January 29, 2010
Filed under: Infertility — Alan @ 4:10 am
Scientists have defined the reason that women have a harder time conceiving later in life, apparently once they reach the age of 30 they have already used around 90% of their ‘ovarian reserve.’
Although most women will continue to menstruate and produce eggs during their 30’s and 40’s, the reservoir of eggs has decreased substantially according to the study completed by Edinburgh University and the University of St. Andrews.
Adding to the difficulty of conception is the fact that the body chooses the most fertile eggs first, which means that as women age, the eggs they have left are of a lower quality, which decreases the chance of conception and heightens the risk of a healthy birth.
The study found that most women are born with around 300,000 egg cells, but that the pool quickly decreases much faster than formally accepted.
Co-author of the study, Dr. Hamish Wallace, stated that at age 30 a woman only has 12% of her eggs left and by the time she reaches 40 about 3%. He continued to say that society as a whole has been overestimating prospects for fertility.
In general, the research pointed out that women make the mistake of believing if they are menstruating they can still conceive, but in reality the chances of conception decrease each year.
Dr. Wallace stated that information from the research could help women who are at risk of early menopause and those who have ovarian cancer since it will determine the best time to freeze eggs.
January 26, 2010
Filed under: Sudden Infant Death — Alan @ 7:42 am
Experts now believe that the reason that exposure to smoke can increase the risk of cot death in babies is because baby’s that inhale smoke via the mother during pregnancy often suffer damage to their body’s natural ability to control blood pressure.
At the moment, mother’s that smoke have the highest risk rate for losing a child to cot death.
A research team from the Karolinksa Institute in Sweden found that babies that have been exposed to smoke often experience odd surges in their blood pressure, which can occur even while sleeping in their cots away from smoke.
The surges force the heart to beat harder and faster which in turn can damage circulation and cause sudden infant death.
The study was actually created to look at how a newborn is affected by smoking in the womb, but after the lead researcher Dr. Gary Cohen and his team looked over the plight of 36 newborn babies, out of which, 17 had smoking mothers, they found that the babies had poor heart rates and blood pressure throughout their initial few years of life.
Dr. Cohen stated that there are persistent problems in the regulation of blood pressure in babies that having smoking mothers and that although the problems first appear at birth they worsen gradually over time.
He continued to state that the study then took on a new focus becoming the first to suggest that tobacco exposure while in the womb can lead to lasting problems with an infant’s ability to control their own blood pressure.
January 21, 2010
Filed under: Celebrity babies — Alan @ 5:40 am
According to her friends, Madonna has checked with doctors about the chances of getting pregnant by her new lover Jesus Luz, even though she is age 51 and already has four children.
Luz on the other hand, is only 22 and told Madonna that it would be the ‘greatest adventure’ for him if he were to become a father.
According to friends, Madonna told him that he would be a great father and that she has plenty of love to spread in her heart for another child.
At the moment, Madonna is mother to Lourdes by Charlos Leon, Rocco by Guy Ritchie, and two Malawian orphans that she adopted named Mercy James and David Banda.
A close friend of Madonna’s commented that it will hard for her to conceive on her own given her age, but that she is extremely fit and feels that motherhood is the most fulfilling part of life.
Madonna has been with Luz for over two years having met him directly after leaving Ritche at a Brazilian photo shoot. According to the same friend, Luz is in love with her and loves her children as well, but would like his own.
Madonna has made no secret about how much she enjoys motherhood stating that even if she had the most money in the world it would not compare to her children. She even went as far as to publish a children’s book.
January 19, 2010
Filed under: IVF — Alan @ 6:28 am
An IVF clinic has raised many ethical questions after it offered treatment to a woman who is 59 years old. Susan, Tollefsen, set a record for the offer as being the oldest woman in the UK ever offered aid with conception.
Private clinics usually follow a general guideline that they will not offer treatment for any woman that is past the age of 50 and the NHS stops offering treatment at age 39.
However, Mrs. Tollefsen, may now be able to get help conceiving from the Women’s Clinic on Harley Street in London, which for her be much more convenient, given she conceived her first child at age 47 with the help of a Moscow fertility clinic.
Tollefsen stated that she is still incredibly healthy and filled with energy so there is no reason why she should not consider having another child. She continued to state that while others her age are looking forward to retirement she is looking forward to taking her children to school and being a mother.
However, many people are concerned about how other pensioner parents may react to the news and that the law should enact an age limit to prevent a large influx of pregnant retirees.
Life national charity member Michaela Aston stated that if she gets the go ahead she will be treated, but that there needs to be an accountability and responsibility factor involved when it comes to parenting. She went further to say that having children after 60 is irresponsible and focused on self-interest and not the child.
January 14, 2010
Filed under: Celebrity babies — Alan @ 6:03 am
Although she has refused to comment on rumours over the past few weeks about pregnancy, Dannii Minogue finally confirmed yesterday that she is three months pregnant. The baby is due in July and its father is Minogue’s boyfriend Kris Smith.
The couple was seen yesterday leaving a hospital in Melbourne. She has not yet commented on if she will continue to be a judge on the highly rated X Factor.
Sources that know the singer stated that she plans to continue working, but insiders on the X Factor stated that she will not return to the next season.
Minogue is 38 and her boyfriend Smith are both said to be excited about the impending baby.
After being photographed leaving the hospital with a small bump visible to the world under her summer dress she Twitted that she was in going to be a mother, followed by her boyfriend’s response that he was going to be a father.
Minogue’s sister, Kylie the petite popstar, also Twitted her congratulations to the happy couple and that she was very excited to be an Aunt once more.
Spokesman for Dannii Minogue, Simon Jones, stated that the couple are both happy and are excited to start their new family come 2010. The two have been with each other since 2008.
An insider at the X Factor stated that although Minogue had one of best years on the show in 2009 there are a few producers who felt it was time for a new judge to replace her before the pregnancy was announced.
Contenders for her spot possibly include Mel B and Robbie Williams.
January 7, 2010
Filed under: IVF — Alan @ 7:54 am
A new decision made by the NHS Sutton and Merton is raising controversy as it was decided that women that are in their late 30’s are no longer eligible for full IVF Treatment.
As of now the trust will now only offer a single cycle of IVF treatment to women that fall in the age range of 30 to 36 which is a vast difference from the two cycles that were offered to women between the ages of 23 to 29.
Even though the cut may be devastating for some women, it is better than the large initial cuts that were originally planned after patients and councillors raised accusations of ageism.
Health bosses said that the new cut had to be made in order for clinics to catch up with the waiting list of patients that is lengthy in the boroughs for those who need help conceiving. In the statement that announced the upcoming chance the NHS admitted that its plan only offer one cycle to women between the ages 25 to 34 was unfair.
Paul Burstow, Member of Parliament for Sutton and Chearn, stated that the issue is very emotional since IVF concerns women having the ability to conceive children.
He added that while decreasing the amount of cycles that can be offered to the women by one count may help the Trust save money but will be more damaging since it will reduce the amount of women that are able to help children.
Burstow continued to comment that only one in four women is able to conceive in just one cycle of treatment which makes the cut even crueller.
January 6, 2010
Filed under: IVF — Alan @ 8:00 am
A new report shows that there are possibly many mistakes being made at IVF clinics, however, the report is inconclusive since there is no solid evidence.
Government inspectors issued a warning about IVF’s, in that patients are not protected against mistakes, which led the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to admit that there are ways that the clinics could improve.
However, the organization claims that they have made strides forward to fix the problems which will either be proved or discounted next week when the report concerning the embryo mix-up at the London Guys and St. Thomas Hospital is published.
The report will also test to see if clinics are regulated fairly by the HFEA which is another criticism that IVF clinics are facing from government inspectors.
The mix-up that led to the investigation occurred in February when three women had to have their embryos destroyed because they were fertilized with the sperm of the wrong men. The mistakes echoed the earlier mistakes of a clinic in Leeds which resulted in a white couple giving birth to a multi-race child.
The HFEA will not comment on either set of mistakes until the investigation report is released. A licence committee is due to meet on Monday to discuss what happened and where the mistake lay so that the same mistake can be prevented in the future.
Although the watchdog organization for IVF clinics claims that such incidents are still extremely rare a patient safety expert and a leading fertility lawyer warn that there could be more mistakes that are not reported.
January 2, 2010
Filed under: Names — Alan @ 5:19 am
Jack has secured the title of the most popular boys name for the 15th year in a row, making it the most popular names of the decade as well. For girls, Olivia topped the list of 2009 girl’s names earning the title for two years in a row after it beat out Grace in 2008.
The name Lucas continued to make wide strides up the popularity chart, rising 24 places up to number 15 and for girls the name Maisie was up an incredible 29 places finishing in 41st place. Layla also finished off the year nicely, up 21 places to land in the 46th spot and Lexi made the jump up 18 spots to finish at spot 43.
In the list of the most popular children’s names compiled by Bounty the parenting club, Sienna also made a 15 space jump. Other big movers were Madison and Lola which rose by seven and ten places respectively.
For the boy’s names on the list the moniker Sebastian jumped up 18 places to 80th most popular name, and Joel moved from position 93 up to 79. Also up 13 places from 2008 were Noah, Logan, Oscar, and Aiden. The name Archie moved up by 12 slots.
The largest losers for the males’ names this year were Ryan and Rhys which fell by 13 and 14 places respectively. For the girls, the names Abbie, Hannah, Eve, Keira, Caitlin, and Rebecca each fell down the charts substantially.
Spokesperson for Bounty Faye Mingo said that parents seemed to be choosing celebrity names for baby girls.
