I see a disproportionately large number of older mothers, 35-somethings, with twins or, you guessed it, even triplets.

If only I had a penny for every time a 35-something woman who has delayed pregnancy beyond the natural told me that she is planning on having twins.

Common misconception but not true. Foetuses with anomalies will never even implant, let alone be born.

This happened to me recently. I got to know by pure chance during my 11th week of pregnancy about this test.

When I confronted my (private clinic) gynae that I should have been informed about this test – that it is my right and her duty as my doctor to keep me informed – the doctor simply couldn’t understand my point.

She kept insisting that this test is only done for termination purposes and Maltese do not terminate pregnancies. It was obvious that she is against abortions in all cases, and so she will not inform her patients about this test precisely to avoid any abortions.

Though I agree that most Maltese would deliver their baby to full term regardless of any conditions in the foetus, the blanket ban on abortions is limiting some Maltese from taking the abortion option (besides the financial aspect).

[Daphne – There is a far more important reason why parents should know of problems like these up ahead of the birth. They have time to get used to the situation, plan for it, and are spared the terrible shock of discovery at the moment of birth, which adds to the emotional trauma.]

How about the standard of care for premature and other debilitated neonates. Is this up to scratch?

[Daphne – Very much so. It’s excellent, though the Special Care Baby Unit can at times be over-burdened with the effects of fertility treatment that sometimes results in ‘batches’ of premature twins and triplets occurring far more frequently than they do in nature.]

Why should people who choose to be obese pay the same as people half their weight for flights?

Why should people who choose to be obese expect me to foot the bill when they’re boarded out?

Why should people who choose to be obese expect me to pay their medical fees?

Why should people who choose to be obese expect plain sailing when it comes to having children?

We are all great at claiming “rights” but few of us want the responsibilities that go with them.

What use are tub-o-lard parents who’ll be dead by 50 to children?

This is the test which checks for foetal abnormalities at 12 weeks of pregnancy.

So many women won’t know about the abnormalities before they discover later by ultrasound or after delivery.

Also, the streptococcus B test has only started to be routinely carried out, less than a year ago, so until then, most mothers with the bacterial infection were at high risk of passing the infection to the baby during delivery.

The infected babies would suffer from serious illnesses and even risk death.

“Joseph – Malta li rrid nghid fiha” – by Cyrus Engerer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9dib02T2Z0

‘All of humanity is diminished by the very existence of a law that implicitly tells us that some people’s lives are less worthy of life than others’.

Another point that one should take in consideration is the not inconsiderable number of multiple pregnancies that result from the treatment of infertility, most of which end up with unhealthy babies that are unlikely to survive more than a few weeks after birth.