B.C. Government Takes Custody Of Surviving 3 Sextuplets

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The B.C. government took custody of three of four surviving sextuplets over the weekend from a Jehovah’s Witness family, believing the infants were in danger if they didn’t get blood transfusions, the family’s lawyer revealed Wednesday.

The family has since regained custody after two or three of the four babies were given transfusions. Such medical intervention is prohibited under the Jehovah’s Witness faith.

But the anonymous family, which has avoided the media since the sextuplets’ births, went to court Wednesday and was given a chance in late February to argue their rights have been violated, said lawyer Shane Brady, who also confirmed two of the six babies born overnight Jan. 6-7 have since died.

A Supreme Court of Canada decision a decade ago ruled a family had to be consulted before such government intervention, something the government did not do, he alleged.

Claiming it is bound by privacy laws, the B.C. government would not confirm the action or details of the case.

B.C. Children’s Minister Tom Christensen only said the government is bound by law to act in the interest of children.

“What I can tell you is that the ministry’s obligation any time we find that there’s a child in need of protection for any reason, including the need for medical treatment, the ministry will look at the situation and determine whether there’s action we need to take to ensure that the child is protected. That is the policy we follow.”

The four boys and two girls — each weighing only 1.8 pounds — were born at 25 weeks, just over the half-way mark of an average 40-week pregnancy.

This has been a huge issue since it was revealed that the parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses. I really though that these parents would step up to the plate and do whatever was necessary for these babies to survive, but I was wrong.

It is one thing to make bad decisions for yourself, but making ridiculous decisions for small infants who even cannot breath on their own is unforgivable.

I am proud of the B.C. government for stepping in and taking temporary custody. It sends a clear message to these parents – Life Over Religion.

Related Articles:

Update: Second Sextuplet Has Died
Update: One Of The B.C. Sextuplets Has Died
The Sextuplet Blood Transfusion Issue

SOURCE:CANADA

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Hong Kong Limits Pregnant Chinese Women

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Now hospitals there have set up a centralised booking system and set a quota for the number of mainland mothers allowed in.

As a further disincentive to cross-border births, Chinese mothers will now have to pay double the hospital fees of their Hong Kong counterparts.

These fees must be paid in advance, at an antenatal check, in order to obtain a confirmation certificate which allows re-entry into Hong Kong.

Those over 28 weeks pregnant who do not have a certificate will be refused entry.

The Hong Kong health department plans to send medical personnel to help immigration officials implement the new rules at border checkpoints.

Hong Kong’s Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Patrick Nip said that the measures were designed to prioritise care for local women.

“The new measures can also deter dangerous behaviour by non-local pregnant women in seeking last-minute hospital admission before delivery through accident and emergency departments,” he said earlier this month when the rules were first unveiled.

But the BBC correspondent in Shanghai, Quentin Sommerville, says some Chinese have criticised the measures as discriminatory.

The new measures will not apply to pregnant women of other nationalities.

It is sad that Chinese mothers have to go to such lengths to have additional babies. Their government needs to re-evalute their plan to lower the population.

SOURCE:BBC

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Hong Kong Limits Pregnant Chinese Women

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Now hospitals there have set up a centralised booking system and set a quota for the number of mainland mothers allowed in.

As a further disincentive to cross-border births, Chinese mothers will now have to pay double the hospital fees of their Hong Kong counterparts.

These fees must be paid in advance, at an antenatal check, in order to obtain a confirmation certificate which allows re-entry into Hong Kong.

Those over 28 weeks pregnant who do not have a certificate will be refused entry.

The Hong Kong health department plans to send medical personnel to help immigration officials implement the new rules at border checkpoints.

Hong Kong’s Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Patrick Nip said that the measures were designed to prioritise care for local women.

“The new measures can also deter dangerous behaviour by non-local pregnant women in seeking last-minute hospital admission before delivery through accident and emergency departments,” he said earlier this month when the rules were first unveiled.

But the BBC correspondent in Shanghai, Quentin Sommerville, says some Chinese have criticised the measures as discriminatory.

The new measures will not apply to pregnant women of other nationalities.

It is sad that Chinese mothers have to go to such lengths to have additional babies. Their government needs to re-evalute their plan to lower the population.

SOURCE:BBC

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Car Seat Expiry Date?

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Does your car seat have an expiry date? Yes! Health Canada is reporting that Evenflo Company, Inc. has a general expiry date of December of the sixth year from the date of manufacture.

Evenflo Company, Inc. has a general expiry date of December of the sixth year from the date of manufacture. Some products manufactured in the year 2006 have an incorrect expiry date of December 2011. This date should read December 2012.

In 1997, Evenflo and other manufacturers of children’s restraint systems selected a six-year recommended product life. This was to reduce the resale of children’s restraint systems with unknown histories, missing parts, etc.

Transport Canada does not regulate expiry dates for these systems, but does counsel the public not to use a system past the expiry date. The enforcement agencies in Canada may ticket or charge users of expired systems. In addition, insurance companies may have issue if a claim was presented on an expired restraint system.

I think this is a good idea. It prevents new parents from buying an out of date car seat, that may not be safe, at a garage sale. A car seat is the one thing that you want to ensure is always in excellent condition and installed properly.

Related Articles:

Consumer Reports Retracts Infant Car Seat Study

Parents Not Hooking Up Carseats Properly

Not Safe For Baby To Sleep In Car Seat

You Tube “Rear Facing Car Seats Are Better”

Car Seat Safety

SOURCE:HEALTHCANADA

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Baby Brain Bleeding Linked To Vaginal Births

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About a quarter of babies born in vaginal deliveries had a small amount of bleeding in their brains, while none delivered by Caesarean section did, according to a study published Tuesday.

But the researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill said it was premature to view their surprising findings as an endorsement of C-sections.

They said the findings suggest brain bleeding in some newborns has been commonplace in vaginal deliveries throughout history, but is being detected now only because of highly sophisticated imaging technology.

“There’s no evidence that these bleeds are associated with problems in later life in either mental or physical function or ability,” said Dr. Honor Wolfe, an obstetrician involved in the study published in the journal Radiology.

Pressure on the baby’s skull while squeezing through the birth canal probably causes the bleeding, said Dr. John Gilmore, a psychiatry professor involved in the study.

The study involved a relatively small number of babies.

The researchers used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging on 88 newborns, with equal numbers of boys and girls, an average of two weeks after birth. Of them, 65 were delivered vaginally and 23 by C-section, in which the baby is surgically delivered through the mother’s abdomen.

Seventeen babies delivered vaginally — 26 percent — had bleeding in and around the brain, called intracranial hemorrhages. Most was located in the lower, rear part of the brain. Not one C-section baby had bleeding.

“While the vast majority of these are probably normal and go away and don’t cause any problems, some of them were bigger and, we don’t know, but may cause problems down the line as well,” Gilmore said.

Small bleeds usually heal harmlessly, but larger ones could lead later in life to learning or motor development problems or seizures.

I am so glad that the findings of this study have been released. My son was born vaginally and suffered from a brain bleed (Intraventricular Hemorrhage or IVH). Most of the micro- preemies that we met in the hospital that were delivered vaginally seemed to all have the same outcome.

Related Articles:
Intraventricular Hemorrhage Information @ Emedicine

SOURCE:MSNBC

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Car Seat Expiry Date?

---

Does your car seat have an expiry date? Yes! Health Canada is reporting that Evenflo Company, Inc. has a general expiry date of December of the sixth year from the date of manufacture.

Evenflo Company, Inc. has a general expiry date of December of the sixth year from the date of manufacture. Some products manufactured in the year 2006 have an incorrect expiry date of December 2011. This date should read December 2012.

In 1997, Evenflo and other manufacturers of children’s restraint systems selected a six-year recommended product life. This was to reduce the resale of children’s restraint systems with unknown histories, missing parts, etc.

Transport Canada does not regulate expiry dates for these systems, but does counsel the public not to use a system past the expiry date. The enforcement agencies in Canada may ticket or charge users of expired systems. In addition, insurance companies may have issue if a claim was presented on an expired restraint system.

I think this is a good idea. It prevents new parents from buying an out of date car seat, that may not be safe, at a garage sale. A car seat is the one thing that you want to ensure is always in excellent condition and installed properly.

Related Articles:

Consumer Reports Retracts Infant Car Seat Study

Parents Not Hooking Up Carseats Properly

Not Safe For Baby To Sleep In Car Seat

You Tube “Rear Facing Car Seats Are Better”

Car Seat Safety

SOURCE:HEALTHCANADA

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Baby Brain Bleeding Linked To Vaginal Births

---

About a quarter of babies born in vaginal deliveries had a small amount of bleeding in their brains, while none delivered by Caesarean section did, according to a study published Tuesday.

But the researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill said it was premature to view their surprising findings as an endorsement of C-sections.

They said the findings suggest brain bleeding in some newborns has been commonplace in vaginal deliveries throughout history, but is being detected now only because of highly sophisticated imaging technology.

“There’s no evidence that these bleeds are associated with problems in later life in either mental or physical function or ability,” said Dr. Honor Wolfe, an obstetrician involved in the study published in the journal Radiology.

Pressure on the baby’s skull while squeezing through the birth canal probably causes the bleeding, said Dr. John Gilmore, a psychiatry professor involved in the study.

The study involved a relatively small number of babies.

The researchers used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging on 88 newborns, with equal numbers of boys and girls, an average of two weeks after birth. Of them, 65 were delivered vaginally and 23 by C-section, in which the baby is surgically delivered through the mother’s abdomen.

Seventeen babies delivered vaginally — 26 percent — had bleeding in and around the brain, called intracranial hemorrhages. Most was located in the lower, rear part of the brain. Not one C-section baby had bleeding.

“While the vast majority of these are probably normal and go away and don’t cause any problems, some of them were bigger and, we don’t know, but may cause problems down the line as well,” Gilmore said.

Small bleeds usually heal harmlessly, but larger ones could lead later in life to learning or motor development problems or seizures.

I am so glad that the findings of this study have been released. My son was born vaginally and suffered from a brain bleed (Intraventricular Hemorrhage or IVH). Most of the micro- preemies that we met in the hospital that were delivered vaginally seemed to all have the same outcome.

Related Articles:
Intraventricular Hemorrhage Information @ Emedicine

SOURCE:MSNBC

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Oldest Women, 67, To Give Birth Deceived Clinic

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Earlier this month I reported on a mom who gave birth to twins at 67. Today there are reports that she may have given a false age to the fertility clinic in order to be eligible for treatment.

The New Zealand Herald reports that:

The oldest woman ever to give birth deceived doctors to get the fertility treatment that let her have twins at 67 last month, a Sunday newspaper said.

Carmela Bousada, who gave birth to twins Christian and Pau on December 29, convinced a Los Angeles clinic she was 55, the cut-off age for their in-vitro fertilisation program, the News of the World said.

“They didn’t ask for my age or my passport. I may look tired now but before the births I did look slim and a lot younger,” the newspaper quoted Bousada as saying in an interview.

The clinic, the Pacific Fertility Center in Los Angeles, was not immediately available for comment. The clinic has confirmed in media reports that it treated Bousada.

t says its success rate for women over the age of 43 is just two per cent, compared to 56 per cent for women under 34.

Bousada, a Spaniard, sold her home in Spain to raise 30,000 pounds ($84,563) to pay for the treatment in the United States. She chose donor eggs from a “pretty, brown-haired 18-year-old” and sperm from a blond, blue-eyed Italian American.

“I picked them from photos in a catalogue. It was a bit like studying an estate agent’s brochure and choosing a house,” the paper quoted her as saying.

First she went through hormone therapy, which allowed her to have periods for the first time in 18 years. She became pregnant on the first attempt.

She insisted she would not have trouble raising the twins as a single mother, despite her age.

“My mum lived to be 101 and there’s no reason I couldn’t do the same.”

I think it is hard to raise two babies at once at any age. Twins are hard work, heck one baby is hard work. I hope that she has the energy that is needed to keep up with these little monkeys.

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Gwen Stefani Talks About Pregnancy And Life In General

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In this month’s Elle Magaine Gwen Stefani opens up to the mag about playdates with Brangelina, and how hard it is for her to stay stick-thin.

On being pregnant in the public eye:
“It was weird being pregnant in a fishbowl situation. Especially on days when you feel really fat and disgusting and not cute. Pregnancy was challenging in a way I didn’t expect. I was on tour and I was so sick. It was like PMS times a million.”

On her baby weight:
“I worked out with my trainer throughout my whole pregnancy until about two weeks before. I cried during my last session. I was like, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t do this anymore. What am I doing?’ It was crazy. All my life I had to work hard to stay in shape. I’ve always struggled with it. I was a little chubby when I was younger, and I didn’t want to be that person forever. I became a swimmer at school — but only because I wanted to be skinner! I’m extremely vain. I like wearing cute clothes.”

On getting her figure back post-pregnancy:
“There aren’t any tricks, it’s simple math: you put this much food in, you burn that much working out. I gave myself three months — but if I didn’t have an album coming out, there’s no way I would have gotten back into shape in that time. I worked out with my trainer five days a week, with weekends off. I would really recommend doing weights. I’m not into yoga and Pilates — they don’t work for me and I don’t have the patience. I’m more like a man, I like going to the gym and lifting weights or doing a little boxing.”

On whether her son, Kingston, and Brangelina’s daughter, Shiloh, play together:
“Yeah! They were like two little blobs when they met. Maybe they’ll get married when they grow up? That’d be cute!”

On the Hollywood body standard:
“It sucks that that’s what is supposed to look good and that’s what everyone strives to be. There’s more to life than being on a diet. Clearly, I spend time thinking about it, and it’s something I’ve had to deal with in my life. As I get older, I try not to focus on it, it’s boring, it’s a waste of life. What I have learned is that whether I’m fatter or thinner, people seem to not mind, they like me either way. It’s more in your own mind than anyone else’s.”

On being married to a fellow rock star [Gavin Rossdale]:
“There are negatives and positives, but for most part, it works. He can tell me about things going well or badly and I can totally relate to that. We were very lucky to find each other and we have this ongoing crazy love affair, with its peaks and valleys, like everyone else’s…Having Kingston has been the most romantic thing to have happened to us.”

On being down-to-earth:
“I still read a menu and go, ‘Look at the price — I can get that!’ I still think, ‘I’m in First Class, this is awesome.’ It’s insane what’s going on in my life — I just can’t believe my luck.”

People love Gwen because she is normal. She got pregnant had all of the same issues that every other women has and doesn’t mind talking about them. It makes her someone that you can relate to. What I like about her the most is that she is a busy mom who is still makes time to continue to breastfeed her baby. That sends a great message to her younger fans. Young girls who will be making these choices in a few years.

Pick up a copy of The British Elle for the full interview

SOURCE:USWEEKLY

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Anna Belknap of CSI: NY Welcomes Baby Girl

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Congratulatons to Anna Belknap and her actor husband Eric Siegel on the birth of their first baby.

The baby girl, whose name wasn’t released, was born on Jan. 14 in Los Angeles, CBS said.

Belknap, 34, plays Detective Lindsay Monroe on the series.

Siegel appeared in the 2003 film I Love Your Work with Christina Ricci and formerly developed films with producer Jon Peters.

SOURCE:PEOPLE

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