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Pregnancy and Lactation Weekly Digest

For the Week Ending May 28, 2017.

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3-D Printed Ovaries

Researchers have used a 3-D printer to make mouse ovaries which they embedded with mouse embryos and then implanted into seven female mice whose ovaries had been removed. Three out of the seven females gave birth to live baby mice that had been embedded into the 3-D printed ovaries. Ovaries are not the first organ to be made with a 3-D printer; skin and blood vessels have also been made this way. “The goal of the project is to be able to restore fertility and endocrine health to young cancer patients who have been sterilized by their cancer treatment,” said Teresa Woodruff, one of the scientists involved in the work. Read more here.

This is important for you because – how cool and crazy is that?

Mothers get older

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the rates of motherhood in women in their thirties has recently jumped, and that for women in their twenties has concomitantly fallen. As the average age of first time mothers has risen, women in their thirties are now having more babies than women in their twenties. Although women of every age still do not receive equal pay for equal work, perhaps their degree of financial independence is a factor that has allowed many to delay pregnancy. Read more here. Read an article about women becoming moms for the first time at age 50 here.

This is important for you because regardless of how old you are, you are probably in good company when you decide to have your first baby.

Breast milk boosts babies’ brains

Especially in preemies, breast milk is better than formula at promoting the formation of white matter – the parts of the brain that are essential to providing the proper overall brain architecture as well as transmitting the signals that link different regions of the brain to one another. Read more here. For more articles about breastfeeding, click here.

This is important for you because if your baby is premature, nursing can really help her get all of the factors she needs from you that she is missing out on by leaving the womb ahead of schedule.

Free post C-section tats

Most moms have trouble dealing with their new postpartum bodies. A tattoo artist in Shanghai is doing his part to help by giving moms free tattoos to cover up their C-section scars. Read more here.

This is important for you because although this is a drastic step, let it serve to remind you that there are things you can do to get your body back the way you want it.

The most popular article on The Pulse this week was When Am I Most Fertile? Tips To Help You Map Your Menstrual Cycle.  The most fertile period is between days 9 and 15 of your cycle, counting from the first day you start bleeding. Read it here.

Diana Gitig
Dr. Diana Gitig has a Ph.D. in cell biology and genetics from Cornell University, and has been writing about issues in biology – from molecular biology to cancer to immunology to neuroscience to nutrition to agriculture - for the past fifteen years. She has three teenaged children.

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