The slings were made popular by a good number of ‘yummy mummies’ and celebrities.

The reason that slings are becoming used more is because they are said to help strengthen the bond between a mother and her child.

The US health authorities warn that suffocation is a potential danger because babies may get their noses and mouth buried in the material and do not have strong enough neck muscles to free themselves.  To top off the problem, since the sling pushes the baby into a curled foetal position, the airways are restricted since the chin becomes bent towards the baby’s chest.

Celebrities including Nicole Kidman and Brad Pitt have endorsed swings because they allow parents to have their hands free while still holding their baby close to their body.  They also are perceived as a very natural way to hold a baby since the common belief is that when a child can hear their parent’s heartbeat they feel much more secure.

On the flip side, the US has launched an investigation into the slings, which found that there were 14 deaths from the slings, 12 of which were babies that were not even yet four months old.  There were also three additional deaths from sling use in 2009.  With these facts in mind, the US Government stated that children under 16 weeks should not be placed in slings.

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Instead, after a careful review of several major studies that looked at children that were exposed to cocaine in the womb but are now school aged, the impact was found in more subtle areas of behaviour, such as the ability to self-regulate their own behaviour and sustained attention.

When a woman uses cocaine during pregnancy the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain is interrupted which places the baby at risk for low birth weight, premature birth, and other health problems.

The research surprisingly showed however that there is not much of a connection between cocaine use during pregnancy and IQ, growth, language functioning, and academic achievement.

Although many of the children were found to be low in these areas, the research suggested that these problems were the by-product of a bad home environment that is often found around those that use cocaine.

The results also showed that the problems that cocaine is likely connected to-self regulated behaviour and sustained attention- was likely to become worse as the children mature into adults.

Senior author of the study Maureen M. Black and professor at the UMS of Medicine stated that the information gleamed from the research showed that simply because a child is exposed to cocaine in the womb does not mean that they are necessarily going to have hardships and trouble for the rest of their lives.

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The Fruity Custard Fruit Medley is the flavour of baby food affected in the recall and has been called a choking hazard for babies.

The recall was prompted after four parents called Heinz to say they had found plastic inside the baby food jars.  The company immediately posted a warning about the baby food and stores that sell the product will also receive posters alerting parents of the danger.

Each notice informs consumers that they should not feed their children the product and can call the Heinz careline to receive a refund.

Heinz for the moment must deal with the fallout of such an enormous mistake given that the baby food should be subject to a high level of safety tastes before released to the shelves.

According to the company’s website, Heinz has taken the measure of recalling all pots that were manufactured in batch 9307 of Heinz Fruity Custard in the four pot packs due to the presence of plastic in the baby jars.  The company also apologized to customers and offered a refund by calling 09000 151557 from the UK.

Only the Fruity Custard Fruit Medley baby food in four packs with a best before date of November 3, 2010 and batch number 9307 on the label are affected by the recall.

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His father, Thomas Goodwin, claims that Grant may have caught the disease from baby food that he received when he was a child that may have been infected.  Scientist’s state that his death may prove that certain strains of the disease may be able incubate and survive for decade long periods.

Thomas stated that his son was usually very happy go lucky but once the illness overtook him he started to become paranoid and began seeing things.

Soon after Grant became ill he moved back home and was diagnosed with the vCJD strain becoming the first person with his gene type to become infected and die from the disease.

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The survey showed that out of the patients of 107 GPs only 45% of those offered the vaccine decided to take it which includes those with chronic conditions and pregnant women both of whom belong in the high risk groups.

Pregnant woman were the least likely to accept the vaccine.  Some respondents to the Pulse survey stated that they were worried about what the side effects of the vaccine may be, while other respondents said that they were not worried about the swine flu since most people who get it only suffer moderately.

Since September the amount of people infected with swine flu has risen at a much slower rate than expected, and the infection rate has now levelled off with about 64,000 new infections per week in Britain.  This is just slightly above the regular flu infection rate.

In an effort to inform pregnant woman of the dangers of the swine flu the government released leaflets that were given to the group informing them that they are especially vulnerable to swine flu.  However, doctors said that the leaflets did not seem to have much of an influence as GPs such as Dr. Chris Udenze found that pregnant woman are sceptical about the threat to their unborn babies.

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A research team at University of Rochester showcased a variety of concerns about the use of phthalates which are found in PVC shower curtains and vinyl flooring.

The results of their study found that males that were around these substances in excess while in the womb were less likely to engage in ‘normal boy behaviour’ as children such as playing cars or play fighting with other boys.

Phthalates have already been banned in the EU from toys due to their ability to alter hormones, but they are still found in many common household items such as packaging and plastic furniture.

Some of the different kinds of phthalates cause hormones in the brain to act like oestrogen, which is a female hormone. This can also cause some boys to be born with genital abnormalities.

The new study adds the danger that during conception the phthalates may cause testosterone in the male brain to be silenced, or even knocked out completely.

The study was conducted using urine samples from mothers who were past the middle point of pregnancy, to determine if there were traces of phthalates in their bloodstream.

The children of the woman were then followed up on once they reached age’s four to seven and the mothers were asked about their behaviour such as their favourite toys and games.

The results of the study showed that the DEHP and DBP phthalates can alter the behaviour of boy babies.

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Two years ago the National Audit Office criticized specialist baby care, prompting the response by ministers that hospitals need better transport services, and to start providing one on one nursing care for babies.

However, now two years later doctors and campaigners for the cause are starting to raise concerns, due to the fact that there has not been any money provided for the service.

Every year about one in ten births results in a baby that needs treatment in neonatal units. This is due to the fact that women are waiting longer to have children, fertility treatment is causing multiple births, and more premature babies are surviving preterm birth.

This has prompted the Department of Health to recommend one to one nursing care for babies in intensive care units and other new standards for special infant care units. However, intensive care units are not able to reach these standards due to a lack of funding.

In terms of transport teams, only half of the hospitals in the UK have transport teams that are operational around the clock every day.

The government has stated that it would like all hospitals to reach the standard, but yet funding has not yet been provided to make the standards a reality.

Health Minister Anne Keen stated that the standards would help impact the health of young children, but stated that there is no money in the budget to help increase hospital staffing.

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The study included 249 babies and children, out of which, 99% of them tested positive at least once, with BPA levels in their urine. Parents of these children were then asked to fill out a questionnaire when the girls turned two.

After the data was compiled it was split by sex, which allowed researchers to see that hyperactivity and aggression was present in the females over the males.

Author of the study, Joe Braun a grad student at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina, said that now that they have the information, the next step is to watch the girls to see if the same behavioural patterns continue to exhibit themselves over time as the girls grow.

In particular he pointed to ages five thru seven, when behavioural patterns tend to settle down and denote how the child will behave in the future.

BPA is a common chemical that is often found in canned foods, food containers, water bottles, medical devices, and most importantly in infant bottles.

Most exposure to BPA is from BPA that leaks into drinks and foods that are stored in containers manufactured with BPA from repeated use of degrading plastic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US estimate that 93% of people have detectable levels of the chemical in their urine.

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Out of all the births in Scotland, an additional 15.2% of births required an emergency Caesarean section.

The new report also showed that from March 2008- March 2009 there were 56,281 births, which is an increase of almost 2,000 babies from the year before. Out of these births a little more than a quarter was Caesareans.

Of these 10.7% of the births were elective surgeries, by women who already knew they would have a Caesarean due to the fact that they knew they would be having more than one baby, or for clinical reasons, such as a child that was in the breech position making a natural birth difficult.

This is a stark contrast to 1976 when only 8.6% of all births required surgeries out of which only 4.6% were electives and 3.9% were electives.

Also reflected in the figures is the fact that many of the babies were born to older mothers in the age range of 30 to 34 making up 70% of all the births in 2008. In contrast, in 1976 only 12% of mothers who gave birth fell into the same age range.

Additionally, there were 1,960 babies born to woman who were over age 40 in 2008 which is more than double the amount born to older women in 1976 (813).

Also, the study showed that women who lived in poor areas had more than double the risk of low birth rate babies compared to mothers in better economical areas with women.

Along the same vein, the average age of a mother from an affluent area was 32 while the average age from deprived economic areas was 19.

Caesarean Birth

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So it is little wonder that unfortunate women who are infertile, or who have been diagnosed with a serious condition, such as cancer, are so desperate to have a baby that they are ready to go bankrupt, or even risk death, to give birth.

University College London, have just held a conference on motherhood, which was chaired by Professor Sammy Lee, an infertility expert, and chief scientist of the IVF program at Wellington Hospital.

He addressed the issue of some women’s obsession with having a child, and aired some of his observations. According to him, a considerable number of unfortunate women are ready to risk anything, and everything, to have a child. For example, cancer patients who want to have a baby first, before going for treatment. And many are desperate to find the funds for IVF at absolutely any cost.

The advancement of medical science has allowed these women to hope against hope, and in situations where they know there is very little chance of success, they are stubbornly unwilling to give up, they are risking it all, and make the clinicians comply with their demands, regardless of personal risk, or little, or no chance, of success.

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