Abused pregnant women at risk of pre-term birth Women who are physically abused during pregnancy may be at increased risk of delivering prematurely. Obstetricians should routinely ask women about domestic violence, the researchers from the University of Porto Medical School, Portugal, suggested in the Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. In Portugal, as in many countries, pregnant women are not routinely screened for domestic abuse, the researchers wrote.

ZERO TO 20

Romance makes for safer sex Teenage romance can be a good thing and so can dating. An analysis of national data conducted by Child Trends, a research center that focuses on children and youth in the US, found that sexually active teens who identify their relationships with a partner as romantic and who go out socially with that person are more likely to use contraceptives than teens in more-casual relationships. This may be because they feel more comfortable talking about contraception with a partner they know and trust, said the researchers. Among girls in particular, good communication and the quality of the relationship appear to play an important role in decision-making, said the research, published in Demography.

20 TO 40

Telling smokers ‘age’ of lungs helps them quit Smokers are more likely to kick the habit if they are told how “old” their lungs are. The concept of lung age — measured by comparing a smoker’s lungs to the age of a healthy person whose lungs function the same —has helped patients better understand how smoking damages health. But that information is also effective in convincing smokers to quit, said Gary Parkes, a family physician in Hertfordshire outside London, who led the study published in the British Medical Journal.

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