Women, 56, Discover They Were Switched at Birth

Police are summoned, he 'fesses up

(NEWSER) - Forget cigars. One Pennsylvania dad decided he’d celebrate the impending birth of his kid by lighting up a joint with a buddy—right in the hospital, the Pittsburgh Tribune reports. He was considerate enough to use the designated smoking area, but a nurse, catching a whiff of the distinctive odor, alerted hospital security, who called the police. More»

Uncaring, brutal exams can traumatize laboring moms

(NEWSER) - The mothers of the world are mad, and they're not going to take it anymore. A growing movement against "birth rape" is placing institutions on notice that women in labor oppose any vaginal intrusion by "fingers, hands, suction cups, forceps, needles and scissors" without consent, notes the Sydney Morning Herald . Uncaring, sometimes brutal physical examinations often traumatize vulnerable laboring women, notes birthtalk.com , which defines "birth rape" as anything that "crosses decent boundaries." More»

(AP) - The biological parents of a baby boy born to a woman implanted with the wrong embryo say they will remain "eternally grateful" for her decision to turn the baby over to them. The Toledo woman gave birth to a health baby boy this week after a fertility clinic mistakenly implanted her with an embryo from Paul and Shannon Morell of Michigan. The Morells today called Carolyn Savage their "guardian angel." More»

Effective harvesting procedure involves no risk to mother, child

(NEWSER) - Scientists have found an effective way to extract stem cells from placentas, where they’re abundant, after babies are born, the Guardian reports. Placentas contain up to five times as many of the key cells as cord blood, which has become a common source, and they may be more primitive, which makes them more versatile, they say. “Yes, the stem cells are there; yes, they are viable; and yes, we can get them out,” says the team leader at a hospital in Oakland, Calif. More»

Research casts doubt on benefits of inducing birth at 37 or 38 weeks

(NEWSER) - New research suggests that inducing birth two or three weeks ahead of the full 40 weeks isn't as harmless as many doctors believe, the Globe and Mail reports. The study found that children born after 37 weeks tended to have IQs 1.7 points lower than those born at 38 or 39 weeks, and had a higher, though small, risk of dying in early infancy. More»