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No One-Child for This Couple From China
China has a pesky law that effects all couples who would like to start families. You are only allowed to have one-child, a policy that has been in place since 1978. Also illegal is the act of surrogacy. But a couple from Guangzhou opted to not just hire not one but two women to carry their fertilized embryos but they ended up with a stunning number of babies…eight in total.
But did not strive to have eight initially… Continue reading »
Oh, is that little guy in there? I think we just made a person!
The Christian Science Monitor observed today, “At first glance, the tea party movement that crashed the 2010 congressional midterm election took an elbow to the nose in Election 2011.” One of the reasons for that? The so-called personhood amendment proposed in Mississippi “that would give legal status to a fertilized egg.”
As long as that egg isn’t inside an illegal laborer from Mexico, of course. Continue reading »
What kind of gift do you give your mom to say thanks when she gives you her womb? You know, besides a grandchild.
Earlier this year a 25-year-old Swedish woman born without reproductive organs announced plans to have her 56-year-old mom’s womb transplanted into her so she could try to have a baby of her own.
Now comes word that a 34-year-old Australian women will also undergo a womb transplant after her mom agreed to donate hers, according to the Daily Telegraph.
So, is attempting to give birth in the very same womb where you resided in utero the new trend?
Continue reading »
Does the upside outweigh the downside in a contest to win IVF treatments?
Earlier this year a charity in the United Kingdom launched a lottery, the winner of which received free in vitro fertilization treatments.
Some cried that the lottery preyed on the emotions of parents unable to conceive, most of whom would be unlucky enough to win the pricey treatments. Others argued that the upside for the winner was enough to make it worthwhile.
But what to make of a competition launched by a Canadian radio station in which they are advertising the chance to “win a baby?”
Hot 89.9 in Ottawa is offering three rounds of fertility treatments worth over $30,000 to the contestant who can convince listeners and a panel of judges in 100 words or less that they are most deserving of the chance to become parents, according to The Guardian.
Continue reading »
People are having babies older all over the place. But the top end of the older mom spectrum is growing especially fast. The number of women over 45 who had babies in the past 10 years has more than doubled. Over 50, the increase is even steeper: 375%. And nearly 25% of babies are adopted by parents who are 45 years older than they are. Technology is an obvious factor. Not long ago, motherhood just wasn’t an option past a certain point. But there are other things going on. Women have always been pressured to look younger than they are. But advances in cosmetic surgery and dermatology have made it more possible for them to impersonate younger women. The aesthetic of beauty has blurred to include a kind of ageless artificiality, embodied by Courtney Stodden, the 16-year-old who looks like a 35-year-old Real Housewife. And as Lisa Miller, author of the New York Magazine article “Parents of a Certain Age“, says, “Nothing—not a sports car, not a genius dye job—says ‘I’m young’ like a baby on your hip.”
Most women who are drawn to parenthood in their late 40s or 50s are not consciously chasing the fountain of youth. They are answering a deep longing, the way most of us were when we conceived our children. They may have always wanted children but never found themselves in circumstances to have them. Or they may have discovered a longing for a child late in life. Whatever the motives, parenthood at this age is often met with quite the same reaction from the culture at large. Continue reading »
What helps kids pick up verbal skills?
We all know not all kindergartners are created equal. Some come into their first day of school knowing how to read, while others still have trouble speaking and recognizing letters. There’s a broad range of development among five-year-olds.
In a new study highlighting some of the causes of these gaps, a British study shows that by the time they turn five, babies born via fertility assistance are generally about 8 months ahead of those born after unplanned pregnancies, developmentally speaking.
What? Don’t worry if you got knocked up by accident. IVF doesn’t magically confer bonus IQ points on babies. Rather, being prepared to parent a kid tends to boost your child’s development.
Should IVF be state-funded?
For couples grappling with infertility, one of the most daunting aspects can be the cost. Fertility treatments can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and there’s no guarantee they’ll work.
Is it a risk worth pouring your life savings into? Clearly, many people decide to do it. Many more would if they had the means.
In Israel, the government has removed worries about cost from the equation. Every Israeli woman is entitled to unlimited IVF treatments for up to two “take-home babies”, the New York Times reports. As a result, Israel has the highest rate of infertility treatments in the world. About four percent of babies are born via IVF in Israel, as compared to about one percent in the United States.
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