News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms July 13, 2008

News to know:

British woman, 55, who advertised for egg donor on buses, gives birth
Linda Weeks and her husband Richard tried for 14 years to have a baby, according to BBC News reports.
After Linda turned 55, the cut-off age for fertility treatments in England, the couple spent almost $4,000 advertising for an egg donor on the sides of London buses before an anonymous donor offered to help them.
Almost 100 women responded to the 50 ads placed by the couple, but only one followed through with the donation. She was not paid for the procedure.

Another reason to watch your waist: Bad sperm
Obese men have worse sperm quality than normal-weight men, according to research presented at a recent meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
Experts aren't sure if that necessarily means obese men face major difficulties having children, saying a healthy woman's fertility may compensate. However, if both partners are heavy, there could be a problem, since obesity is known to decrease women's fertility.

Actor Brad Pitt: Repeater Daddy-Come-Lately, 44, with Actress Angelina Jolie, 33
Brad Pitt was at Angelina Jolie's side on Saturday during the delivery of their twins--a son and a daughter--looking on as the doctor performed a Caesarean section. Son Knox Leon weighed 5.03 pounds and daughter Vivienne Marcheline weighed 5 pounds.

Are home births dangerous?
The American Medical Association (AMA) has agreed to back a measure called "Resolution 205," a request to support the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG) position that home births are not safe.
The AMA and ACOG are at odds with those who say women should have the choice to give birth at home or in a hospital.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives issued a statement supporting planned home births, citing a study in the British Medical Journal that showed home births to be no riskier than hospital births.

Rikki Lake versus the AMA and ACOG

Former talk show host Rikki Lake is squaring off against two powerful medical organizations: the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

ACOG recently issued a statement, which the AMA supports, that says the home is not the safest place to have a baby because "an apparently uncomplicated pregnancy or delivery can quickly become very complicated."

The ACOG statement reads:

“ ...the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and ACOG, or in a freestanding birthing center that meets the standards of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission, or the American Association of Birth Centers."

So why is Lake at the center of this controversy? Her film, "The Business of Being Born," a documentary of the maternity care care system, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, shows Lake giving birth to her second son, who is now 7, in the bathtub of her Manhattan apartment.

The AMA states that "much attention in the media by celebrities having home deliveries" -- and then the resolution specifically mentions Lake and her film.