Today's health news in brief
Septuplet mother says she's too poor
An Egyptian woman who gave birth to septuplets last week after taking fertility drugs has said her family is too poor to raise the newborns.
Ghazala Khamis (27) delivered three girls and four boys at an Alexandria hospital after doctors performed a Caesarean section six weeks before her due date. She has three other daughters, aged between five and 10.
Septuplet births are rare, but the rise in use of fertility drugs has increased the number of multiple births.
Abdel Rahim Mousa, a doctor who prescribed the fertility drugs two months before she became pregnant, said no one imagined she would give birth to septuplets. "We didn't expect it. She took the right dosage. It's true drugs can cause twins, but not this many children," he said.
Chewing gum helps recovery
Chewing gum after colon surgery appears to speed up the return of normal bowel function, British researchers said yesterday.
Postoperative ileus, or the inability of the intestines to pass contents, is a common result of abdominal surgery. It causes pain and potential health complications.
Chewing a few sticks of gum, however, could be an effective and low-cost solution.
Sanjay Purkayastha and colleagues at St Mary's Hospital, London, found patients who chewed gum took an average of 1.1 fewer days to have a bowel movement compared with non-chewers. Further large-scale studies were needed, researchers said.