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Jessica Guedes, 30, a nurse, was six months pregnant and apparently healthy when she fell ill in the limo on the way to the church last Sunday in São Paulo. At first her family thought she was suffering from anxiety due to wedding nerves after she complained of feeling dizzy with pains in her neck. Because of this, the entourage was running late and they were unaware the victim was suffering from the pre-eclampsia which would shortly rob her of her young life and motherhood. The bride was declared brain dead by doctors shortly after arriving at the hospital. Pre-eclampsia...

University of Michigan and NIH scientists find a biological mechanism to explain the phenomenon ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- During pregnancy, many women experience remission of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and uveitis. Now, scientists have described a biological mechanism responsible for changes in the immune system that helps to explain the remission. The expression of an enzyme known as pyruvate kinase is reduced in immune cells in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women, according to Howard R. Petty, Ph.D., biophysicist at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center and Roberto Romero, M.D., of the National Institutes for Health. The study,...

A common household substance may be the key to reducing the number of babies born each year with cerebral palsy, a study being published today has found. Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine found that infusing pregnant women at risk of premature birth with magnesium sulfate -- commonly known as Epsom salts -- just before they delivered cut their chances of having a baby with cerebral palsy in half. The study's authors say the findings could translate into immediate application by doctors in clinical settings, where about 3 of every 1,000 babies end up being diagnosed...

AP SCIENCE WRITER A disappointing new study found that vitamin C and E supplements given to healthy pregnant women do not reduce their risk of developing preeclampsia, a complication that can be lethal to both mother and child. Similarly, a recent British study found that the supplements do not help women who run a high risk of preeclampsia, and might even harm their babies by leading to low birth weight. Preeclampsia happens when vessels in the mother's womb constrict, cutting off blood and oxygen to the fetus. It occurs in late pregnancy and produces a spike in blood pressure. No...

New US government website attacked for comments on sexuality and effectiveness of condoms (Extract from one of the many articles in the gay and liberal press attacking the new semi honest position on useless condoms) The wording of information about condoms on the site is also potentially misleading (they mean factual). US abstinence education programmes usually only mention condoms when referring to their potential for failure. The 4parents.com site suggests that condoms offer only “moderate” protection against HIV and gonorrhoea, “less” protection against Chlamidya, herpes and human papilloma virus, and that the ability of condoms to protect against syphilis “has...