Why Is So Much Less Research Done Into Pregnancy Than Into Much Less Common Conditions?
As soon as investors hear "sick, pregnant women" all the excitement dies. “There’s such a sense of liability," said Melissa Moore, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
The Washington Post:
Long Overlooked By Science, Pregnancy Is Finally Getting Attention It Deserves
For two years, a group of world-class scientists pitched their idea for a hot new biotech company to investors: a start-up focused on a promising therapy for preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication that can become life-threatening. It was cutting-edge science, backed by a Nobel laureate, a Harvard kidney specialist, a leading chemist, and a biologist with both expertise and personal experience. Eventually, they gave up — not on the science, and not on preeclampsia — but on the investors. (Johnson, 3/6)
In other news —
Reuters:
New Mothers Suffer Nerves, Guilt As Maternity Leave Ends
Many new mothers worldwide express anxiety and guilt about leaving their babies to return to work, and some worry their nations' maternity policies reflect societies that value productivity over raising children. In a series of interviews for Reuters ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, mothers from the United States to Uruguay to South Africa to Singapore told of their concerns about stopping work to give birth and look after their newborns. (3/6)
