One of a tiny handful of people who are born without fingerprints. Michael Mosley, Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You II
So how did we all end up with such different immune systems? ibid.
One in ten thousand of us is transgender. ibid.
The technology in this room will give them [premature babies] the best chance of survival. Michael Mosley, Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You III: The Final Push
Somewhere lingering in the back of its mind was a memory of the stories its mother had told him ... These memories will soon be lost. ibid.
Colour-blind island [Pingelap] ... A painful burntout image ... 10% of the population of Pingelap are condemned to live in a totally black and white world. ibid.
As the sun goes down they gain an amazing advantage. ibid.
Would the effects of this stress be passed on to their unborn children? ibid.
He took off his glasses and wiped them, exactly like an actor playing a doctor, and said, ‘Oh dear oh dear oh dear.’ Then he looked at me reproachfully ... I was ashamed to my very soul, but I was damned if I was going to let him see it. I stared back at him and finally he sighed heavily and put his glasses on again.
‘When did it happen?’ Lynne Reid Banks, The L-Shaped Room
When he’d [father] recovered a little, he’d turned to me with a sort of shaky, fumbling anger and told me to clear out of his house, that I was no better than a street-woman; and I’d been glad, because I couldn’t have stood it if he’d turned round and been sympathetic and helpful. ibid.
I never thought about the baby as a person in its own right, or wondered what it would look like, or speculated about its sex, or thought of names for it. I tried to turn my thoughts that way sometimes, but the only face that came into my mind was a face blackened by my own dark rebellious anger against it, and the only name spread a cold, slow poison through me. So my thoughts were always heavy with bitterness, and a responsibility I didn’t want and wasn’t ready for. ibid.
This is where I turn off. A Kind of Loving 1962 starring Alan Bates & Thora Hird & June Ritchie & Bert Palmer & Pat Keen & James Bolam & Jack Smethurst & Gwen Nelson & John Ronane & David Mahlowe & Patsy Rowlands & Michael Deacon & Leonard Rossiter et al, director Joseph Schlesinger, her to him
Anyone who’d lay a finger on you would deserve a medal. You’d need a sack over your head before anyone could take you on. ibid. him to her friend
Sometimes I really fancy her; the next day I can hardly stand the sight of her. ibid. him to friend
I am sure, Vic. ibid. her to him
Twins: but this had been no ordinary pregnancy, because Claire has two wombs. Incredible Medicine: Dr Weston’s Casebook V, BBC 2017
Can a drug addict mother really change? Or should the state take away her baby? More children were taken into care last year than ever before with many cases directly linked to substance misuse. Panorama: Addicted: Last Chance Mums, BBC 2018
One in twenty pregnant women in the UK are addicted to drugs or alcohol. ibid.
Most women who come here are victims of abuse or domestic violence. ibid.
40% of women who come here fail to complete the programme. ibid.
‘It just never occurred to me that I would be going in with a healthy baby and she would end up fighting for her life.’ Panorama: Maternity Scandal: Fighting for the Truth, mother, BBC 2022
It’s one of the biggest scandals in the history of the NHS. Babies who should have been perfectly healthy suffered permanent harm or died. Failure after failure over two decades … and the families forced to fight to uncover the truth. ibid.
What happened at Morecambe Bay should have led to improvements of maternity services across the UK. Poor care had contributed to the deaths of eleven babies and a mother at Furness General Hospital. An inquiry in 2015 found a dysfunctional maternity unit and heard about an overemphasis on normal birth at any cost. ibid.
Since the lockdown began almost a quarter of a million babies have been born in the UK. I’ve come to Bradford to spend a week on the front-line of a maternity unit finding out how the pandemic has hit pregnancy and birth. Panorama: Stacey Dooley & the Lockdown Babies, BBC 2020
What is the new normal for babies born in 2020? ibid.
This is Bradford Royal Infirmary. Over 5,500 babies are born here every year. But over the last few months maternity services have had to change radically to keep women and children safe. ibid.
Investigating pregnancy crisis advice centres. There are dozens of these centres in the UK claiming to provide support with unplanned pregnancies. We reveal evidence some centres are giving misleading advice. Accused of persuading women not to have abortions. Panorama: Crisis Pregnancy Centres Uncovered, BBC 2023
I’m pregnant. The baby’s yours … I love you not him. Peaky Blinders s2e6, Grace to Tommy, BBC 2014
And then go and see a doctor about that baby in your tea leaves. Peaky Blinders s4e4, Polly to Lizzie
All this death, Lizzie. Fuck, let’s have some life, eh? Peaky Blinders s4e5, Tommy
Then I got saddled with you. That was my downfall, darling. Secrets & Lies ***** 1996 starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste & Brenda Blethyn & Timothy Spall & Phyllis Logan & Claire Rushbrook & Elizabeth Berrington & Michele Austin & Lee Ross & Lesley Manville & Ron Cook et al, director Mike Leigh, mother to daughter
By my estimation you are eight to ten days pregnant. May I be the first to congratulate you, Mattie. Humans s3e6, Stanley, Channel 4 2018
Pregnancy should be an exciting time. But what do you do if you are expecting but have no place to call home? Dispatches: Born Homeless, Channel 4 2019
More and more pregnant women are facing homelessness. ibid.
From the 1950s to the 1970s the German firm Schering manufactured a hormone pregnancy test that campaigners believe caused sever foetal abnormalities. In 2006 the pharmaceutical giant Bayer acquired Schering, and the company now faces a multi-million-pound lawsuit launched by the alleged victims of the drug. Bayer insists there is no link between birth defects and the drug, and denies liability. Bitter Pill: Primodos, Sky Documentaries 2020
It’s thought to affect one in five pregnancies. So why don’t we talk about miscarriage? … And to explore what support is available for those who go through it. Tonight: Miscarriage: Our Hidden Loss, ITV 2023
Foetal abduction is one of those crime you don’t hear about too often; when you do it’s the kind of story that makes you sick to your stomach. Foetal abduction occurs when a woman wants a baby so badly that they’re willing to kill another pregnant woman and steal their unborn child. True Crime Recaps: Womb Raider Attacks! Youtube 12.41, 2023
Between 1983 and 2015 the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recorded 18 foetal abduction cases (not including attempts) in the United States. ibid.
We can point to the story of Angelique Robledo and Kassandra Toruga. Two 18-year-old women: one pregnant, one faking it, and how a strange feeling in the pit of Angelique’s stomach saved her and her baby from Kassandra’s devious plot. ibid.