News, 22 August 2003

A 56-year-old grandmother desperate for another child has put ads in shops and a newspaper in Hampshire, England, to find an egg donor. Mrs Priscilla Eatwell, who was sterilised at the age of 24 after having two children and later had another via IVF, was turned down for further treatment because of her age. She now hopes to be treated at Dr Severino Antinori's clinic in Rome. In 1994, Dr Antinori assisted a 63-year-old woman in becoming the oldest known woman to give birth but his activities have been widely criticised by pro-life groups and genetics watchdogs. [BBC, 21 August, This is Southampton, 21 August]


A study involving nearly 30,000 pregnant women has found that women who drink wine are more likely to become pregnant than those who drink beer and spirits or who do not drink at all. Mette Juhl of the Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, who led the research, said: "It shows a link between fertility and wine drinking. We don't know exactly why wine drinkers become pregnant quicker. It could be something in the wine, or, for example, that wine drinkers have healthier diets." However, fertility expert Peter Brinsden urged caution. "My advice is to be careful. Any more than two glasses of wine a day is almost certain to reduce natural fertility - not just among women," he said. [This is London, 21 August]


The British Dental Health Foundation is warning women that poor diet during pregnancy may damage babies' teeth. As part of Pregnancy Week, beginning 1 September, the foundation is putting across the message that calcium and vitamins C and D are important for the growth of strong teeth and bones. Baby teeth [still within the gums] are fully formed before birth. [This is Lancashire, 21 August]


A 13-year-old boy has been told that a mistake at an IVF clinic left him with the wrong father, Sky News reports. After a six-year legal battle and DNA tests, it transpired that the boy's mother had been given the wrong sperm when she attended the Wellington Hospital in north-west London. [Sky News, 22 August]


The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that the foetus is a person under state law. The ruling, which will allow wrongful death claims to be filed on behalf of the unborn, has been criticised as an assault on Roe v. Wade. However, Justice Jim Smith said that the legal change in definition had nothing to do with abortion. [Telegram.com, 22 August]


A 17-month-old baby boy suffering from a rare and potentially fatal blood disorder has been successfully treated through an umbilical cord blood transplant. When Corben Campbell was diagnosed with Wiskott Aldrich syndrome, his parents were warned that most children with the condition die before reaching their teens, but thanks to the successful transplant, he has now developed new bone marrow and a new immune system. [The Boston Channel, 20 August]

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