Infertile women may give birth using transplanted wombs/Case for morning-after pill

[Guest guest]

Infertile women may give birth using transplanted wombs

July 3 2003

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825460578.html

 

A baby could soon be born from the same womb as its mother under a radical

new transplant technique, researchers believe.

 

Within three years, an infertile woman could give birth with a womb taken

from her mother or sister, says a Swedish team which has already achieved

the first live mouse births from a transplanted uterus.

 

The wombs of close relatives would ideally be used to reduce the risks of

rejection under the technique, which could offer hope to women with a

deformed, damaged or missing uterus.

 

Professor Mats Brannstrom, head of the team from Sahlgrenska University in

Gothenburg, said that, theoretically, wombs could be given to men, " but I do

not know whether it would be ethical " .

 

Last year, Saudi Arabian scientists said they had transplanted a womb into a

26-year-old woman, but it was removed after three months because of blood

clots.

 

 

Professor Brannstrom told the European Society for Human Reproduction and

Embryology in Madrid: " We should try to match donor and recipient, so we

could take the uterus from a mother and give it to her daughter. So you

could give birth to a baby from the uterus that you were born from. "

 

The Daily Telegraph, London

 

 

Case for morning-after pill

By Emma Young

July 3 2003

 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825460372.html

 

 

 

News that the " morning-after pill " could soon be sold at pharmacies without

a prescription in Australia has prompted a mixture of concern, mainly from

doctors, and support from most pharmacists and family planning

organisations.

 

Critics fear that women will not receive the detailed counselling about

regular contraception and sexually transmitted diseases that a doctor can

provide, while advocates argue that over-the-counter sales of the emergency

contraceptive could reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions,

without harming women's health.

 

Postinor-2 has been available on prescription since July last year. Last

month, the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee permitted pharmacy

sales but the pill will not be available until at least October, says John

Bell of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

 

Bill Glasson, the president of the Australian Medical Association, is

against the move, because he thinks women won't get appropriate sexual

counselling.

 

One CBD pharmacist, who has many students among her customers and who

preferred not to be identified, is also cautious. " It's convenient for the

patient and the Government can save a lot of money, but some may use it

abusively, " she says. " They may try to use it long after the 72-hour period,

when they think they are pregnant, to try to induce an abortion. "

 

 

A doctor could at least insist on a urine test to check for pregnancy before

prescribing, she says. Pregnancy tests before prescribing an emergency

contraceptive are not routine.

 

Angela Taft, vice-president of policy at the Public Health Association of

Australia (PHA), says that taking Postinor-2 more than 72 hours after

unprotected sex would not dislodge any embryo from the womb, nor cause the

woman or her unborn child harm.

 

The PHA has been lobbying for the pill to be available in pharmacies since

1999.

 

Taft says: " We want this available when women need it - at the weekend, for

example, when doctors' surgeries might be closed, and in rural areas, where

there are far fewer doctors. "

 

At Maddo the Chemist from Paddo, pharmacist Linda Spray says

over-the-counter availability is " a very good move. "

 

" It's going to make the pill more accessible, and that's important, as it

should be used preferably within 24 hours after unprotected sex. A lot of

people find it easier to access a pharmacy than a doctor, and if it's going

to reduce the physical and emotional trauma of an abortion, it's got to be a

good thing. "

 

Spray rejects claims that pharmacists won't be able to offer adequate

counselling on STDs and safe methods of contraception. She says, where

appropriate, she would refer a patient on to their general practitioner.

 

" It's not as though it'll be out there on the shelves with the condoms and

the soap. Women will have to ask us for it. "

 

The PSA is developing training programs for pharmacists to improve their

knowledge on sexual health counselling.

 

" We accept that this is a public health issue and that greater access to a

product like this is appropriate without prescription. We accept the

responsibility that pharmacists should be well trained to advise patients

and customers, " says Bell.

 

Edith Weisberg, the director of research at FPA Health, says claims that an

easier availability of the pill could lead to women abandoning safer methods

of contraception are also unfounded.

 

A study of more than 1000 women in Scotland in 1998, before emergency

contraceptives were available from pharmacies in the UK, found that those

who were given a supply to keep at home used regular contraception in the

same way as women who had to go to a doctor for the pill - and there were

fewer unintended pregnancies in this group.

 

For some women, the choice isn't between a doctor and a pharmacist, it's

between a pharmacist and nothing, Weisberg adds. " In a lot of rural and

remote areas, it's pretty hard to get a GP because of the shortage.

 

In Dubbo, for instance, all the GPs have closed their books because they

have too many patients. So if you're not listed, you might not even be able

to get access to a doctor in time. "

 

If taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, the success rate is 95 per

cent. But this drops with every 12-hour delay, falling to about 85 per cent

if taken within 72 hours.

 

There has been extensive research into how Postinor-2 works, says Weisberg.

 

The active ingredient is levonorgestrel, a hormone that can delay ovulation

for at least five days, impede sperm activity and possibly alter the lining

of the womb, to prevent a fertilised egg being implanted.

 

Compared with earlier emergency contraceptives, it causes few side effects.

 

Research suggests that some women will experience nausea and headaches, but

most are unlikely to suffer any problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby girl rescued after being buried for 16 hours

July 3 2003

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825455323.html

 

A new-born baby girl who was buried alive by her father in the central

Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was rescued from the grave after 16 hours.

 

The baby, born on Monday morning, was the family's third female child, the

United News of India news agency reported.

 

A daughter is generally unwelcome in many poor families as parents cannot

afford the traditional dowry and other marriage expenses that follow when

the girl grows up.

 

The " trauma " made the father bury the child in a hole near their hamlet, the

report said, adding that, when the mother protested, the man threatened her.

 

But the matter became known to the local authorities, who ordered the grave

to be exhumed.

 

 

The baby was found to be alive and was taken to a hospital, the report said.

A case was registered against her father, who had run away, the report said.

 

AFP

[Guest guest]

---mmmmm!mmmmm! frankenwomen! what a great idea! NOT!

karl

 

 

In , " Misty " <misty3@p...> wrote:

> Infertile women may give birth using transplanted wombs

> July 3 2003

> http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825460578.html

>

> A baby could soon be born from the same womb as its mother under a

radical

> new transplant technique, researchers believe.

>

> Within three years, an infertile woman could give birth with a

womb taken

> from her mother or sister, says a Swedish team which has already

achieved

> the first live mouse births from a transplanted uterus.

>

> The wombs of close relatives would ideally be used to reduce the

risks of

> rejection under the technique, which could offer hope to women

with a

> deformed, damaged or missing uterus.

>

> Professor Mats Brannstrom, head of the team from Sahlgrenska

University in

> Gothenburg, said that, theoretically, wombs could be given to

men, " but I do

> not know whether it would be ethical " .

>

> Last year, Saudi Arabian scientists said they had transplanted a

womb into a

> 26-year-old woman, but it was removed after three months because

of blood

> clots.

>

>

> Professor Brannstrom told the European Society for Human

Reproduction and

> Embryology in Madrid: " We should try to match donor and recipient,

so we

> could take the uterus from a mother and give it to her daughter.

So you

> could give birth to a baby from the uterus that you were born

from. "

>

> The Daily Telegraph, London

>

>

> Case for morning-after pill

> By Emma Young

> July 3 2003

>

> http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825460372.html

>

>

>

> News that the " morning-after pill " could soon be sold at

pharmacies without

> a prescription in Australia has prompted a mixture of concern,

mainly from

> doctors, and support from most pharmacists and family planning

> organisations.

>

> Critics fear that women will not receive the detailed counselling

about

> regular contraception and sexually transmitted diseases that a

doctor can

> provide, while advocates argue that over-the-counter sales of the

emergency

> contraceptive could reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and

abortions,

> without harming women's health.

>

> Postinor-2 has been available on prescription since July last

year. Last

> month, the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee permitted

pharmacy

> sales but the pill will not be available until at least October,

says John

> Bell of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

>

> Bill Glasson, the president of the Australian Medical Association,

is

> against the move, because he thinks women won't get appropriate

sexual

> counselling.

>

> One CBD pharmacist, who has many students among her customers and

who

> preferred not to be identified, is also cautious. " It's convenient

for the

> patient and the Government can save a lot of money, but some may

use it

> abusively, " she says. " They may try to use it long after the 72-

hour period,

> when they think they are pregnant, to try to induce an abortion. "

>

>

> A doctor could at least insist on a urine test to check for

pregnancy before

> prescribing, she says. Pregnancy tests before prescribing an

emergency

> contraceptive are not routine.

>

> Angela Taft, vice-president of policy at the Public Health

Association of

> Australia (PHA), says that taking Postinor-2 more than 72 hours

after

> unprotected sex would not dislodge any embryo from the womb, nor

cause the

> woman or her unborn child harm.

>

> The PHA has been lobbying for the pill to be available in

pharmacies since

> 1999.

>

> Taft says: " We want this available when women need it - at the

weekend, for

> example, when doctors' surgeries might be closed, and in rural

areas, where

> there are far fewer doctors. "

>

> At Maddo the Chemist from Paddo, pharmacist Linda Spray says

> over-the-counter availability is " a very good move. "

>

> " It's going to make the pill more accessible, and that's

important, as it

> should be used preferably within 24 hours after unprotected sex. A

lot of

> people find it easier to access a pharmacy than a doctor, and if

it's going

> to reduce the physical and emotional trauma of an abortion, it's

got to be a

> good thing. "

>

> Spray rejects claims that pharmacists won't be able to offer

adequate

> counselling on STDs and safe methods of contraception. She says,

where

> appropriate, she would refer a patient on to their general

practitioner.

>

> " It's not as though it'll be out there on the shelves with the

condoms and

> the soap. Women will have to ask us for it. "

>

> The PSA is developing training programs for pharmacists to improve

their

> knowledge on sexual health counselling.

>

> " We accept that this is a public health issue and that greater

access to a

> product like this is appropriate without prescription. We accept

the

> responsibility that pharmacists should be well trained to advise

patients

> and customers, " says Bell.

>

> Edith Weisberg, the director of research at FPA Health, says

claims that an

> easier availability of the pill could lead to women abandoning

safer methods

> of contraception are also unfounded.

>

> A study of more than 1000 women in Scotland in 1998, before

emergency

> contraceptives were available from pharmacies in the UK, found

that those

> who were given a supply to keep at home used regular contraception

in the

> same way as women who had to go to a doctor for the pill - and

there were

> fewer unintended pregnancies in this group.

>

> For some women, the choice isn't between a doctor and a

pharmacist, it's

> between a pharmacist and nothing, Weisberg adds. " In a lot of

rural and

> remote areas, it's pretty hard to get a GP because of the shortage.

>

> In Dubbo, for instance, all the GPs have closed their books

because they

> have too many patients. So if you're not listed, you might not

even be able

> to get access to a doctor in time. "

>

> If taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, the success rate is

95 per

> cent. But this drops with every 12-hour delay, falling to about 85

per cent

> if taken within 72 hours.

>

> There has been extensive research into how Postinor-2 works, says

Weisberg.

>

> The active ingredient is levonorgestrel, a hormone that can delay

ovulation

> for at least five days, impede sperm activity and possibly alter

the lining

> of the womb, to prevent a fertilised egg being implanted.

>

> Compared with earlier emergency contraceptives, it causes few side

effects.

>

> Research suggests that some women will experience nausea and

headaches, but

> most are unlikely to suffer any problems.

Baby girl rescued after being buried for 16 hours

> July 3 2003

> http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825455323.html

>

> A new-born baby girl who was buried alive by her father in the

central

> Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was rescued from the grave after 16

hours.

>

> The baby, born on Monday morning, was the family's third female

child, the

> United News of India news agency reported.

>

> A daughter is generally unwelcome in many poor families as parents

cannot

> afford the traditional dowry and other marriage expenses that

follow when

> the girl grows up.

>

> The " trauma " made the father bury the child in a hole near their

hamlet, the

> report said, adding that, when the mother protested, the man

threatened her.

>

> But the matter became known to the local authorities, who ordered

the grave

> to be exhumed.

>

>

> The baby was found to be alive and was taken to a hospital, the

report said.

> A case was registered against her father, who had run away, the

report said.

>

> AFP