Foreign adoptions on the decline. Foreign adoptions have decreased for the third year in a row. Foreign adoptions have gained popularity since the early 90’s, with the peak year in 2004. The decline is probably due to stricter adoption regulations, especially in China and Russia. Also, UNICEF could have an influence in declining numbers, as their approach is to take care of orphaned children in their homeland rather then have them sent abroad for adoption.

Childhood obesity struggles. The American Medical Association is setting out new guidlines for obese children.

“The specialists, convened by government agencies and the American Medical Association, call for weight checks at least yearly, counseling about weight even if children aren’t overweight, and a four-stage treatment plan that could end in medication or surgery for the most persistently obese children.”

Nearly 17% of all American children are obese. To date, it has been difficult and frustrating for parents and doctors to diagnose. Surprisingly, only 50% of obese children are properly diagnosed. This should be discussed with every child at their check-ups regardless if they are overweight or not. Treatment is the responsibility of the entire family, as obesity is linked to lifestyle and not only genetics.

It’s a girl! Actress Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) has adopted a baby girl from Africa. This is Ms. Parker’s second child; she has a son, Will, 3, with ex-boyfriend Billy Crudup.

Shaken Baby Syndrome: A bibliographic review of studies on shaken baby syndrome by researchers out of the Teaching Maternity Unit of the University College of Health Care at the University of Granada offers the following data on this type of abuse: The aggressors in SBS are generally men:  in 44% of the cases, the perpetrator is the father, in 20% it is the mother’s boyfriend who is living in the family home. The most frequent female perpetrators are babysitters, at 18%, and mothers, at 7%. 20% of victims of SBS die within days of the shaking incident; 50% suffer widespread disabilities; and only 30% fully recover.

Salad Recall:  Dole Food Co. has issued a recall of some of its bagged salads because a sample at a Canadian grocery store tested positive for E. coli.  The recall involes “Dole Hearts Delight” salads with a “best if used by” date of September 19.  The company has not received any reports of consumers becoming ill from these salads.

Car Seat/Carrier Recall: Evenflo is recalling its Embrace Infant Car Seat/Carrier because the handle can unexpectedly release, causing the seat to tip forward, creating a fall hazard.� From the CMPC announcement: The recall involves Evenflo Embrace Infant Car Seat/Carriers made before April 8, 2006. The recalled car seat/carriers have model numbers beginning with 317, 320, 397, 398, 540, 548, 549, 550, 556, 597, 598 or 599. The model number and production date information can be found on a white label on the bottom of the carrier and on the top of the convenience base. Models beginning with  5 are units sold with the travel system (compatible stroller). Evenflo is on the carrying handle and car seat base. Embrace infant car seat/carriers made on or after April 8, 2006 are not included in this recall.

Every Day Is a Winding Road: Singer Sheryl Crow announced on her web site that she has adopted a two-week-old baby, named Wyatt, after her father. Ms. Crow recently finished up successful treatment for breast cancer. Single since her split from cyclist Lance Armstrong, Ms. Crow announced at a concert that she’s “looking for a cowboy.”

More Celebrity Baby News: Jamie Pressly (My Name Is Earl) and her fiance welcomed a baby boy, whom they named Dezi James.

Recall News:  The CPSC has announced a recall of Oeuf Infant Bouncer Seats sold from September 2006 through this April, model number 2005.  There have been several reports of the tubular metal frame breaking.  Consumers should stop using the seat and contact Oeuf at (800) 691-8810 for a repair kit.  See also the company web site for more information.

Overweight and C-Section Risk:  A study of 4,000 pregnant women finds that one in five of those who are obese had to undergo emergency C-sections because of uterine failure.  It appears that obesity impairs the uterine muscles’ ability to contract enough to dilate the cervix so that the baby can be delivered vaginally.  The problem may be that very overweight women have less calcium in their bodies to support the uterine muscles during contractions.  From the researchers: “We suspect one reason preventing sufficient levels of calcium entering the uterus muscles is the high levels of cholesterol in an obese woman’s bloodstream. This could disrupt cell membranes and signaling pathways, including calcium entry. We will be investigating this further in future studies.”

Father and Son Reunion, Filmed:  Reportedly, Guy Ritchie disapproved of wife Madonna’s taking a film crew to Malawi to record their adopted son David’s visit with his biological father.� He also apparently objected to her plan to make a few quick visits to orphanages in a caravan of chauffeur-driven cars. The Minister of Information was officially more supportive of the trip, telling Reuters, “The government of Malawi salutes Madonna for coming back with the child for the father to see him.

Grandparents and Adoption: A researcher out of  the University of Haifa School of Social Work found that in time, grandparents bond to adoptive grandchildren as strongly as people with biological grandchildren do.� The lead researcher notes that this study should give confidence to couples who are thinking about adopting a child but worry that their parents will not react positively to the idea of adoption.

And more reason to breastfeed:  While women who delay motherhood may be at an increased risk for breast cancer, it appears that breastfeeding may offset that risk, a study out of the University of Southern California (USC) suggests.� While previous research has demonstrated that women who have their first full-term pregnancy when younger than 25 and who have four or more children are at a lower risk for invasive breast cancer, breastfeeding appears to act as a protectorant against breastfeeding regardless of when a woman has her first baby.

Under pressure: Salma Hayek, pregnant with her first child at age 40, reflects on the pressure to procreate, on top of all the other expectations placed on young women today:� “Society thinks if you don’t have children, you’ve failed as a woman, even if you are CEO of a company…You’ve got to be beautiful, smart, skinny, tall, rich, successful at your job, married to the right guy � and have genius children. And by the way, you also have to be a nun!”

I got into a bit of a friendly scuffle with my niece last week. It began, as most scuffles do, because of Angelina Jolie. Specifically, I was defending Ms. Jolie’s stated plan to adopt another girl from Africa at least in part to lend some balance in the family, as currently her daughter Zahara is the only black person in the Jolie-Pitt clan. I didn’t take this to mean that achieving said balance was her only motive for adopting, but rather that in her quest for more children, she would take the makeup of her family and what she sees as the peculiar needs of her children into consideration (just as she seemed to do when she decided to adopt another -boy from Asia). But having a checklist when seeking to adopt (black/girl, or Asian/boy, or whatever) didn’t sit well with Daisy:

You’re not supposed to get to choose your children. You’re supposed to love them and be a good parent to them however they are. That’s the only way the parent/child dynamic works, right? Unconditional love?

If you adopt a child based on some characteristic she can’t control, it seems to me that, at least in the abstract, it adds a condition: Would you still love me if I were a girl? If I were deaf?

I admit, this question now has me rattled, even though it’s currently a purely academic one (as my husband and I are at this time broke and exhausted, we wouldn’t wind up at the top of the “potential adoptive parents” list at any agency around now). But here goes: We have two boys.  When we used to talk about adoption, we never thought of gender. Now we do.  And I just assumed it was OK to say “We’d like to adopt a girl.” What’s wrong with that?

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Meet the Robinsons, a new movie created by Disney, has been receiving some negative reviews. These reviewers feel the movie is sending the wrong message about adoption. There is also the suggestion that the adoption storyline was intentionally left out of the trailers and commercials promoting the movie.

I will admit until seeing the movie, I did not realize adoption was part of the storyline, but it honestly did not strike me as anything more than the story set up.

To summarize the movie, an infant boy, Lewis,  is left on the steps of the orphanage. He grows up loving science and creating crazy inventions like a pb&j machine. He has many interviews (114 to be exact) with potential adoptive parents, but does not get adopted. He determines people think he is weird because of his fascination with science.

In despair, he meets someone from the future, and experiences time travel. He feels like he finally “fits in” somewhere, and wants to become part of this family: the Robinsons.

Spoiler ahead.

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Breast Changes in Pregnancy: A new publication from the Breast Cancer Care, a UK advocacy and support organization, addresses changes to the breasts that may be brought on by pregnancy and reassures women that these changes are almost always benign and unrelated to breast cancer, which is rare in women of childbearing age. You can download a copy of the publication here.

Gay Adoption Foe: An Atlanta woman, who shares custody of her son (produced through artificial insemination) with her former female partner is now fighting for sole custody on the grounds that the “gay adoption” should never have been allowed in the first place, since there is no law in Georgia that specifically allows gay adoption. Though the woman claims that this case is about protecting her rights as the child’s biological mother, gay rights groups warn that her case is damaging to the entire gay community.

Boy seeks playmate:

Talk about taking the initiative!

The Nurture Effect: A Canadian researcher warns that bad parenting in the early childhood years can “turn on” genes�associated with learning problems, while a good early environment can provide a child with resilient genetic structures that protect against these problems. Says Dr. Fraser Mustard, “Gene structures are susceptible to nurture: touch, speech, movement, smell and so on…If you are brought up in a good environment, it largely doesn’t matter what genes are present.”

Hello, Pax!

Keep the baby, lose the crown:Miss Jamaica World, 22-year-old Sara Lawrence, was forced to give up her crown because she is pregnant. The single Ms. Lawrence placed sixth in the Miss World competition. She said that she has been honored to serve her country and asked for the understanding of her many supporters.

Eating Disorders and Pregnancy: A study released by London’s Institute of Psychiatry finds that women with eating disorders are at particularly risk for pregnancy complications. Women with bulimia are at greater risk for miscarriage, while anorexic women are prone to low-birthweight babies because of their low pre-pregnancy body mass index. Researchers note that these women need to be informed of these findings.

Adoption Alert: The State Department is no longer recommending that Americans adopt from Guatemala because of rampant fraud, including extortion aimed at potential adoptive parents and mothers being pressured to sell their babies.