Our roundup of the health news headlines on Wednesday 21 December.
In all the newspapers today is the news that 50,000 British women could be at risk of exploding breast implants and the risk of cancer as French health authorities decide whether to order the removal of tens of thousands of dangerous mammaries.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail profiles a woman who gave birth after lying in position for three months. Donna Kelly, a 29 year old former gynaecological nurse, agreed to spend the last days of her pregnancy with her feet above her head after successive miscarriages indicated a cervix severely weakened by the birth of her first child Joshua. Their new baby, Amelia, can now join her family for Christmas following two weeks in an incubator.
The Telegraph reports that local authorities will now offer ‘health MOTs' designed to check up on the health of the over-40s, after PCTs are abolished in 2013. Councils will provide the service where GPs and nurses check blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and height, asking questions about diet and lifestyle, before making recommendations to prevent heart disease, diabetes and other conditions.
And after revealing yesterday that scientists in a Dutch laboratory have created a potentially deadly strain of airborne bird flu, the Independent reports that the US government has asked the researchers to censor key parts of the research. See yesterday's digest for details.
