Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in today's world. People tend to turn to the law when trying to decide what is the best possible solution to an unwanted pregnancy. Here the author's views on abortion are discussed from a lawyer's and a woman's point of view. By taking into consideration the rights of the fetus an "antagonistic relationship" between the woman and her unborn chil...

UNLABELLED Pregnancy is a period of both joy and anxiety in a woman's life and is characterized by various physiological changes in her body brought about by the circulating female sex hormones. The oral cavity is also the seat of changes and these physiologic changes of pregnancy need to be addressed while managing the pregnant woman in the dental clinic. The main goal is to minimize the occur...

Available information suggests that nonadherence with medication is a common problem in pregnant women. Not taking prescribed drugs may have potentially negative consequences as patients may not achieve their therapeutic goal. In addition to the many factors that may influence medication-taking behaviour in the general population, unique challenges are encountered in pregnant women as both mate...

Although this situation reflects in part a broader mistrust of official pronouncements, and has been fuelled by media campaigning, it is founded on the misinformed perception that there is ongoing scientific uncertainty. There is now unequivocal evidence that MMR is not a risk factor for autism—this statement is not spin or medical conspiracy, but reflects an unprecedented volume of medical stu...

New technology in ultrasound imaging is allowing women to view more visually precise images of their fetuses than ever before. Maternal-fetal bonding describes the attachment interaction that forms between a mother and her unborn child. Ultrasound diagnosis modalities including two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) may create differences in the amount of materna...

Pregnancy in Pompe disease is still a rare event. Only few reports have been published. Physiological changes of pregnancy may be aggravated by Pompe disease or vice versa. Both may pose a risk for the mother and the unborn child. This talk outlines physiological changes of the cardiovascular, respiratory and hormonal system during pregnancy and delineates the impact on a 36-year-old Pompe pati...

A variety of clinical manifestations of mercury intoxication may be encountered depending mainly upon the mercurial involved. Inhalation of elemental mercury results in pulmonary, central nervous system (CNS) and kidney damage. The CNS damage produces a spectrum of behavioural and neurological deficits. Ingestion of inorganic mercurials may, because of their corrosive nature, produce devastatin...

OBJECTIVE To determine baseline variables associated with low intentions of stopping smoking early in pregnancy. DESIGN Cross sectional survey. PARTICIPANTS Pregnant smokers pooled across seven Smoke-Free Families trials (n = 1314). RESULTS 36% of pregnant smokers had low intentions of stopping smoking within the next 30 days. In contrast to pregnant smokers with higher intentions of quit...

The field of behavioral genetics has engendered a host of moral and social concerns virtually since its inception. The policy implications of a genetic basis for behaviors are widespread and extend beyond the clinic to the socially important realms of education, criminal justice, childbearing, and child rearing. The development of new techniques and analytic approaches, including whole-genome s...