rgu - Mum of triplets struggles through to graduate

Iboro Edem (29), who has successfully completed her course despite giving birth to triplets only four months ago, will graduate at 2.30pm on Thursday 4 December with an MSc in International Marketing from the Robert Gordon University

Iboro, from Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, originally studied Communication Arts and worked as a Client Service Executive at LTC-JWT Advertising until 2005 when she joined Virgin Nigeria Airways as a Marketing Coordinator, responsible for branding and marketing communication. Iboro said, "I wanted to add more value to my CV and pursue new challenging responsibilities in multinational companies, so enrolled for the Masters at the Robert Gordon University."

Iboro and her husband Emmanuel Jude had to put all their savings towards her studies. Indeed, they were both accepted to study in the UK, but because they did not have enough finances to study simultaneously, he had to defer his offer while he continued to work in Nigeria to support her.

Five months before Iboro began the course in September last year, she sadly suffered a miscarriage when she was 20 weeks pregnant. She continues, "It was a very traumatic period for us." However, after one of her husband’s visits to her in November 2007, Iboro found out she was pregnant again.

Early in her pregnancy she went for a scan and discovered she was expecting triplets. She continues, "It was really shocking because there is no history of multiple births in either of our families. However, we accepted it as God's blessing for our previous loss."

Iboro continues, "It was not easy attending classes and carrying so much weight around. Sitting up to study and doing my coursework was very uncomfortable. I could not put in as much effort as I would have liked to and had to seek assistance from friends and lecturers to help with such things as borrowing heavy books from the library. I had to deal with fatigue, swollen feet, and pelvic pain from the weight. It was a relief after the second semester since I did not have to go out every day to attend lectures and could work on my dissertation from home."

At 34 weeks Iboro had to be admitted to hospital for close monitoring in case she went into early labour, with the target date for an elective c-section at 36 weeks so that the babies would be able to survive without neonatal care. At 35 weeks and six days, on 24 July, Iboro gave birth to three healthy baby boys Nathaniel, Johnathan and Ethan.

Iboro's mum came over to Aberdeen to help with the babies and stayed so that Iboro could complete her dissertation. She continues, "Being a go-getter, I just had to keep going with my dissertation even though I knew I was straining my health and was not giving the babies all the attention they required. I had the option of deferring but I chose to continue and, barely a month after giving birth, I returned to complete my studies. Even though the babies would be more settled when they are a few months older, my mum would not be here to help out and that would mean incurring expenses on child care.

"There were days when I barely wrote a sentence because I was shuttling from one baby to the other; however I made sure that I worked every other day. Most times, while my mum held two babies, I held one with one arm while typing my dissertation with the other!

"I was given an extension for my dissertation submission and was determined to meet this deadline. The babies needed to feed every three hours and just when we managed to feed the last one, we realised it was almost time for the next feed. So, I had to eat, scribble some words, and prepare to feed them again. I hardly ever had three hours straight sleep at night, and of course there was hardly any sleep during the day.

Regardless of how hectic it's been, studying here has been really worthwhile. Meeting people from different parts of the world and learning more about their cultures has been quite an experience. I thank my friends and lecturers, who were very helpful and supportive, without whom things would have been almost impossible. I thank God, my darling husband, our triplets, my family and in-laws for their love and support."

triplets products

Twin Faith still very ill in hospital

A BABY girl remained seriously ill in hospital last night after her conjoined twin died following emergency surgery to separate them.

Hope Williams died on Tuesday night after “one of the most complex and challenging operations” ever faced by medical staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, in London. Surgeons have given her sister Faith a 50-50 chance of survival, and she is still in a stable condition in intensive care.

A Great Ormond Street spokeswoman said: “Faith Williams is a very sick little girl. Great Ormond Street Hospital is doing everything it can for her.”

The twins were joined from the breastbone to the top of the navel and had a shared liver but separate hearts.

The girls’ mother, 18-year-old Laura Williams, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, is Britain’s youngest mother to give birth to conjoined twins. The twins’ father, Aled, hails from Anglesey.

Medical staff warned Mrs Williams and her 28-year-old husband that their babies might not survive after a 12-week scan revealed the problem but they refused to consider a termination.

inthenews - Caesarean birth 'increases asthma risk'

Children born by caesarean section are more prone to asthma than those delivered naturally, research claims.

A report published in the journal Thorax today found that by the time children were eight years old those who had been born by caesarean section were 80 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with the respiratory condition.

In a survey of almost 3,000 children, the connection between caesareans and asthma was even stronger for the nine per cent of children with two allergic parents.

They were almost three times more likely to be asthmatic by the time they were eight, compared with children whose parents were not allergic, who were around 36 per cent more likely to have this diagnosis.

The authors of today's report claim that the link between caesarean sections and an increase of asthma may lie in the timing of the priming of the immune system, as caesarean delivery delays exposure to microbes.

"The increased rate of caesarean section is partly due to maternal demand without medical reason," they claim.

"In this situation the mother should be informed of the risk of asthma for her child, especially when the parents have a history of allergy or asthma."

times - Frozen IVF embryos produce healthier children, researchers claim

IVF produces healthier children when embryos are frozen and thawed before being transferred to the womb, according to new research.

Babies born from frozen IVF embryos are less likely to be born prematurely or underweight than are those conceived during fresh treatment cycles, three independent teams of scientists have found. One of the studies also recorded lower rates of stillbirth and early death among frozen-embryo babies.

The results, from researchers based in the United States, Australia and Finland, suggest that far from being riskier than conventional IVF, as is generally thought, cycles using frozen embryos may actually be safer.

The research is particularly significant because separate teams from three countries have reached the same conclusion, each using large samples including thousands of IVF cycles. A fourth team, from Denmark, also reported similar findings earlier in the year.

Scientists said the work would be important because women are increasingly encouraged to use just one fresh embryo during IVF, to guard against damaging twin and triplet births, and to freeze any that are left over for later use. It will dispel doubts about whether this policy trades the risks of multiple births for hazards associated with frozen embryos.

Allan Pacey, secretary of the British Fertility Society, said: “This all works to the advantage of single embryo transfer. It suggests it might be better from the point of view of a healthy child to go for frozen embryos, which is an integral part of the strategy. People shouldn’t be scared of frozen embryos.”

The studies, presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in San Francisco, do not explain why babies born from frozen embryos seem to do better, but there are several hypotheses.

When fresh embryos are used in treatment, women may still be under the influence of powerful hormonal drugs used to stimulate their ovaries into producing extra eggs, or the anaesthetics used during egg collection. Either of these may interfere with the endometrial lining of the womb, and thus with the formation of the placenta.

Another possibility is that as some frozen embryos generally fail to survive thawing, this effectively “weeds out” those that are of poor quality. A third possibility is that women who produce lots of good quality embryos are more likely to have frozen cycles, and also have a lower risk of complicated pregnancies.

“These findings are really quite interesting,” Dr Pacey said. “It kind of defies logic to a certain extent. It seems to be an issue with the formation of the placenta, but how it has an effect isn’t known.

“This may be a bit of biology that has escaped most people. The assumption has always been that if the endometrium [the womb lining] is thick, it’s functional. In an IVF cycle, the endometrium looks normal on ultrasound, but perhaps there is something subtle going on.”

Despite their apparent health benefits, however, frozen IVF cycles are unlikely to supplant fresh ones as the routine option because they have a lower success rate. In Britain, 24.4 per cent of fresh cycles lead to a live birth, compared to 17.4 per cent of frozen cycles. There were 33,916 fresh cycles performed in 2006, and 7,911 frozen cycles.

“Frozen embryo transfers are not as successful as fresh ones in terms of getting a pregnancy,” Dr Pacey said. “So it may be that we have to balance the health of children against chances of success."

The first of the new studies, led by Suleena Kansal Kalra, of the University of Pennsylvania, compared 4,796 frozen cycles to 10,992 fresh cycles in which surplus embryos were available for freezing.

For singleton babies, fresh cycles were 50 per cent more likely than frozen ones to lead to low birth weight, and 10 per cent more likely to lead to premature birth. For twins, both risks were 25 per cent higher for fresh embryos than for frozen.

“Fresh embryo transfer is significantly associated with low birth weight and pre-term delivery in both singletons and twins,” Dr Kansal Kalra said.

In the Australian study, a team led by Professor Gordon Baker, of Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, compared all IVF singleton births in the city’s IVF units between 1991 and 2004. It found that 11 per cent of fresh embryo babies were born underweight and 12.3 per cent were born prematurely, compared to 6.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent of frozen embryo babies. The rate of perinatal death was also higher among the fresh group, at 1.87 per cent compared to 1.16 per cent.

The Finnish study, from Oulu University Hospital, compared 2,052 frozen embryo singleton babies to 2,343 born after fresh IVF cycles, and found those in the latter group were 35 per cent more likely to be born prematurely and 64 per cent more likely to be born underweight.

“Frozen embryo transfer singletons have better outcomes compared with singletons born after fresh embryo transfer, when examining birth weight or gestational age at birth,” the scientists said.

Some scientists believe that frozen embryo transfer may also have advantages for IVF success, even though its pregnancy rates have traditionally been lower than for fresh cycles. A new cryopreservation technique called vitrification allows more embryos to survive thawing than the older slow-freezing method on which these comparisons are based, and using it could help by allowing doctors to transfer embryos when the womb is most receptive.

Mandy Katz-Jaffe, of the Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine, said: “In a normal IVF cycle, patients have their embryo transfer while the uterus is still affected by the drugs they take to stimulate the ovaries. Vitrification allows the patient’s body to get rid of the drugs, and to grow a new endometrial lining.”

nj.com - Report links estrogen levels to joint replacement surgery for women

Women who've had multiple births, are on hormone replacement therapy or underwent early puberty are at significantly higher risk for knee or hip replacement surgery, reports one of the largest studies to look at the relationship between reproductive issues and joint replacement surgery.

The findings, published on-line today ahead of print in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, are based on the experiences of some 1.3 million middle-aged women in the United Kingdom. Researchers at the University of Oxford tracked the women beginning in 1996 for about six years -- from around the age of 50 upwards -- to see if they had a knee or hip replaced due to osteoarthritis, an inflammatory joint disease.

A little more than 12,000 required a hip replacement by the end of the study period and just under 10,000 needed a knee replacement.

After quizzing the women on how when they had their first and last periods, how many children they had and whether they had used oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), several patterns emerged.

If a woman started menstruation before the age of 11, her probability of having both hip and knee replacement surgery increased between 9 and 15 percent, the researchers found. Every successive birth increased the risk of a hip replacement by 2 percent and a knee replacement by 8 percent.

While previous use of oral contraceptives did not appear to have an effect, current use of hormone replacement therapy boosted the chances of a hip replacement by 38 percent and of a knee replacement by 58 percent, the study found.

"These findings, along with other evidence, strongly suggest that the female sex hormone, estrogen, plays a role in the development of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee and the subsequent need for joint replacement," lead study author Bette Liu, of the University of Oxford, said in an e-mail to The Star-Ledger.

Estrogen is a female sex hormone that controls the reproductive cycle, and prepares the body for pregnancy.

Liu cautioned that the is evidence is not strong enough to recommend women change their use of HRT. In fact, the study suggests that such "non-biological factors" as women having greater access to health services if they are on hormonal therapy could be a factor in them having joint replacement surgery.

Overall, women have a higher incidence of osteoarthritis, in particular of the knee, when compared to men, the study notes.

timesonline - Best of Times, Worst of Times: Jackie Clune

Jackie Clune, 42, is an actress and stand-up comedian. Three years ago she gave birth to triplets: Frank, Thady and Orla. Here she recalls her shock at learning she was pregnant, and how she coped with their battle to survive

I didn’t ever think I was going to have children. It wasn’t something I yearned for. Then I met Richard and suddenly felt very settled. I had my first child, Saoirse, when I was 37 — a dream baby. Then, 11 months later, I fell pregnant again. Rather casually, I left the first scan until 14 weeks. When they told me there were three, I was absolutely horrified. But then this innate Pollyanna sensibility kicked in and I thought: “It’ll be all right.” I’m not a worrier, which is lucky, because I could have worried myself to death over this. I phoned the Twins and Multiple Birth Association. The first thing the woman said was “Congratulations, you’re a very special lady,” which appealed to the diva in me enormously.

I tottered into my appointment with a foetal medicine expert saying: “I’m having triplets! I’m special!” He then explained all the risks: placental failure, miscarriage, chromosomal abnormality, early labour and the possibility of them not surviving their first few weeks of life. After that I didn’t feel special any more: I felt like a cat producing a litter.

It took months to get my head around it. We didn’t have any money. We’d just bought a big house in north London and didn’t know how we were going to pay the mortgage. I was doing bits of stand-up, but our income was pretty low. By 20 weeks I looked full-term. By week 30 I was hiring mobility scooters at Asda.

I couldn’t get upstairs, couldn’t sit, couldn’t stand, couldn’t sleep. It was just atrocious. I begged to be delivered at 31 weeks because I couldn’t breathe.

I felt as though I had a family of labradors sitting on my chest, and it was scaring me. By the time I delivered at 35 weeks, my stomach measured 55 inches and I’d lost my sense of humour completely.

There were 20 people in the operating theatre for my caesarean. Boy number one, Frank, was whisked past me to the Nicu [neonatal intensive care unit]. Then his identical twin, Thady, disappeared. Their sister, Orla, the smallest, was fine, but by 10 o’clock that evening, 12 hours later, I still hadn’t seen the boys. I’d been told a day in the womb is equal to a week in an incubator, but it hadn’t hit me what that actually meant.

Finally, a paediatrician said the boys’ lungs were very immature and they’d both been intubated. When I eventually saw them they had wires everywhere and huge tubes stuck down their gullets. At first we were told they’d be there for a few hours, which turned into weeks. The doctors tried to take them off their respirators, but they couldn’t cope. It was days before I even touched them.

I’d shuffle round to deliver expressed breast milk, and when I came back Orla would be lying silently in the dark, which made me cry. It was as if she’d got used to the idea that she had to share me.

After a couple of weeks the boys’ nasal tubes were taken out for a few minutes to let me breast-feed. Then, one day when I’d just fed Thady, I turned round to pick up Frank and I heard a nurse behind me say: “Call a doctor!”

In those seconds Thady had stopped breathing and was changing colour from pink to blue. He was rushed away and I watched as if it were an episode of ER.

It felt like an out-of-body experience.

I’d felt guilty I hadn’t bonded with the boys, but in that instant I was so upset and shocked and shaken, the floodgates of maternal love opened. The Nicu was a place of extraordinary emotional extremes. One night, a mum lost a baby. I was awake and heard her screaming, and In the morning the cot next to Frank’s was empty. The other extreme was the baby born on Christmas Day weighing under 500 grams. He’d been there five months and I never once saw anyone visit. A nurse said: “Sometimes the mothers never come back.”

When I brought them home, people said: “How will you manage three newborns and a toddler?” But having a five-year-old and three three-year-olds is much harder. I’ve also done a few big runs: Mamma Mia! when they were seven months old, and now Billy Elliot, and I’m pathologically tired. The boys battle constantly. It can’t be easy having a brother who looks just like you and who has the toy you want. I’ve tried to be a bit existential about it, but you still want to brain them. When I was pregnant they were all crunched together, nose to cheek, elbows sticking in each other’s bums, and they’re still like that — they move in a huddle, battling like mad. Thady is the most difficult. He screams and cries and throws himself on the floor and it’s hard not to get wound up — he really does push you over the edge. But somehow I’m able to take a step back, because everything that happened informs my relationship with him. I remember the day I saw him nearly die and something in me goes: “It’s okay. He’s having a tantrum, but he’s here.”

Jackie Clune is now appearing as Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London

bbc - Sextuplets born in Berlin clinic

The first German sextuplets for 20 years have been born in a clinic in the capital Berlin and are said to be in a stable condition.

Independent specialists said that the four girls and two boys, who each weigh between 800 and 900 grams (1.8-2lb), had a good chance of survival.

The first confirmed case of sextuplets surviving past infancy was recorded in Cape Town in South Africa in 1974.

They remain rare, occurring in about one out of 4.5m pregnancies.

Correspondents say multiple births have become more common with the advent of hormone therapies and in vitro fertilisation.

The babies were born prematurely at 27 weeks in Berlin's Charite clinic on Thursday, the clinic said on Monday.

The names of the parents were not being released immediately.

telegraph - EU to offer 18 weeks fully paid maternity leave

The plan, to be announced by the EU's social affairs commissioner Vladimir Spidla, will impose six weeks of compulsory leave for new mothers after the birth, with the remaining 12 weeks to be split either before or after the child is born.

Under existing laws, introduced in 1992, the EU enforces a minimum of 14 weeks of fully paid leave.

Brussels sets the minimum length of maternity leave and pay, but member states may offer more generous provisions beyond this level.

Maternity leave periods range from 14 weeks in Germany and 16 weeks in France, the Netherlands and Spain, to 45 weeks in Bulgaria.

Sweden is particularly generous, offering a year of parental leave at full pay, which can be transferred to the father.

The UK also offers 52 weeks of maternity leave, 39 of which are paid, but at a rate of 90 per cent of their average pay for six weeks and a fixed sum of £117.18 a week for the other 33 weeks.

The government has broadly welcomed the commission's desire to increase the length of maternity leave.

But it is concerned that if accompanied by an increase in pay, the UK might be forced to reduce its allowable period of maternity leave.

An official with the British mission to the EU told The Daily Telegraph: "It would have a huge cost to the public purse, and we don't want to be weighing up the length of time mothers take off against what they are paid."

The Conservative Party has attacked the proposals as "ill-judged" and wants them reconsidered.

"Decisions regarding maternity leave and maternity pay should be made by national governments, not the EU," said Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP, the Conservative leader and employment spokesman in the European parliament. "It is not for Brussels to tell British mothers and fathers how much leave they should take.

"Small businesses will struggle to afford this extra cost. Ultimately some of the smallest businesses may think twice about employing young women through fear of them going on maternity leave."

Following Ireland's vote against the EU's Lisbon Treaty, some Brussels officials are eager to enthuse people with a series of more generous, socially oriented proposals.

The plan, which must yet be approved by EU member states and the European Parliament, would force employers to offer additional leave in the case of premature childbirth, when an infant that is hospitalised at birth or in the event of multiple births.

Mothers would also win the right to return to the same job or a similar one but with the same terms and conditions.

Employers would find it harder to fire mothers within six months of the end of the maternity leave. If dismissed within this period, they could ask for a written explanation.

northern-times - Airlift drama as twins arrive early

SPECIALIST staff and emergency equipment were flown by air ambulance from Inverness and Aberdeen to the Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie on Monday as a mother went into premature labour with twins.
Justine Ainsworth, from Loth, near Helmsdale, went into labour on Monday, in the 31st week of her pregnancy, and was taken to Golspie as delivery seemed imminent.

Twin number one (Milo) was born at 10.37am by natural delivery and weighed in at 4lbs. However, support was requested from Raigmore Hospital in Inverness after twin number two (Max) kept everyone waiting and it was decided to deliver him by Caesarian section.Staff and equipment from Raigmore were taken by road and air to Golspie, a specialist neo-natal retrieval team was flown in from Aberdeen, and a staff member based in Wick drove down to Golspie.
Max was born at 1.20pm and transferred by helicopter to Raigmore, while mum and Milo went by road. Justine and the boys are now recovering well and have had a visit from dad, Leon, and big brother Luke (13 months).
Director of nursing and midwifery at Raigmore, Heidi May, said this week: "The staff have responded fantastically well in difficult circumstances. We're very pleased with the twins' progress and are continuing to monitor their condition closely."
Justine and Leon want to say a big thank-you to all the staff involved at Raigmore and the Lawson, as well as those from Wick and Aberdeen. In particular they praised the midwives from Golspie, Brora and Helmsdale – Beatrice Oliphant, Kay Mackinnon and Janice Macrae – and consultant obstetrician Dr Brian Reid and his team at Raigmore.
Said Justine: "Everyone was very calm and we are very grateful to them. We would also like to thank our childminder, Denise Mackay, for taking in Luke at such short notice."

mirror - My baby gave her twin cancer... in the womb

Weeks after she gave birth to two girls Alissa Dunn was dealt a double blow – in an incredibly rare case one of her daughters caught cancer from the other. Here she describes their fight..
When my two-month-old daughter Maddie’s stomach became bloated I didn’t think it was anything serious.
Even when she vomited, I thought it would be nothing more than a tummy upset. But at a check-up for Maddie and her identical twin sister Bella, the doctor told me she needed to go to hospital.
I began to fear the worst. And soon my fears were confirmed – Maddie had cancer.
But a few days later things got worse. Maddie had given it to her twin sister too, while they were both growing in my womb
I’d had a trouble-free pregnancy. Maddie and Isabella – who we call Bella – were born at 37-and-a-half weeks on July 4.
Isabella was born first at 4.28am, weighing 5lb 12oz. Then under 15 minutes later Maddie came along, weighing 5lb 8oz.
I had a feeling I was having boys so it was surreal when I saw these two perfect little girls. We already had a son, Isaiah, three, but I’d always wanted a girl so I felt our family was complete.
Just 24 hours later I took the girls home. They were very docile babies, and by eight weeks they were sleeping through the night.
Then, a few days before their two-month check-up, Maddie seemed a bit off-colour. Her tummy was slightly bloated and she vomited too.
The doctor prescribed drops, for wind, but she was still unwell at her check-up. The doctor said Maddie needed X-rays and I began to feel that something was horribly wrong.
On the way to the hospital I looked at my husband Michael, 32, and without thinking, I blurted out: ‘What if it’s cancer?’
I don’t know why it crossed my mind. But I clung to Bella while the doctors ran tests on Maddie.
A few hours later doctors broke devastating news.
Maddie had a neuroblastoma – a massive cancerous tumour in her abdomen. She was admitted to intensive care, where the doctors fussed round, covering her in tubes and wires as I willed her to pull through.
It was the worst moment of my life. I had to stay strong for Bella and Isaiah but all I could think about was Maddie lying in her tiny incubator.
Then, three days later, when she came to visit, I noticed that Bella’s tummy was swollen too. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
We rushed to tell the doctors straight away. I prayed there was no way lightning could strike twice.
But after countless tests, the doctors diagnosed Bella with cancer too.
It didn’t feel real.
The only difference was that while Maddie had a tumour, Bella didn’t. Her body was full of cancerous cells – in her bone marrow and blood, but not growing in a ball like Maddie’s. The doctors decided there was only one way it could have happened – Bella had ‘caught’ cancer from her sister through the placenta while they were still in the womb.
Because they shared the same blood, the cancer had passed between them. It was only the ninth recorded case of it happening in the world. The girls needed urgent treatment.
Maddie’s cancer was stage four – the worst kind.
I knew deep down what the prognosis could be, but it was still a shock when the doctors said that she only had a 20 per cent chance of survival.
Bella would have to go through chemotherapy too. All I could do was hope the doctors could mend their tiny bodies before the cancer took hold completely. They lay in intensive care surrounded by wires while I looked on helplessly.

Watching the girls fight it was agony. Worst of all I couldn’t pick them up because of risk of infection. And they were in so much pain that touching would have worsened it.
As their mum there was nothing I could do. I told myself I had to stay strong so they could take strength from me. I was sure they could feel my desperation, though.
And the girls were so amazing throughout they made us braver. No matter how much they were poked by the doctors, they would just cry for a second and then let the doctors get on with it. They were my inspiration.
But as their tufts of soft hair fell out from the chemo, my heart broke. I should have been watching my girls grow into toddlers, not waiting to find downy hair on their pillows.
While Isaiah stayed at home with my family, Michael, my mum and I lived in a special house for families with children at the hospital, so we could be close to the girls.
Maddie was on a ventilator because she couldn’t breathe on her own and they were both on big doses of morphine.
But I needed to be with Isaiah too. He was so young and needed his mum. And thankfully my mum, Lora, always stayed with the girls when I went home to see him.
One day, about three weeks after the girls were admitted, I came home and saw their babygrows in the airing cupboard.
I lost it. I screamed and cried, all my anger and fear pouring out.
I felt so cheated that these first weeks of their life were being snatched from me and that they might not ever make it home again.
Finally, 44 days later, the doctors said the girls were well enough to come home with us. I held them close as I carried them to the car.
They’d been through two gruelling rounds of chemo and still needed more anti-cancer drugs. But all that mattered was I could have them with me, in their room at our house in Grand Blanc, Michigan, USA.
Having them back home with us was amazing. Just being able to bathe and feed them was a joy. Though we did have to take the girls back to hospital for more treatment.
On December 20, 2007, we got the news I’d hoped so badly for. After four rounds of chemotherapy my little girls were cancer-free. It felt so amazing. I couldn’t believe they’d both beaten the cancer.
It’s a year on now, and both girls are doing well. Their hair has grown back, and they are both full of life.
They still need regular scans and blood and urine tests to check the cancer hasn’t returned, and it’s hard not to want to wrap them up in cotton wool.
They can both walk already – it’s such a change from seeing them lying in their hospital cots surrounded by wires – and as they totter around the house I feel so lucky.
Some people have asked me whether I’ll tell Maddie she ‘gave’ Bella cancer, and of course I will. It’s nothing to feel bad about – she had no control over it
And in a weird way I think it’s for the best that Bella got it too. Otherwise Bella couldn’t have been with Maddie through her treatment and I’m sure it was their incredible bond that gave Maddie the strength to fight.
Dr Bruce Morland, a consultant specialist in children’s cancer and the Chairman of Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group, says: “This is fantastically rare.
“Neuroblastoma is one of the more common tumours. But like leukaemia it’s blood borne and as identical twins share a blood supply and a placenta then it can be ‘caught’.
“However it’s a one-way stream, so the mother won’t catch it. It couldn’t happen with non identical twins as they don’t share a placenta or blood supply.
“Neuroblastoma is quite common among infants and it’s not uncommon to be diagnosed on a scan or early in a baby’s life. Fortunately the majority of infants with neuroblastoma can be cured.”

guardian - France: Woman, 59, is oldest mother of triplets

A woman in France has become the oldest known mother of triplets after giving birth at 59, reigniting the debate about late pregnancy and so-called fertility tourism.
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, is of Asian origin and had fertility treatment in Vietnam. She gave birth by caesarean section at the weekend, the Cochin maternity hospital in Paris said yesterday. The triplets, two boys and a girl who weighed 2.3kg (5.1lb), 2.1kg and 2.4kg, were described as being in good health.
But fertility experts said it could not be taken as proof of the success of late pregnancies. It is illegal for French IVF clinics to treat women deemed too old to reproduce naturally. The age limit is generally 42, and the number of embryos used is limited to lessen the risk of multiple births.
"[Fertility laws] are there to treat infertility," Professor François Thépot, medical director of France's Biomedicine Agency, told Agence France-Presse. "We do not want to turn them into a new means of procreation for people who would like to have children out of the natural context."
The trend for women to seek IVF treatment in countries with less stringent regulations - dubbed fertility tourism - has prompted concern from specialists. A woman of 44 who had IVF in Greece against the advice of her French doctors has been in a coma since June after giving birth to healthy triplets in Angers.
"The complications are manageable until about 42, 43 years old," said Professor René Frydman, the doctor behind France's first test tube baby, in 1982. "But after that you're going into the danger zone, in particular around 60. The heart just isn't made for it,"
The previous oldest mother of triplets is thought to be an unidentified Italian woman of 57.

irishhealth - Caesarean mums not as responsive to crying

Mothers who give birth vaginally are more responsive to the cries of their baby compared to mothers who have a Caesarean section, the results of a new study indicate.The number of women undergoing Caesarean sections in Ireland has been rising steadily in recent years. According to the latest figures available, one in four births (25%) in Irish hospitals are now by Caesarean, compared to just 12% in 1992.Researchers at Yale University in the US carried out MRI scans on women up to four weeks after giving birth. They found that mothers who had given birth vaginally were significantly more sensitive to their own baby’s crying. This was noted in the scans in the regions of the brain that are believed to regulate emotions, motivation and habitual behaviours.According to the researchers, the capacity of adults to develop the thoughts and behaviours needed for parents to care successfully for their newborn infants is supported by specific brain circuits and a range of hormones.They noted that a vaginal birth involves the release of oxytocin, a key hormone linked with maternal behaviour, while a Caesarean section does not.“We wondered which brain areas would be less active in parents who delivered by Caesarean section, given that this mode of delivery has been associated with decreased maternal behaviours in animal models and a trend for increased postnatal depression in humans,” explained lead author, Dr James Swain.He said that their results support the theory that variations in delivery conditions, such as with a Caesarean section, ‘alter the neurohormonal experiences of childbirth and might decrease the responsiveness of the human maternal brain in the early postpartum’.

BBC - Septuplet joy for Egyptian couple

An Egyptian woman has given birth to seven babies in the northern city of Alexandria, doctors said.
The mother, named as 27-year-old Ghazala Khamis, is said to be well and the septuplets - four boys and three girls - are reported to be stable.
The babies are said to weigh between 1.45 and 2.8kg (3-6lb); the couple already have three girls.
They sought fertility treatment hoping to have a boy, and were said to be astonished at the multiple pregnancy.
Since the introduction of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment 30 years ago, the number of multiple births has increased dramatically.
Health experts say septuplets are very rare, and it is even less common for all to survive.
The seven were delivered by Caesarean section a month early, and all have been placed in incubators designed for premature babies.
The woman's brother said that the Egyptian health minister had promised free milk and nappies for the babies for two years, to help the family cope.

daily express - Lisa Marie Presley expecting twins

Lisa Marie Presley is expecting twins, her spokeswoman has said.
The babies are expected in the autumn. Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley, announced her pregnancy on her MySpace page in March, saying she was forced to go public with the news after photos of her looking heavier were ridiculed in the media. The 40-year-old singer has two children from her marriage to musician Danny Keough, which ended in 1994. She was briefly married to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage. Presley married music producer Michael Lockwood in January 2006."It's her time to celebrate with her husband," Priscilla Presley said in an interview. "My daughter is a very family girl. She loves children, and I know that she and Michael have been hoping for this for a long time." She said twins run in the family "on Elvis' side and on my side too. I have twin brothers, and then, of course, Elvis had a twin brother" who died at birth.

irishtimes - Double trouble

Getting two for the price of one means twice the challenge, and the birth is only the beginning
THEY MAY not be average parents in any other way, but film star couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt must have been very relieved to leave the hospital in Nice 10 days ago with two healthy babies. Getting two for the price of one inevitably increases the risks during pregnancy and delivery; twins are more likely to be premature and have a low birth weight.
But once the medical complications are behind you, the challenge of raising two children in tandem is just beginning. And only those who have gone through the experience of multiple births really know what it is like.
It’s hardly surprising then that Jolie and Pitt have reportedly been looking for advice from other parents in Hollywood circles who have had twins, such as Julia Roberts and Danny Moder, who have a son and a daughter, Phinnaeus and Hazel, now three.
At least celebrity couples are not short of helping hands. The latest additions to the Pitt-Jolie family, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, are likely to have at least one nanny each. With another four children in the household – birth daughter, Shiloh, who was born in Namibia in 2006, and three adopted children: Cambodian-born son Maddox, daughter Zahara from Ethiopia and Pax from Vietnam – there is plenty of work for an entire childcare team.
However, no matter how wealthy you are, early months with twins are tough. The hired help can only do so much. Jolie was reported to have breastfed Shiloh, but feeding twins is exhausting.
Charlotte O’Brien (41), the mother of twin girls Emilie and Lucy, managed it for six weeks and was then relieved to switch to bottles. “It’s too demanding with two of them, they don’t feed at the same time.”
But Corrinna Moore (37), whose twins boys, Cormac and Aran, were born six weeks early and spent 12 days in special care, says the hospital helped her by starting a routine where they were fed at the same time. “I don’t know if, left to my own devices, I would have achieved such a fine-tuned routine.”
When she left Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in London, where she was living at the time, she continued to do what she had been advised – when one woke to feed, she woke the other and put one to each breast at the same time.
“Otherwise you wouldn’t have a minute to yourself.”
Their tummies were so small, they were feeding every one-and-a-half hours so even nursing them simultaneously was a pretty constant business.
“One day I was determined to get out of the house,” Moore recalls. “But by the time I had them fed, then the bag packed and was out the door, they started to cry: they needed feeding again. I sat down and cried too.
“You can’t breastfeed twins in public. You need your couch and your feeding pillows.”
As for any parent of a new-born, it’s the feeding and the sleeping which are the biggest issues in the first few months – but with twins it’s undoubtedly at least double the trouble.
“I will never forget those first six months of no sleep at all,” says O’Brien. She and her husband, Ashley, look back and say “how did we do it?”.
“Emilie never slept through until she was a year old. At one stage she was waking every half hour. For the first eight weeks they were together in the same room. Then we put them in separate bedrooms and that was the first night Lucy slept through.”
Out of sheer exhaustion, the couple hired a night nurse three times a week for a while, which was a life-saver for them. The moment she came in the door, the nurse took charge of the babies and sent the O’Briens straight to bed. Those were the months of physical slog but now, with the girls aged two-and-a-half, there’s a whole new set of challenges.
“They are very strong willed, strong personalities,” O’Brien says of the two fair-haired girls as they confidently explore the home of the Moores who live near them in Dalkey, Co Dublin.
“But they are very different and have been since birth. Emilie is quite demanding; Lucy is quieter and will sit and do things on her own.
“They both want to be with me. It’s very hard when there’s two children, one grabbing at each leg, and you can’t explain why you can’t pick them up at the same time. The moment they started to walk, it became difficult.
“They have no sense of danger and I have only one pair of hands. If I go anywhere, they inevitably want to go off in opposite directions. I do use reins but they don’t like them, they like the freedom.
“I went to Imaginosity which is quite big, with open spaces and four floors. Within five minutes I had lost one of them. It is a bit uncomfortable if you lose one,” she says wryly.
Moore laughs and says with her twins now aged six-and-a-half, she had forgotten what that was like. She recalls losing Cormac in Kew Gardens one day but at least she had a friend with her who could mind Aran while she ran “like a headless chicken” looking for the missing boy, thoughts of abductors and ponds racing through her mind before she found him happily playing hide-and-seek with her.
Like O’Brien, Moore’s twins were her first children, but she has gone on to have two more, two-year-old Lorcan and baby Aoife who was born last month. “In terms of practicalities, having one child at a time is easier,” she says. “But once you get twins to about two or three, it is easier than having a second child 18 months behind.
“I am glad I had the twins first. With subsequent children, the twins are so focused on each other they don’t care who comes after them. The sibling rivalry is for each other.”
Although both mothers emphasise that their twin children are very different individuals, in each case their rate of development has been remarkably similar.
“At 16 months, they started walking the same day, within 20 minutes of each other,” says O’Brien. “Emilie stood up, she was the first born; the other one watched her and then stood up too. I couldn’t believe it!”
“Aran and Cormac both crawled, stood and walked on the same days,” says Moore.
Before the girls started to speak recognisable words, they developed their own language for communicating with each other.
“They were quite definitely conversing and I would not understand a word. I found it amazing. They still do it in the mornings and the evenings; you can hear them chatting away in their room.”
The next milestone is toilet training. “I have bought two potties and from next week I am going to see where it takes me,” says O’Brien.
Moore did it with one potty with Cormac and Aran, encouraging them to pee into it at the same time, but that’s boys for you.
From age three onwards, the emotional issues can become more apparent as they start to socialise. Moore says it was only when the boys started playschool, and found people getting confused about who was who, that they started to be aware of being twins.
She and her husband Richard have been careful not to lump them together, by not dressing them the same or by calling them “the twins”. Although not identical, it is hard to tell them apart. Luckily they support different football teams, so spot a Liverpool shirt and you can be sure it’s Cormac, while for Aran it’s all Man Utd.
Emilie and Lucy wear the same clothes out of choice. “Initially everybody gave me matching outfits but now they won’t wear different clothes,” explains O’Brien. “If one has a spillage and I have to change her, I have to change the other one too.”
While the girls will be starting playschool in September, the boys are already two years into their primary education in separate classes. All the received wisdom is to separate single-sex twins at school if possible, says Moore, especially boys as they are so competitive.
“They had started bickering and we felt they needed individual attention. It has been brilliant. Separating them has diluted the competition.”
For all their talk about the practical problems in raising twins, and their shared guilt about the lack of one-on-one attention they can give, both mothers stress the joy as well.
“It is special, no doubt about it,” says O’Brien. “For me it’s an instant family; they’re company for each other which I am pretty sure will continue.”
Moore agrees: “You get double the pain but more than double the love back.”

National Research Strategy demanded to tackle premature baby deaths

The largest cause of infant mortality in the UK requires urgent government action, a leading scientist will tell MPs, Weds 16th July 2008. In a speech due to be given at the House of Commons, Professor Michael Taggart, Chair of Reproductive Sciences at Newcastle University will call on the government to develop the UK’s first, 10-year National Research Strategy to tackle premature birth.
Professor Taggart’s comments will be made at the launch of the charity Action Medical Research’s report, The Tiny Lives Charter, which argues that long term government support is needed to improve understanding of the causes of premature birth and find ways to reduce it. The report pulls together the views of leading medical experts, researchers, and professional and parent organisations. The call is also backed by a cross-party group of nearly 50 MPs.
Each year in the UK an estimated 50,000 babies are born prematurely — before 37 weeks of pregnancy (1,2,a). Each week more than 25 babies die as a result of complications arising from premature birth, the largest cause of infant mortality in the UK (3-5,b-c).
There are current government policies that focus on reducing infant mortality rates by tackling health inequalities and addressing known risk factors, as well as initiatives to continue to improve services. However, none focuses exclusively on the role of medical research in tackling premature birth.
Dr Yolande Harley, Deputy Director of Research at Action Medical Research explains: “Despite improved care for newborn babies there has been no corresponding progress in reducing the rates of premature birth. Many babies still die and those who survive are at risk of lifelong health conditions.”
“The causes and potential risk factors are not well understood and diagnosis of preterm labour is difficult. Evidence suggests that women with no obvious risk factors, particularly first-time mothers, deliver as many as half of all premature babies.”
The report, part of the charity’s ongoing STAND UP for Tiny Lives Campaign, argues that a National Research Strategy focused on improving understanding of the causes of premature birth could help lead to the development of targeted measures to reduce infant mortality and improve child health.
Prof Michael Taggart said: “While high-quality research groups are active across the country much of their efforts are happening in relative isolation, impeding progress. We need to build on existing research and foster greater collaboration within the scientific and clinical community backed by government, the pharmaceutical industry and the charity sector.
Fiona Currie, whose daughter Lauren died as a result of infection following premature birth, said: “Premature birth can happen to any family. Until doctors have all the information they need to be able to deal with this problem families will continue to be torn apart. We need to know why premature birth happens.” - ends -
Notes to editor Both Professor Michael Taggart, Chair of Reproductive Sciences at Newcastle University and Fiona Currie are available for interview
2) For further information please contact the Action Medical Research press team on 01403 327 478 or via email patrick@action.org.uk
3) Copies of the report; “The Tiny Lives Charter - a cross-party call to tackle premature birth” are available at http://www.standupfortinylives.org/download/ - using the password standuptlc
4) The STAND UP for Tiny Lives Campaign is calling on the Department of Health (DH) and Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to commission an independent Premature Birth Inquiry to lead to the development of the UK’s first 10 year National Research Strategy for tackling premature birth.
5) http://www.standupfortinylives.orgwww.standupfortinylives.org/map/ shows the names of the MPs already backing the campaign.
6) Organisations backing the STAND UP for Tiny Lives Campaign:
The British Association of Perinatal Medicine — www.bapm.org European Parturition Group - http://www.bristol.ac.uk/clinicalsciencesouth/eptlg/ * NCT (formerly the National Childbirth Trust) — www.nct.org.uk/campaigns Neonatal Nurse Association — www.nna.org.uk Neonatal Society — www.neonatalsociety.org.uk TAMBA — www.tamba.org.uk Scottish Neonatal Nurses Group — www.snng.org.uk
7) Fast facts There are around 700,000 live births in the UK each year (1) An estimated 50,000 babies are born prematurely each year in the UK (1,2,a) Each year, almost 1500 babies die in the UK as a result of complications arising from premature birth (3-5, b-c) Each week, more than 25 babies die in the UK as a result of complications arising from premature birth (3-5, b-c) About 40% of the babies dying each year in the UK, die as a result of complications arising from premature birth (3-5, b-c) An estimated 70,000 babies in the UK each year require some sort of special care when they are born (1,6) The combined government spend on research into premature birth was £5 million for 2005/6 (7). This figure covers both the Department of Health and Medical Research Council. The spend for 2006/07 was £6.6 million from the Medical Research Council (8). References 1. Office for National Statistics. Health Statistics Quarterly 35 (Autumn 2007), Table 2.1 2. The Information Centre, Community Health Statistics. NHS Maternity Statistics, England: 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 3. ONS: Health Statistics Quarterly 28 (Winter 2005), 32 (Winter 2006), 36 (Winter 2007) 4. General Register Office for Scotland, Vital Events Reference Tables 2006 5. Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Registrar General Annual Report 2006 6. Department of Health. Report of the Neonatal Intensive Care Services Review Group. April 2003. 7. Dawn Primarolo MP to Julie Kirkbride MP. Hansard. 8 October 2007. 8. Letter from Ann Keen MP to Simon Moore, Chief Executive, Action Medical Research — copy available. Received June 2008.
Footnotes a. Estimate assumes incidence of premature birth is the same for the UK overall as it is for England b. For England and Wales, deaths listed as due to “immaturity related conditions” c. For Scotland and Northern Ireland, deaths listed as due to “disorders related to length of gestation and fetal growth”
Notes to Editors
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Telegraph - Two cycles of fertility treatment significantly increase chances of pregnancy

Receiving two cycles of fertility treatment can substantially increase a woman's chances of becoming pregnant, a new study shows.
The research will add to increasing pressure for women to receive more cycles of IVF on the NHS.
Most women in Britain are offered only one cycle by their local Primary Care Trust, despite a call from Patricia Hewitt, when she was Health Secretary, for all women to be offered three.
The new study showed that almost all women who would have become pregnant through a type of IVF, used in an estimated 40 per cent of cycles in Britain, did so on the first or second attempt.
A study of more than 6,700 patients shows that almost 80 per cent became pregnant on the first attempt with another 16 per cent on the second attempt.
Only 3.4 per cent of women became pregnant with their third cycle of treatment and less than one per cent on the fourth or fifth cycle.
There were no successful pregnancies beyond the fifth attempt, accordong the findings presented on Tuesday at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (Eshre) in Barcelona.
The technique studied was intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a treatment for male infertility which has been used since the early nineties.
The technique involves injecting an egg in a laboratory with an individual sperm.
It is used in an estimated 40 per cent of the 41,000 IVF cycles performed in Britain every year.
Simon Hong, from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Cornell University in America said: "From our findings it appears that younger women undergoing two ART (assisted reproductive technique) attempts benefit from the highest chances of pregnancy."
Another study also presented at Eshre shows that using frozen instead of fresh embryos produces healthier babies.
Infants born from embryos which were frozen and then thawed before being implanted into a woman had a higher birth weight and were less likely to suffer abnormalities.
Fewer of the children were also twins or triplets.
Multiple births are known to increase the risk of complications as well as the danger to the mother.

Times - Risks of IVF twins exaggerated says US doctor Norbert Gleicher

Infertile couples who want more than one child should be encouraged to try for IVF twins in spite of the medical consensus that multiple pregnancies should be avoided, a senior American doctor said today.
The health risks of conceiving twins by IVF have been exaggerated by the medical profession, and a British initiative to cut the number of such pregnancies is “categorically wrong”, according to Norbert Gleicher, of the Centre for Human Reproduction in New York.
He told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Barcelona that for many women who need IVF to conceive, the birth of twins is a “favourable and ethical” result.
Such pregnancies provide complete families at a stroke, and may often be safer than having two singleton IVF pregnancies, he said. Moves to persuade more women to use one embryo at a time during fertility treatment, as recommended by a UK national strategy launched last week, are thus misguided.
Professor Gleicher's comments were fiercely disputed by other senior doctors, who said that his opinions were based on a flawed analysis of the risks of multiple pregnancies to both babies and mothers.
Professor Peter Braude, of King's College, London, said that IVF twin pregnancies are well-established to be more hazardous than singleton conceptions, with dangers that include prematurity, stillbirth, low birth weight, cerebral palsy, pre-eclampsia, haemorrhage and maternal death.
“Couples should be extra cautious about interpreting this advice because it flies in the face of all other published data about the risks of multiple births,” he said.
The conference executive, which is encouraging IVF clinics across Europe to move to single embryo transfer to guard against multiple births, said in a statement: “There are significant risks to multiple pregnancies, and we should not be generating them deliberately. IVF babies also deserve the best start in life.”
A Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) expert panel, chaired by Professor Braude, found in 2006 that twins have five times the usual risk of death in the first year of life and six times the risk of cerebral palsy. More than half are born prematurely, and 40 to 60 per cent require intensive care. Each twin costs the NHS 16 times as much as a singleton birth in the first year of life, and it is estimated that 126 deaths would have been avoided had all IVF twins born in Britain in 2003 been singleton births.
Multiple pregnancies are also dangerous for mothers. A quarter are complicated by problems such as high blood pressure, and the death rate is doubled for women expecting twins.
These dangers have led the HFEA and the British Fertility Society to launch a national strategy to reduce Britain's IVF twin rate from 24 per cent to 10 per cent by 2012. This is likely to require single embryo transfer in about 50 per cent of IVF cycles, compared to about 10 per cent at present.
Professor Gleicher, however, claimed that some of these risks had been over-estimated, because they have been calculated by comparing twin births with just one singleton pregnancy, not two. “When you ask infertile patients having treatment, a very large majority want more than one child,” he said. “The question is how you get two children, not one. When you add the risks of two singleton pregnancies together, many risks of twins disappear.
“For infertile patients, desirous of more than one child, twin deliveries represent a favourable, cost-effective and ethical treatment outcome, which in contrast to medical consensus, should be encouraged.
“Because the alleged excessive risks and costs of twin deliveries have been the primary motivation behind the recently increasingly popular concept of single embryo transfer, the clinical, ethical and economic validity of single embryo transfer should be seriously questioned.”
He added that much of the medical literature is based on comparisons between naturally conceived singletons and twins. This may be misleading because IVF twins have a lower risk than spontaneous twins of dying at or soon after birth.
In a paper published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, Professor Gleicher has suggested that when these factors are taken into account, IVF twin pregnancies are less risky than two singleton conceptions for complications including stillbirth, neonatal death and major birth defects.
Professor Braude and the conference doctors pointed out that even Professor Gleicher's adjusted figures show substantially raised risks of maternal death, low birth weight and pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening blood pressure disorder.
They added that for many risks, it is statistically misleading to compare twin pregnancies with two singleton pregnancies. Professor Mark Hamilton, the chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: “It is misleading, as he has done, to combine the risks of two single live births which are two independent events, each with a lower risk than that of a twin pregnancy.
“With singleton pregnancies, the chance of having a stillborn baby, or one that dies soon after, is about five per 1,000. In a twin pregnancy it's four to five times that. If your first singleton pregnancy was uncomplicated, your chance of a problem the second time round is even lower, probably less than one in a thousand. Multiple pregnancies unquestionably expose mothers and babies to increased hazards.”
Professor Gleicher's study has also ignored the long-term health risks of the low birth weights suffered by twins, and the psychological impact of multiple births on parents.
A separate study presented at the conference, from Helsinki University Central Hospital in Finland, has found that the mothers and fathers of twins suffer significantly more mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and sleep disorders, than the parents of singletons.

Mail.co.uk - IVF experts should encourage twin births not cap them, says controversial doctor

Women could be denied the chance of having a baby by new restrictions on the number of multiple births, a leading fertility expert has warned.Norbert Gleicher, one of America's most successful IVF doctors, said the capping of twin and triplet pregnancies could result in fewer women fulfilling their dream of motherhood.The strategy, devised by Britain's fertility watchdog to reduce the risks associated with multiple births is 'categorically wrong' and 'dramatically misguided', he said.Instead of avoiding twin pregnancies, fertility clinics should be actively encouraging them, he added.Speaking at a fertility conference, Dr Gleicher said one twin pregnancy was no more dangerous than going through two separate single pregnancies.Having twins is also no more costly - and the increased earning power of two bodies rather than one may even benefit the economy in the long-term, his research suggests.What is more, having twins gives couples an 'instant family', removing the need for a woman who has struggled to conceive a first time to get pregnant again.But Dr Gleicher's comments, which are based on his review of more than 15 years of fertility studies involving thousands of twin and single births, have been hotly disputed by fertility doctors in the UK and abroad.
Fertility rowIn a joint statement, experts, including Professor Peter Braude, of King's College, London, said twins face 'huge obstetric complications', some of which can lead to a lifetime off suffering.Loss of one or both babies during pregnancy is a source of 'profound disappointment' which has no monetary value, they said.Concerns about the added risks of twin births has led to the country's fertility watchdog to the cap the number of embryos implanted at a time to one wherever possible.Twins are at much greater risk of stillbirth and cerebral palsy than their single counterparts. They are also much more likely to be born prematurely, placing extra pressure on an already cash-strapped NHS.Mothers are at a greater risk of developing pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening complication of pregnancy, and are three times more likely to die during childbirth.
With twin births accounting for one in four IVF pregnancies, The Human Embryology and Fertility Authority says the policy of single embryo transfer, which is due to come into from January 2009, will benefit both mother and child.But Dr Gleicher, of the Centre for Human Reproduction in New York, said the thinking behind the policy was fundamentally flawed because it simply compared the dangers of having twins to those of carrying a single baby.Factoring in the risks associated with becoming pregnant a second time cancels out the dangers of a twin pregnancy, he said.Medical costs are also unlikely to be higher in a twin pregnancy and women will benefit because they will only need to go through one set of IVF treatment.He told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology's annual conference in Barcelona that limiting transfer to one embryo at a time would cut pregnancy rates, which are already lower than those in the US.'Single-embryo transfer does reduce pregnancy chances and therefore if the UK does go through with this process you will see a further decrease in pregnancy rates,' he said.'I and most of my colleagues are driven by what our patients are telling us. We strongly believe that nothing is more important to an infertile patient than getting pregnant and it is our principle responsibility to help them get pregnant quickly and safely.'But Professor Braude, who helped shape the HFEA's policy, urged caution, questioning Dr Gleicher's calculations and saying his conclusion 'flew in the face of all published data about the risks of twin pregnancies'.In a joint statement with other fertility experts, Professor Braude added that Dr Gleicher had not fully account for all the medical and emotional problems associated with twin pregnancies.'The saddest outcomes that we see in practice are those twin pregnancies where women go into very premature labour or lose both babies at around 25 weeks or less,' they said.'The disappointment and grieving that accompanies this loss is profound and cannot be calculated in dollars or pounds.'Whatever the hypothesis, which may be interesting for doctors to mull over and discuss, there are significant risks to multiple pregnancies and we should not be generating them deliberately.'IVF babies also deserve the best start in life.'

romow - Dairy Products May Increase Your Chances Of Having Twins

Many couples planning on having a baby are completely happy with the idea of having a single birth. But, there’s many couples that would love to be able to have twins, if you’re one of those couples, then this may be good news.
Just making some changes in your diet may help increase your chances of having twins! A study has shown that women who consume dairy products are 5% more likely to give birth to twins than those who don’t.
The study was conducted by Gary Steinman, MD, PHD, a physician at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. The study published at Bio-Medicine.com included 3 categories of women, those who were vegans, vegetarians and those who consumed animal products.
His findings were that the women who consumed animal products on a regular basis, especially dairy products were 5 times more likely to have twins than women who abstained from eating any animal products.
The chances of you having twins can be attributed to the level of IGF found in your body. The higher your levels of IGF, then the more likely that your little bundle of joy will come in a pair! IGF increases ovulation and thus your chances of having twins are increased.
IGF or Insulin-like Growth Factor is a protein released from the liver. In response to growth hormones the animals liver releases IGF which is then transferred through the blood and into it’s milk.
Since 1975 the instances of twin births have steadily increased in the USA. One reason for the increase may be that lots of women are waiting until later in life to have babies. The chance increases when a woman reaches 30 and there is even a greater chance for a woman that’s over 35.
Another reason for the increasing number of twin births could be attributed to the introduction of growth hormone treatments given to cows. This practice was started in the 1990’s to improve the production rate of milk and promote larger cows for more meat.
Having twins doesn’t come without risks, twins are more likely to be premature and have congenital defects. So, if you live in a country that allows cattle to be given growth hormones, you may actually want to limit your intake of animal products prior to trying to conceive.
Of course, drinking more milk won’t insure your chances of having twins. Multiple births are also results of heredity, if there’s twins in your family tree then your chances are automatically increased.
Women getting pregnant while on birth control pills are also more likely to produce twins. The increase of hormones from birth control pills seems to raise the possibility of more than one egg being released during ovulation.
Fertility treatments and ethnicity also play important roles in multiple births. Women of African descent have higher levels of IGF and more instances of twin births, while women of Asian or Hispanic decent have lower levels of IGF and are less likely to have twins.
A previous study Dr. Steinman had conducted showed that if a woman becomes pregnant while breastfeeding, then it’s 9 times more likely that she’ll give birth to twins.
No matter what you’re hoping for, a healthy diet and visiting a gynecologist early in pregnancy can give your baby a better chance for a healthier beginning. They’re both very important factors in your health and your baby’s health.