Valproate Poses Risk to Unborn Child

Reducing risks to the unborn child.

If clinicians are to play a leading role in reducing risks to the fetus, they have to think outside the box. Improved pregnancy outcomes require that medical and health professionals, including midwives and nurses, work with others far beyond the confines of the antenatal clinic and the delivery room. For the WHO-estimated 200 million plus conceptions globally each year, mostly among disadvanta...

Our unborn children at risk?

T he study by Ang et al. (1) in this issue of PNAS strikes a precautionary note, in that it presents experimental evidence that prolonged continuous ultrasound (US) exposure may cause mild disruption in neuronal migration to the cerebral cortex in fetal mice. The authors (1) suggest that such neuronal heterotopia may result in anomalies in brain circuitry and synaptic activity. Does this study ...

The unborn child in Canadian law.

Unborn child abuse: contemplating legal solution.

Scientific News Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption among Women Poses a Significant Health Risk for the Unborn Population

T he combined rate of FAS and FASD has been estimated to be as high as 1 in 100 births. Estimates of the economic burden of FAS and FASD in the U.S. have ranged anywhere from $75 million to $9.7 billion per year. Considering alcohol-related birth defects and disabilities are preventable and that FAS is a leading cause of mental retardation, it remains critically important to identify and follow...