New research from UCLA indicates that the mothers of multiple gay sons tend to process X chromasomes differently from other mothers. This provides further evidence that sexual orientation is genetically determined. The results aren’t conclusive at this point, and other researchers caution that further study, with a larger sample, is needed, but it’s still an […]
That’s the very tongue-in-cheek premise of a scathing article in the Hartford Courant, in response to a request by the conservative Family Institute of Connecticut to weigh in on same-sex marriage before the state Supreme Court. The Institute claims that children are “disadvantaged” living in same-sex households, and thus same-sex couples shouldn’t be allowed to
A new IVF method that lets fertilization and embryo development occur inside a woman’s body, rather than in the lab, could mean more options and cheaper IVF treatments. (Thanks to Blogging Baby for the sighting.) Egg and sperm are placed in a special vial and inserted into a woman’s vagina to develop into embryos, when
USA Today has just published a piece on same-sex adoption, noting that 16 states have now taken action to pass laws or create November ballot initiatives to ban it. One member of a conservative “pro-family” (gag!) group sees this as an extension of same-sex marriage bans: by preventing same-sex marriage, and then defining marriage as
Adoptive Family magazine has a good article on how to deal with insensitive comments relatives may make about adopted children. They recommend that you: Appoint yourself ambassador of adoption. “Immunize” yourself before family encounters. Do a background check [with other relatives, not the FBI] on problematic relatives. Hold your ground firmly but with compassion. Much
Some good news to end the year: Same-sex couples (and heterosexual, non-married couples) in the UK are now legally able to adopt children or become co-parents through in-vitro fertilization. The Adoption and Children Act also gives parents who gave up children for adoption the right to try and trace their children, and to be put
A new study from Maastricht University claims that women who take more than a year to conceive are more likely to produce sons: 58% vs. 51%. For every additional year of “natural” conception attempts, there is an almost 4% higher probability of having a boy. Apparently, women who struggle to conceive are more likely to
The U. S. National Center for Health Statistics has released its analysis of birth data for 2004. One of the potentially worrisome findings was that C-sections in the U. S. are at an all-time high. The increase may be connected in part to the rise in multiple and preterm births, as well as a large drop in
Reportedly, pulmonary embolism has overtaken all other causes of maternal mortality in the past two to three decades. Research from a thirty-year study just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that pregnant women and those up to three months postpartum are four times more likely than other women to suffer pulmonary embolism or
Researchers at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin, Ireland, announced a new screening test last week to detect Down syndrome in first-trimester fetuses. If the results of the test are positive, a woman can then choose to have further tests to confirm the diagnosis. The new test, a combination of a blood test and
