Sonia Arrison » Family issues

Stem cells and reproduction

sonia — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:59:14 +0000

From the Mail Online:

“Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood.

It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own.

But it raises a number of moral and ethical concerns. These include the possibility of children being born through entirely artificial means, and men and women being sidelined from the process of making babies.”

Woman Who Gave Birth at age 66 Dies, Leaving behind Twin Toddlers

sonia — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:04:57 +0000

It’s a fact that as humans age, the chance of getting cancer increases. Unfortunately for Carmen Bousada and her twin boys, she fell to the disease much earlier than she had expected. Her own mother had lived to 101 years, so she assumed she would have another 30 years or so left to raise her children. Some will argue that assisted fertility at 66 years is irresponsible, yet if Ms. Bousada really could have lived to 100 years in a healthy state, then having children at that age is perfectly reasonable. With technologies to repair humans accelerating daily, it may be the case that Ms. Bousada’ expectations were only slightly ahead of her time.

Here’s more on the story from AP.

Men’s biological clock — ticking

sonia — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:06:24 +0000

Most men I know think they don’t have an “expiry date” when it comes to having children, but the evidence is starting to point out that they do. Given that most of the research in turning back biological clocks is focused on women’s bodies, perhaps one day it will be women of any age that are looking for younger men when they decide to have children.

US experiences baby “boomlet”

sonia — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:57:30 +0000

That’s right, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were more babies born in 2007 than at any other time in US history. But before anyone starts predicting another massive “baby boom” wave, the experts are saying that it is more of a blip than a trend, especially with the current economy. A couple things spring to the top of my mind: celebs like Angelina Jolie. Madonna, and others made pregnancy and adoption look cool over the past couple of years, which may have had some influence. Also, fertility clinics are busy with many older mothers.