Local school authorities are in the process of trying to make pregnancy tests available to schoolgirls, some as young as 11, more widely available.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="134" caption="The Human Egg"][/caption] Yesterday I talked about unexpected pregnancy in later life and today I thought I would look at the flip side of this coin by asking the question - Are a womans chances of conceiving less after the age of 30?

Some experts are fearing that older women are not taking contraception because they believe that they won't get [caption id="" align="alignright" width="84" caption="Elizabeth Adeney Pregnant at 66"][/caption] pregnant after a certain age. However, the truth is that although we do become less fertile as we get older you can still become pregnant and, in some cases, well into the fifties. The Family Planning Association has launched a new campaign in light of this information called 'Conceivable?' and is aimed at reminding women over the age of 35 to continue with contraception until after the menopause. This comes on the back of new figures released which show that the rate of abortion for women aged 40-44 is the same as it is for under 16's, while women between the ages of 30 and 34 have the highest fertility rate of 113.1 live births per 1000 women. If you would like to know more about the issue then click on the link below; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8503726.stm

A new saliva test is to be made available to couples planning to have children to test for the risk of bearing a child with genetic diseases. The test will determine if their child is likely to suffer from conditions such as cystic fibrosis, muscular atrophy or sickle cell anaemia. It will be made available for £700 and can be obtained from the Bridge Fertility Clinic in London. There are those who argue against the gene test as it could play on parents existing fears, but this new step makes the test available to the wider public where it is currently only available on the NHS for those at high risk eg those with a history of conditions such as cystic fibrosis.

Are you, or were you, one of those women who blamed their forgetfulness when expecting on the pregnancy? I certainly was but, according to a BBC article today, a study of 1,241 women (pre- and post birth) has shown that neither pregnancy nor motherhood addles a womans brain! Experts have put the absentmindedness down to a shift in attention to the baby, saying that pregnant women move their attention away from work issues to help them prepare for the impending birth. For more on this story visit the BBC website at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8491493.stm

When I'm writing here I don't usually draw on my own pregnancy and birth experiences but I have experienced SPD and, although it affects 1 in 4 pregnancies, there is so little known about it that I thought it would be worth highlighting the issue. I first became aware of this condition about 3 months before the birth of baby number two, although health professionals advise that SPD can occur at any point during pregnancy. I began to get pain in between my legs, which started off as discomfort and gradually built up over time into excrutiating agony. I should point out that this condition can affect every woman in varying degrees - some say that it is annoyingly uncomfortable and to some it becomes unbearable, and I was unfortunately one of the latter. It got to a point when I couldn't walk without the help of crutches and night-time visits to the bathroom took a half hour to 45 minutes because getting in and out of bed caused such immense pain. You see, during pregnancy the body produces a hormone called relaxin which softens the ligaments of the two halves of your pelvis to allow baby to pass through more easily. SPD occurs when these joints move more and cause inflammation and pain and, unfortunately, if you have suffered from this condition in one pregnancy then you are more likely to have it again carrying subsequent babies. One of the worst things about SPD, as I found, is that there isn't a lot doctors can do for the pain. You may be given a support girdle and you can do exercises to make the birth less painful but, in general, this is a condition which has to be managed rather than treated. The good news is that for many, myself included, the pain subsides soon after birth, but there can be residual pain for anything up to one year after. If you need to know about SPD then why not visit www.babycentre.co.uk where they take an indepth look at not only the conditions, but the reasons for it and also some self-help tips to get you through.You can read their full discussion at http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/antenatalhealth/physicalhealth/pelvicpain/ ,and for anyone unfortunate enough to have to deal with SPD why not visit La Fee Noire who offer the Hug-a-bump SPD maternity support band, found at http://www.lafeenoire.com/.

The BBC recently reported that babies exposed to smoking in the womb end up with damaged blood pressure control, and it is thought that this may be why these babies are at higher risk of cot death. A study at the Karlinksa Institute found that babies born of smokers experienced surges in blood pressure, even when they were asleep in their cots. The study also suggests that damage to a childs circulation may have something to do with Infant Cot Death Syndrome, although it is worth pointing out that the study set out to look at the effects of smoking on newborn babies rather than directly at cot deaths. To date, experts have said that a third of cot deaths could be avoided if women did not smoke during pregnancy, and mothers-to-be who do smoke should get help and support in quitting from their midwife. To read more on this story why not visit the BBC website at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8478690.stm

Recent research done on mice has shown that rocking the embryos while in IVF increased pregnancy rates by 20% and the hope is that the same procedure could lead to a higher success rate for human IVF treatment while, at the moment, the current success rate of IVF is only 35%. To read this article in full simply click on the link below - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34942945/ns/health-pregnancy/

A new study, published in Medical News Today, has revealed that being induced before the 39th week of pregnancy increases the risk of caesarian. It was found that inducing labour created 1-2 c-sections per 25 pregnancies and these could have been avoided by waiting for nature to take its course, but the study doesn't include women with scheduled or previous caesarians. The resulting recommendations are to wait for natural labour and for doctors only to intervene when the risks outweigh the benefits such as in cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, placenta problems, underdeveloped foetus' and pregnancies ten days past their due date. For more information about this issue go to http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175655.php

A new survey has revealed that almost half of all pregnant women will refuse the swine flu vaccine due to fears over it's safety. However, according to an article in The Guardian newspaper, a government health advisor has said that not only is the vaccine safe to take during pregnancy but it may also give a child a certain amount of protection against swine flu. The Director of immunisation, Dr David Salisbury, has been quoted as saying that "concerns over vaccination safety and pregnancy are theoretical with no evidence to support those concerns even for live virus vaccines". A study of 2 MILLION women who were immunised showed side effects in only 20, including 3 miscarriages, and a new advice leaflet has been drawn up for pregnant women considering having the vaccine. For more information on this story why not read the article for yourself at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/12/swine-flu-vaccine-safe-pregnancy