Aurora magazine

Pregnant women who have suffered from depression or bipolar disorder read the expressions of newborns differently. This also happens to those who have not shown any sign of discomfort during the gestation. It could therefore be indicative of a high risk factor for the children of these women. This is revealed by a pilot study, but more research will be needed to confirm the findings.

The researchers involved: 22 pregnant women with a history of depression behind; 7 pregnant women with a history of bipolar disorder behind; 28 healthy pregnant women; 18 non-pregnant women. The women were all between the 27th and the 39th weeks of gestation.

Scholars have shown pictures of sad and happy faces of adults and newborns. Women had to rate each photo, based on the rate of "happiness" or "sadness". Dr. Anne Bjertrup reports that the responses of women with a history of depression or bipolar disorder were very different. As a result, they may have more difficulty interpreting children's signals and expressions.

Pregnant women with a history of bipolar disorder have had difficulty recognizing all expressions. In general, they have mainly identified positive expressions in adults and children. Conversely, those with a history of depression have identified negative expressions with greater accuracy. However, this is only a pilot study, therefore limited. Dr Bjertrup emphasizes that it will be necessary to repeat the study with a larger sample of women.

Depression and bipolar disorder are largely hereditary disorders. Those with depressed parents have a 60% chance of suffering from a mental disorder. In addition to genes, the quality of interactions with the mother also plays an important role. The response to the signals of the newborn could be one of the key factors, but it will be necessary to explore the matter with greater care.

Source: medicalxpress.com

It is now only a matter of years to transfer one embryo at a time during in vitro fertilization. This significantly reduces the risk of multiple pregnancies. Nevertheless, it is not avoided in its entirety. It sometimes happens that a single embryo gives rise to a twin or even plurigemellar pregnancy. How is it possible? A study led by Dr. Keiji Kuroda, published on Human Reproduction, speaks of this.

The rate of twin pregnancies after a single implant is 1.6%. Approximately 1.36% of gestations are linked to a process called zygotic meiosis. The study examines 937,848 cycles of in vitro fertilization with implantation of a single embryo. The researchers looked for all the factors that could be related to the phenomenon, both in the mother and in the process. From what has emerged, the "assisted hatching" technique could be one of the possible causes of embryo division.

The meiosis of the zygote occurs between the second and the sixth day after fertilization of the oocyte. In this phase, the zygote is divided into many cells called blastomere, which will form the embryo. It happens that the zygote breaks in two and that each part forms an independent zygote, from which an embryo will develop. Sometimes, the zygote breaks even into three. The embryos all have the same genetic heritage, they are therefore monozygotic or identical twins.

It can be difficult to understand which multiple pregnancies are the result of meiosis of the zygotic and which of other factors. In some cases, a sexual act during the IVF cycle can translate into a double pregnancy. One caused by in vitro fertilization and the other natural. The only sure way is to use ultrasound to see if there are more gestational bags and how many fetuses are. If the fetuses are more than the gestational bags, then the multiple pregnancy is caused by the meiosis of the zygotic.

Source: medicalxpress.com

Postponing pregnancy could increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders in women and children. This is revealed by a study by researchers at the University of Alberta, in Canada. According to Canadian scholars, the risk would be high especially for boys.

There are many studies concerning the risks of pregnancy after age 35. Some of these have highlighted problems related to a lower blood supply to the placenta, linked to a reduction of vascular functions. These same problems could endanger the cardiovascular health of both the mother and the child.

The researchers analyzed some groups of very adult guinea pigs, dividing them in: "first gestation"; "Postpartum"; "miscarriage". The guinea pigs in the last group had less dilated blood vessels than those in the other two groups. In some cases, the condition had also affected their heart health. In addition, the "postpartum" group showed a reduction in the dilation of the intestinal arteries. The phenomenon could explain why aspiring older mothers run greater risks of miscarriage and cardiovascular problems.

The study also revealed specific differences based on the sex of the young. The males showed a greater percentage of cardiovascular problems, many related to a low flow of blood. The females, on the other hand, did not show the same probability of risk. Given the increase in the average age for the first gestation, the discoveries have an important weight.

According to the researchers, the study could have repercussions on the way in which late pregnancies are addressed.

Source: the-aps.org

Since the 1980s, there has been an increase in twin pregnancies. While before there were about 20 cases for every 1000 newborns, in the years '10 of 2000 it went to 35 per 1000. The trend has raised some concerns, given that these gestations have on average more complications. We also ask ourselves what the causes are. Only for the increase in the number of couples using IVF?

Dr Eli Adashi and Roee Gutman of Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School analyzed data on twin pregnancies. The aim was to determine how in vitro fertilization affected the increase in cases. It emerged that IVF is only part of the fault. The increase would actually be due to the rise of the average age of future mothers, it would therefore be largely natural and the result of a social phenomenon.

It has been known for a long time that more adult women are more likely to incur twin pregnancies. There are even 150-year-old articles on the subject. Nevertheless, the phenomenon has been analyzed little and without measurable statistical data. Until today, at least. The study of the two doctors in fact starts from the data collected in periods in which the IVF did not exist.

The starting point was the pregnancies between 1949 and 1966, before assisted fertilization. The researchers found that women over the age of 35 had 3 times the chances of having twin births. The odds were 4 times greater in the case of African American women. Usually the children were twins who were heterozygous and therefore not identical.

Later, researchers analyzed data from 1971 to 2016. In times of great social change, there was a higher rate of 30-40 year old mothers. The percentage rose from 14% in 1971 to 42% in 2015 (31% among African-American women). This phenomenon is also accompanied by an increase in in vitro fertilization and the number of twin births.

In vitro fertilization contributed to the increase in twin births. Yet in 2016 it seems to have been the cause of only 24% of these.

Source: brown.edu