News in brief

NEWS IN BRIEF:

• Frozen egg ban lifted
• Poverty as a baby linked to dementia
• Stay away from lambs
• Family-friendly finance?

Frozen egg ban lifted
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has lifted the ban on using frozen eggs to try and get pregnant.

In the past, women were able to have their eggs stored for reasons including cancer
treatment which may make them sterile, but were then unable to get the eggs when they were ready to try for a baby.

The move offers only a slim hope for such women however, as the estimated success rate
is between one and ten per cent, compared to around 20% for normal IVF.

Lifting the ban does mean that career women may be attracted to freezing eggs while
young and use them later when they want a family, although it is thought the low success
rate may act as a deterrent for this.

Poverty as a baby linked to dementia an impoverished childhood may mean a higher risk of
Alzheimer’s disease in later life, researchers have warned.

A study in the US examined 770 people aged over 60 years and found that:

• a poor quality childhood environment could prevent the brain from reaching a complete
  level of maturation, although the effects would not show until the onset of ageing
  aggravated them
• families with more than five children were likely to be from lower economic classes and
  more likely to have poor growth rates
• children who grew up in suburbs, rather than the city or farms, were less likely to get
  dementia
• there was no relation between mother’s age or birth order in the family and risk of
  Alzheimer’s.

The research was published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy
of Neurology.

Stay away from lambs

pregnant women should stay away from lambs, they were warned
today.

Pregnant women who come into close contact with sheep during lambing may risk their own
health and that of the baby from infections which can occur in some ewes.

The number of cases of getting such an infection and miscarrying are very small, but a
campaign has been launched to ensure women are aware of the risks.

GPs and midwives should be able to give women a leaflet called While you are
pregnant: How to avoid infection from food and from contact with animals.

Family-friendly finance?
Financial  service providers have been asked to investigate how they can make financial products more appealing to women.

Ministers for Women Margaret Jay and Tessa Jowell met with representatives of the
financial sector to discuss how products can be made more accessible, more appropriate and
improve women’s financial capability.

• 25% of all businesses are run by women
• women’s incomes at 60-74 years are less than half those of men
• 60% of those without access to bank accounts are female.