Drug Warnings and Pregnancy: A committee of the Teratology Society is recommending that the FDA modify the way drug warnings for pregnant women are labeled to include more complete information on the risks posed to a developing fetus. The society notes that inaccurate or confusing labeling results in the unnecessary termination of wanted pregnancies.

Progesterone’s Limited Usefulness: A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine finds that progesterone treatment is not effective at preventing preterm delivery in women carrying twins, though an earlier study indicated that progesterone can help prevent premature birth in women carrying a single baby who delivered a preemie previously. “This study shows that progesterone therapy is not beneficial for all women at risk for giving birth prematurely,” said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD, the NIH institute that supported the research network.

Ovarian Transplant Success: For the first time, doctors have performed a successful ovary transplant between two non-identical sister. The patient’s ovaries had been destroyed by her earlier cancer treatment, and she was ill before the availability of preserving fertility through egg or ovarian tissue freezing. After receiving her sister’s ovarian tissue, the woman began to ovulate, and doctors extracted two oocytes that were fertilized with her husband’s sperm. However, for reasons unknown, the resulting embryos did not develop.

Army Wives and Stress: A new study funded by the Pentagon finds a 42% increase in child abuse in families with a deployed parent since soldiers were sent to Afghanistan and Iraq. Among wives left behind, rates of neglect went up fourfold, and rates of physical abuse doubled. Army spokesman Paul Boyce notes that last month the Army directed $100 million towards programs that are to help support military families.

Down Syndrome, Early Detection, and Abortion: Research presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics finds that the introduction of noninvasive prenatal screening, consisting of an ultrasound and maternal blood test, has reduced the number of children with Down syndrome born in Denmark by 50% while also reducing the number of women undergoing invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (since women who do not test positive for Down syndrome with the noninvasive procedure are more likely to forgo further tests).

PGD News: Also presented at the European Society of Human Genetics conference is research that finds that preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), or genetic testing of embryos prior to implantation, does not result in babies with malformations at a higher rate than artificial reproduction technologies without PGD.

Don’t Hassle the Hoff: David Hasselhoff, currently of America’s Got Talent and previously of Baywatch and Knight Rider, was awarded primary custody of his two teenage daughters. His ex-wife has visitation rights. Mr. Hasselhoff had been temporarily blocked from seeing his daughters because of drunken video footage of the actor that had surfaced in May. Of the recent turn of events, Mr. Hasselhoff quipped that it was “”a beautiful day to go to the beach.” If this is not enough Hoff for you, our own mctex recently pointed us to this, her favorite music video of late.

College Athletics and Pregnancy: The NCAA’s committee on women in sports plans to spend time during its July meeting reviewing its guidelines on female athletes and pregnancy, particularly with regard to scholarships.  A recent news story of a Memphis track athlete who lost her scholarship when she became pregnant - and of other anonymous women who chose to have abortions rather than lose their college funding - has brought attention to the subject. Relatively few Division I schools in the NCAA have written policies on pregnant athletes.

Parental leave for dads, too: Under new British government proposals, when paid maternity leave is extended to twelve months in 2009, couples may decide for the dad to take the second six months of paid leave to care for the new baby as mom returns to work.

Building on its story about genetic testing and Down syndrome, the New York Times asks the question that is already rattling the abortion debate and will only become a more pressing issue with time:  If one is pro-choice, does that mean pro-choice regardless of how and why the choice to terminate is made� And if so, does natural human diversity become endangered� The Times notes that roughly 90% of all pregnant women whose babies screen positive for Down syndrome elect for an abortion. And now the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all pregnant women be screened for Down syndrome, a move that columnist George Will, who has an adult son with Down syndrome, called a “search-and-destroy mission” to eliminate a segment of the population deemed unworthy of life:

Nothing- nothing - in the professional qualifications of obstetricians and gynecologists gives them standing to adopt policies that predictably will have, and seem intended to have, the effect of increasing abortions in the service of an especially repulsive manifestation of today’s entitlement mentality�every parent’s “right” to a perfect baby.

Down syndrome is only the beginning. The Times article notes that studies show many women already choose to terminate pregnancies over less serious conditions. In some parts of the world, aborting female fetuses is rampant as couples strive for that all-important male baby. What happens if and when we can screen for sexuality, IQ, and athletic ability� Or what if I just really want a blue-eyed child� Does pro-choice mean supporting abortion�on demand regardless of why a mother wants to terminate a pregnancy?

…Kirsten Moore, president of the pro-choice Reproductive Health Technologies Project, said that when members of her staff recently discussed whether to recommend that any prenatal tests be banned, they found it impossible to draw a line -  even at sex selection, which almost all found morally repugnant.  “We all had our own zones of discomfort but still couldn’t quite bring ourselves to say, ‘Here’s the line, firm and clear’ because that is the core of the pro-choice philosophy,” she said. “You can never make that decision for someone else.”

And so, the article notes, two�traditional “liberal values” - right to choose and tolerance for difference - are on a collision course.

(more…)

For Rosemary and Sean (in this video segment accompanying a NYT article), the future was a blank.  Neither their doctor nor their genetic counselor knew of anyone with Down syndrome, and the available literature on the condition was either too clinical or too “warm and fuzzy” and contrived.  They wanted a clearer picture of what the future would hold for them.

So they were set up with Troy and his family. Troy, his parents, and his two older siblings volunteer with the National Down Syndrome Society.  They invite families who receive a Down syndrome diagnosis for their unborn child to spend the day with their family.  Jane, Troy’s mom, offers, “It’s just to say, hey, come meet my son, we have kind of a normal family, you know, we love each other, hate each other…it’s great.”  She admits that she has more to juggle than the typical mom, in terms of doctors’ and therapists’ appointments, and that Down syndrome “brings its own different issues, but every child has issues…having three, I realize, and sometimes I even say he’s the easiest out of all my three kids.”

A few months ago we looked at the issue of how doctors and genetic counselors “break the news” to new parents that their unborn baby has tested positive for Down syndrome.  Most often, parents were given a gloomy picture of what their child would be able to accomplish, and the subtle or overt message was that termination was the recommended course.  Parents of children with Down syndrome have been working to educate those in the medical profession, most of whom have no regular contact with people who have Down syndrome, so that they can give parents a more balanced picture of what life is like for families who live with the condition.

And now, some families are taking it further by bringing their children in to speak with the doctors and counselors themselves.  Many are also asking those in the medical profession to refer prospective parents whose babies have screened positive for Down syndrome directly to them before they make a decision about whether or not to seek abortions.

In general, the families’ motives are pretty straightforward:  They take delight in�their children, and they are alarmed that a Down syndrome diagnosis so often seems to be a trigger for pregnancy termination.  (Roughly 90% of all women who learn that they are carrying a baby with Down syndrome undergo abortions.)  There is a practical side to the movement, too:� Fewer people with Down syndrome means less medical research, less institutional support, and perhaps a lonelier�existence for those who remain.

Rosemary and Sean’s daughter Sophia is now one and a half.  They counsel other families who learn of  Down syndrome diagnosis.

Posted by MommaSteph.

Resident Baby: Actress and model Milla Jovovich and her fiance, movie director Paul Anderson, are expecting their first child, due this fall.

Breast Cancer News: A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that neither abortion nor miscarriage is associated with an increased risk for premenopausal breast cancer. Data was gathered from the 100,000+ participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II.� Of these women, 15% reported that they had had aboritons, and 21% had a history of miscarriage.  But of the 1,458 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed between 1993 and 2003, no association between cancer and abortion or miscarriage could be found.

Birthing News:� A study published in the February issue of Radiology finds that one in four babies born vaginally has a small amount of bleeding in and around the brain, most likely because of pressure on the skull during delivery.� This is not a signal to start scheduling that�elective C-section, though: “Obviously, the vast majority of us who were born vaginally and may have had these types of bleeds are doing just fine,”�[the researcher]�said. “Humans have been born vaginally for a very long time, and our brains probably evolved to handle vaginal birth without major difficulty.”

Drug News:� NovoLog, a drug developed to treat pregnant women with diabetes, now has a Category B rating from the FDA (formerly it was Category C), which means that it has not been found to cause harm to developing babies.

Law News:� The Colorado State Senate rejected�a bill that would allow�prosecutors to charge those who kill pregnant women with double homicide.� Relatives of two murdered pregnant women testified in favor of the bill, but pro-choice groups argued that such a law would put women who have abortions and those who perform them at risk of prosecution for murder.

Random Baby News:� Kevin Nealon (Weeds, SNL) and wife Susan Yeagley welcomed�their first child, Gable Ness Nealon, on Monday.�

The discussion on yesterday’s NewsSquawk item on Down syndrome screening jogged my memory about a story from a couple years ago, about how doctors handle communicating the news to expectant parents that a baby has tested positive for the chromosomal abnormality.

Brian Skotko, then a student at Harvard Medical School, surveyed over 1,000 members of Down syndrome parent organizations about the manner in which they learned that their children had the condition. Most of the respondents were mothers who had not undergone prenatal testing and received the news after giving birth, but whether the information was passed on pre- or postnatally, few mothers reported that the experience was at all positive.

One mother in the study reported that her genetic counselor “showed a really pitiful video first of people with Down syndrome who were very low tone and lethargic-looking and then proceeded to tell us (in 1999) that our child would never be able to read, write, or count change.”

Skotko notes that this mother’s experience is alarmingly common:

“My prenatal study says that mothers feel they are getting an inaccurate picture of Down syndrome, often without the most current information and balanced description of the possibilities and realities…This, of course, is coming at a critical time when many mothers are deciding whether or not to continue with their pregnancies.”

Skotko himself knows a little something about how people with Down syndrome can lead rich, productive lives: His sister Kristen has the condition. It was she who inspired Skotko to conduct his research and co-author the book Common Threads: Celebrating Life with Down Syndrome.

Kristin is one of my life coaches…Kirstin has taught me to persevere when life challenges, to smile when others frown, to give while others take. She has taught me to find treasures in hidden places and to understand that happiness really nestles within.

After his study was published, Skotko lent his support to the 2005 bipartisan Prenatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act, which proposed “to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the provision of scientifically sound information and support services to patients receiving a positive test diagnosis for Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions.”� Unfortunately, the bill did not proceed into law.

Nevertheless, Skotko gathered input from the mothers of Down syndrome children to script guidelines for how a diagnosis of the condition should be delivered:

• Results from the prenatal screening should be clearly explained as a risk assessment, not as a “positive” or “negative” result.
• Results from the amniocentesis or CVS should, whenever possible, be delivered in person, with both parents present.
• Sensitive language should be used when delivering a diagnosis of Down syndrome.
• If obstetricians rely on genetic counselors or other specialists to explain Down syndrome, sensitive, accurate, and consistent messages must be conveyed.
• Physicians should discuss all reasons for prenatal diagnosis including reassurance, advance awareness before delivery of the diagnosis of Down syndrome, adoption, as well as pregnancy termination.
• Up-to-date information on Down syndrome should be available.
• Contact with local Down syndrome support groups should be offered, if desired.

I would add that I think it would be ideal if genetic screeners and others who handle this sort of information hook up with Down syndrome advocacy groups, and meet with some families successfully working with the condition. It might help them with their delivery.

Posted by MommaSteph.

Sad update on missing Father:� A man missing since November 25, when he went searching for help after he and his family were trapped on a closed road in Oregon, was found on Wednesday.� Sadly, though his wife and two daughters were found alive earlier this week, James Kim did not survive.

Secondary use for RU-486:� Low doses of mifepristone, which is found in the abortion drug RU-486, have been found to shrink fibroid tumors and provide relief for women suffering from heavy bleeding, according to a University of Rochester study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

City children are slower to walk:� According to the Archives of Disease in Childhood, “stranger danger” and lack of green spaces reduce children’s opportunities for walking, putting them at risk for health consequences.� Green space refers to the environment, and would include open, uncongested areas.� Also linked to children who were�less strong�walkers were the number of cars owned by the family.

A presidential pregnancy:� Mary Cheney, the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, is pregnant.� Mary and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are reportedly due in the Spring of 2007.�

Finding a cure for Pompe?� A report published in the American Academy of Neurologyannounces that researchers have found a treatment involving enzyme replacement therapy that dramatically reduces�the risk of death for children with Pompe disease, a rare and very serious disorder that�causes profound muscle weakness and heart and breathing problems.�

Posted by Dorian.

This month MS magazine is publishing a petition�signed by�women who have had abortions and do not regret the decision. The criticism is heavy because many are saying that this petition is like a declaration of a proud moment in their lives and that it only boils down to a death list. The women who signed reason that they did so in order to help people understand that an abortion is a difficult decision, one that fills the woman with pangs of regret, self-doubt, and anguish,�and they will not feel ashamed by a decision they knew they had to make.

There are famous names on the list as well as regular women who had abortions to continue in school or because they found out that the child they were carrying had Down Syndrome.��

Personally, I would never sign this petition, and it is not because I am not for the right to choose.� The fact of the matter is an abortion is a horrendous procedure, a painful decision, and the last thing I would want is for a stranger to judge me and my life and what I thought was necessary to do at the time.�

Would you sign?

Posted by Katka V.