Aurora magazine

A woman born without a womb has given birth to a healthy child. All thanks to the uterus donated by a mysterious deceased donor. The event occurred in Brazil and is a revolutionary step for the treatment of infertility. It is in fact the first child born from the organ of a dead woman.

Before this there were other uterus transplants that led to childbirth. All the organs were from donors still alive and from 2013 at least 11 children were born in this way. As said, the main difference is that all the transplanted uteri came from living donors. This is the first time that a dead uterus transplant is successful.

From a biological point of view, the organs of a living person and a dead person are not very different. Yet, none of the other 10 uterus transplants performed with dead women's organs were successful. This first victory promises to change the lives of many women who have lost their womb or who were born without. As the protagonist of this story, in fact.

The donor was a 45-year-old woman who died from a stroke, who had three children with natural childbirth. The protagonist of the study, however, was born without a womb. The doctors have implanted the donor's implant with an intervention lasting 10 hours. Then they waited for the woman to start the menstrual cycle, arrived 7 months later, indicating that the organ had taken root. At this point they used in vitro fertilization to start the pregnancy.

The entire long operation ended with a girl of almost 3 kg, born by Caesarean section in December 2017. By now a year after delivery, the baby is healthy and there have not been any unexpected effects.

Source: nytimes.com

The new pregnant obesity guidelines of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) invite to use a multidisciplinary approach. Doctors should invite expectant mothers to lose weight before conception and between pregnancies. In this way there would be an increase in the chances to conceive, with a reduction of risks for mothers and children.

In the United Kingdom, around 22% of pregnant women are obese, 28% are overweight and 47% are normal. Women in the first group are at risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, gestational diabetes and postpartum hemorrhage. Instead, their children are more prone to congenital abnormalities and become obese and diabetic themselves. For this reason it is essential that the British doctors sensitize the future mothers on the subject, inviting them to keep the weight under control.

The guidelines of the Care of Women with Obesity in Pregnancy contain several tips, including the following.

• Incentive weight loss before conception.
• Inform women with a body mass index above 30 on the risks of pregnancy obesity.
• Inform that weight loss increases the chances of having a natural birth, even after a first caesarean section.
• Address future obese mothers to nutritionists, who give them guidance to lose weight safely.

At the base of all these tips there must always be an empathic approach. The attending physician must encourage the future mother to change her lifestyle, without blaming her and always with sensitivity. In case of need, it is also good that addresses to professionals who help her to face any psychological difficulties.

Source: medscape.com

In the middle of the world, people are no longer making children. The Lancet magazine published a new report on global fertility between 1950 and 2017. According to research, people around the world are making fewer children than in the past. This could have a catastrophic impact on the evolution of society.

In 1950, each woman gave birth to an average of 4.7 children throughout her life. In 2017, the average was 2.4 children per woman. The fertility rate has halved over the span of a century. This means that in half of the countries there are more elderly people than children, so the number of inhabitants is falling.

If the trend continues, in a few years there will be very few children and many people aged 65 and over. What's the problem? In this condition it will be almost impossible to support the world economy, especially at the levels we are used to. It is therefore likely that there will be profound social and economic consequences. Society will have to adapt to a situation in which grandparents abound, but grandchildren are less and less.

In some respects, the collapse of the fertility rate is also a sign of progress. Less and less children are born, it is true, but those who reach adulthood are more and more. This is one of the reasons why women give birth less: most of their children overcome childhood and reach adulthood. Furthermore, in recent years we are witnessing a growing awareness of issues such as contraception.

Source: futurism.com

New mothers should wait at least a year before a new pregnancy. This is revealed by a study led by Dr. Wendy Norman. The guidelines of the World Health Organization recommend an expectation of even 24 months. According to the team of scientists, however, it would not be necessary to wait long; great news for the most adult mothers.

Staying pregnant immediately after pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth, low birth weight, maternal mortality. This is why it would be better to wait a little while before trying conception again. The ideal waiting time would be 12-18 months, at least according to the team of Dr. Norman. This time frame would be good for both younger and younger mothers, who may have had their first child after age 35.

If conceived 6 months after the first child, the new mothers after the age of 35 have a 1.2% risk of mortality. Waiting for 18 months, the risk drops to 0.5%. In the case of younger women, on the other hand, there is an 8.5% risk of premature birth if they become pregnant at 6 months after the first pregnancy. The risk drops to 3.7% waiting.

The study gives clear indications on the waiting time between gestation and the other, especially useful nowadays. In fact, it is frequent that older women prefer to shorten the time between pregnancies. In the case of younger women, however, very close pregnancies are often the result of poor contraception.

To reduce the risks for mothers and children, doctors recommend using adequate contraception after delivery.

Source: bbc.com