Study suggests rate of foetal alcohol syndrome disorder higher than thought

Up to 17% of children could have symptoms of FASD through mothers drinking during pregnancy, says new report

Up to 17% of children could have the symptoms of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) because their mothers drank during pregnancy, according to a new study, whose findings were criticised for potentially causing pregnant women to panic and seek an abortion.

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder is diagnosed from a collection of mental and physical problems in a child, including some distinctive facial features, such as a small head, small eyes and a thin upper lip. It can be associated with learning difficulties and mood problems.

Related: Is it wrong to drink alcohol while pregnant? Even the experts disagree

Related: The secret shame of being a sober mother

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2SfjD6A

Woman tells of ‘pregnancy’ that turned out to be 26kg ovarian cyst

Keely Favell lost third of her body weight after operation to take out growth discovered by obstetric ultrasound

A woman has told of how an ovarian cyst weighing 26kg (57lb) was removed from her body after doctors insisted at first that she must be pregnant.

Keely Favell lost a third of her body weight after surgery to remove the growth. She had started to gain weight in 2014, but only went to see a doctor about it in 2016 after she blacked out while at work.

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2P9YtVw

NHS trust at centre of baby deaths inquiry deemed 'unsafe'

Shrewsbury and Telford hospital’s A&E and maternity care is inadequate – regulator

The hospital trust at the centre of an inquiry into dozens of baby deaths and injuries has been declared inadequate by the NHS’s care regulator over its “unsafe” A&E and maternity care.

The move by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the latest blow to hit Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS trust, which has been under pressure over a growing catalogue of alleged breaches of care standards.

Related: Urgent action taken at NHS trust facing baby death inquiry

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TV8g5J

Lab-grown placentas 'will transform pregnancy research'

Cambridge team develops organoids or mini placentas to advance knowledge of stillbirth and pre-eclampsia

Scientists have grown “mini placentas” in a breakthrough that could transform research into the underlying causes of miscarriage, stillbirth and other pregnancy disorders.

The tiny organoids mimic the placenta in the early stages of the first trimester and will be used to understand how the tissue develops in healthy pregnancies, and what goes wrong when it fails.

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2P7hjwP

Who can afford to get pregnant? IVF 'baby scholarships' raise a class issue

Private foundations are now helping couples and individuals seeking fertility treatments in a country where IVF costs more than anywhere else on earth

In 2016, after seven years trying to conceive, New York state assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte was pregnant with twins. At 13 weeks, she lost one in a miscarriage. At five months, she went into preterm labor, and rushed to a New York hospital.

Doctors turned her away, saying they couldn’t give her a bed because of insurance issues and because it was against “hospital policy” to admit pregnant women before 23 weeks. She was driven to another hospital, where her baby, Jonah Bichotte Cowan, died shortly after birth.

Related: IVF is so hard to talk about. Thank you, Michelle Obama, for speaking out | Jean-Hannah Edelstein

Related: I’m a feminist. So why does infertility make me feel like a failure? | Katy Lindemann

Related: My IVF life: I'm pregnant, and I feel like hell

Related: The male infertility crisis: ‘My failure at fatherhood ate away at my very being’

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Sfn6SJ

French whistleblower welcomes committee studying babies with missing limbs

Epidemiologist in Rhône-Alpes who raised alarm says government move vindicates her work

The whistleblower who raised the alarm over clusters of babies born with missing upper limbs in France has welcomed the government’s decision to set up a national scientific committee to search for a cause.

Emmanuelle Amar said the move, announced by the health ministry, vindicated her work after she had been “dragged through the dirt”, and more importantly recognised the concerns of the families affected.

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DKfBQv

I had my baby in prison, so I know how jails are risking mothers’ lives | Anonymous

I have never felt so alone. To the staff, you are just another face, another number – and they don’t think about your baby

I was 16 weeks pregnant when I was sent to prison. When I arrived with my maternity notes in hand, I was left locked in a small room with 16 other women. I complained to the guard that I felt sick. Her response was: “Get used to it.” I proceeded to be sick all over myself.

Related: In prison I saw the futility of locking up women for minor crimes | Vicky Pryce

Related: Reforming female prisons will break the cycle of crime: my work shows this | Phillip Lee

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2qL45fo

Too many baby deaths avoidable, report into NHS finds

Each Baby Counts project analyses cases of stillbirth, neonatal death and babies born with brain damage

Seven out of 10 stillbirths, neonatal deaths and babies brain damaged at birth could be avoided if the NHS provided better care during labour, a new government-funded report has found.

The inquiry identified lack of staff, the pressure on maternity units and a failure by midwives and obstetricians to follow guidelines as common factors in such events.

Related: Folic acid to be added to UK flour in effort to reduce birth defects

Related: London women tell UN poverty envoy about impact of welfare cuts

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PqU8SY

Private IVF clinics urged to stop charging for expensive add-ons

Fertility experts criticise use of optional extras that do not increase chance of pregnancy

IVF clinics have been putting profits before patient care by charging clients for expensive treatment add-ons that have no proven effectiveness, according to a draft statement by fertility experts, practitioners and the sector’s regulator.

The consensus statement agreed by 11 organisations, including the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), expresses concerns about how frequently patients are being charged for optional extras that do not increase the chances of pregnancy.

Related: England adoption rates falling as IVF improves, says senior official

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2qIyb2V

'I felt lost and alone': Michelle Obama reveals experience of miscarriage – video

In an exclusive interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts, Michelle Obama reveals that she suffered a miscarriage 20 years ago and underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive her two daughters. The revelations come before Tuesday’s release of her memoir, Becoming

• Becoming Michelle will air on 11 November on ABC at 9pm ET
  
• Michelle Obama reveals miscarriage and IVF treatment in new book

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2yZZZVh

New pregnancy guidelines bring back weigh-ins and end routine vitamin D tests

Updated Australian advice recommends testing for hepatits C and better management of diet

Pregnant women will be offered a weigh-in at every antenatal visit and consistently advised about diet and exercise while routine vitamin D testing will be scrapped under updated pregnancy care guidelines.

Routine testing for hepatitis C at the first antenatal visit is also recommended.

Related: Alcohol labels warning of risk from drinking while pregnant 'will save lives'

Related: Use of caesarean sections growing at 'alarming' rate

Continue reading...

from Pregnancy | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2D2Giib