Having babies help prevent cancers/Surrogate mother 'auctioned baby over internet'

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Babies help prevent cancers

http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C10117%2C15443868-29277%2C00.html

By Janelle Miles

May 29, 2005

AAP

 

THE more babies a woman has, the less likely it is that she will get breast,

colorectal, ovarian and uterine cancers, Australian research suggests.

 

Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) found

increasing numbers of pregnancies were associated with a significantly

reduced risk of certain cancers.

" The more children you have, the more protective it gets, " said medical

health statistician Steven Darlington.

 

" It seems that an increase in the hormones produced during pregnancy are

protecting against cancer, but we're not quite sure exactly how or why that

happens. "

 

 

He studied more than 1.2 million Swedish women, including about 25,000 who

had delivered twins, to determine the effect of reproductive history on a

number of different cancers.

 

The women had all given birth between 1961 and 1996.

 

Mr Darlington said Swedish, rather than Australian women, were studied

because of Sweden's highly-detailed civil birth and cancer registries.

 

The study was originally designed to test whether giving birth to twins

protected women against types of cancers believed to be affected by

hormones.

 

Women who deliver twins are subject to different hormone levels than those

with single pregnancies.

 

Although the study found twin births were associated with a decrease in the

risk of breast, colorectal, ovarian and uterine cancers, this was not

statistically significant.

 

" Having twins is protective but not as significant as having more children, "

Mr Darlington said.

 

He said colorectal cancer seemed to be particularly related to hormonal

influences.

 

A study in the 1960s found nuns had extremely high levels of colorectal

cancer compared to other women.

 

" Since then a lot of other studies have been done and there's a great amount

of evidence now that an increase in children is a significantly protective

factor against this cancer, " Mr Darlington said.

 

The study, published in Twin Research and Human Genetics, also found women

who started a family later in life were at greater risk of breast cancer

than other mothers.

 

Mr Darlington, who now works for Queensland Health's breast cancer screening

program, said such studies helped scientists better identify women at

increased susceptibility of developing certain cancers.

 

" If you know that women who have less children are more likely to contract

breast cancer then you can screen them more frequently, " he said.

 

Nevertheless, he admitted the research had some limitations including an

inability to control for factors like miscarriage, abortion, use of the oral

contraceptive pill, assisted reproductive technologies, diet and exercise.

 

Surrogate mother 'auctioned baby over internet'

From Anthony Browne in Brussels

 

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C19509-1627999%2C00.html

 

BELGIAN and Dutch authorities are investigating claims that a

surrogate mother sold her baby over the internet after telling the intended

parents that she had had a miscarriage.

 

 

 

A Dutch couple are alleged to have paid ?15,000 (£10,300) for

the baby, Donna, rather than the ?10,000 to cover medical costs agreed

between the birth mother and a Flemish couple for whom the child was

intended.

 

Before the birth, the woman allegedly bargained over the

internet with two Belgian homosexuals and a couple from the Netherlands,

offering the baby for ?15,000. The Dutch couple finally " won the auction "

and began the process of adopting Donna, who was born on February 26.

 

Police seized the surrogate mother's computer as part of an

inquiry into alleged human trafficking violations. The woman, from Limburg,

northeast Belgium, and her husband are being questioned by Belgian police.

 

The baby is now the subject of a custody battle between the

Dutch and Flemish couples. The latter are claiming custody and have

requested a DNA test, saying that the husband is the child's biological

father. However, under Belgian law surrogacy contracts have no legal

currency, according to Le Soir newspaper.

 

The Dutch couple have started an adoption process and say that

they have no intention of giving up Donna.

 

The Dutch Council for the Protection of Children is examining if

the correct adoption procedures were followed and if payment had been made.