THE HEALTH INFO

Women undergoing fertility treatment with artificial insemination may boost their chances of pregnancy if they lie still afterwards, a study shows.

Researchers found 27% of women who lay down for 15 minutes after the procedure went on to have a baby compared with 17% who got up and moved around.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers said lying down may prevent “leakage” of sperm.

One UK doctor said fertility clinics should test the findings further.

A total of 390 couples undergoing intrauterine insemination – which involves placing sperm in the womb after stimulation of ovulation or during natural ovulation – were included in the study.

The technique is the main fertility treatment offered to couples before they go on to try IVF, particularly when the cause of infertility is unclear.

In the UK, figures suggest 12% of women under 35 who get the procedure become pregnant at the first cycle, a success rate that increases with CLICK HERE TO Continue reading Lie still for pregnancy boost

Smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of having a child with behavioural problems, according to UK and US researchers.

Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, they say the problems can be evident in children as young as three years old.

They believe smoking in pregnancy may damage the developing structure of the baby’s brain.

One expert said it was another strong reason for mothers to give up smoking.

The researchers from the universities of York, Hull and Illinois looked at more than 14,000 mother and child pairs who were taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study.

This covers UK children born between 2000 and 2001.

The mothers were categorised as light or heavy smokers depending on how many cigarettes they smoked every day during pregnancy.

They were asked to score their three-year-old children’s behaviour using a questionnaire called CLICK HERE TO Continue reading Smoking mums have problem kids

Doctors are warning expectant parents that at-home foetal heart rate monitors should be used only for “fun” and not as an alternative to medical advice.

The devices, which pick up the sound of the baby’s heartbeat, can give “false reassurance”, the British Medical Journal reports.

They can also cause unnecessary anxiety in untrained hands, doctors warn.

The Royal College of Midwives said the availability of the devices was of concern to their members.

The warning comes after a 34-year-old pregnant woman used her foetal monitor after she noticed her baby moving less frequently when 38 weeks pregnant.

Over the weekend she had reassured herself by listening to the baby’s heartbeat but went to hospital on the Monday after being unable to detect it.

An urgent ultrasound showed the baby had died in the womb and doctors believe the patient had been picking up her own heartbeat or placental blood flow with the device.

Although the tragic death may have been unavoidable, the use of a foetal heart monitor certainly delayed the patient attending hospital, says Dr Abhijoy Chakladar, an anaesthetist at Princess Royal Hospital in Brighton, who treated the patient and highlights the issue in the BMJ article.

He is quick to point out that stillbirth is a rare event and pregnant women should CLICK HERE TO Continue reading Foetal heart rate monitor warning