Amniotic Fluid

Microbes in the wrong place at the wrong time -- a woman's amniotic fluid during pregnancy -- may play a role in causing premature births, according to a study published in the online journal PLoS ONE. Using sensitive molecular techniques, researchers found a greater quantity and variety of bacteria and fungi in a significant portion of women who gave birth prematurely. The more severe the infection, the earlier the women were likely to give birth. The amniotic sac, which surrounds a fetus, has long been considered a protected, almost inviolable, site.

Prenatal surgery for the most severe form of the birth defect spina bifida doubled the number of children who were able to walk unassisted by the age of 30 months and halved the percentage who had to have shunts implanted after birth to remove water from the brain, researchers reported Wednesday. The surgery, however, presented some risks to both children and mothers: Infants were more likely to be born preterm and mothers suffered a thinning of the uterine wall that would require all future births to end in a caesarean section.

UC San Diego Medical Center officials Friday urged that pregnant women planning to undergo a Caesarean section donate their amniotic fluid to help treat sick premature babies with a technique pioneered at the hospital. Under the program announced Friday, the treatment, which involves isolating a lung lubricant from the amniotic fluid and giving it to sick infants, will become more readily available.

Women may soon be able to find out very early in their pregnancies whether they are carrying a fetus with Down syndrome by offering a simple blood sample. The safe, noninvasive test would pose fewer risks to the mother and fetus than amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS), the two tests currently used for prenatal diagnosis. It would also give women more time to decide what to do if a diagnosis of Down syndrome is made. Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong have been working on the DNA-based test for a decade.

I am a 3-day old girl (Sorry. Forgive the smudges, I still have amniotic fluid all over my hands and body) and read Mr. Midding's original letter and the replies. Tell Middings that I have known the meaning and spelling of the word appropriate since long before my birth. When I grow old, say, when I am 12, I think I will win the spelling bee. CINDY McCACK Long Beach

Women may soon be able to find out very early in their pregnancies whether they are carrying a fetus with Down syndrome by offering a simple blood sample. The safe, noninvasive test would pose fewer risks to the mother and fetus than amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS), the two tests currently used for prenatal diagnosis. It would also give women more time to decide what to do if a diagnosis of Down syndrome is made. Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong have been working on the DNA-based test for a decade.

A doctor at Northridge Hospital Medical Center is refining a technique for assessing the genetic condition of a fetus far earlier in pregnancy than is possible with amniocentesis, the established method. The technique, called chorionic villi sampling, will allow severe birth defects to be detected early enough for a woman to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester.

I used to like going to the doctor. I liked the metaphorical handholding, the assurance that my cough was of the garden variety kind and not tubercular, the promise of a long and healthy, though somewhat neurotic, life. I'd leave my internist's office with a spring in my step, my bronchial tubes clearing by the time I got to the parking lot. But my infatuation with men in white coats came to a screeching halt almost four years ago.

The dilemmas fetal doctors now face daily rarely arose just 10 years ago. The technique of amniocentesis dates back to the 19th Century, but doctors began using the procedure for prenatal diagnosis only in 1968, and even then it was restricted to a few isolated, experimental cases. The purpose of drawing amniotic fluid is to obtain cells that have been generated by the fetus. The cells are extracted from the fluid, grown in a culture medium for about two weeks, then analyzed in a lab.

Alarming Trends Bureau: An Iowa dance instructor claims she was abducted by space aliens who wanted to learn country line dancing. Quote of the Day: From a Westchester supermarket employee, after noticing that a robber had no bag with which to carry the loot he was taking: "Paper or plastic?" According to the Argonaut newspaper, the robber chose paper and escaped with $1,200. Actually, the robber could've gotten more but didn't realize there was a club card special on holdups.

Microbes in the wrong place at the wrong time -- a woman's amniotic fluid during pregnancy -- may play a role in causing premature births, according to a study published in the online journal PLoS ONE. Using sensitive molecular techniques, researchers found a greater quantity and variety of bacteria and fungi in a significant portion of women who gave birth prematurely. The more severe the infection, the earlier the women were likely to give birth. The amniotic sac, which surrounds a fetus, has long been considered a protected, almost inviolable, site.

Researchers have found that some stem cells in human amniotic fluid appear to have many of the key therapeutic benefits of embryonic stem cells while avoiding their knottiest ethical, medical and logistical drawbacks, according to a study published Sunday. The stem cells -- easy to harvest from the fluid left over from amniocentesis tests given to many pregnant women -- were used to create bone, heart muscle, blood vessels, fat, and nerve and liver tissues, the study said.

I used to like going to the doctor. I liked the metaphorical handholding, the assurance that my cough was of the garden variety kind and not tubercular, the promise of a long and healthy, though somewhat neurotic, life. I'd leave my internist's office with a spring in my step, my bronchial tubes clearing by the time I got to the parking lot. But my infatuation with men in white coats came to a screeching halt almost four years ago.

Alarming Trends Bureau: An Iowa dance instructor claims she was abducted by space aliens who wanted to learn country line dancing. Quote of the Day: From a Westchester supermarket employee, after noticing that a robber had no bag with which to carry the loot he was taking: "Paper or plastic?" According to the Argonaut newspaper, the robber chose paper and escaped with $1,200. Actually, the robber could've gotten more but didn't realize there was a club card special on holdups.

Like many expectant parents, Lisa and Patrick Maloney envisioned how the birth of their baby would go. They hired private labor assistant Sherri Alden to guide them through the birth and help ensure things would go the way they wanted. Here is how Maloney's labor progressed and what ultimately happened: SUNDAY, MARCH 14 6:30 p.m. One week past her due date, Lisa Maloney's membranes break, releasing the amniotic fluid from her uterus. Labor contractions begin.

The dilemmas fetal doctors now face daily rarely arose just 10 years ago. The technique of amniocentesis dates back to the 19th Century, but doctors began using the procedure for prenatal diagnosis only in 1968, and even then it was restricted to a few isolated, experimental cases. The purpose of drawing amniotic fluid is to obtain cells that have been generated by the fetus. The cells are extracted from the fluid, grown in a culture medium for about two weeks, then analyzed in a lab.

Like many expectant parents, Lisa and Patrick Maloney envisioned how the birth of their baby would go. They hired private labor assistant Sherri Alden to guide them through the birth and help ensure things would go the way they wanted. Here is how Maloney's labor progressed and what ultimately happened: SUNDAY, MARCH 14 6:30 p.m. One week past her due date, Lisa Maloney's membranes break, releasing the amniotic fluid from her uterus. Labor contractions begin.

Prenatal surgery for the most severe form of the birth defect spina bifida doubled the number of children who were able to walk unassisted by the age of 30 months and halved the percentage who had to have shunts implanted after birth to remove water from the brain, researchers reported Wednesday. The surgery, however, presented some risks to both children and mothers: Infants were more likely to be born preterm and mothers suffered a thinning of the uterine wall that would require all future births to end in a caesarean section.

A doctor at Northridge Hospital Medical Center is refining a technique for assessing the genetic condition of a fetus far earlier in pregnancy than is possible with amniocentesis, the established method. The technique, called chorionic villi sampling, will allow severe birth defects to be detected early enough for a woman to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester.

UC San Diego Medical Center officials Friday urged that pregnant women planning to undergo a Caesarean section donate their amniotic fluid to help treat sick premature babies with a technique pioneered at the hospital. Under the program announced Friday, the treatment, which involves isolating a lung lubricant from the amniotic fluid and giving it to sick infants, will become more readily available.