By ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG (NY Times) December 29, 2012 If you do something revolutionary but you don’t realize it, are you still courageous? For Lesley Brown, the woman who gave birth to the world’s first test-tube baby, the bravery was incidental. At age 16, Lesley met John Brown, a 21-year-old truck driver, in a cafe near the docks in Bristol, England. She was shunted among relatives most of her life and ran off with John almost on impulse. … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2012
Infertility rates haven’t changed much in 20 years
By Eryn Brown (LA Times) December 19, 2012 It can seem like infertility is on the rise, especially in developed countries as women wait longer to start families. But according to a new analysis of 277 surveys, conducted by researchers at the World Health Organization and other institutions, infertility trends around the world stayed largely the same from 1990 to 2010. Worldwide in 2010, 1.9% of women ages 20 to 44 who wanted to have babies … [Read more...]
OKC doctor: Lawmakers should check with constitutional lawyers first
BY ELI RESHEF, M.D. | Published: December 16, 2012 (The Oklahoman) In April, the Oklahoma Supreme Court unanimously rejected an effort to put “personhood” on the ballot. This proposition would have defined a fertilized human egg as a person. On Dec. 4, the court dealt a double blow to anti-abortion activists by unanimously ruling that two new state laws are unconstitutional. One would have required a woman to have an ultrasound at least one hour … [Read more...]
Some Herbal Remedies Can Be Useful During Pregnancy
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR (NY Times) THE FACTS Concerns about side effects are a primary reason many people turn to alternative medicine over pharmaceutical approaches. Pregnant women, it turns out, are no different. Studies show that up to half of women use herbal remedies during pregnancy, and many report it is partly because they hesitate to use medications. But herbal alternatives can have side effects of their own, and some may not live up to … [Read more...]