Jezebel
Maude's Minions
Posts Tagged “
Pregnancy
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Soon, pregnant women may not need to decide if pre-natal genetic testing is worth risking miscarriage: a new technique, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involves using bits of fetal DNA in the mother's blood to count chromosomes. Errors in chromosome number are an indication of physical and mental development problems. Only a sample of the mother's blood is needed, while current prenatal gene tests, such as amniocentesis, require inserting a needle into the uterus and carry a .5 percent risk of miscarriage. In addition to increased safety, doctors hope that the new test — which could be available in clinics in the next 2-3 years — will spot genetic problems such as Down Syndrome much earlier. [EurekAlert]
Maude's Minions
Leftovers
Orphaned Baby Deer Makes Us Melt • Indra Nooyi Named Most Powerful Woman By Forbes
• Squee! This baby deer, delivered via c-section after its mother was hit by a car is officially The Cutest Thing, Ever. • Speaking of C-sections, a new study has found that pregnant Asian women whose male partners are Caucasian are more likely to have a Cesarean than white women who have Asian or white male partners. • On Saturday, a Florida man was robbed by four women wearing overalls with no shirt or bra underneath and one larger woman wearing overalls with a long-sleeved shirt. • Sad news: The Louisiana home of author Kate Chopin burned to the ground early this morning. • More »
Leftovers
Amsterdam Hosts Pole-Dancing Championship • Texas Judge Orders Woman Not To Procreate
• Amsterdam hosted a European pole dancing championship last Friday in hopes of showing that the activity is a physically-challenging sport for "regular" women. • Ugh: A study of 4-year-olds in Australia suggets that parents are unintentionally enforcing "body ideals" in their children along gender lines (e.g., girls need to exercise more to loose weight; boys need to eat more to gain muscle). • A study of college students reveals that celebrity-loving can boost people's self-esteem because they assign celebrity traits to themselves. • A 35-year-old woman had a stroke after sex due to a possible combination of birth control pills, a venous blood clot, sex, and a heart defect. • More »
Spray Warning
A recent study at Edinburgh University reports that chemicals that are commonly found in cosmetics, household fabrics and plastics can restrict the action of androgens, causing fertility problems and future health risks for pregnant and female rats. Although the study does not categorically link the unspecified chemicals with harm on human babies, the researchers still caution expecting mothers against using cosmetic products that could be absorbed into their skin (like perfume) because it might harm their future child later in life. The chemicals may also increase the risk of testicular cancer in baby boys when they grow up. In any case, the research shows that there needs to be more research into the effects of chemical compounds in cosmetics for pregnant women. [BBC]
great expectations
I Am Fucking Sick & Tired Of Baby Bumps
The New York Sun is kind of the also-ran of New York papers, not exactly known for being groundbreaking, and frankly, I keep forgetting it exists. But it must be around, because Lenore Skenazy wrote a piece today called "Our Baby Bump Obsession," pegged to the birth of the all-healing Jolie-Pitt twin deities who, mere days after being welcomed onto this planet, earned $7 million a piece, much more than some of us will see in our lifetimes. Writes Skenazy: "Babies are hot." But with all the pregnancy updates and IVF info and keeping track of trimesters, she laments, "It has become hard to tell if you're reading a supermarket tabloid or Gynecology Today." And then there's all the tabloids, pointing at tummies, looking for a thing called a "baby bump": More »
Annals of Anorexia
Mike And Juliet Make Meme Out Of One Eating-Disordered Mom
The Morning Show With Mike and Juliet (think of them as the poor man's Regis and Kelly) had a special segment this morning about "pregorexia," or having anorexia while being pregnant. The pair sat down with Brie Breivik, a woman with a history of anorexia who became pregnant, to illustrate the condition (one's a trend!) and decided to bombard her with idiotic questions. After Brie explained the psychological elements of eating disorders to Juliet, and talked about how the desire to eat is trumped by the desire to control, Mike asked her why she didn't have cravings for "pickles!" and other food. Well, Mike, maybe she didn't have psychological cravings for weird food because she had no psychological cravings for any food. That's called an eating disorder! And that is why she is on your show. Clip above. More »
Joseph Sullivan, the principal of Gloucester High School who told Time magazine that some of the girls at his school had made a now infamous "pregnancy pact," has resigned. Sullivan quit after the mayor of Gloucester and other school officials held a press conference (to which Sullivan was not invited) and denied that the pact existed. Sullivan claims that the mayor has "publicly slandered my reputation, my integrity and my intelligence." Hey, while adults are arguing over the existence of a pregnancy pact, teens are still getting pregnant thanks to inept sexual education programs that vilify sex and ignore teen girls' need for birth control and safe-sex options! How about they focus on that right now? [AP]
Leftovers
Polish Baby Factory Is Open For Business • Date Rape Drugs May Be Banned In UK
A surrogate "baby factory" has opened in Poland where 37 young women are ready to give birth to babies for couples unable to conceive for roughly $22,000 a child. • An 84-year-old Nigerian man with 86 wives advises men against taking so many partners, but he was granted his power to "control" and "heal" women by God, so, you know, whatevs. • In the wake of the news that The Well of Loneliness is being reprinted for its 80th anniversary, one critic asks if there is still a need for the category of "lesbian literature." • Researchers have discovered that your natural body odor is determined by genetics, not simply your level of cleanliness. More »
Baby Trouble
A recent study at Aberdeen University in Scotland reports that two common treatments for fertility are essentially ineffective. The two treatments that were tested — artificial insemination and the drug clomid — were found to have a minor success rate (14% for clomid and 23% for insemination) which is not much greater than the success rate of women with unexplained infertility who don't use fertility treatments. While researchers point out that clomid is useful for women who have problems with ovulation, and both treatments reassure infertile women trying to get pregnant, the cost and risk of the treatments can be damaging to the patients. [BBC]
