A drive to lower the incidence of multiple births in fertility treatments

Darkfrog submitted, created time 10 months 2 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

Doctors employing in vitro fertilization tend to implant several healthy embryos in the hopes that at least one will end up as a full-term healthy baby. However, this technique often leads to multiple births. Women carrying three or more children have a dramatically increased risk of health problems, premature birth and miscarriage, to the point where doctors often recommend "reducing," or selectively aborting one of the fetuses once it becomes apparent that triplets or more are on the way

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Mom's Low Cholesterol Tied to Preemie Births

deutschen submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (health.usnews.com)

While lower cholesterol is generally considered a good thing, new research suggests that very low cholesterol levels in pregnant women may harm the health of the fetus. Expectant mothers whose total cholesterol levels were under 159 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) gave birth -- on average -- to babies weighing about one-third of a pound less than babies born to mothers whose cholesterol levels exceeded 159 mg/dL, the researchers found.

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