News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms, July 24, 2008

News to know:


Twin sisters "Team" has triplets
Darla and Mark Pritchard struggled with infertility for five years. Her twin sister, Dana, volunteered to be a surrogate. Both Darla and Dana, 39, got pregnant when Mark's fertilized eggs were implanted.
On Feb. 27, Darla gave birth to twins, Mallory and Wesley. Six weeks later, Dana had a girl, Mattie. They're considered triplets and biological siblings. All three will be raised by Darla and Mark, who will adopt Mattie.
To see a video of an interview with Darla and Dana on the Today show, go here.

Cord blood choices: Private fears vs. public good
Parents-to-be have to decide what to do with their child’s cord blood, a rich source of stem cells, the building blocks of blood that can potentially be used to treat certain cancers and other diseases.
About 97 percent of these moms and dads will do nothing, and the umbilical cord and the cells it contains will be discarded as medical waste. The other parents will be caught in the debate between private cord blood firms vying to cash in on an estimated $1 billion industry and public registries trying to boost diverse donations to fuel research and save lives in the community at large.

Baby bottle chemical levels safe, EU agency says
The amount of a controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) found in baby bottles is tiny and cannot harm human health, the European Union's top food safety body said.
A scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) studied how people metabolize BPA and concluded that tiny amounts of the chemical to which humans are exposed leave body quick enough to cause no harm.

Soy-based foods may lower sperm count
Eating a half serving a day of soy-based foods could be enough to significantly lower a man's sperm count, according to U.S. researchers who studied 99 men who went to a fertility clinic between 2000 and 2006.
The serving amount, based on isoflavone content, equaled one cup of soy milk or one serving of tofue, tempeh or soy burgers every other day.
Men in the highest intake category had 41 million sperm per milliliter less than men who ate no soy foods. A normal sperm count ranges from 80 million and 120 million per milliliter, and a sperm count of 20 million per milliliter or below is considered low.
The researchers found the association between soy foods and lower sperm count was stronger in overweight men, suggesting hormones are playing a role.