Word: fetal
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Known as hydronephrosis, the condition can lead to death for newborn babies. Normally, fetal urine flows into the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus; when the lower urinary tract is obstructed, the urine accumulates in the kidneys and bladder, which then begin to balloon, crowding the fetus' developing lungs and damaging the kidneys. In the Skinner case, doctors chose a new and promising method of treatment: surgery with the fetus still in the womb...
...caution extends earlier warnings on the hazards of heavy drinking during pregnancy. Studies have shown that 30% to 45% of infants born to women who drink upwards of 3 oz. of pure alcohol daily (the equivalent of six or more cocktails) have a set of defects known collectively as fetal alcohol syndrome. Its ravages include mental retardation, growth deficiencies and distinctive facial features. Similar problems occur in about 10% of the babies born to women who consume 1 to 2 oz. of alcohol...
Most experts on fetal alcohol syndrome believe that abstinence is the most prudent course, but a few are concerned that the official warning was based on inconclusive evidence. Dr. Henry Rosett of Boston University School of Medicine notes that many obstetricians believe that small amounts of alcohol are harmless and relaxing, and they allow pregnant patients a glass of wine with the evening meal. Dr. Joe Simpson of Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago worries about instilling guilt in women who take an occasional drink: "Even if the studies are correct, it need not follow that every woman...
Virginia. Republican Governor John Daton last week vetoed a hotly contested bill that would have provided funds for abortions in cases of rape, incest or gross fetal abnormality. The Governor felt the bill was too liberal. Lieutenant Governor Charles Robb, a probable Democratic nominee for Governor this year, had cast the tie-breaking vote in the state senate for the bill. Baptist Preacher Jerry Falwell of Lynchburg, leader of the Moral Majority, called Robb's vote "shocking and unexpected" and vowed it would end Robb's chances of election...
...inhibits labor by relaxing the muscles of the uterus. In tests on 350 pregnant women at eleven centers in the U.S., it has successfully prolonged pregnancy to the 36th week in more than half of the cases. The drug, to be sure, has side effects, including increased maternal and fetal heart rate, a slight drop in blood pressure, palpitations, tremors and nervousness. Recalls one Chicago mother, Susie Kellett: "It was like superspeed." Still, the effects appear to be transient; Kellett went on to give birth to healthy quadruplets...