News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms September 8, 2008

News to know:

Woman, 59, preparing to give birth to triplets
A 59-year-old woman is due to give birth to triplets in a Paris hospital, accoridng to the French newspaper Agence France-Presse. The woman's husband is in his 40s.
The woman went to a private Vietnamese clinic willing to overlook the 45-year-old age limit for egg donation and in-vitro fertilization, the newspaper said.

Study: Kids of older dads have higher bipolar risk
Children born to older fathers face a greater chance of developing bipolar disorder, according to a recent study.
Scientists theorize that older men's sperm may be more likely to develop mutations. The study's authors maintain the odds of a person becoming bipolar are so low that it shouldn't dissuade older men from becoming fathers.

Natural birth 'may aid baby bond'
Women who gave birth naturally were more responsive to the cry of their baby than those who chose to have a Caesarean, research suggests.
A Yale University team carried out brain scans on 12 women two to four weeks after they had given birth. Half had a Caesarean, the other half gave birth naturally.
The differences in brain activity were found in regions that not only appeared to influence a mother's response to her child, but also to regulate her mood.

Early ear infections may pack on pounds later
Chronic ear infections may damage a vital taste-sensing nerve in kids, causing a preference for rich foods and making them prone to weight gain later, according to researchers.
Preliminary studies from the University of Florida College of Denistry in Gainesville said people with a serious history of childhood ear infections appear to be about 70 percent more likely to be obese than those with no history of infections.

Heavy teens run risk of severe liver damage
Some overweight teenagers have severe liver damage, called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, caused by too much body fat, and a handful have needed liver transplants, according to experts.
Two percent to 5 percent of American children over age 5, nearly all of them obese or overweight, have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to The American Liver Foundation.