A lot of pregnant women don't get tested for sexually transmitted diseases. But a lot of pregnant need to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, according to just released Centers for Disease Control stats.

Out of some 1.3 million American women who had blood work during pregnancy, only 59 percent got tested for chlamydia, Reuters reports on the findings.

Obvs, when you've got a bun in the oven, your health doesn't just impact you: chlamydia, as well as other STDs, can complicate pregnancies and get transmitted to newborns.

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Twenty-five years ago, Aundaray Guess started college at the age of 19. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with HIV and dropped out of school. Guess, who is from Minneapolis, then got kicked out of his house when his mom found out about his status and sexuality.

For months, he slept in his car and applied for job after job until he was hired by a community theater. It was there that Guess began writing plays and launched Flayva Cabaret, a company focused on LGBT artists of color. About 11 years ago, Guess decided to move to New York for a life change. But it wasn't until a chance encounter at a drug store that he also decided to return to school and complete his degree.

Guess graduated from New York University with a social science degree on Monday, and received extensive academic accolades. The Voice caught up with him to talk about the challenges of going to school as an adult with HIV.

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Happy "Melanoma Monday" -- as we all continue to laugh and laugh (and then cry) at "Tanning Mom," the latest leathery boob to humiliate New Jersey, skin cancer has increased 43-percent in the Garden State, and the American Cancer Society credits the increase to the rise in indoor tanning.

If you're unfamiliar with "Tanning Mom" Patricia Krentcil -- and how she allegedly stuffed her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning bed (and then -- in fine New Jersey fashion -- made a total ass of herself on national television) -- click here.

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A New York court has just reversed a legal order requiring that the state provide individualized housing for thousands of mentally ill people.

The Associated Press indicates that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan's move could impact other states' court decisions on psychiatric illness.

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Today is World Autism Awareness Day, which happens to come shortly the Centers for Disease Control announced that 1/88 children nationwide has an autism spectrum disorder -- a 23 percent increase since the last report was released in 2009. Long term, this represents a 78 percent increase from data gathered six years ago.

In New York specifically, autism cases have gone up 28 percent since 2009. DNAinfo says: "Their numbers are growing at an alarming rate."

DNAinfo does ID a big problem: namely, that it's extremely difficult for these kids and their parents to get access to necessary services. It's just wrong to make them navigate bureaucracy when the only thing they should spend time and effort on is treatment.

However, something does need to be said about these recently reported numbers.

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www.hellobos.com

​It's April, which means one thing: it's time to sit back, take in the spring air, and become even more aware of whatever may be itching you down there.

The Centers for Disease Control officially has declared April "Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month," so if a short and curly hasn't popped out of that "ingrown hair" yet, it might be time to head to the clinic.

According to the CDC, STDs cost the U.S. healthcare system $17 billion a year -- much of which we can credit to the little sex machines between the ages of 15 and 24.

Estimates show that kiddies in that age group make up about 25 percent of the "sexually experienced" population. However, they account for roughly 50 percent of all new STDs.

Now get ready to freak out and swear off sex forever because we're gonna hit you with some numbers.

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Ok, we're going to make an important distinction here: Tofu is funny. Botulism, not so funny.

Tofu is a soy-based, largely flavorless paste that can be molded into interesting shapes.

Botulism is a scary bacterial disease which causes cramps, choking, nausea and vomiting before death.

Well, the city Health Department in a late Friday afternoon press release says it has linked two recent cases of botulism to tofu sold from a store in the Flushing section of Queens. It is advising New Yorkers to dump all fresh bulk tofu sold from a city store where it was being kept at room temperature, and to toss all tofu and fermented tofu stored without refrigeration at home.

There has only been one other documented case of botulism in the city in the past 15 years. Both patients under treatment are Chinese-speaking Flushing residents, officials said. They did not provide details of their current medical condition. No one was available from DOH last night to comment.

Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com/Flickr

A day after Mayor Mike Bloomberg held a press conference touting the successes of the city's letter grading system for restaurant health inspections, members of the City Council are saying that a majority of businesses don't actually like them.

Bloomberg, alongside the city's health commissioner, told reporters yesterday that requiring restaurants to post their letter grades has done nothing but good for the city since the policy was first implemented in 2010.

Most New Yorkers like seeing As, Bs, and Cs in restaurant windows, restaurant sales have jumped, more businesses have improved their cleanliness, and salmonella infections have gone down, the city reported.

Everyone wins, right?

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It's just one of those win-win-win kinda things.

In 2010, the city began requiring restaurants in the city to post letter grades based on health inspections. That means that restaurants that score badly -- due to things like pest-conducive kitchens or inadequate hand-washing facilities -- have to put up scarlet letters in their windows (like a "C") deterring customers from patronizing their business. Others with zero or minimal violations get to flaunt their "A" score in the window, luring in passersby into their squeaky-clean, healthy facilities.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg reported Tuesday that, during the time that the city has mandated these grades be posted, the city has seen a reduction in foodborne illnesses, restaurants have gotten cleaner, owners have had to pay fewer fines, New Yorkers have increasingly used the grades when making dining decisions, and total restaurant sales have increased. (Win-win-win-win! -- except for, you know, the restaurants that are losing).

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Sam Levin

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on a tour of the Hotel Trades Council Health Center with Dr. Robert Greenspan and Peter Ward, both from the HTC.

In her state-of-the-city address last month, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor, announced that the City Council would work with the Freelancers Union to launch a flagship health center that would provide low-cost care to the city's self-employed residents.

This morning, Quinn, alongside two other colleagues in the City Council and Freelancers Union Executive Director Sara Horowitz, toured the Hotel Trades Council's health center in Harlem, which she and the union plan on using as a model for a flagship clinic for freelancers in Brooklyn.

Runnin' Scared tagged along with the Council members and union reps for the hour-long tour, passing through dental offices, exam rooms, the center's pharmacy, and going up and down elevators, as the Hotel Trades representatives explained to Quinn how their operation works.

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