A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Granny rules after first baby, survey says
IRISH MOTHERS rely more on their own mother than their partners for support after the birth of their first child, a new survey suggests. According to research carried out by Aviva Health Insurance, 71 per cent of Irish mothers relied on their own mothers for support and advice most as opposed to 65 per cent relying on their partners.
The online survey was carried out by Empathy Research and included 593 women aged 18-44 who had children or were planning to have children. It found that more than a quarter of women (26 per cent) said their partner or husband could have supported them more after their child was born.
A quarter of Irish mothers (25 per cent) use their own mothers to mind their children while they work. Unsurprisingly 92 per cent of first time mothers agreed they had less time to themselves after giving birth. Almost a fifth (19 per cent) described their experience of being a mother in the first six months of their baby’s life as tiring with two-thirds admitting more home help after giving birth would have been appreciated. Of those planning to have a baby, less than half (45 per cent) planned to breastfeed. A large number of women did not feel emotionally prepared for their first baby, ranking the fear of the unknown, unforeseen medical complications and fear of not being able to cope with the labour as their biggest misgivings. Of those who did give birth, 83 per cent rated the care they received from staff in hospital as excellent or good.
Aviva Health Insurance will launch its free maternity guide, Your Bump to Baby Guide, today.
RONAN MCGREEVY
Dublin baby faces crucial operation in Boston
THE DUBLIN twin baby girl who was flown to Boston by the Air Corps late last year for emergency medical treatment is facing her most critical operation yet.
Specialists have told the parents of Elie Madden (1) that she will require her seventh major operation in the Children’s Hospital, Boston. Elie has already had multiple operations in Ireland for her rare digestive disorder, and spent 38 days in a coma in Boston to “grow” her oesophagus.
She was flown by Government jet to the US last November with her mother Esti, her healthy twin sister Emie, her grandmother Anita and a specialist HSE team. It was the first time the State’s Gulfstream IV had been used for a transatlantic air ambulance mission of this type.
Elie was diagnosed with a rare digestive disorder at birth known as severe posterior tracheomalacia and long-gap oesophageal atresia. A five- centimetre gap between her oesophagus and stomach prevented her from being able to eat, drink or swallow without medical equipment.
The “growing” procedure first devised by Minnesota paediatric surgeon John Foker was successful, but surgeons discovered other complications involving her trachea or main airway. She is due to have a procedure on her airway known as aortapexy, where the aortic arch is attached to the sternum, pulling open the front wall of the trachea.
Elie's father, Eddie, said the specialist team involving consultant Russell Jennings would perform the surgery with John Foker, who has come out of retirement to assist. See eliemadden.com
LORNA SIGGINS
Trial on malaria vaccine starts here
THE FIRST malaria vaccine clinical trial to be carried out in Ireland has begun at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
A new vaccine for malaria is needed as malaria parasites are becoming resistant to drugs that are currently available, which has created a need for expensive multi-drug therapy. Prof Sam McConkey of the RCSI said: “In low-income countries where malaria is endemic, expensive multi-drug therapy is often not an available treatment option so there is a need for new preventative treatments.”