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HEALTHWATCH
Easing
Labour
Popular
abroad, an injection that facilitates childbirth finds increased acceptance
in India
 It's
the perfect solution for would-be mothers who don't want to go through
the excruciating pain of labour and child birth.
The epidural, the administration of an anaesthesia in the dura (the tissue
surrounding the spinal cord), numbs nerves, killing all sensation waist
downwards throughout labour. While contractions continue, labour pains
simply vanish. "It can actually make childbirth a pleasurable experience,"
says Dr Urushi Jha, a gynaecologist at the Apollo Hospital, Delhi. Available
at all chemists, the anaesthesia costs Rs 500. Other advantages? The cervix
dilates faster, cutting down labour time. However, if the patient is so
comfortable that she loses the urge to push ,it is possible that she would
have to undergo a caesarean section. While epidurals have been commonly
used in Britain and the US for 15 years, they gained popularity in India
only recently, as Indian expertise in the injecting technique — which
requires some skill — has improved. "Younger doctors recommend
it more frequently than those from the old school," adds gynaecologist
Dr Manjeet Kochchar and says, "I recommend it in the first pregnancies,
when the baby's size is big, or in cases of exceptionally long labour."
Ideally, the injection should be given in the first stages of labour,
before the pain becomes unbearable. It needs expertise since a thick needle
goes precariously close to the spine. "If it punctures the spine,
the cerebro-spinal fluid that cushions the brain and spinal cord can leak
out, leading to headache and infection," says an anaesthetist. So
a patient given epidural needs constant monitoring by doctors — one
reason why doctors don't recommend it frequently. One in five women at
Spring Meadows Hospital, Delhi, opt for it, usually for the first child,
according to anaesthetist Dr A. Mehta. At other times, the patient may
not recover full bladder control for a day. In the worst case scenario,
there's a fall in the mother's blood pressure, leading to irregular heartbeats
in the baby. "This rarely happens," says gynaecologist Urvashi
Sehgal. The drug is not recommended for early teen pregnancies or for
elderly women who are more prone to complications. But for many new Indian
mothers, the epidural is giving a whole new meaning to "gain without
pain".
--
Leher Kala
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IN
SMALL DOSES
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Nappy
Threats: The type of diapers a baby boy wears could  determine
his fertility in later life, according to scientific studies. The
key apparently, is temperature. The scortal temperature of 48 boys
in the age group of 0-4 years was monitored over two 24-hour periods.
In the first period, babies wore reusable cotton nappies. In the second,
plastic disposable nappies were used. Unlike cotton, the disposable
nappies significantly increased scortal temperature. According to
researchers the higher temperature adversely affects the maturation
of the testes and therefore fertility. |
| Assured
Immunity: The killer tuberculosis (TB) bacteria might soon
find that its destruction lies within itself. TB kills more than 20,000
Indians every year. So far the only vaccine used to stop its rampage
was the BCG vaccine. But it has not been effective in spite of having
been used for decades. Now scientists at the Indian Institute of Sciences
in Bangalore and elsewhere are planning to develop vaccines based
on the TB genes themselves. The idea is to inject selected genes so
that man can develop immune response. This type of DNA-based vaccine
is not only more stable, but can also protect against drug-resistant
bacteria for fool-proof immunity. |
| Asprin
Scores Again: Asprin not only relieves headaches, it was
also reported to prevent heart attacks and strokes by thinning blood.
Now researchers have found that asprin may play a crucial role in
blocking prostate cancer. It acts by stalling the activity of an enzyme
called cox-2 — known to be involved in cancer and whose levels
were shown to increase in more than 112 cancerous prostate tissues.
However, scientists warn against reaching for the tablets at the first
sign. This initial finding leaves many questions unanswered. But surely,
this is not the last surprise asprin has instore. |
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INDIA TODAY Deputy Editor Swapan Dasgupta voices the despair of a community that Jyoti Basu forcibly converted into a diaspora in his 23 years of zero-contribution rule. 