According to the World Health Organization, more than half a million women around the world die as a result of complications of pregnancy or childbirth every year, from such causes as hemorrhage, infection, hypertension, obstructed labor, and unsafe abortion, as well as a lack of access to health care and poor quality care. The organization has launched a training program for providers around the world in order to inform them of complications that may arise during childbirth and methods of addressing them, even in settings in which resources are scarce. A manual, titled Beyond the Numbers: Reviewing Maternal Deaths and Complications to Make Pregnancy Safer, is also available. Visit http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/btn.

Osteoporosis on the rise.

According to a new report on bone health recently released by the U.S. surgeon general, by the year 2020 half of all Americans older than 50 will be at risk for fractures because of osteoporosis and low bone mass. The full report, called "Bone Health and Osteoporosis," is available at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/bonehealth/docs/full_report.pdf.