Presidential nominee John McCain allegedly had a date set with actress Jenny McCarthy. The topic of their discussion? Not love but, rather autism, and specifically the link between the condition and the use of thimerosal in the vaccines McCarthy believes cause autism.
McCarthy was eager to meet with McCain after learning he believes there may be a link as well, and apparently flew herself out for a meeting with the Republican senator to try to make autism a major part of the presidential campaign.
According to reports, however, McCain backed out after his flack decided the subject matter was too controversial. Right, like presidential nominees should avoid discussing anything controversial! If they did all they'd end up doing at debates was drinking Yoohoos! Although not attributed anywhere, the post on IMDB claims McCain also bailed after learning there is no hard evidence linking vaccines with thimerosal and autism. Either way, McCain declined to meet with the former Playboy centerfold (huge mistake, dude!) and McCarthy has now set her sites on meeting with Senator Obama.
Are you having a baby but haven't yet figured out what to call the little bundle of joy? (Hey, I understand -- despite having the best names ever, our son Tuolumne Ezra was several days old before he had a name.) Could it be that you just don't think the name you've picked out does your little one justice? Are you a big fan of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her unusually named children? Well, why not let Palin choose a name for your baby?
Yep, coming all the way from Alaska via that well-known series of tubes, it's the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. Just put in the name you were thinking of and get back Sarah's suggestion for a better name. In fact, to show your support for the future veep, you could even put in your own name and change it to Sarah's suggestion. Just call me Geese Whalebone Sinasohn from now on.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF last week urged Asian mothers to return to breastfeeding in the wake of a series of infant deaths caused by melamine-contaminated powdered baby formula in China.
An update issued by WHO states that more than 40,000 children have sought medical attention after eating the formula, and nearly 13,000 more are receiving treatment in hospitals. So far, three deaths have been confirmed.
The organizations stress that breast is best for babies.
According to an article on Rueters.com, "no infant formula contains the perfect combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to enhance infant growth and brain development as breast milk does." Breast milk also contains antibodies that protect children against stomach upsets like diarrhea.
However, medical experts warn that, on top of risking their infants' health, mothers in China are also putting themselves at risk by consuming more and more dairy products.
Right now, only 1 percent of the Chinese population is diagnosed with breast cancer, but occurrences of breast cancer-and also osteoporosis- will increase doctors say, if Asians continue to adopt a more Western-style diet.
Breastfeeding advocates advise women to exclusively breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of their lives.
Baby powder smells good and feels good too, that's why it's been used on babies' bottoms for decades. But for the last several years, pediatricians have been telling parents to resist the urge. Not only is there little evidence that talcum powder prevents diaper rash, it's easily inhaled and can irritate the lungs.
A new study, however, gives one more solid reason to avoid using talcum powder. Researchers found that when women used talcum powder every day in their genital area, their risk of developing ovarian cancer rose as much as 40%. Experts believe that the talc travels up to the ovaries, causing inflammation that can develop into cancer. It's important to note that most women who use talc will not develop cancer, but even so, they're recommending that women either stop using powder altogether or switch to a cornstarch based formula.
I think that based on previous recommendations regarding lung health, combined with these new studies, it's probably time to put baby powder to bed for good. What do you think? Do these studies cause you concern, or are you reluctant to give up this diapering tradition?
Just how dangerous are shopping carts to kids? It depends on who you ask.
Shopping carts have become the next battleground in the war on germs. Grocery stores now offer antibacterial wipes and disposable covers for shopping cart handles, while parents can also lug in cotton covers that prevent their baby from ever actually having contact with the shopping cart their riding in.
But is all this flurry and worry really necessary? One study found that infants who ride in a cart next to packages of raw poultry and meat are at an increased risk of developing salmonella. But other pediatricians say that all this fear over germs can actually backfire. Kids need to be exposed to germs and bacteria to build up a healthy immune system.
Because both of my girls are healthy and don't have any chronic health issues, I've never given shopping carts a second thought. We wash our hands on a regular basis, but we don't use any anti-bacterial products or shopping cart covers. But I see plenty of moms who do. Where do you stand on this issue?
Hard to believe but it's already flu season again. Or, to be more accurate, it's really (hopefully) flu PREVENTION season. This week the Center for Disease Control whipped out a new, stronger than ever campaign to get pregnant women and young children vaccinated. This campaign, of course, is not without its controversy. Not so long ago, one of our commenters seemed to think the topic of vaccinations was my high horse, as I write about it frequently, but I can assure you that's not the case. I'm a parent, too, with the same concerns as many of you regarding vaccines and children's health--I'm just interested in getting as much information as possible and seeing how the whole thing turns out.
According to the CDC, children as young as six months of age should be getting flu vaccinations. It strongly recommended vaccinations for kids up to eighteen years old, pregnant women, healthcare workers and anyone over the age of fifty. Seems harmless enough, right? I mean, most of us have gotten at least one flu shot in our lives and for the most part we turned out OK. The problem with the flu vaccine, which contains thimerosal, is that thimerosal contains mercury. Yep, mercury. Rather DANGEROUS. Now, that said, we've all been assured that even if it did contain said mercury, the amount would be no more than that in a small can of tuna. Contrary to that, however, are the findings that the kind of mercury found in thimerosal differs from that found in tuna (methyl mercury) in that it stays in the system, namely the brain, for a lot longer period of time. This is not great news for a developing fetal brain.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists claim that pregnant women should be getting this vaccine and that there isn't any evidence of harmful effects to women or their unborn children. According to some that notion is quite misleading as it implies that tons of tests and research has been done on the subject, when, in fact, it has not. Still, what would my pediatrician say? Well, he'd tell me that the chances of something happening to my child as a result of the flu vaccine are a great deal smaller than what might happen if he remained unvaccinated. When one weighs the odds from that perspective the vaccination wins out.
Clearly, more research is needed and the results well-established before we make any uniform decisions with respect to vaccinating our children--unborn or not. The other side of the argument? Opt for what my pediatrician did--offer flu shots without thimerosal. Hopefully, pregnant women can get that option too.
A friend emailed me a study today, one that found that when babies under nine months are fed fish, they're less likely to develop eczema. Because she's never been a mom to an infant, she wondered, "Would you have fed one of your girls fish at such a young age?"
I laughed out loud. I was so afraid to feed my firstborn anything, she might still be eating baby food if my doctor hadn't given me a kick in the pants. Cheerios scared me in those days. But my second child was definitely sharing family meals with us at a much younger age. Not only had I relaxed just a "tiny" bit, so had the rules on feeding babies.
In the wake of the Chinese milk scandal, the European Union has banned the import of all baby food containing Chinese milk. Four babies have died and more than fifty thousand have become sick due to melamine added to watered-down milk. The melamine is added to cover up the lower protein content.
Unfortunately, it's not just milk that's affected. Milk is an ingredient in many products, including baby food. In order to protect infants, the European Union has put the kibosh on baby food containing Chinese milk. Any products containing more than fifteen percent milk powder will be tested before being sold, according to new rules taking effect today.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF issued a statement about the scandal, saying "Whilst any attempt to deceive the public in the area of food production and marketing is unacceptable, deliberate contamination of foods intended for consumption by vulnerable infants and young children is particularly deplorable." I couldn't have said it better.
This year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is recommending that kids as young as six months receive the influenza vaccine. There are plenty of doses of the vaccine available -- 143 million -- so the additional kids do not represent a problem. Dr. Julie Gerberding of the CDC says that more kids vaccinated means fewer kids that will die, not to mention fewer "headaches with cranky children."
"It's a fact," Gerberding noted, "that the influenza vaccine saves lives by not only helping to prevent flu but also by preventing the serious complications that sometimes result from infection with influenza." The CDC is confident that the vaccine this year will "be on target", according to Dr. Daniel Jernigan, deputy director of the influenza division. Despite a less-than-ideal vaccine last year, there have been good matches sixteen of the last twenty years.
We'll likely get our kids vaccinated, including the baby if our pediatrician recommends it. Will you do the same?
Croup is scary. If you've ever woken up to the sound of your child barking like a seal, then you know what I mean. Though in most cases, croup can be handled at home with some warm steam or cool night air, it can occasionally be serious enough to warrant a trip to the ER.
Croup is almost always caused by a virus. But a recent small study found that recurrent cases of croup, or those that happen repeatedly in a short period of time, might actually be triggered by acid reflux. When doctors treated children with recurrent croup who also had symptoms of acid reflux, many showed improvement in the number of times they came down with croup and the severity of it.
Though researchers believe that this acid reflux/croup link only applies to a small number of children, there is growing evidence out there linking acid reflux with other respiratory disorders, such as asthma. If your child has symptoms of acid reflux, it might be worth mentioning to your doctor.
Parents with no time for tradition baby books quickly discovered that blogging baby was time-saving electronic alternative to keep friends and relatives updated on their child's growth and development.
"It's an interesting model," said Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist for the Pew Internet & American Life Project. "Everyone can decide how much or little they want to know about a baby, which avoids the situation of receiving a few too many e-mails about someone's wonderful child, and parents can decide how much they want to share - in minimal or maximal ways."
Parents can also use the networking platforms to create a group of cyberspace peer "friends" for their infants, but one has to wonder.........why?! Is this a way for parents to now cyberly helicopter their children before the tots can even speak for themselves or is it an attempt to create the next generation's Dooce, or simply a way to lighten the monotony of caring for a sleepless infant?
If you can't get political enough this season, then perhaps you can share even more of your opinions via your baby's tummy. That's right, world, just when we thought we'd said "ENOUGH!" to all the witty slogan T-shirts out there (no longer midriff-bearing, thank goodness, I am SO over that), the onesie-with-commentary takes center stage.
Check out these witty onesies (and a few bibs) courtesy of website urlesque, which provides interesting tidbits and goings on about the wonderful machine that is the world wide web. Whether you're a democrat or republican, you'll be sure to find something to sport your baby in with political style. Or, perhaps you have no real affiliation, but you are committed to causes like stopping global warming--there's a cute onesie for that one too.
Several of the onesies featured center around our current lame duck president, but most center on Obama and McCain. Of all the 28 pictures, the only onesie I've actually seen is "My mama's for Obama." Several naturally also poke fun at Hillary Clinton. None, of course, center on Sarah Palin, although I'm sure we'll see those soon enough. Just give the witty minds enough time! The one I found most clever made good use of Obama's slogan, "Time for a change." It features a baby who needs his diaper changed (it's promo Obama but the republicans could get a good laugh out of it too!). Very funny!
Funny onesies aside, regardless of what you clothe your kid in this season, PLEASE VOTE IN NOVEMBER!
The World Health Organization and UNICEF last week urged Asian mothers to return to breastfeeding in the wake of a series of infant deaths caused by melamine-contaminated powdered baby formula in China.
Just how dangerous are shopping carts to kids? It depends on who you ask.
A friend emailed me a study today, one that found that when babies under nine months are fed fish, 
In the wake of the 
This year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is recommending that kids as young as 
Croup is scary. If you've ever woken up to the sound of your child barking like a seal, then you know what I mean. Though in most cases, croup can be handled at home with some warm steam or cool night air, it can occasionally be serious enough to warrant a trip to the ER. 
Parents with no time for tradition baby books quickly discovered that blogging baby was time-saving electronic alternative to keep friends and relatives updated on their child's growth and development. 
