Babies with three genetic parents could be born by 2015 to prevent Mitochondial disease

The first baby with three parents could be born as early as 2015 after a landmark decision to move ahead on a controversial genetic treatment. Britain could become the first country to sanction the creation of babies with three genetic parents, despite fears it might lead to ‘designer babies’. The Government will publish draft regulations later this year that will bring techniques a step closer to giving women affected by devastating hereditary diseases the chance to have healthy children. The techniques involve replacing defective DNA in the mother’s egg with material from a donor egg. The resulting healthy child would effectively have two mothers and a father. For the first time the ‘germ line’ of inherited DNA from the mother would be altered which, critics say, marks a turning point in the ethics of test-tube babies. But the Government’s chief medical officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said the alteration did not affect fundamental DNA that determines an individual’s make-up such as facial features and eye colour. She compared the new techniques to replacing a defective ‘battery pack’ in a cell that would virtually eliminate the chance of a severe disease in the child. She said: ‘Scientists have developed ground-breaking new procedures which could stop these diseases being passed on, bringing hope to many families seeking to prevent their future children inheriting them. ‘It’s only right that we look to introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can. ‘What we’re going to do now is start to develop the regulations, to consult on the regulations, and then to take them into Parliament.’ If MPs approve the regulations at the end of next year, the first patients could be assessed and approved for treatment in 2015. It is expected that between five and ten healthy babies with three parents could be born each year to couples who might otherwise face the heartbreak of seeing them severely disabled and often dying prematurely. In these cases, a healthy child would inherit the parents’ nuclear DNA, along with mitochondrial DNA from a donor. Dame Sally denied the UK was leading the way to designer babies. She said there was a ban on changing nuclear DNA which ‘I don’t see changing in the foreseeable future’. She said: ‘I do think quite carefully about ethics, I always did as a clinician and I still do, perhaps because my father was a theologian. 'I am comfortable with this. I think we will save some five to ten babies from being born with ghastly disease and early death without changing what they look like, or how they behave, and it will help mothers to have their own babies.’ One in 6,500 babies is born seriously affected by a mitochondrial disorder which can lead to hearing and vision loss, heart, lung and liver problems, and bowel disorders. An estimated 12,000 people in the UK live with the diseases. The move to consult on regulations which would legalise the technique comes after a consultation requested by the Government and run by the fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which found there was ‘general support’ from the public. Article: 29th June 2013 www.dailymail.co.uk Read more about IVF and fertility treatments at www.prideangel.com

Pregnant women who take Iron have bigger and healthier babies

Pregnant women who take a daily iron supplement give birth to bigger and healthier babies, according to a new study. Researchers found taking iron during pregnancy is associated with a significant increase in birth weight, and a reduction in risk of low birth weight. The effects were seen for iron doses up to 66mg per day. The World Health Organisation currently recommends a dose of 60mg per day for pregnant women. Iron deficiency is the most widespread nutritional deficiency in the world. It is the most common cause of anaemia during pregnancy, especially in low and middle income countries, affecting an estimated 32 million pregnant women globally. Studies suggest an association between prenatal anaemia and risk of premature birth, but evidence on other birth outcomes is inconsistent. Researchers in Britain and the U.S. analysed the results of more than 90 studies of prenatal iron use and prenatal anaemia, involving nearly two million women. They found that iron use increased a mother's average haemoglobin levels and significantly reduced the risk of anaemia. There was no reduction in risk of premature birth as a result of iron use. However, further analysis showed a significantly higher risk of low birth weight and premature birth with anaemia in the first or second trimester of pregnancy. Further analysis indicated that for every 10mg increase in iron dose per day risk of maternal anaemia was 12 per cent lower, birth weight increased by 15g, and risk of low birth weight decreased by three per cent. The researchers said: ‘Our findings suggest that use of iron in women during pregnancy may be used as a preventive strategy to improve maternal haematological status and birth weight.’ They called for ‘rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of existing antenatal care programmes in high burden countries to identify gaps in policy and programme implementation’. And they said future studies should explore ‘feasible strategies of iron delivery’, as well as ‘evaluation of the effectiveness of other strategies, such as fortification and dietary diversification’. Top 10 Foods which are high in Iron: 1) Mussels, Oysters, Shrimp 2) Liver 3) Squash and Pumpkin seeds 4) Nuts (Cashew, Hazelnut, Peanut) 5) Beef and Lamb 6) Beans and Pulses 7) Whole Grain and Bran 8) Spinach 9) Dark Chocolate 10)Tofu Article: 21st June 2013 www.dailymail.co.uk

Adjustment problems for surrogate born children are minimal says study

Children born with the help of sperm or egg donation or via surrogacy are well-adjusted at the age of ten, a study says. Surrogate-born children demonstrated slightly higher levels of adjustment difficulties at seven years old, although they remained well within normal limits for that age. The authors suggest that 'the absence of a gestational connection to the mother may be more problematic for children than the absence of a genetic link'. The study was led by Professor Susan Golombok, director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge. Her team followed 30 families who used surrogacy, 31 egg donation families, 35 donor insemination families and 53 families who conceived naturally to assess the effects of reproductive donation on children's emotional wellbeing. The researchers looked at how the children behaved at three, seven, and ten years old, as assessed by their mothers and teachers. At all ages, children born with the help of reproductive donation showed adjustment levels in the normal range. 'Signs of adjustment problems could be behaviour problems, such as aggressive or antisocial behaviour, or emotional problems, such as anxiety or depression', Professor Golombok told NBC Today. Such problems can arise in some adopted children, and Professor Golombok wanted to assess children born through reproductive donation as these children also miss a gestational or genetic link to their parents. At seven years old, the children born with the help of a surrogate showed slightly higher levels of adjustment difficulties. All 30 surrogate-born children had been told about their origins by this age, compared to only one in three of the donor-conceived children. Those children who had been told by age seven showed slightly elevated adjustment difficulties, an unexpected finding. But the results are not definitive; each of the four study groups has a relatively small number of children and the differences between groups were not pronounced. Professor Golombok told NBC Today that her team 'hope to revisit the children next year when they are 14 years old, as issues to do with identity become important in adolescence'. The research was published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Article: 24th June 2013 www.bionews.org.uk Read more about surrogacy and donor conception at www.prideangel.com

How long can you wait to have a baby? Apparently longer than most women think. The long-ingrained fear of age-induced infertility - that women will not be able to conceive if they wait too long - is actually based on science that dates back to the 17th Century. The widely-accepted notion that 30per cent of women aged 35 to 39 will fail to fall pregnant is based on a 2004 article published in the journal, Human Reproduction, according to The Atlantic. However the source of that data actually comes from French birth records between 1670 and 1830. It seems that studies of natural fertility in females have rarely included women born in the 20th century. Instead, the reported decline in fertility over the course of a woman’s Thirties has been based on statistics from a time when electricity was yet to be invented. Indeed, a more recent study, conducted in 2004 and published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, actually shows that women over 35 have an 82per cent chance of getting pregnant within a year. 'In our data, we’re not seeing huge drops until age 40,' explained Anne Steiner, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina. 'In short, the “baby panic” is based largely on questionable data,' writes The Atlantic's Jean Twenge. Ms Twenge also notes that studies of natural conception, regardless of age, are difficult to conduct and therefore, modern fertility statistics are under represented. 'Studies asking couples how long it took them to conceive or how long they have been trying to get pregnant are as unreliable as human memory,' she explains. 'And finding and studying women who are trying to get pregnant is challenging, as there’s such a narrow window between when they start trying and when some will succeed.' Unfortunately, fertility clinicians stand to benefit financially from women's heightened fear of infertility. The deeper anxiety women feel, the more likely they are to agree to expensive treatments, like in vitro fertilization -- which could be one explanation of doctors' widely cited infertility statistics that appear to be being oversold. Article: 21st June 2013 www.dailymail.co.uk

Denmark parliament passed law that lesbian co-mothers have same rights

Now it is possible for both women in a lesbian relationship to be registered as legal parents of their child right from birth, even if the child was conceived through artificial insemination. The parliament decided today. Until now it has only been the biological mother and father, who were regarded as the legal parents - even if the father was just a sperm donor. This meant that the so-called medmoder, ie. the other woman in the relationship, had no rights. "I was so happy when the law was passed. At that time the government program was published, there was a lot of nice people who wrote to me about that particular point and asked when it came to happen, "said SF's family spokesperson Anne Baastrup. The change was part of the government program, but also Unity, and Liberal Alliance voted for in Parliament. More equality: The amendment means that co-mothers to children conceived by artificial insemination are now covered by the Children Act on equal footing with fathers. Article:20th June 2013 Source: Retsinformation.dk Read more about known sperm donation at www.prideangel.com

Channel 4 Filmmaker wants to speak to co-parents and sperm donor families

Pride Angel have been contacted by female filmmaker with an award-winning television production company called ‘Below The Radar’. They are developing a documentary for Channel 4 in the UK on the subject of co-parenting and sperm donation. They wish to get in contact with UK based donors and recipients who are choosing to start their own families through direct contact with each other. The Filmmaker called Eimhear says ‘I understand that this is highly personal and sensitive and I am committed to this subject matter both as a producer and in my personal life. Ultimately I am trying to find people who are trying to co-parent and /or donate to appear in this timely and much needed documentary. Contacting me stage will not be considered a sign of commitment to appearing in any programme, I'd just like to hear your stories and experiences to date and your privacy will be completely safeguarded.’ ‘My contact info is included - if you are interested in chatting to me and learning more about our project and company, please get in touch at your earliest convenience. We are working to a tight deadline and I would like to hear the experiences of as many people as possible before we start filming. Our most recent co production documentary, 'Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House of God' was shortlisted for an Academy Award and won an IFTA for Best Documentary in Ireland. Good luck with your journey.’ Article: 18th June 2013 Eimhear, Below The Radar. eoneill@belowtheradar.tv 02890 315930 Alternatively contact us at Pride Angel for more information

Lesbian non-birth mother not considered legal parent after fertility treatment

In a recently published case a High Court Judge has declared a lesbian non birth mother as ‘not a parent’ due to errors at a fertility clinic. The case involved a lesbian couple who had been in a relationship for 13 years and had started a family together at a licensed fertility clinic, with the birth mother conceiving in 2009. The couple had waited for the changes in the law which allow a non birth mother to become a second parent by signing the necessary consent forms, to come into force before conception. However, now the couple have separated a dispute has arisen over whether the non birth mother should have contact with the children (twin boys). The birth mother raised the question as to whether the non birth mother could be considered a legal parent due to apparent errors made in completing and submitting the consent forms and the procedures followed by the fertility clinic in question. The court was asked to determine on this preliminary issue before hearing the application for contact and has now ruled in favour of the birth mother. Mr Justice Cobb very carefully considered the provisions under the HFEA 1990 and 2008 and the guidance given to fertility clinics. In the circumstances of the case it transpired that the consent to legal parentage for the non birth mother was not provided prior to conception and therefore she could not be considered a legal parent. In addition it was found that even if the necessary forms had been completed correctly the clinic had erred in not following the correct procedures, including failing to provide adequate counselling. Although the court has ruled in favour of the birth mother in this instance the non birth mother has been given permission to continue her application for contact with the children. It is a decision that will no doubt be of interest to both same sex parents and fertility clinics alike. It will serve as an important reminder to fertility clinics to ensure their procedures when treating couples meet the strict statutory requirements. It also highlights the conflict that can arise between couples when a relationship breaks down and the considerable heartache involved. Article: 12th June 2013 www.nataliegambleassociates.co.uk