One in 10 babies are born premature each year: Study

This July 25, 2006, handout photo provided by the March of Dimes Foundation shows a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Albany Medical Centre. Fifteen million babies, or one in 10 around the world are born premature every year, and 1.1 million of those infants die, according to a United Nations (UN)-sponsored report released on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: AP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Fifteen million babies, or one in 10 around the world are born premature every year, and 1.1 million of those infants die, according to a United Nations (UN)-sponsored report released on Wednesday.

Swedish sperm donors are well-adjusted men: Study

(REUTERS) - Men who pass a screening process and donate to sperm banks in Sweden score better on personality measures, such as responsibility, confidence and self-acceptance, than other men in their peer group, according to a Swedish study.

Sweden was the first country to pass a so-called non-anonymous law, which entitles children to contact the sperm donor if they choose. Britain, Australia and other nations also require that donors consent to being contacted.

The United States allows donors to remain anonymous and for them to get paid, unlike Sweden, where men can only volunteer.

The non-anonymous laws could be a problem for both sides since nobody can prepare themselves for their reactions if a child decides to contact the biological father, said Dr Gunilla Sydsjo, lead author of the study and a professor at Sweden's Linkoping University.

DNA blood tests can tell baby's sex at 7 weeks: Study

Tests that measure DNA in a pregnant woman's blood work well for telling the sex of a baby after seven weeks' gestation without posing danger to the foetus. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TESTS that measure DNA in a pregnant woman's blood work well for telling the sex of a baby after seven weeks' gestation without posing danger to the foetus, a US study said on Tuesday.

The meta-analysis of previous studies on the topic suggests that using cell-free foetal DNA from the mother's blood is more accurate than a urine test or sonogram and is safer than amniocentesis.

A birth-control pill for men?

A posed photo of a man popping pills into his mouth. Contraceptives for men could be developed soon, according to scientists at Columbia University -- ST PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: WANG HUI FEN

CONTRACEPTIVE pills for men could be developed soon, Daily Mail reported on Tuesday.

Scientists at Columbia University in New York claimed that they have developed 'a drug which temporarily stops sperm production without causing any long-term harm to male fertility.'

Scientists have been trying to come up with a male equivalent of the pill for years, but have not yet succeeded. The new pill impairs the male body's ability to use vitamin A, which is vital for the production of sperm.

Surprising Fertility Facts You Better Know

PHOTO CREDIT: CRISTINA TARANTOLA


Unless you know for sure that your guy is STD-free, condoms are your best protection against fertility threats such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. If left untreated, these bacterial infections can enter your uterus and fallopian tubes, where they morph into a more serious condition called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). Scarily, one in five women with PID end up infertile.

Caught early, chlamydia and gonorrhea can be easily cured with prescription meds. But not all women experience symptoms, such as a green-yellow discharge or burning and pain, so they don't know they are infected and never seek treatment. Bottom line: Be screened after any incidence of unsafe sex as well as at your yearly gyno checkup, just to play it safe.

What Things to Avoid During Pregnancy

Avoid water skiing, snowboarding, surfing over the wave pool or exposing herself directly over the sea or ocean waves; horse-riding; playing her passionate part-time or full-time indoor or outdoor sport; excessive cycling whether indoors or outdoors for many kilometers etc knowing that the baby inside is delicate and any extreme step taken by the expected mother will affect the complexities of her child instantly.

During Pregnancy, The risk of falling; jumping; slipping and dancing are some of the most common forms of ladies taking unusual stress over the stomach and thus have to bear the complications levied over her for delivering a healthy baby. So avoid any heavy physical work.

A sensing of balancing of the body is altered as in the normal course when she isn’t pregnant or had a one-night stand with a help of healthy partner because any vigorous activity mounts pressure over the surface of the mother’s womb and her joints and bones of the body with acute pain of the muscles are experienced.

Before using vacuum cleaners, make sure you have used ample dehumidifiers and now have the eczema patients out of way. The air purifiers are extremely essential.

Some of the woman also comes along with a brilliant idea to photo shoot for a picture or serial as these shoots demands her climbing over the slippery edges or corners of the trees at the set of the movie and any wrong move with excessive exhausted pressure taken over the shoot provides unusual stress and pain to the pregnant mother and baby respectively.