Behind the Headlines

Pregnancy/child

Can your mother's weight affect your adult health?

15 May 2012
scales “Overweight mothers-to-be could be condemning their unborn children to decades of ill health,” the Daily Mail reported.
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Clot risk of contraceptive patch examined

14 May 2012
woman smiling “Women using a vaginal ring or skin patch for contraception are at around double the risk of a blood clot compared to those taking the Pill,” says the Daily Mail.
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Premature births 'fell 10% after smoking ban'

21 Mar 2012
No-Smoking Sign Scotland’s premature birth rate has fallen by 10% since the public smoking ban came into force in 2006, BBC News reported today.
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Babies born early 'at higher risk of illness'

20 Mar 2012
Sleeping baby “Babies born just a few weeks early have a higher risk of poor health,” The Guardian reported today. According to the newspaper, new research has found that being born just a few weeks early can raise their risk of conditions such as asthma.
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Chronic fatigue syndrome 'cause of school absence'

15 Dec 2011
child with head on table Chronic fatigue syndrome could affect one in 100 pupils, BBC News reported. The Daily Telegraph said that this means the condition could be 10 times more common than previously thought.
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Call for more maternity training

10 Aug 2011
Pregnant woman holding stomach BBC News has reported “a call for more maternity doctors” by a group of six UK obstetricians who said that most maternal deaths are now caused by treatable medical conditions. In a British Medical Journal...
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A new way to choose IVF embryos?

10 Aug 2011
blood pressure “A video technique that may significantly boost a woman’s odds of having a baby could soon be available,” according to the Daily Mail. The news is based on research in mice that investigated...
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Artificial mouse sperm from stem cells

05 Aug 2011
White Mouse “Fertility experts are hailing a mouse study in which working sperm cells were created from embryonic stem cells in mice as ‘hugely exciting’,” reports the BBC. Other news sources have suggested that these results...
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'Bear bile' chemical studied for irregular hearts

03 Aug 2011
Stethoscope and blood pressure band “Bear bile could help prevent arrhythmia in heart attack sufferers,” reported the Daily Mail. This headline is based on a laboratory study investigating the effects of bile acid on the electrical signals of...
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Reminder given on baby salt limits

02 Aug 2011
baby holding mothers hand “Seven in 10 babies fed too much salt,” read the Daily Express headline. The newspaper’s report said that “giving babies cow’s milk is a risk because it contains nearly four times as much salt as...
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