Metabolic insights at the finish line: deciphering physiological changes in ultramarathon runners through breath VOC analysis.

Exhaustive exercise can induce unique physiological responses in the lungs and other parts of the human body. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath are ideal for studying the effects of exhaustive exercise on the lungs due to the proximity of the breath matrix to the respiratory tract. As breath VOCs can originate from the bloodstream, changes in abundance should also indicate broader physiological effects of exhaustive exercise on the body.

Interpregnancy care.

The aim of interconception care is to provide women who have had a prior adverse pregnancy outcome with optimal care in order to reduce risks that may affect the woman׳s health and any future birth she may choose to have. National recommendations call for action, and evidence supports specific clinical interventions. The need for interconception care is documented in national and state survey and surveillance data.

A national action plan for promoting preconception health and health care in the United States (2012-2014).

Preconception health and health care (PCHHC) has gained increasing popularity as a key prevention strategy for improving outcomes for women and infants, both domestically and internationally. The Action Plan for the National Initiative on Preconception Health and Health Care: A Report of the PCHHC Steering Committee (2012-2014) provides a model that states, communities, public, and private organizations can use to help guide strategic planning for promoting preconception care projects. Since 2005, a national public-private PCHHC initiative has worked to create and implement recommendations on this topic.

Managed care is here to stay: implications for obstetrics and gynecology practice.

Purpose Of Review: This article provides an overview of types and trends in managed care, as well as insights into how obstetrician/gynecologists can work with managed care plans to improve process and outcomes for patients.

Recent Findings: Although studies of managed care between 1990 and 2005 generally did not show clear positive impact on cost or outcomes of care for women, more recent literature indicates the emergence of new models of care with greater success. Promising practices often focus on quality assurance and improvement.

Louisiana Birth Outcomes Initiative: improving birth outcomes with interventions before, during, and after pregnancy.

The costs of poor birth outcomes to the United States in both human and fiscal terms are large and a continuing concern. Louisiana has among the worst birth outcomes in our nation, which include preterm and low birth weight births, and maternal and infant mortality. In response to these poor birth outcomes, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is implementing a statewide, multi-faceted Birth Outcomes Initiative at the level of the secretary.

Women's health and health reform: implications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Purpose Of Review: An overview of provisions in the 2010 health reform legislation with implications for women's health and obstetrician-gynecologists.

Recent Findings: Between now and 2014, provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will expand access to health coverage, primary care, and preventive services. Other provisions relate to federal abortion funding, medical liability, and disparities.

Accessibility of family planning services: impact of structural and organizational factors.

Objectives: This study sought to determine whether selected structural and organizational characteristics of publicly available family planning facilities are associated with greater availability.

Methods: A survey was sent to 726 publicly available family planning facilities in four states. These included local health departments, federally qualified health centers (FQHC), Planned Parenthood sites, hospital outpatient departments, and freestanding women's health centers.

Geographic access to family planning facilities and the risk of unintended and teenage pregnancy.

Objectives: This study tested the hypotheses that greater geographic access to family planning facilities is associated with lower rates of unintended and teenage pregnancies.

Methods: State Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) and natality files in four states were used to locate unintended and teenage births, respectively. Geographic availability was measured by cohort travel time to the nearest family planning facility, the presence of a family planning facility in a ZIP area, and the supply of primary care physicians and obstetric-gynecologists.

Public finance policy strategies to increase access to preconception care.

Policy and finance barriers reduce access to preconception care and, reportedly, limit professional practice changes that would improve the availability of needed services. Millions of women of childbearing age (15-44) lack adequate health coverage (i.e.