Breech birth parents ‘carry gene’

Breech birth parents ‘carry gene’
Some babies are born bottom-first because of genetic traits inherited from either their mother or father, Norwegian researchers have said.

Fewer than one in 20 is delivered this way up, but a natural breech birth carries extra risks to the child.

A study of 387,000 births, in the British Medical Journal, found a baby had double the chance of being breech if their mother or father was too.

But midwives said parents should not worry too much.

"We always tend to ask mothers if they know how they were delivered, and some midwives will ask the partners as well"
Mervi Jokinen
Royal College of Midwives

As many as one in four babies are in the wrong position at the mid-point of pregnancy, but all but 3% or 4% are head-down by the time they are delivered.

The precise reasons why a baby might be in the breech position are not known, although the anatomy of the mother – in particular the shape of her womb – can play a strong role.

Babies are designed to be born head-first, and coming out the other way round increases the chance of breathing problems at the moment of delivery.

For this reason, many women with full-term breech babies opt for caesarean sections.

Gene trait

The researchers from the University of Bergen looked at the records of more than 387,000 parents and their first-born children born between 1967 and 2004.

They found an identical increase in risk passed from both male and female parents born in breech position.

While a mother might be able to pass on the increased risk through inherited differences in her physical makeup, any risk passed from a father raises the possibility of a genetic trait carried by the baby rather than the mother.

However, other specialists say the picture is less clear.

Professor Janet Hardy, from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, said that there could be a separate, undetected factor that was increasing the chance of a breech birth in these families.

She said: “Clinicians should continue to gather information during early prenatal care on maternal and paternal birth presentation and other potential risk factors for breech delivery.”

Antenatal care

Mervi Jokinen, from the Royal College of Midwives, said the findings were “intriguing”.

“We always tend to ask mothers if they know how they were delivered, and some midwives will ask the partners as well, just to record this in the notes.

“But on the whole, women should not be too concerned about the possibility of a breech baby, as long as she is receiving proper ante-natal care.”

Henry Annan, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said that having a breech delivery approximately doubled the risks of complications to the baby.

“Having a breech baby does increase the dangers, although, with proper management, the chances are that the baby will be born healthy.

“I think a lot of parents will be unaware of whether they were born breech or not, but this is still an interesting study.”

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Toll of teenage drinking revealed
Teenagers are drinking an average of 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year each, a study suggests.

Almost 10,000 15-to-16-year-olds in the North West of England were questioned as part of the study into underage drinking and violence.

The report, produced by Liverpool John Moores University, found as many as 40% of teenagers in poor areas binge drink.

Recent high-profile murders in the region were carried out by teenagers who had been drinking heavily.

On Thursday,Brendan Harris, 15, was convicted of murdering 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster in a Lancashire park after drinking two litres of cider, peach schnapps and lager.

In February, three teenagers were jailed for life for murdering Garry Newlove, 47, from Warrington, in an act that the judge described as “drunken aggression” carried out for entertainment.

"These figures highlight the sheer quantity of alcohol being consumed by under-age drinkers across the North West."
Professor Mark Bellis

The latest report into teenage drinking was produced by the university’s Centre for Public Health in conjunction with the Home Office and Trading Standards North West.

Researchers also estimate that of 190,000 15-to-16-year-olds in England,57,000 binge by drinking five or more drinks in one session.

Just under half of those surveyed drank at least once a week, with 40% of girls and 42% of boys later involved in violence.

The report also found that poor children were 45% more likely to be violent after drinking than children in affluent areas.

‘Ongoing challenge’

Professor Mark Bellis, co-author of the report, said: “These figures highlight the sheer quantity of alcohol being consumed by under-age drinkers across the North West.

“Sadly, there is still practically no information publicly available on what is a safe amount of alcohol for children to consume or on how parents can best moderate their children’s drinking.

“Without a clear message that under-age drunkenness will not be tolerated, we will continue to see the high levels of alcohol bingeing and related violence identified in this study.”

Dominic Harrison, deputy regional director of public health in North West, said the research confirmed the “almost daily experience” of people who saw the rising problem of young, drunk people across the region.

“The principal cause of the increased risk is lower prices and increased availability, but culture and the increasing social tolerance of drunken behaviour is also a factor,” he said.

More than a third of the teenagers questioned admitted buying their own alcohol – described as an “ongoing challenge” for trading standards officers.

North West officer Richard Lindley said: “Under-18s continue to obtain alcohol by asking strangers outside shops and also friends who either look, or are over 18, to buy for them.

“These purchasers need to be aware they are fuelling problems in our communities and committing criminal offences themselves for which they can face police fines.