One sperm donor,150 offspring Cynthia Daily and her partner used a sperm donor to conceive a baby seven years ago,and they hoped that one day their son would get to know some of his half siblings an extended family of sorts for modern times. So Daily searched a web-based registry for other children fathered by the same donor and helped to create an online group to track them. Over the years,she watched the number of children in her sons group grow. And grow. Today there are 150 children,all conceived with sperm from one donor,in this group of half siblings,and more are on the way. Its wild when we see them all together - they all look alike, said Daily,48,a social worker in the Washington area who sometimes vacations with other families in her sons group. As more women choose to have babies on their own,and the number of children born through artificial insemination increases,outsize groups of donor siblings are starting to appear. While Dailys group is among the largest,many others comprising 50 or more half siblings are cropping up on websites and in chat groups,where sperm donors are tagged with unique identifying numbers. Smokers kids have more ear infections Kids whose parents smoke are more likely to get ear infections and have hearing problems,according to a new review paper. When moms lit up,kids were also almost twice as likely to need surgery for recurrent ear infections or similar problems,researchers reported. The findings come from a combination of 61 past studies. While they cant prove that smoke exposure causes ear infections,researchers suggested that if thats the case,hundreds of thousands of ear infections may be due to parents smoking each year. Its pretty impressive,especially since ear infections cause enormous pain, said Dr. Michael Weitzman,who studies the effects of parental smoking at New York University Medical Centre and was not involved in the study. The new paper once again highlights a common child health problem that is profoundly influenced by mothers smoking, he told Reuters Health,and it focuses our attention more than previous studies have on it resulting in surgical procedures for children. Taken together,the studies showed that kids living with a smoker had a 37 percent higher risk of any middle ear disease, including ear infections and hearing problems and a 62 per cent higher risk if the household smoker was their mom. When mothers smoked,kids were also 86 percent more likely to get surgery for a middle ear condition,including recurrent ear infections,than if no smokers were in the house. Mums diet may influence babys allergy risk Soon-to-be mothers can cut the chances of their baby developing food allergies by eating a diet rich in oily fish and nuts. Researchers from Frances National Agricultural Research Institute (INRA) discovered that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish like salmon,mackerel and tuna,as well as walnuts and pumpkin seeds prompt the gut to develop in a way that boosts the immune system. The researchers found that when mothers-to-be ate a diet high in a particular group of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs),the gut walls of their offspring were more permeable. This allowed more broken down food substances and germs to pass into the bloodstream,triggering the babys immune system to produce antibodies,the Daily Telegraph reported. Dr Gaelle Boudry,of INRA,said: A certain group of PUFAs causes a change in how a baby gut develops,which in turn may change how the gut immune system develops. The babys immune system may develop and mature faster ,leading to better immune function and less likelihood of suffering allergies.
