by Orla Barry ©Independent.ie
My husband and I have just found out that we can't have children. I don't know what to do. We've been trying to conceive for the last four years and now this is the awful conclusion. I don't know how to pick up the pieces or which way to turn.
Did you know one in six couples in Ireland today is having trouble conceiving? Think about it, one in six. I bet over the last four years, as you fretted over your ability to conceive, you never thought there were so many around you on the same emotional rollercoaster.
All the same, being told you will not be able to give birth can be heartbreaking. Most people don't remotely consider the possibility until a doctor presents them with news.
You say this is the awful conclusion. Conclusion is a very final word and when it comes to the possibility of having children, it's inappropriate. There are always alternatives which you should examine once the shock has subsided.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Crying foul over baby experts
by Susie O'Brien © Herald and Weekly Times
CONTROLLED crying is cruel and dangerous - for the parents, if not the baby. At least, that's what it felt like to us when my husband and I tried it with our first son.
And so I was shocked to learn this week that the practice has been given the stamp of approval by Maternal and Child Health Nurses on the back of research by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
The technique has been soundly slammed by a chorus of child-health experts who question its long-term benefits and impact on the mental health of the baby.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald and Weekly Times
CONTROLLED crying is cruel and dangerous - for the parents, if not the baby. At least, that's what it felt like to us when my husband and I tried it with our first son.
And so I was shocked to learn this week that the practice has been given the stamp of approval by Maternal and Child Health Nurses on the back of research by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
The technique has been soundly slammed by a chorus of child-health experts who question its long-term benefits and impact on the mental health of the baby.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald and Weekly Times
Baby obesity: Rapid infant weight gain linked to childhood obesity
by Deborah L. Shelton Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Rapid weight gain during the first six months of life appears to increase the chances that a child will be obese by age 3, according to a new study in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.The study found that sudden weight gain in early infancy was more important than how much a baby weighed at birth, the weight of the infant's parents, or the number of pounds put on by the mother during pregnancy."The perception has been that a chubby baby and a baby that grows fast early in life is healthier and all the baby fat will disappear," said the paper's lead author, Dr. Elsie Taveras, an assistant professor in Harvard Medical School's ambulatory care and prevention department. "But [that] is not the case."Taveras was quick to point out, however, that parents should not put their chunky babies on diets.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Rapid weight gain during the first six months of life appears to increase the chances that a child will be obese by age 3, according to a new study in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.The study found that sudden weight gain in early infancy was more important than how much a baby weighed at birth, the weight of the infant's parents, or the number of pounds put on by the mother during pregnancy."The perception has been that a chubby baby and a baby that grows fast early in life is healthier and all the baby fat will disappear," said the paper's lead author, Dr. Elsie Taveras, an assistant professor in Harvard Medical School's ambulatory care and prevention department. "But [that] is not the case."Taveras was quick to point out, however, that parents should not put their chunky babies on diets.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Tim Allen & Wife Welcome Baby Girl
© 2000-2009 iVillage Inc.
It's a girl!
Tim Allen and wife Jane Hajduk welcomed a baby girl on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Little Elizabeth made her debut weighing, 5-pound, 13-ounces, says the Associated Press.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2000-2009 iVillage Inc.
It's a girl!
Tim Allen and wife Jane Hajduk welcomed a baby girl on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Little Elizabeth made her debut weighing, 5-pound, 13-ounces, says the Associated Press.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2000-2009 iVillage Inc.
Cancer victim was pregnant as doctors told her she would never have a child
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
Doctors believed Michelle Raftery, 36, had a less than five per cent chance of ever becoming a mother, even with the help of IVF, after having aggressive cancer treatment.
However, they were left "astonished" when it was discovered she was already pregnant at the time of the diagnosis after conceiving naturally in 2007.
Mrs Raftery was first found to have breast cancer a week after her 28th birthday in 2001.
She said: "I had just gone to see the doctor with a lump and it turned out to be a grade three tumour.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
Doctors believed Michelle Raftery, 36, had a less than five per cent chance of ever becoming a mother, even with the help of IVF, after having aggressive cancer treatment.
However, they were left "astonished" when it was discovered she was already pregnant at the time of the diagnosis after conceiving naturally in 2007.
Mrs Raftery was first found to have breast cancer a week after her 28th birthday in 2001.
She said: "I had just gone to see the doctor with a lump and it turned out to be a grade three tumour.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
Living with a traumatic birth
by Fiona Tyrell © 2009 irishtimes.com
MY SON Fiachra was born in the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk in September 1994 after a very traumatic birth. It was a pretty harrowing experience for all of us. He had to be extracted and suffered extensive injury.
He was sent to the special care unit in Drogheda Hospital where we were told there was a problem with his arm as well as breathing issues. Then he was sent on to Crumlin hospital.
Seeing your new baby surrounded by beeping monitors is not pleasant. You spend your time trying to guess what the waves and numbers mean. You wonder if one figure goes from 100 to 75, “is it a good or bad thing?”
A breathing difficulty was Fiachra’s main issue initially and after four weeks an MRI gave the diagnosis of Erb’s palsy. We were told that the phrenic nerve from spinal chord to the left diaphragm had been torn off during birth and was interfering with his breathing.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.com
MY SON Fiachra was born in the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk in September 1994 after a very traumatic birth. It was a pretty harrowing experience for all of us. He had to be extracted and suffered extensive injury.
He was sent to the special care unit in Drogheda Hospital where we were told there was a problem with his arm as well as breathing issues. Then he was sent on to Crumlin hospital.
Seeing your new baby surrounded by beeping monitors is not pleasant. You spend your time trying to guess what the waves and numbers mean. You wonder if one figure goes from 100 to 75, “is it a good or bad thing?”
A breathing difficulty was Fiachra’s main issue initially and after four weeks an MRI gave the diagnosis of Erb’s palsy. We were told that the phrenic nerve from spinal chord to the left diaphragm had been torn off during birth and was interfering with his breathing.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.com
Obesity during pregnancy raises risk of complications
by Dr Muiris Houston © 2009 irishtimes.com
IRISH WOMEN who are obese while pregnant have more complications and their babies do less well than women with normal weight, new research has found.
The study of pregnant women who, despite being obese did not have diabetes, is one of the first to show that simply being overweight has a negative impact on pregnancy outcome.
Dr Fidelma Dunne, professor of medicine, and nursing and medical colleagues from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), selected some 1,440 women from along the Atlantic seaboard who delivered babies at five hospitals between June 2007 and June 2008.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.com
IRISH WOMEN who are obese while pregnant have more complications and their babies do less well than women with normal weight, new research has found.
The study of pregnant women who, despite being obese did not have diabetes, is one of the first to show that simply being overweight has a negative impact on pregnancy outcome.
Dr Fidelma Dunne, professor of medicine, and nursing and medical colleagues from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), selected some 1,440 women from along the Atlantic seaboard who delivered babies at five hospitals between June 2007 and June 2008.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.com
Overdue mum gives birth in ambulance
by Juley-Ann Collins ©Fingal-Independent.ie
Two Swords-based paramedics helped a Balbriggan mother give birth to her fourth child in a ambulance after they were forced to pull over on route to bringing the overdue woman to hospital after her waters broke. Malahide paramedics Tom McLoughlin and Aidan McGrath were on duty last Thursday with the Dublin Fire Brigade and ambulance service when they were called from their base at the Swords Fire Station to a collect the mother in Balbriggan.
'We received a call for a maternity case in Balbriggan where an overdue mother was going to give birth to her fourth child,' Tom told the Fingal Independent.
'The patient was on route to the Rotunda Hospital when it became quite clear that she wasn't going to make it. We pulled in opposite The Comet in Santry just past Whitehall Church and she gave birth.' Tom spent 15 years volunteering his time on a part-time basis to his local station before he took up his full-time position in Swords six years ago. He is also currently half way through studying a masters in health and safety in DCU. Aidan has been working alongside him for the past three years and it was both their first time to deliver a baby in the back of an ambulance.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Fingal-Independent.ie
Two Swords-based paramedics helped a Balbriggan mother give birth to her fourth child in a ambulance after they were forced to pull over on route to bringing the overdue woman to hospital after her waters broke. Malahide paramedics Tom McLoughlin and Aidan McGrath were on duty last Thursday with the Dublin Fire Brigade and ambulance service when they were called from their base at the Swords Fire Station to a collect the mother in Balbriggan.
'We received a call for a maternity case in Balbriggan where an overdue mother was going to give birth to her fourth child,' Tom told the Fingal Independent.
'The patient was on route to the Rotunda Hospital when it became quite clear that she wasn't going to make it. We pulled in opposite The Comet in Santry just past Whitehall Church and she gave birth.' Tom spent 15 years volunteering his time on a part-time basis to his local station before he took up his full-time position in Swords six years ago. He is also currently half way through studying a masters in health and safety in DCU. Aidan has been working alongside him for the past three years and it was both their first time to deliver a baby in the back of an ambulance.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Fingal-Independent.ie
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Baby joy for Wayne Rooney
by Ian Johnston © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
Mrs Rooney, 22, and her husband, 23, who scored twice for England in a friendly against Slovakia last night, were said to be "absolutely thrilled".
"Coleen and Wayne couldn't be happier," a friend of the couple was quoted as saying last night.
"Their families are the biggest thing in their lives and Wayne has always said he wants at least three or four children. Coleen has always maintained she wants a family when the time is right.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
Mrs Rooney, 22, and her husband, 23, who scored twice for England in a friendly against Slovakia last night, were said to be "absolutely thrilled".
"Coleen and Wayne couldn't be happier," a friend of the couple was quoted as saying last night.
"Their families are the biggest thing in their lives and Wayne has always said he wants at least three or four children. Coleen has always maintained she wants a family when the time is right.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Octuplets Nos. 5 and 6 Come Home
by Johnny Dodd Copyright © 2009 Time Inc.
After a busy day of bottle feedings, diaper changes and helping her older kids with their homework, octuplet mother Nadya Suleman ran one final errand Thursday night: She and a friend drove to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower, Calif., and picked up octuplet babies No. 5 and 6. "They're both calm and quiet," Suleman tells PEOPLE. "I'm really excited to get them home." Doctors at the hospital handed over brothers Makai (5 lbs., pounds, 5 oz.) and Jeremiah (5 lbs., 14 oz.) to Suleman at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and they arrived home a half hour later, wrapped in blankets and sleeping.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009 Time Inc.
After a busy day of bottle feedings, diaper changes and helping her older kids with their homework, octuplet mother Nadya Suleman ran one final errand Thursday night: She and a friend drove to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower, Calif., and picked up octuplet babies No. 5 and 6. "They're both calm and quiet," Suleman tells PEOPLE. "I'm really excited to get them home." Doctors at the hospital handed over brothers Makai (5 lbs., pounds, 5 oz.) and Jeremiah (5 lbs., 14 oz.) to Suleman at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and they arrived home a half hour later, wrapped in blankets and sleeping.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009 Time Inc.
Madonna should not adopt baby Mercy, says Save The Children
by Anita Singh © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
The singer is expected in the impoverished African nation this weekend to begin adoption proceedings for Mercy James, a toddler whom she picked out during a previous visit.The little girl's parents have died, according to government officials, but she is believed to have surviving family members including uncles and aunts.
Mercy has spent the majority of her life in the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji, where Madonna, 50, also found her first adoptive child, David Banda.
Save The Children said Mercy should not be taken from Malawi. "The best place for a child is in his or her family in their home community. Most children in orphanages have one parent still living or have an extended family that can care for them in the absence of their parents," said the charity's spokesman, Dominic Nutt.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
The singer is expected in the impoverished African nation this weekend to begin adoption proceedings for Mercy James, a toddler whom she picked out during a previous visit.The little girl's parents have died, according to government officials, but she is believed to have surviving family members including uncles and aunts.
Mercy has spent the majority of her life in the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji, where Madonna, 50, also found her first adoptive child, David Banda.
Save The Children said Mercy should not be taken from Malawi. "The best place for a child is in his or her family in their home community. Most children in orphanages have one parent still living or have an extended family that can care for them in the absence of their parents," said the charity's spokesman, Dominic Nutt.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
Mother delivers baby on motorway
BBC © MMIX
A mother gave birth to a baby daughter in a car parked on the hard shoulder of a motorway in Hertfordshire.
The baby's father was driving along the A1M from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, when baby Darcie started to arrive.
Ashley Welch, 24, delivered the baby without any medical help.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE BBC © MMIX
A mother gave birth to a baby daughter in a car parked on the hard shoulder of a motorway in Hertfordshire.
The baby's father was driving along the A1M from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, when baby Darcie started to arrive.
Ashley Welch, 24, delivered the baby without any medical help.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE BBC © MMIX
Friday, March 27, 2009
Newly Pregnant Smokers Have a 15-Week Window to Quit
2009 Forbes.com LLC
THURSDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women who quit smoking before the 15th week of pregnancy reduce their risk of premature birth and having small babies to that of nonsmoking women, a new study finds.
It's known that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature birth, small babies, stillbirth and neonatal death, but no study until now has determined whether stopping smoking in early pregnancy reduces the risks of small babies and premature births, the study authors said.
"Pregnant women who smoke should be encouraged and assisted to become smoke-free early in pregnancy," said lead researcher Dr. Lesley McCowan, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE 2009 Forbes.com LLC
THURSDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women who quit smoking before the 15th week of pregnancy reduce their risk of premature birth and having small babies to that of nonsmoking women, a new study finds.
It's known that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature birth, small babies, stillbirth and neonatal death, but no study until now has determined whether stopping smoking in early pregnancy reduces the risks of small babies and premature births, the study authors said.
"Pregnant women who smoke should be encouraged and assisted to become smoke-free early in pregnancy," said lead researcher Dr. Lesley McCowan, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE 2009 Forbes.com LLC
Study on smoking risks in pregnancy
©2009 Google
Women who stop smoking in the early stages of pregnancy can cut the risk of having premature or small babies, research has found.
It is well known that smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of complications such as miscarriage and still birth, but the findings reveal for the first time the effect of giving up smoking on two potential problems for pregnant women.
According to a study in the British Medical Journal, if expectant mothers kick the habit in the first 15 weeks, they can reduce the risk of small babies or premature births to that of a non-smoker.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©2009 Google
Women who stop smoking in the early stages of pregnancy can cut the risk of having premature or small babies, research has found.
It is well known that smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of complications such as miscarriage and still birth, but the findings reveal for the first time the effect of giving up smoking on two potential problems for pregnant women.
According to a study in the British Medical Journal, if expectant mothers kick the habit in the first 15 weeks, they can reduce the risk of small babies or premature births to that of a non-smoker.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©2009 Google
Fresh bid for hospital
©Independent.ie
THE Beacon Medical Group has submitted a fresh planning application for a €160m state-of-the-art Women's, Children's and Maternity Hospital.
If granted, the hospital will be built adjacent to Beacon Medical Campus in Sandyford, Co Dublin.
The original scheme for the hospital was refused by An Bord Pleanala in November of last year because of insufficient drainage and water facilities in the area.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
THE Beacon Medical Group has submitted a fresh planning application for a €160m state-of-the-art Women's, Children's and Maternity Hospital.
If granted, the hospital will be built adjacent to Beacon Medical Campus in Sandyford, Co Dublin.
The original scheme for the hospital was refused by An Bord Pleanala in November of last year because of insufficient drainage and water facilities in the area.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
2 more octuplets go home; 12 kids in Suleman home
by Raquel Maria Dillon ©2009 Google
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two more of the world's longest surviving octuplets went home Thursday night, and Nadya Suleman's spacious four-bedroom home is quickly filling up.
Twelve children are now in Suleman's care after Makai and Jeremiah were released from Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, exactly two months after their historic births. Two babies remain in the hospital.
"Over these past several weeks we have seen these little ones flourish, grow stronger each day, which is rewarding for each of us who have cared for them," said Dr. Mandhir Gupta, a neonatologist at Kaiser.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©2009 Google
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two more of the world's longest surviving octuplets went home Thursday night, and Nadya Suleman's spacious four-bedroom home is quickly filling up.
Twelve children are now in Suleman's care after Makai and Jeremiah were released from Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, exactly two months after their historic births. Two babies remain in the hospital.
"Over these past several weeks we have seen these little ones flourish, grow stronger each day, which is rewarding for each of us who have cared for them," said Dr. Mandhir Gupta, a neonatologist at Kaiser.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©2009 Google
Father angry as roadside baby recorded in wrong county
by Gordon Deegan ©Independent.ie
The father of a baby girl born on the roadside in west Clare complained yesterday that the HSE has refused to record his new daughter as a Clare baby, and instead has insisted on classifying her as Limerick-born.
Lawrence Gallagher spoke yesterday after it emerged that the HSE does not have any official record of babies born by the roadside in Co Clare en route to the maternity hospital in Limerick.
The failure by the HSE to record roadside births in Clare was yesterday described as 'reckless' by HSE West Forum member Cllr Brian Meaney (Green).
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
The father of a baby girl born on the roadside in west Clare complained yesterday that the HSE has refused to record his new daughter as a Clare baby, and instead has insisted on classifying her as Limerick-born.
Lawrence Gallagher spoke yesterday after it emerged that the HSE does not have any official record of babies born by the roadside in Co Clare en route to the maternity hospital in Limerick.
The failure by the HSE to record roadside births in Clare was yesterday described as 'reckless' by HSE West Forum member Cllr Brian Meaney (Green).
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
Thursday, March 26, 2009
'Please have my baby,' cervical cancer woman pleads on TV
by Allison Bray ©Independent.ie
A YOUNG woman who lost her womb to cervical cancer is praying that someone will come forward to help fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a mother.
Joanne Brennan (30), of Ballymun, north Dublin, appeared on TV3's 'Midday' programme yesterday in the hope that she will find someone who is willing to become a surrogate mother on her behalf.
Joanne and her fiance John Ryan (34), had always dreamed of having a large family and they had been trying to conceive for more than a year when she went to see a doctor to see why she hadn't become pregnant.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
A YOUNG woman who lost her womb to cervical cancer is praying that someone will come forward to help fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a mother.
Joanne Brennan (30), of Ballymun, north Dublin, appeared on TV3's 'Midday' programme yesterday in the hope that she will find someone who is willing to become a surrogate mother on her behalf.
Joanne and her fiance John Ryan (34), had always dreamed of having a large family and they had been trying to conceive for more than a year when she went to see a doctor to see why she hadn't become pregnant.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
Eating during labour does not affect delivery
by Deborah Condon Copyright © 2009
Eating during labour does not affect the delivery of your baby, the results of a new study indicate.The study also found that eating has no effect on the length of labour, the need for assisted delivery, such as the use of forceps, or Caesarean rates.According to UK researchers, since the 1940s, it has been common practice to prevent women who may need an emergency Caesarean under general anaesthetic, from eating during labour in order to minimise the risk of pulmonary aspiration (breathing food into the lungs).However pulmonary aspiration has declined dramatically in recent years, mainly due to the increased use of local anaesthesia for Caesarean deliveries. Furthermore, some doctors and midwives argue that preventing food intake during labour can be detrimental to the mother, her baby, and the progress of labour, so the policy of routine fasting is being increasingly challenged.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009
Eating during labour does not affect the delivery of your baby, the results of a new study indicate.The study also found that eating has no effect on the length of labour, the need for assisted delivery, such as the use of forceps, or Caesarean rates.According to UK researchers, since the 1940s, it has been common practice to prevent women who may need an emergency Caesarean under general anaesthetic, from eating during labour in order to minimise the risk of pulmonary aspiration (breathing food into the lungs).However pulmonary aspiration has declined dramatically in recent years, mainly due to the increased use of local anaesthesia for Caesarean deliveries. Furthermore, some doctors and midwives argue that preventing food intake during labour can be detrimental to the mother, her baby, and the progress of labour, so the policy of routine fasting is being increasingly challenged.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009
HSE to fund life-saving operation for baby Adam
by Sean McMahon Copyright ©2008
There was excellent news for the parents of little 21-month-old baby Adam Clerkin in Shercock this week when they were informed by Crumlin Children’s Hospital that a 20-hour life-saving operation in Boston will now be fully funded by the Health Services Executive (HSE). Baby Adam has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in his jaw.
Little Adam’s parents, Donal and Sinead Clerkin told The Anglo-Celt that they were absolutely thrilled that the operation will be funded by the HSE and Donal revealed that the operation will either go ahead in the Boston Children’s Hospital on Wednesday of next week or the following Wednesday. Donal said it was “brilliant news”.
He explained that if they get the go ahead for the operation on next Wednesday, they will have to fly out to Boston on either Sunday or Monday. “We are just waiting for the people in Crumlin Hospital to ring back and confirm the date, but it will be definitely be taking place on a Wednesday.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright ©2008
There was excellent news for the parents of little 21-month-old baby Adam Clerkin in Shercock this week when they were informed by Crumlin Children’s Hospital that a 20-hour life-saving operation in Boston will now be fully funded by the Health Services Executive (HSE). Baby Adam has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in his jaw.
Little Adam’s parents, Donal and Sinead Clerkin told The Anglo-Celt that they were absolutely thrilled that the operation will be funded by the HSE and Donal revealed that the operation will either go ahead in the Boston Children’s Hospital on Wednesday of next week or the following Wednesday. Donal said it was “brilliant news”.
He explained that if they get the go ahead for the operation on next Wednesday, they will have to fly out to Boston on either Sunday or Monday. “We are just waiting for the people in Crumlin Hospital to ring back and confirm the date, but it will be definitely be taking place on a Wednesday.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright ©2008
Lawyer: Suleman cares for cameras, not babies
by Mike Celizic © 2009 MSNBC Interactive
Infamous octuplet mom Nadya Suleman is more interested in feeding the cameras than feeding her babies, the lawyer for a group that had attempted to help care for Suleman’s 14 children has alleged.
“How can she succeed if she is subjecting her babies to potential risks of harm? If she doesn’t even come into the nursery to feed her own babies, to hold them, to bathe them, to change them, to love them, to bond with them, except when the cameras are rolling?” Gloria Allred told TODAY’s Lester Holt Wednesday from Los Angeles.
“There’s only a few hours beyond the time when the cameras were rolling that she actually came into the nursery when she was there to care for her babies, and that’s wrong.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 MSNBC Interactive
Infamous octuplet mom Nadya Suleman is more interested in feeding the cameras than feeding her babies, the lawyer for a group that had attempted to help care for Suleman’s 14 children has alleged.
“How can she succeed if she is subjecting her babies to potential risks of harm? If she doesn’t even come into the nursery to feed her own babies, to hold them, to bathe them, to change them, to love them, to bond with them, except when the cameras are rolling?” Gloria Allred told TODAY’s Lester Holt Wednesday from Los Angeles.
“There’s only a few hours beyond the time when the cameras were rolling that she actually came into the nursery when she was there to care for her babies, and that’s wrong.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 MSNBC Interactive
Mums hospital may use anti-smoking Mosquito
by Jane Last © Herald.ie 2008
A maternity hospital's battle to stop mums-to-be smoking may lead to the use of a controversial anti-loitering device outside its doors.
Management at the Rotunda will decide in the coming weeks whether to use mosquito alarms outside its main entrance, in an effort to stop mothers, visitors and staff under the age of 25 smoking in the doorways.
The move is being considered despite comments by the Ombudsman for Children that their use could technically constitute assault on a child.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald.ie 2008
A maternity hospital's battle to stop mums-to-be smoking may lead to the use of a controversial anti-loitering device outside its doors.
Management at the Rotunda will decide in the coming weeks whether to use mosquito alarms outside its main entrance, in an effort to stop mothers, visitors and staff under the age of 25 smoking in the doorways.
The move is being considered despite comments by the Ombudsman for Children that their use could technically constitute assault on a child.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald.ie 2008
New push to get maternity hospital built
by Claire Murphy © Herald.ie 2008
Plans for a new maternity and children's hospital in Sandyford have been reinstated by Beacon Medical Group.
The original scheme for the hospital was refused by An Bord Pleanala in November of last year because of insufficient drainage and water facilities in the area.
An Taisce objected to the construction of the hospital citing environmental reasons.
The statement said: "Until a revised Urban Framework Plan for the Sandyford area is completed, establishing guidelines for building heights, and measures are adopted to improve the capacity of the existing road and transport infrastructure.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald.ie 2008
Plans for a new maternity and children's hospital in Sandyford have been reinstated by Beacon Medical Group.
The original scheme for the hospital was refused by An Bord Pleanala in November of last year because of insufficient drainage and water facilities in the area.
An Taisce objected to the construction of the hospital citing environmental reasons.
The statement said: "Until a revised Urban Framework Plan for the Sandyford area is completed, establishing guidelines for building heights, and measures are adopted to improve the capacity of the existing road and transport infrastructure.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald.ie 2008
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The mother of all battles
by Julia Molony ©Independent.ie
IF you are a woman thinking of starting a family, be warned. Motherhood, apparently, turns most women into bores. It makes them obsessive about the inane details of child-care, replaces carrot mash where they used to have brains, and renders them devoid of any curiosity that extends outside of the domestic sphere.
But women who don't have children, the mothers counter, are worse. They are emotional car crashes, bitter, mournful and full of regrets.
Those are your options, ladies. Or, at least, so the latest female culture debate waging on in the media and the cybersphere would have us believe. You can't win.
This Mother's Day, more than on any other day of the year, western women of a certain age will be segregated into the haves and have-nots. Those with young families might choose, out of sensitivity, to make light of it to their childless female friends. In turn, the childless might find something else to celebrate in defiance of the cult of maternity that dominates the news not just now, but pretty much at all times of the year. At a time in history when fertility is dropping, when women feel a direct and explicit conflict between the ambitions they have been raised to exercise and their biological urge to reproduce, motherhood has become a flashpoint issue. And one on which, both ideologically and personally, women are becoming more and more dramatically divided. Reproduction is the Gaza Strip of women's issues. Separated by the milestone of partum, more and more females have been taking to throwing rocks from either side.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
IF you are a woman thinking of starting a family, be warned. Motherhood, apparently, turns most women into bores. It makes them obsessive about the inane details of child-care, replaces carrot mash where they used to have brains, and renders them devoid of any curiosity that extends outside of the domestic sphere.
But women who don't have children, the mothers counter, are worse. They are emotional car crashes, bitter, mournful and full of regrets.
Those are your options, ladies. Or, at least, so the latest female culture debate waging on in the media and the cybersphere would have us believe. You can't win.
This Mother's Day, more than on any other day of the year, western women of a certain age will be segregated into the haves and have-nots. Those with young families might choose, out of sensitivity, to make light of it to their childless female friends. In turn, the childless might find something else to celebrate in defiance of the cult of maternity that dominates the news not just now, but pretty much at all times of the year. At a time in history when fertility is dropping, when women feel a direct and explicit conflict between the ambitions they have been raised to exercise and their biological urge to reproduce, motherhood has become a flashpoint issue. And one on which, both ideologically and personally, women are becoming more and more dramatically divided. Reproduction is the Gaza Strip of women's issues. Separated by the milestone of partum, more and more females have been taking to throwing rocks from either side.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
Style tips for pregnant professionals
by Rita Mylett © 2008 Galway Advertiser
Pregnant businesswomen still have to maintain a professional image. Here are some tips on how to look businesslike when you're lugging around a tummy the size of a watermelon!
Basic clothing in the same fabric and colour
Stick with classic colours that will mix with what you already have in your wardrobe. Wear stretchy fabrics that drape nicely over your body. You don't want tight, but you don't want baggy, either. That just makes you look larger.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2008 Galway Advertiser
Pregnant businesswomen still have to maintain a professional image. Here are some tips on how to look businesslike when you're lugging around a tummy the size of a watermelon!
Basic clothing in the same fabric and colour
Stick with classic colours that will mix with what you already have in your wardrobe. Wear stretchy fabrics that drape nicely over your body. You don't want tight, but you don't want baggy, either. That just makes you look larger.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2008 Galway Advertiser
Supplement could prevent hydrocephalus
by Deborah Condon Copyright © 2009.
A vitamin supplement taken by women while they are pregnant could prevent one of the most common birth brain defects – hydrocephalus.Sometimes referred to as ‘water on the brain’, hydrocephalus occurs when there is an abnormal build-up of fluid within the chambers of the brain. This fluid is cerebrospinal fluid, a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This build-up can cause harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain. The condition affects around one in every 1,000 babies born.Now, in laboratory tests, scientists from the University of Manchester and Lancaster University in the UK have shown that administering a combination of folate vitamins (tetrahydrofolate and folinic acid) dramatically reduces the risk of the condition.“The fluid build-up – usually caused by a blockage in the fluid’s pathway due to trauma, infection or abnormal development – is associated with an increase in the pressure on the brain resulting in brain damage. When this happens, doctors can relieve this pressure only by performing surgery,” explained lead researcher, Dr Jaleel Miyan of the University of Manchester.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009.
A vitamin supplement taken by women while they are pregnant could prevent one of the most common birth brain defects – hydrocephalus.Sometimes referred to as ‘water on the brain’, hydrocephalus occurs when there is an abnormal build-up of fluid within the chambers of the brain. This fluid is cerebrospinal fluid, a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This build-up can cause harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain. The condition affects around one in every 1,000 babies born.Now, in laboratory tests, scientists from the University of Manchester and Lancaster University in the UK have shown that administering a combination of folate vitamins (tetrahydrofolate and folinic acid) dramatically reduces the risk of the condition.“The fluid build-up – usually caused by a blockage in the fluid’s pathway due to trauma, infection or abnormal development – is associated with an increase in the pressure on the brain resulting in brain damage. When this happens, doctors can relieve this pressure only by performing surgery,” explained lead researcher, Dr Jaleel Miyan of the University of Manchester.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE Copyright © 2009.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Births up 40% in second quarter last year
by Elaine Edwards © 2009 irishtimes.com
The birthrate in the second quarter of last year was up by some 40 per cent on 1999, with 60 more babies born every day than in that year, new figures show.
Some 19,027 births were registered in quarter two of 2008, an annual birth rate of 17.2 per 1,000 population.
This is an increase of 5,442 births (40 per cent) on the same period in 1999. The increase in the last year alone was 11 per cent.
The figures are contained in the Central Statistics Office's Vital Statistics Second Quarter 2008 report.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.com
The birthrate in the second quarter of last year was up by some 40 per cent on 1999, with 60 more babies born every day than in that year, new figures show.
Some 19,027 births were registered in quarter two of 2008, an annual birth rate of 17.2 per 1,000 population.
This is an increase of 5,442 births (40 per cent) on the same period in 1999. The increase in the last year alone was 11 per cent.
The figures are contained in the Central Statistics Office's Vital Statistics Second Quarter 2008 report.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.com
Employers give maternity leave top-up a wide berth
by Caroline Madden © 2009 irishtimes.co
AS MOTHER’S DAY approaches, expectant and new mums are feeling the pressure. Employer supports taken for granted in the past can no longer always be relied upon. It is therefore vital to make sure that you’re claiming your full statutory entitlements.
When it comes to maternity leave, there are certain rights that remain unaffected by the recent deterioration in the employment market. Firstly, if you become pregnant, you are automatically entitled to maternity leave from work of 26 weeks.
If you have made enough PRSI contributions, you will receive maternity benefit from the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The amount of this benefit will depend on your earnings.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.co
AS MOTHER’S DAY approaches, expectant and new mums are feeling the pressure. Employer supports taken for granted in the past can no longer always be relied upon. It is therefore vital to make sure that you’re claiming your full statutory entitlements.
When it comes to maternity leave, there are certain rights that remain unaffected by the recent deterioration in the employment market. Firstly, if you become pregnant, you are automatically entitled to maternity leave from work of 26 weeks.
If you have made enough PRSI contributions, you will receive maternity benefit from the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The amount of this benefit will depend on your earnings.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.co
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Morning, noon and night sickness
by Sharon Dempsey © 2009 irishtimes.co
“I think we are all conditioned into thinking pregnancy is not an illness so that it is hard to admit you are really suffering and I certainly thought people wouldn’t take me seriously. Luckily I have been treated very well.
A NEW study carried out at Cork University Maternity Hospital has shown that a higher number of female babies are being born to mothers who have experienced the extreme pregnancy sickness condition, hyperemesis.
Most pregnant women experience morning sickness, nausea and sometimes vomiting but, for a few, pregnancy sickness is so severe that it leaves them weak, dehydrated, malnourished and desperate for the pregnancy to end.
Some 70-80 per cent of pregnant women will experience what is generally referred to as morning sickness, leading to 35 per cent of pregnant women being absent from work on at least one occasion.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.co
“I think we are all conditioned into thinking pregnancy is not an illness so that it is hard to admit you are really suffering and I certainly thought people wouldn’t take me seriously. Luckily I have been treated very well.
A NEW study carried out at Cork University Maternity Hospital has shown that a higher number of female babies are being born to mothers who have experienced the extreme pregnancy sickness condition, hyperemesis.
Most pregnant women experience morning sickness, nausea and sometimes vomiting but, for a few, pregnancy sickness is so severe that it leaves them weak, dehydrated, malnourished and desperate for the pregnancy to end.
Some 70-80 per cent of pregnant women will experience what is generally referred to as morning sickness, leading to 35 per cent of pregnant women being absent from work on at least one occasion.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 irishtimes.co
Light drinking during pregnancy: Is it OK?
by Amy Graff © 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.
My mother enjoyed a glass of wine every evening when she was pregnant with me in the early 1970s. "That's what my doctor told me to do," she says. "He said that it would relax me."
Twenty-eight years later, my obgyn gave me very different advice. She urged me to abstain entirely in the first and second trimesters and said an occasional drink in the third was safe. And so I sipped red wine on Christmas, enjoyed a flute of champagne on New Year's Eve, and knocked down a full glass of vino two weeks after my due date and hours away from being induced. Before I was ever hooked up to an IV drip with pitocin, my water broke and I went into labor tipsy. I have always felt a tinge of guilt about the few times I indulged but I figured if my mom drank every night and I turned out OK then what's the harm in three glasses over the course of nine months.In the United States, it was once thought that pregnant women could safely enjoy a drink on a daily basis--but that's not the case anymore. In 1973 researchers at the University of Washington identified Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a group of physical and mental birth defects caused by alcohol consumption. In 1981 the Surgeon General began warning women about the dangers of alcohol and drinking during pregnancy quickly became taboo. But the government has never distinguished between heavy drinking and an occasional glass of wine--so this leaves many women wondering, Will a few sips now and then really damage my baby beyond repair?
The great debate: To drink or not to drink?
"I drank the occasional glass of wine during pregnancy," says San Francisco mom Joanna Pearlstein. "The British tell pregnant women that one drink per week is OK. By comparison the American health system seems bent on scaring pregnant women with all of its 'do this and risk your baby's very survival' instructions. I didn't feel those scare tactics were always best for me (physically and mentally) and my baby.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.
My mother enjoyed a glass of wine every evening when she was pregnant with me in the early 1970s. "That's what my doctor told me to do," she says. "He said that it would relax me."
Twenty-eight years later, my obgyn gave me very different advice. She urged me to abstain entirely in the first and second trimesters and said an occasional drink in the third was safe. And so I sipped red wine on Christmas, enjoyed a flute of champagne on New Year's Eve, and knocked down a full glass of vino two weeks after my due date and hours away from being induced. Before I was ever hooked up to an IV drip with pitocin, my water broke and I went into labor tipsy. I have always felt a tinge of guilt about the few times I indulged but I figured if my mom drank every night and I turned out OK then what's the harm in three glasses over the course of nine months.In the United States, it was once thought that pregnant women could safely enjoy a drink on a daily basis--but that's not the case anymore. In 1973 researchers at the University of Washington identified Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a group of physical and mental birth defects caused by alcohol consumption. In 1981 the Surgeon General began warning women about the dangers of alcohol and drinking during pregnancy quickly became taboo. But the government has never distinguished between heavy drinking and an occasional glass of wine--so this leaves many women wondering, Will a few sips now and then really damage my baby beyond repair?
The great debate: To drink or not to drink?
"I drank the occasional glass of wine during pregnancy," says San Francisco mom Joanna Pearlstein. "The British tell pregnant women that one drink per week is OK. By comparison the American health system seems bent on scaring pregnant women with all of its 'do this and risk your baby's very survival' instructions. I didn't feel those scare tactics were always best for me (physically and mentally) and my baby.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.
Why I fired my doctor in the middle of labour
by Siobhan O'Neill-White ©Independent.ie
After an emergency C-section, Joanna Blakely was determined that her second child would have a natural birth, writes Siobhan O'Neill-White.
Joanna Blakely (not her real name) was in the final stages of labour and concentrating hard on the task at hand. Her husband, Tom, was by her side encouraging her, as was the midwife in the hospital delivery room with them. Joanna was calm and focused as she practised her hypnobirthing. She was managing well and, although her labour was not progressing quickly, she felt in control of the situation.
The only person unhappy with the way her labour was moving forward was her consultant. As he hovered around the room, expressing his concerns and creating a tense atmosphere, Joanna and Tom decided he was no longer being helpful, so they politely relieved him of his duties and told him to go home!
It is not common for a consultant to be sent packing in the middle of the woman's labour but the outcome of this birth was very important to Joanna and as her doctor was no longer being supportive, she and Tom decided they would be better off without him.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
After an emergency C-section, Joanna Blakely was determined that her second child would have a natural birth, writes Siobhan O'Neill-White.
Joanna Blakely (not her real name) was in the final stages of labour and concentrating hard on the task at hand. Her husband, Tom, was by her side encouraging her, as was the midwife in the hospital delivery room with them. Joanna was calm and focused as she practised her hypnobirthing. She was managing well and, although her labour was not progressing quickly, she felt in control of the situation.
The only person unhappy with the way her labour was moving forward was her consultant. As he hovered around the room, expressing his concerns and creating a tense atmosphere, Joanna and Tom decided he was no longer being helpful, so they politely relieved him of his duties and told him to go home!
It is not common for a consultant to be sent packing in the middle of the woman's labour but the outcome of this birth was very important to Joanna and as her doctor was no longer being supportive, she and Tom decided they would be better off without him.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
Holly Willoughby 'sexy' in maternity clothes
by Moira Holden © Disney
Holly, 28, who expecting her first child with hubby Dan Baldwin in May, took part in a photo shoot promoting maternity clothes for Littlewoods.
'I think all pregnant women look great,' she told the Sun. 'It's a beautiful time in your life and pregnancy bumps should be celebrated.'
The television presenter admits she has been gorging on Kraft cheese slices while pregnant.
'I can't stop eating them and it's getting worse,' she said. 'It's a bad habit – but I'm pregnant so who cares?'
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Disney
Holly, 28, who expecting her first child with hubby Dan Baldwin in May, took part in a photo shoot promoting maternity clothes for Littlewoods.
'I think all pregnant women look great,' she told the Sun. 'It's a beautiful time in your life and pregnancy bumps should be celebrated.'
The television presenter admits she has been gorging on Kraft cheese slices while pregnant.
'I can't stop eating them and it's getting worse,' she said. 'It's a bad habit – but I'm pregnant so who cares?'
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Disney
That little extra - the importance of supplements for pregnant women
By Jay Orpen ©Independent.ie
An identical twin with a lifelong passion for obstetrics and pregnant women’s health, Dr Louis Keith also has a keen interest in nutrition.
He explains to Joy Orpen why it is so vital for pregnant women to supplement their diets with certain vitamins and minerals.
In this modern era of overprocessed food, we need to get serious about proper nutrition. If we do, then we may well reach the conclusion that, given the way food is grown and processed, it's likely we should be consuming large doses of vitamins and minerals in supplement form.
Unless, of course, we have access to the sort of freshly grown, organic fare our great-grandparents enjoyed — a diet where seeds, cereals, nuts, vegetables and fruits were used in their original state, unaltered by the use of chemical pesticides, hormones or other harmful substances so beloved of massproduction and the fast buck.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
An identical twin with a lifelong passion for obstetrics and pregnant women’s health, Dr Louis Keith also has a keen interest in nutrition.
He explains to Joy Orpen why it is so vital for pregnant women to supplement their diets with certain vitamins and minerals.
In this modern era of overprocessed food, we need to get serious about proper nutrition. If we do, then we may well reach the conclusion that, given the way food is grown and processed, it's likely we should be consuming large doses of vitamins and minerals in supplement form.
Unless, of course, we have access to the sort of freshly grown, organic fare our great-grandparents enjoyed — a diet where seeds, cereals, nuts, vegetables and fruits were used in their original state, unaltered by the use of chemical pesticides, hormones or other harmful substances so beloved of massproduction and the fast buck.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Independent.ie
Number of babies born in the US reaches record levels
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
The number of babies born in the US reached record levels in 2007, outpacing the birthrate from the late 1950s. Official figures released today showed that 4,317,119 babies were born there in 2007, the highest number on record.
Beneath the bald figures, the statistics, culled from birth certificates, hinted at some cultural shifts in the US as the nation enjoyed the final months before the economic crisis set in. Unmarried mothers accounted for almost 40% of births, with three-quarters of them over the age of 20. Teen births, after declining for much of the past 15 years, rose for the second year, as did births across all ages and races.
The figures reported by the National Centre for Health Statistics, part of the federal government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed the increase in births across most groups that had been evident in 2006.
The average American woman has 2.1 children in her lifetime, the most since the early 1970s, with women of Hispanic origin having the highest rate - almost three children per woman.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
The number of babies born in the US reached record levels in 2007, outpacing the birthrate from the late 1950s. Official figures released today showed that 4,317,119 babies were born there in 2007, the highest number on record.
Beneath the bald figures, the statistics, culled from birth certificates, hinted at some cultural shifts in the US as the nation enjoyed the final months before the economic crisis set in. Unmarried mothers accounted for almost 40% of births, with three-quarters of them over the age of 20. Teen births, after declining for much of the past 15 years, rose for the second year, as did births across all ages and races.
The figures reported by the National Centre for Health Statistics, part of the federal government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed the increase in births across most groups that had been evident in 2006.
The average American woman has 2.1 children in her lifetime, the most since the early 1970s, with women of Hispanic origin having the highest rate - almost three children per woman.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Twin Boys for Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller Sheen!
By Clarissa Cruz and Alexis Chiu © Time Inc
Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen and wife Brooke Mueller Sheen welcomed twin boys Saturday night. The children, named Max and Bob, are the first for the couple, who married in May 2008. "They're doing great," Sheen's publicist Stan Rosenfield tells PEOPLE of the babies, who weren't due for another few weeks. "And Brooke's doing great." The family is "very happy," Rosenfield says, adding that Charlies is "ecstatic. He's a family man – now he has three daughters and two sons. He's a wonderful father."
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Time Inc
Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen and wife Brooke Mueller Sheen welcomed twin boys Saturday night. The children, named Max and Bob, are the first for the couple, who married in May 2008. "They're doing great," Sheen's publicist Stan Rosenfield tells PEOPLE of the babies, who weren't due for another few weeks. "And Brooke's doing great." The family is "very happy," Rosenfield says, adding that Charlies is "ecstatic. He's a family man – now he has three daughters and two sons. He's a wonderful father."
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Time Inc
Pregnant women overdosing on folic acid
Danielle Teutsch © Fairfax Digital
Pregnant women may be taking excessive levels of folic acid in the misguided belief more is better for their babies' health.
Professor Julie Owens, head of the school of pediatrics and reproductive health at the University of Adelaide, is calling for more research into the effects of large doses of the B-group vitamin, which is recommended to pregnant women because of its important role in preventing neural tube defects.
Professor Owens said it was very important that expectant mothers take folic acid at the levels recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council - 600 micrograms a day. But she was concerned women who took daily supplements and consumed folate-fortified foods could be consuming more than the 1000mcg recommended upper-level intake.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Fairfax Digital
Pregnant women may be taking excessive levels of folic acid in the misguided belief more is better for their babies' health.
Professor Julie Owens, head of the school of pediatrics and reproductive health at the University of Adelaide, is calling for more research into the effects of large doses of the B-group vitamin, which is recommended to pregnant women because of its important role in preventing neural tube defects.
Professor Owens said it was very important that expectant mothers take folic acid at the levels recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council - 600 micrograms a day. But she was concerned women who took daily supplements and consumed folate-fortified foods could be consuming more than the 1000mcg recommended upper-level intake.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Fairfax Digital
Elizabeth McCracken: My grief for the baby I lost
©Elizabeth McCracken 2009 © Times Newspapers Ltd
Two years ago a writer found herself in France expecting her first child. In an extract from her new book she describes in moving detail the moment she knew she'd lost her baby son and the sorrow that followed
Elizabeth McCracken
We were taken to an examination room, where a very young male sage-femme - not very sage, not at all femme - shook our hands. He wore a pair of bright rubber clogs. I thought then that I would never forget what colour they were, red or green or yellow, but I have no idea, I just remember that they were unusual.
He put the straps around my stomach and turned on the monitor. Nothing. He shifted them around.
He said, in French, I am going to go get my colleague. She is better at this than I am. He disappeared and instead came back and brightly told us that we would go have a sonogram. Good, I thought. Enough messing around. Let's see the kid.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Elizabeth McCracken 2009 © Times Newspapers Ltd
Two years ago a writer found herself in France expecting her first child. In an extract from her new book she describes in moving detail the moment she knew she'd lost her baby son and the sorrow that followed
Elizabeth McCracken
We were taken to an examination room, where a very young male sage-femme - not very sage, not at all femme - shook our hands. He wore a pair of bright rubber clogs. I thought then that I would never forget what colour they were, red or green or yellow, but I have no idea, I just remember that they were unusual.
He put the straps around my stomach and turned on the monitor. Nothing. He shifted them around.
He said, in French, I am going to go get my colleague. She is better at this than I am. He disappeared and instead came back and brightly told us that we would go have a sonogram. Good, I thought. Enough messing around. Let's see the kid.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE ©Elizabeth McCracken 2009 © Times Newspapers Ltd
Parents warned of 'cancer risk' in plastic baby bottles
By Aideen Sheehan Consumer Correspondent © Independent.ie
A LEADING scientist has warned that parents should avoid using plastic baby bottles containing a potentially cancer-causing chemical.
The chemical, known as BPA, has recently been banned in Canada because of concerns over the dangers it could pose to infants.
However, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland(FSAI) said that a review by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) last summer had concluded that there was no risk to infants from the quantities of BPA that could leach from bottles.
This was because humans including newborns eliminated it quickly from their bodies.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
A LEADING scientist has warned that parents should avoid using plastic baby bottles containing a potentially cancer-causing chemical.
The chemical, known as BPA, has recently been banned in Canada because of concerns over the dangers it could pose to infants.
However, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland(FSAI) said that a review by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) last summer had concluded that there was no risk to infants from the quantities of BPA that could leach from bottles.
This was because humans including newborns eliminated it quickly from their bodies.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
Friday, March 13, 2009
A man's guide to minding baby
© Irishtimes.com
1. New baby in the house
Once home for good you have no excuse not to perform duties you may previously have bodyswerved: nappy-changing, night feeds, bottle washing. Do everything as if each task makes you a better and happier man. Soon, the fact that you aren’t crumbling under the weight of kiddie chores will cause resentment and you may have your duties relieved.
2. Sleep
Even these days some men get away with claiming their sleep is sacrosanct as they have to go to the office in the morning.
That excuse is, obviously, gone. There is no hiding from sleep deprivation, no way round the torture a new baby in particular can enforce. Simple. Learn to live on three hours a night.
3. Hanging a baby wash
Each one contains over 7,000 small garments and hanging them on rads and clothes horses is a Jenga/Rubik’s cube task. But you figure the solution quickly and develop the dexterity of a Parisian pickpocket. Do not give up your secret as this can buy you valuable alone time under the pretext of performing family tasks. Alone time equals gold.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Irishtimes.com
1. New baby in the house
Once home for good you have no excuse not to perform duties you may previously have bodyswerved: nappy-changing, night feeds, bottle washing. Do everything as if each task makes you a better and happier man. Soon, the fact that you aren’t crumbling under the weight of kiddie chores will cause resentment and you may have your duties relieved.
2. Sleep
Even these days some men get away with claiming their sleep is sacrosanct as they have to go to the office in the morning.
That excuse is, obviously, gone. There is no hiding from sleep deprivation, no way round the torture a new baby in particular can enforce. Simple. Learn to live on three hours a night.
3. Hanging a baby wash
Each one contains over 7,000 small garments and hanging them on rads and clothes horses is a Jenga/Rubik’s cube task. But you figure the solution quickly and develop the dexterity of a Parisian pickpocket. Do not give up your secret as this can buy you valuable alone time under the pretext of performing family tasks. Alone time equals gold.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Irishtimes.com
Hospital developer thwarted by council
By Claire Murphy © Herald.ie
A LEADING development company has received a major set back for its plans for a new maternity hospital.
The Mount Carmel Medical Group (MCMG) had lodged an application to build a massive hospital facility at Churchtown, despite several local objections.
A six-storey, 160-bed hospital building would have replaced the five-storey hospital in south Dublin which concentrates on maternity, orthopaedic, general surgery and daycare.
Refusal
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council refused permission but MCMG is still active in the application process and have this week lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanala.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald.ie
A LEADING development company has received a major set back for its plans for a new maternity hospital.
The Mount Carmel Medical Group (MCMG) had lodged an application to build a massive hospital facility at Churchtown, despite several local objections.
A six-storey, 160-bed hospital building would have replaced the five-storey hospital in south Dublin which concentrates on maternity, orthopaedic, general surgery and daycare.
Refusal
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council refused permission but MCMG is still active in the application process and have this week lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanala.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Herald.ie
Thursday, March 12, 2009
If at first you don't conceive . . .
MARTIN FITZGERALD © Irishtimes.com
MY WIFE and I have a story. It’s a common one unfortunately. It’s about infertility. Normally it falls upon the fairer sex to discuss it, but I have a big mouth, and I don’t really need to be asked twice.
It’s two years since my wife and I decided to start a family. Where the decision came from I have no idea, but once we both said it aloud there was absolutely no doubt that this was right. In fact, we wondered why we hadn’t thought of it before.
We dived straight in, eager and naive. Thanks to the combined educations furnished by the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers, we had no idea just how naive we really were. Once we’d established that we couldn’t actually get pregnant by watching English television channels or by holding hands outside the newsagents, we soon worked out what would work and what wouldn’t.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Irishtimes.com
MY WIFE and I have a story. It’s a common one unfortunately. It’s about infertility. Normally it falls upon the fairer sex to discuss it, but I have a big mouth, and I don’t really need to be asked twice.
It’s two years since my wife and I decided to start a family. Where the decision came from I have no idea, but once we both said it aloud there was absolutely no doubt that this was right. In fact, we wondered why we hadn’t thought of it before.
We dived straight in, eager and naive. Thanks to the combined educations furnished by the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers, we had no idea just how naive we really were. Once we’d established that we couldn’t actually get pregnant by watching English television channels or by holding hands outside the newsagents, we soon worked out what would work and what wouldn’t.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Irishtimes.com
Security at hospitals questioned after man steals from wards
By Martina Nee © Galway Advertiser.ie
Security at the city’s hospitals and other premises was thrown into question yesterday after Galway District Court heard how a man had simply wandered into areas such as the maternity ward, private offices, and locker rooms over a period of six weeks and rifled through bags.
The 31-year-old Polish national who stole property valued at €3,281 from premises such as UHG, Merlin Park, NUIG, and Boston Scientific, was sentenced to a total of 16 months after he pleaded guilty to 28 counts of theft.
Inspector Mick Coppinger told the court that between January 6, 2009, and February 20, 2009, Dominik Moskwa of no fixed abode had entered the main areas and locker rooms of hospitals, NUIG, and Boston Scientific, and stole wallets and bags. Property valued at €600 was recovered.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Galway Advertiser.ie
Security at the city’s hospitals and other premises was thrown into question yesterday after Galway District Court heard how a man had simply wandered into areas such as the maternity ward, private offices, and locker rooms over a period of six weeks and rifled through bags.
The 31-year-old Polish national who stole property valued at €3,281 from premises such as UHG, Merlin Park, NUIG, and Boston Scientific, was sentenced to a total of 16 months after he pleaded guilty to 28 counts of theft.
Inspector Mick Coppinger told the court that between January 6, 2009, and February 20, 2009, Dominik Moskwa of no fixed abode had entered the main areas and locker rooms of hospitals, NUIG, and Boston Scientific, and stole wallets and bags. Property valued at €600 was recovered.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Galway Advertiser.ie
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Older father, younger mother, bad idea for baby?
By Steve Connor, Science Editor © Independent.ie
Children conceived by men over the age of 45 struggle in intelligence tests.
The trend for men to follow in the fertile footsteps of Michael Douglas, Mick Jagger and Rupert Murdoch by becoming fathers in later life may have unforeseen and unwanted consequences for their children.
The offspring of older fathers are more likely to do less well in intelligence tests than the children of younger men, scientists say, and it may be the result of genetic problems with the sperm of men over 45. The children of older mothers, by contrast, tend to fare better in intelligence tests than children with younger mothers. The researchers believe this may be the result of better nurturing by more mature women.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
Children conceived by men over the age of 45 struggle in intelligence tests.
The trend for men to follow in the fertile footsteps of Michael Douglas, Mick Jagger and Rupert Murdoch by becoming fathers in later life may have unforeseen and unwanted consequences for their children.
The offspring of older fathers are more likely to do less well in intelligence tests than the children of younger men, scientists say, and it may be the result of genetic problems with the sperm of men over 45. The children of older mothers, by contrast, tend to fare better in intelligence tests than children with younger mothers. The researchers believe this may be the result of better nurturing by more mature women.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
Carrying someone else's dream
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske © LATimes.com
Surrogacy is a natural fit for military wives, with their solid support networks, premium medical care and strong dispositions. For some it's easy money; for others it's a way to help unlucky couples.
Angel Howard, 32, lay motionless on an examining table in a La Jolla fertility clinic last Mother's Day, her delicate features bathed in the blue-gray glow of an ultrasound screen as she watched a doctor try to impregnate her with someone else's embryos.For the last month, Howard had been injecting herself with daily hormone shots that made her so sore she could barely sleep. The mother of six was tired. She had to handle becoming a surrogate without her husband, Brian, at her side: The Navy Seabee had deployed to Iraq for six months.
If Howard delivered a healthy baby, she would receive between $20,000 and $25,000 from the parents, plus an allowance for food and maternity clothes. If she had twins, she could be paid an extra $5,000.The stay-at-home mother did not like to admit it, but she could use the money. Howard stretched every dollar of Brian's $56,000 yearly income, wearing old clothes, clipping coupons, shopping for sales at Wal-Mart and occasionally tapping the food pantry at the Armed Services YMCA. She had worked part time at a clothing store in the local mall, but quit when her husband was sent back to the Middle East. Surrogacy money would provide a much-needed safety net for her children, Maria, 14, Anthony, 12, Ezekiel, 10, Tacina, 8, Chaeli, 4, and Izaac, 16 months. Howard first seriously considered surrogacy after a chance meeting at a local pet store six years before.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © LATimes.com
Surrogacy is a natural fit for military wives, with their solid support networks, premium medical care and strong dispositions. For some it's easy money; for others it's a way to help unlucky couples.
Angel Howard, 32, lay motionless on an examining table in a La Jolla fertility clinic last Mother's Day, her delicate features bathed in the blue-gray glow of an ultrasound screen as she watched a doctor try to impregnate her with someone else's embryos.For the last month, Howard had been injecting herself with daily hormone shots that made her so sore she could barely sleep. The mother of six was tired. She had to handle becoming a surrogate without her husband, Brian, at her side: The Navy Seabee had deployed to Iraq for six months.
If Howard delivered a healthy baby, she would receive between $20,000 and $25,000 from the parents, plus an allowance for food and maternity clothes. If she had twins, she could be paid an extra $5,000.The stay-at-home mother did not like to admit it, but she could use the money. Howard stretched every dollar of Brian's $56,000 yearly income, wearing old clothes, clipping coupons, shopping for sales at Wal-Mart and occasionally tapping the food pantry at the Armed Services YMCA. She had worked part time at a clothing store in the local mall, but quit when her husband was sent back to the Middle East. Surrogacy money would provide a much-needed safety net for her children, Maria, 14, Anthony, 12, Ezekiel, 10, Tacina, 8, Chaeli, 4, and Izaac, 16 months. Howard first seriously considered surrogacy after a chance meeting at a local pet store six years before.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © LATimes.com
7 superfoods pregnant women should eat
By Amy Graff © www.sfgate.com
Pregnant? There are many superfoods that you have probably never tossed into your shopping cart--mainly because nobody ever told you to eat these things. Most OBs don't instruct their patients to fill up on spelt, and your run-of-the-mill book on pregnancy isn't going to advise you to snack on sesame seeds. That's why we checked in with Lia Haskin Fernald, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and mother of two children, to help us uncover the best of the bunch. All of these foods are inexpensive, available year-round, and easy to prepare. Make a place for them in your diet and you'll instantly upgrade the health of yourself and your baby.
1. SARDINES: This "health food in a can" is rich in omega-3's, which are critical for a baby's brain and eye development. Unlike large ocean fish, they're very low in mercury. How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat them on a cracker spread with Dijon mustard or toss them in salad.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © www.sfgate.com
Pregnant? There are many superfoods that you have probably never tossed into your shopping cart--mainly because nobody ever told you to eat these things. Most OBs don't instruct their patients to fill up on spelt, and your run-of-the-mill book on pregnancy isn't going to advise you to snack on sesame seeds. That's why we checked in with Lia Haskin Fernald, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and mother of two children, to help us uncover the best of the bunch. All of these foods are inexpensive, available year-round, and easy to prepare. Make a place for them in your diet and you'll instantly upgrade the health of yourself and your baby.
1. SARDINES: This "health food in a can" is rich in omega-3's, which are critical for a baby's brain and eye development. Unlike large ocean fish, they're very low in mercury. How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat them on a cracker spread with Dijon mustard or toss them in salad.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © www.sfgate.com
Migraines 'raise pregnancy risk'
© www.bbc.co.uk
Migraines substantially raise the risk of a stroke during pregnancy, a US study suggests.
However, the British Medical Journal study stressed the overall risk remained low.
It also linked the headaches to a raised risk of heart disease, blood clots and high blood pressure.
The researchers suspect migraine puts extra stress on the body when it is already struggling with increased blood volume and heart rate.
They also suggest it may be possible that migraine itself is a sign that the cardiovascular system is not working as well as it should be.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © www.bbc.co.uk
Migraines substantially raise the risk of a stroke during pregnancy, a US study suggests.
However, the British Medical Journal study stressed the overall risk remained low.
It also linked the headaches to a raised risk of heart disease, blood clots and high blood pressure.
The researchers suspect migraine puts extra stress on the body when it is already struggling with increased blood volume and heart rate.
They also suggest it may be possible that migraine itself is a sign that the cardiovascular system is not working as well as it should be.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © www.bbc.co.uk
Monday, March 9, 2009
'It's not a war zone': why more men are labouring in the delivery room
© Independent.ie
It used to be so easy. Mum was wheeled into the labour ward and emerged, some hours later, in a pretty nightgown with her little bundle of joy. Dad might have wondered what went on behind the closed doors, but busied himself by lighting a cigar and popping down the local to wet the baby's head. His arduous role in the event had ended nine months earlier.
But these days, fathers are expected to live through every contraction, mopping brows, issuing instructions to push and cutting the cord. Never before have they been so involved in the births of their children, but how many of them actually want to be there at all? Or don't know where to draw the line?
Take John McAuley, for instance, who decided to intimately film his baby's delivery by emergency caesarean section, suing the midwife when she asked him to stop playing Steven Spielberg while she cleared the infant's airways. He saw her actions as a breach of the contract he had with the hospital to allow him film the birth in its entirety.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
It used to be so easy. Mum was wheeled into the labour ward and emerged, some hours later, in a pretty nightgown with her little bundle of joy. Dad might have wondered what went on behind the closed doors, but busied himself by lighting a cigar and popping down the local to wet the baby's head. His arduous role in the event had ended nine months earlier.
But these days, fathers are expected to live through every contraction, mopping brows, issuing instructions to push and cutting the cord. Never before have they been so involved in the births of their children, but how many of them actually want to be there at all? Or don't know where to draw the line?
Take John McAuley, for instance, who decided to intimately film his baby's delivery by emergency caesarean section, suing the midwife when she asked him to stop playing Steven Spielberg while she cleared the infant's airways. He saw her actions as a breach of the contract he had with the hospital to allow him film the birth in its entirety.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
Nearly two-fifths of calls to childline go unanswered
By Luke Cassidy © Irishtimes.com
Nearly two-fifths of children who called Childline last year were unable to access the service, the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) said today.
According to Childline’s annual call statistics for 2008, of the 650,000 calls made to the service last year over 60 per cent were answered, marking a 16 per cent increase on 2007 figures and the highest in the history of the service.
Abuse and violence accounted for 27,284 calls received while 7,821 calls related to mental health issues. Nearly half of all calls were from children speaking about issues relating to everyday life.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Irishtimes.com
Nearly two-fifths of children who called Childline last year were unable to access the service, the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) said today.
According to Childline’s annual call statistics for 2008, of the 650,000 calls made to the service last year over 60 per cent were answered, marking a 16 per cent increase on 2007 figures and the highest in the history of the service.
Abuse and violence accounted for 27,284 calls received while 7,821 calls related to mental health issues. Nearly half of all calls were from children speaking about issues relating to everyday life.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Irishtimes.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Mother give birth after 'dying' on operating table
Despite the huge trauma which saw doctors battle to save her life, both mother and her three months premature baby son are making a steady recovery.
Expectant Cheryl Crisp, 35, was just six months pregnant when she suffered a heart attack, caused by a blood clot, while on a shopping trip with her partner Terry Kemp.
Mr Kemp, 35, rushed her to a GP's surgery where doctors were able to resuscitate her and she was then taken to the Mayday Hospital in Croydon by paramedics.
Cheryl was immediately sent into theatre where doctors carried out emergency surgery to remove the clot.
The mum's heart stopped several times on the table as surgeons battled to save her life and that of her unborn son. And because of the unborn baby, doctors could not give her the normal drugs to help her heart.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © telegraph.co.uk
Expectant Cheryl Crisp, 35, was just six months pregnant when she suffered a heart attack, caused by a blood clot, while on a shopping trip with her partner Terry Kemp.
Mr Kemp, 35, rushed her to a GP's surgery where doctors were able to resuscitate her and she was then taken to the Mayday Hospital in Croydon by paramedics.
Cheryl was immediately sent into theatre where doctors carried out emergency surgery to remove the clot.
The mum's heart stopped several times on the table as surgeons battled to save her life and that of her unborn son. And because of the unborn baby, doctors could not give her the normal drugs to help her heart.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © telegraph.co.uk
Child benefit faces cut in €5bn crisis Budget
By Fionnan Sheahan, Aideen Sheehan and John Walshe
CUTS to child benefit and other social welfare payments are on the cards, as the Government attempts to bridge a €5bn hole in the public finances.
The record numbers now signing on the dole have heaped even further pressure on public spending and will add an extra €1bn to social welfare payments. Government sources last night confirmed universal payments, such as child benefit, would be in the firing line ahead of next month's mini-budget.
The early childhood supplement, paid to cover childcare costs, has already been reduced twice and is expected to be cut even further.
These payments are under pressure because they are not regarded as the primary source of income for families.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
CUTS to child benefit and other social welfare payments are on the cards, as the Government attempts to bridge a €5bn hole in the public finances.
The record numbers now signing on the dole have heaped even further pressure on public spending and will add an extra €1bn to social welfare payments. Government sources last night confirmed universal payments, such as child benefit, would be in the firing line ahead of next month's mini-budget.
The early childhood supplement, paid to cover childcare costs, has already been reduced twice and is expected to be cut even further.
These payments are under pressure because they are not regarded as the primary source of income for families.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
Bruni wants baby
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has said she would like to have a baby with her husband, French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
"If it's not biologically possible, I'll adopt one," she told Madame Figaro. "Adoption is perhaps the purest form of motherhood."
"I would love to have a child but I'm not going to fight against nature. I already have one and my husband has three, so you can't really say we are desperate for children," said the 41 year old former model.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
"If it's not biologically possible, I'll adopt one," she told Madame Figaro. "Adoption is perhaps the purest form of motherhood."
"I would love to have a child but I'm not going to fight against nature. I already have one and my husband has three, so you can't really say we are desperate for children," said the 41 year old former model.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Independent.ie
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Living with the grief of sudden infant death
Sheila Wayman © irishtimes.com
Every week in the Republic at least one child dies unexpectedly. Nine out of 10 of these deaths, known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), happen in the first year of life
“Caoimhe kept asking people when the pain was going to stop. She knows now that it doesn’t. ‘You just learn to live with it. Time is the only thing that teaches you that. It is always going to be with you and in the end you want it to be with you because not to have it would be letting go and you don’t want that
TUESDAY STARTED much like any other. Sixteen-month-old Oscar Muldoon Hennessy was up at half six, impatient to get on with the day.
His father, Noel Hennessy, took his turn to get up with him, but the good humoured toddler soon wanted his mother, Caoimhe Muldoon, in on the action.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © irishtimes.com
Every week in the Republic at least one child dies unexpectedly. Nine out of 10 of these deaths, known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), happen in the first year of life
“Caoimhe kept asking people when the pain was going to stop. She knows now that it doesn’t. ‘You just learn to live with it. Time is the only thing that teaches you that. It is always going to be with you and in the end you want it to be with you because not to have it would be letting go and you don’t want that
TUESDAY STARTED much like any other. Sixteen-month-old Oscar Muldoon Hennessy was up at half six, impatient to get on with the day.
His father, Noel Hennessy, took his turn to get up with him, but the good humoured toddler soon wanted his mother, Caoimhe Muldoon, in on the action.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © irishtimes.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
Lose the baby weight like Myleene
Dr Mark Porter © Times Newspapers Ltd
Despite recent media coverage of the pressures on pregnant women to emulate the skinny bumps and rapid returns to pre-pregnancy figures of celebrities such as Myleene Klass and Victoria Beckham, it is the opposite end of the spectrum that worries most doctors and midwives. So much so that pregnant women are to be offered expert guidance on how to control their weight. It is estimated that half are overweight before they conceive, and a further third gain far more than they should do during their pregnancy.
Overweight women are more likely to miscarry and develop complications such as gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and blood clots. They are also more likely to go into premature labour and need medical interventions such as a forceps delivery or Caesarean section. And their babies are at higher risk of still birth, of being born with some form of congenital anomaly such as spina bifida or heart defects, and of becoming obese.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © Times Newspapers Ltd
Breast-feeding mothers ‘must get more support’
By Jan Battles © 2009 Times Newspapers Ltd
Doctors who have treated several babies suffering severe dehydration say that breast-feeding mothers need more support to ensure their children are getting sufficient milk.
Information is now being gathered across Ireland and the UK about the number of newborns readmitted to hospital with severe hypernatraemic dehydration, a rare but potentially fatal condition. It occurs when babies fail to take in sufficient quantities of milk in the first days of life. The levels of sodium in their blood rise dramatically and, if untreated, the condition can lead to kidney failure, blood clotting, seizures, brain damage and, in the worst cases, death.
If spotted early enough, the effects are easy to reverse with a steady process of rehydration. It is not always easy to detect, however, as babies can look pink and alert while being on the verge of becoming critically ill.
READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE © 2009 Times Newspapers Ltd
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