Early testing has proven so successful at helping prevent the spread of AIDS in babies, that a federal panel is recommending that all pregnant women, not just those at high risk, be screened for the virus.

In 1996, the U.S. Preventine Services Task Force said there was not enough evidence to prove that screening all pregnant women was beneficial

Infertility could double in the next decade in Europe, according to specialists.

Obesity and sexually transmitted diseases are cited as the main reasons for rising European infertility

CBC News reports the surfacing of a potentially fatal sexually transmitted disease that rarely appears in industrialized countries in Canada.

According to the report, there are currently 22 cases of lymphogranuloma venereum reported to the country's public health agency. An analysis in the May 31 online edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal first announced the potential outbreak

The morning after pill gets approved for over-the-counter sales in Canada. The drug levonorgestrel, sold under the brand name Plan B, has been approved for sale directly from pharmacies, Health Canada confirmed earlier this week. Plan B will be kept behind the counter and available without a doctor's prescription. The pill is considered 95 percent effective at preventing unintended pregnancy if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, but has no effect on an established pregnancy. It prevents pregnancy by preventing embryos from attaching to the wall of the uterus. Health Canada's move follows British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec, where women can already access the contraceptive without a prescription. Last month, researchers in B.C. found use of the emergency contraception had doubled in the province since the pill became over-the-counter. Under new federal rules, pharmacists will have to offer counseling about side effects such as nausea and vomiting, sexually transmitted diseases, and contraception to women requesting the drug. It is up to the provinces and territories to decide if they wish to move further and remove all restrictions on the drug, allowing women to access it without the help of the pharmacist

The Today Sponge contraceptive, pulled from the market a decade ago, will soon be back in U.S. stores after receiving FDA approval. Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved U.S. sales of the sponge, which was a popular nonprescription birth control product among women when it was withdrawn from the market in 1995. Now the polyurethane sponges, which manufacturer Allendale Pharmaceuticals has sold in Canada and over the Internet since March 2003, will be available soon in the U.S. through a company Web site. Shortly after that, the product will be available at retail drug chains, followed by supermarkets and mass marketers such as Wal-Mart, Allendale said. Allendale bought rights to sell the Today Sponge several years ago from the prior manufacturer, Wyeth Co. of Madison. Wyeth, then called American Home Products. They stopped making the sponge rather than upgrade its Hammonton manufacturing plant after FDA found deficiencies there, even though the device's effectiveness and safety were never questioned. The Today Sponge, a soft, concave device, prevents pregnancy by covering the cervix and releasing spermicide. Roughly 250 million sponges were sold from 1983 to 1995. While it was less effective than several other methods and does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, the sponge achieved a wide following among women who saw advantages from spontaneity to wide availability. In Canada, where the original Today Sponge was only on the market about 18 months, more than 400,000 sponges have been sold through retail outlets and Internet sites - without any advertising - since they were approved for sale there two years ago. An advertising campaign for the U.S. market is being developed. Sales are expected to jump from 10 million to 15 million sponges in the first 12 months. That's the current production limit of the company's factory in Norwich, N.Y., but the company has plans to double that