Babies // Current

Grandma has triplets with daughter's eggs

They say there's nothing more powerful than a mother's love. An Ashland woman is living proof. Jacilyn Dalenberg, 56,... more

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6 days ago

U.S. gets 'D' on premature birth report card

The odds of having a premature baby are lowest in Vermont and highest in Mississippi.

The March of Dimes mapped the stark state-by-state disparities in what it called a "report card" on prematurity Wednesday -- to track progress toward meeting a federal goal of lowering preterm births.

There's not much chance of meeting that goal by the original 2010 deadline, if the "D" grade the charity bestowed on the nation is any indication.

More than half a million U.S. babies -- one in every eight -- are born prematurely each year, a toll that's risen steadily for two decades. The government's goal: No more than 7.6 percent of babies born before completion of the 37th week of pregnancy.

Preterm birth can affect any mother-to-be, stressed a recent U.S. Surgeon General's meeting on the problem. Scientists don't understand all the complex causes.

But Wednesday's report highlights big geographic differences that March of Dimes president Dr. Jennifer Howse called "a dash of cold water."

In Vermont, 9 percent of babies were preemies in 2005, the latest available data. In Oregon and Connecticut, just under 10.5 percent of babies were premature.

Travel south, and prematurity steadily worsens: In West Virginia, 14.4 percent of babies were preemies; more than 15 percent in Kentucky and South Carolina; more than 16 percent in Alabama and Louisiana; and a high of 18.8 percent in Mississippi. March of Dimes: See full chart

The report urges states to address three factors that play a role:

• Lack of insurance, which translates into missed or late prenatal care. In states with the highest prematurity rates, at least one in five women of childbearing age are uninsured. Early prenatal care can identify risks for preterm labor and sometimes lower them.

• Smoking increases the risks of prematurity, low birthweight and birth defects. Government figures suggest 17 percent of women smoke during pregnancy. The new report urged targeting smoking by all women of childbearing age. About a third of those women smoke in Louisiana and West Virginia, the report says, compared with 9.3 percent and 11 percent in Utah and California, respectively.The odds of having a premature baby are lowest in Vermont and highest in Mississippi. The March of Dimes mapped the stark... more

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5 days ago

UK sperm donor shortage 'critical'

The British Fertility society is going to need a radical overhaul of their sperm donation procedures to cope with a shortage that... more

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6 days ago

NY gets a "D" on premature birth report card

As America marks the 6th annual Prematurity Awareness Day, New York state is falling behind in the battle against premature birth.

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6 days ago

Babies have stronger lungs after breastfeeding

Researchers have said that the actual physical effort that babies exert when breastfeeding may leave them with stronger lungs well... more

ClareW
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8 days ago

Obama name craze for Kenya babies

Mothers in Kenya have marked Barack Obama's historic win in the US presidential elections by naming their newborns after him... more

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10 days ago

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Obama name craze for Kenya babies

Obama name craze for Kenya babies Jubilation at Obama's Kenyan home Mothers in Kenya have marked Barack Obama's... more

AcaiHelios
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12 days ago

Study links teen pregnancy to sexy TV shows

Exposure to some forms of entertainment is a corrupting influence on children, leading teens who watch sexy programs into early... more

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15 days ago

Sisters give birth in same hospital under an hour of each other

Lisa Reeve, 31, and Louise Bedford, 29, ran into each other at the maternity ward while Louise was preparing to undergo a C... more

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18 days ago

Winter blackout brings baby boom

A group of villages in eastern Netherlands found themselves in a two-day power outage. Nine months later, the area is experiencing... more

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18 days ago

UK couples choose baby gender at clinics abroad

A growing number of British couples are choosing the sex of their babies at clinics overseas, the BBC has learned. A BBC... more

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18 days ago

Gwen Stefani shows off new baby son Zuma

Gwen Stefani latest celeb to show off new baby There's No Doubt that she'll be a great mum! By Annette Pawlu The... more

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18 days ago

New Claim Against Obama; He Eats Babies!

just click the link... enjoy ;)

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19 days ago

Designer babies

Bring your partner, grab a seat, pick up your baby catalog and start choosing. Will you go for the brown hair or blond? Would you... more

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19 days ago

Lead researcher on BPA study accepts $5 million from industry

Charles Gelman, a retired manufacturer of syringes and medical filtration devices who considers Bisphenol A (BPA) to be "perfectly safe", gave $5 million to the research center headed by Martin Philbert, the chairman of a Food and Drug Administration panel about to rule on the chemical's safety. The donation is nearly 25 times larger than the $210,000 annual budget of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center, where Philbert is founder and co-director. Philbert failed to disclose the donation to the FDA, and agency officials only learned of it through reporters.

Gelman, who was once called "the second worst polluter in Michigan" by the state's Department of Natural Resources said he considers the chemical, which is used to make baby bottles, reusable food containers and plastic wraps, to be safe. Worries about health risks posed by the chemical are exaggerated by "mothers' groups and others who don't know the science," Gelman said.

Apparently Gelman is ignorant of the fact that most studies on BPA have linked the chemical to cancer, heart disease, ADHD and reproductive failures in lab animals; those that didn't find harm overwhelmingly were paid for by the chemical industry.

More than 90 percent of people over the age of six test positive for BPA in the body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The levels present in the average American are far greater than the levels present in the animals under study that have documented the damaging health effects of BPA. It should be noted that no level has ever been found in animal experiments that doesn't cause harm. Gelman said he had made his views on BPA clear to Philbert in several conversations. Philbert denied that.

"At no time have the Gelman family or any other interested/disinterested person, persons, corporations or other entity contacted me or attempted to influence my scientific judgment on the matter," Philbert wrote in an e-mail.

Philbert's committee is expected to release its opinion this month. It will advise the FDA on a draft assessment released by the agency in September. It should come as no surprise that the draft found that products made with BPA are safe for food storage.

The decision of Philbert's committee is expected to have huge implications on the regulation and sale of the chemical in items such as baby bottles, reusable food containers and plastic wraps.

Gelman said he and Philbert talk often. He said Philbert eventually told him that he did not want to have any more discussions on the subject of BPA because he was concerned about the appearance of impropriety. But, Gelman said, "He knows where I stand."

Philbert steadfastly denied any conflict of interest, stating "until today, no question has been raised with respect to my impartiality in this matter," he wrote in an e-mail. "I am not open to any undue influence and have taken on this (unwelcome) task with all due diligence and seriousness."

If a $5 million donation from an individual with a strong, vested interest in the outcome of the study is not considered a blatant impropriety, one has to ask the question, what is?
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Unethical? An impropriety? Why of course not. ::sarcasm::Charles Gelman, a retired manufacturer of syringes and medical filtration devices who considers Bisphenol A (BPA) to be... more