospective studies suggests comparable efficacy and safety of oral hypoglycemic agents such as glyburide and metformin as compared to insulin when used in the treatment of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Glyburide and metformin have altered pharmacokinetics during pregnancy and both agents cross the placenta.

Duration of cisplatin excretion in breast milk.

Cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy agent, is commonly used in treating cancers that may affect women of childbearing age, including cervical cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and pediatric tumors in adolescents. The authors found that platinum was undetectable in breast milk at 66 hours and beyond following a 70-mg dose of intravenous cisplatin. Relative infant dose of platinum was calculated to be between 0.