Читать книгу Hatches, Matches and Despatches - Jenny Paschall - Страница 26

MEDICAL science is giving new meaning to the phrase, ‘putting something away for your child’s future’. An increasing number of parents are putting away the blood from their baby’s umbilical cord. The blood is being touted as an insurance policy families should have on hand in case their child contracts a life-threatening illness. The blood is collected from the placenta after the umbilical cord has been cut. It is tested for infection, then cryogenically frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen. The blood can be thawed and used to treat leukaemia, malignant tumours, immune diseases, anaemia, lymphoma, breast cancer and genetic disorders.

THE Maternity Centre Association in New York organizes preparation classes for children who will be attending the birth of their siblings. They are taught about conception, birth, and how to change nappies.

ON an average day in the USA: 10,501 babies are born, and 5,937 people die. 178 babies are conceived by artificial insemination, of which ninety-six are conceived with sperm from a known donor, and forty are conceived with sperm from a sperm bank. 389 children are adopted, 1,994 babies are born to single mothers, 2,531 babies are born by Caesarean section. 217 sets of twins are born, five sets of triplets are born, ninety-eight babies are born away from a hospital, and 280 babies are delivered by midwives. 1,109,589 condoms are sold, of which 443,836 are purchased by women.