In another story that I've been working on, on the side, one of the characters is pregnant.
At first, I had it where her boyfriend leaves her because he said "I wouldn't be so stupid not to wear a condom".
But instead, I was going to have him be the carrier of a birth defect that would cause him to get scared about it.
So, my research is getting me nowhere, so I was wondering if anyone on NaNoWriMo would know any good stuff.
Perhaps something that could lead to a high chance of still birth?
I'm pretty much at the point now where I just want some ideas thrown at me.
Note from moderator: edited to create [TOPIC].
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2,199 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2008 - 09 42
http://www.medicinenet.com/birth_defects/page2.htm
"There are two main types of birth defects: structural and functional/developmental.
Structural birth defects are related to a problem with body parts. Some physical problems include cleft lip or cleft palate, heart defects, such as missing or misshaped valves, and abnormal limbs, such as a club foot. They also include neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, problems that are related to the growth and development of the brain and spinal cord."
I would assume you're going for a physical disorder rather than developmental which leaves you quite a few options in heart and spinal problems. This website may be a good place to begin sifting.
Wiki Article on Still Birth and its causes-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillbirth#Causes
----------I've a right to my opinion,
you've a right to laugh at me.
16,207 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2008 - 13 09
Thanks. That helps so much.
I'll read most of it after I eat dinner.
:]
5,342 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2008 - 13 59
I'll read most of it after I eat dinner.
:]
Good choice. ;)
I have Spina Bifida, which is largely NOT genetic at all, but if you decide to go with that one I can help you out a bit with that one. There are birth defects and not so much birth defects as diseases that are sex-linked, but the only ones I'm remembering right now are the ones that come from the mother's side. I'll come back when I remember the father-linked ones.
Pullman, WA Municipal Liason
----------Pullman, WA Forum co-Mod
Pullman, WA Municipal Liason
Pullman, WA Forum co-Mod
18,353 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2008 - 19 27
There are many different drugs that are classified as Category X, which means they will absolutely cause birth defects. If you didn't want the father of the baby to be a carrier of a gene, you could have a drug-related birth defect.
Some genetic diseases that aren't necessarily "birth defects" that could be caused from the father include stuff like Down's Syndrome, Sickle Cell Anemia, and even conditions that present later on in life like Huntington's Disease.
16,207 / 50,000
Oct 6, 2008 - 08 47
I'll read most of it after I eat dinner.
:]
Good choice. ;)
I have Spina Bifida, which is largely NOT genetic at all, but if you decide to go with that one I can help you out a bit with that one. There are birth defects and not so much birth defects as diseases that are sex-linked, but the only ones I'm remembering right now are the ones that come from the mother's side. I'll come back when I remember the father-linked ones.
Pullman, WA Municipal Liason
Pullman, WA Forum co-Mod
Could you give me a brief overview of that?
It sounds interesting.
18,353 / 50,000
Oct 6, 2008 - 14 46
I can give you a brief overview from a medical standpoint.
Spina bifida is basically where the spine does not properly fuse as it should, and it is open. It has various ranges of severity, from barely impacting daily life (might get a bit more infections) to permanent paralysis. It is caused by lack of folic acid (folate) during the first trimester. Actually, more like the first few weeks of pregnancy. Usually by the time a woman realizes she is pregnant, if she is deficient in folate it is probably too late to correct this. That's why prenatal vitamins have such a high amount of folate in them, and if a woman has a previous history of children with spina bifida, they give an even higher dose (nearly double) to those women, because there might be a genetic link as well.
0 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2008 - 22 22
My son was stillborn at full term due to Edwards Syndrome (trisomy 18) which is a chromosomal defect that is incompatible with life (most infants if they are born alive do not live more than a few weeks, rarely make it to 1 year)
There are actually not many birth defects that cause stillbirth that are passed on from one parent. The larger number of illnesses/birth defects in general are passed on when BOTH parents are the carriers of a genetic problem (ie with cystic fibrosis). They do not have the illness themselves, but their genes combined create a child with the disease.
Trisomies are caused by a third version of a chromosome. In a healthy person, there are 46 chromosomes - 23 pairs. In a Trisomy (ie T21 - Downs Syndrome, T18 - Edwards Syndrome) there is a disjunction problem where the chromosome fails to separate properly during meiosis. This results in a third chromosome instead of a pair. The disjunction problem is "caused" by the mother in the majority of cases - but occasionally comes from the father.
It is not generally something that will come up as part of routine genetic testing...the only way to test if you will have a trisomy baby is to test each embryo before it is implanted (PGD as part of IVF - pre-genetic determination).
If you want to know anything more in depth, nanomail me...unfortunately I know too much about it.
0 / 50,000
May 18, 2009 - 07 51
Good day. very Interested info on your site. I have found the many information in the Internet.
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