Keep the clutter out of baby’s crib! And we are not only talking infants here. From 2002-2004, 241 children under age 5 died in nursery incidents - 40% attributable to beddings and toys. Beware of the bath too - during that period 36 deaths were attributed to bath seats. There are about 65,000 nursery product related accidents per year. Of course accidents do happen, just be aware to try to prevent them if at all possible.

Spanking leads to sexual deviancy? This is a survey that is probably going to get conversations going. Spanking your child. This often ends up in the “hot topics” area. There is a survey out that those who are in the “no spanking” camp may use as a reason. The survey says that children who were spanked in childhood will grow up to be more aggressive and could have sexual issues. What sexual issues are they referring to?

One stat: the 25 percent of university students who ranked highest on a corporal punishment scale insisted on sex without a condom, compared with the 12.5 percent of university students who scored lowest on the scale. Another: 75 percent of college students who’d been spanked a lot said they were sexually aroused by masochistic sex, compared with 40 percent of students who were never spanked.

Those in the “spanking is OK” camp say that in proper circumstances and done properly, it can be effective without any damaging effects. This is surely one of those things that will always be controversial and an individual parenting decision.

This baby is an amazing survivor! A pregnant woman in India was riding on the train. She went to the bathroom, started labor (prematurely) and passed out. The baby was born into the toilet and slipped out onto the train tracks. (For those who aren’t frequent train travelers, it is often the case that toilet waste is disposed that way.)

The family, worried she was gone a while, went to find her. When they realized what had happened, the pulled the emergency button, and a search was on for the baby somewhere along the tracks. Nearly 2 hours later, they found the infant on the tracks - alive! It was taken to the hospital and is under care and it is considered a miracle.

Childhood abuse leads to smoking. Children who are physically or sexually abused have much greater chances of smoking within one year of the abuse. It is seen as a coping mechanism for these children who just want life to return to normal. 80% of smokers start before they are 18 years old, and even casual smoking can lead to heavier smoking later on in life.

I see a few things from this. First, it is important for children who are abused to have access to professional help to get over it - I am sure that smoking is not the only issue they face in trying to reconcile themselves with the trauma they experienced. Secondly, I am not quite sure I buy this as an “excuse” for smokers. To smoke or not is a choice that people make. It is still legal, so people have the right to do so. Let’s not blame childhood instances on this. People should take responsibility for their actions.

What to take when you are pregnant and sick. With flu season in full swing, pregnant women who get sick often wonder what they can safely take get some relief. With each of my three pregnancies I ended up with a doozie of a cold, each time inconveniently towards the end of my first trimester when I was concerned with taking any medicines at all. With my third pregnancy, I found www.safefetus.com, a great site that explains the risks to nearly any drug out there. It is easy to use, you can search by generic or brand names. I even used the site to double check medicines that my doctors prescribed, just in case…

TTC? Get off the phone! Studies at the Cleveland Clinic’s infertility area have shown that men who spend a lot of time talking on cell phones are killing their swimmers. The more time on the phone, the lower the sperm count. Men who speak in the phone for more than four hours per day had the lowest counts of all. In case you are wondering, there is no correlation to the theory that cell phone usage kills brain cells. Although, us gals know that a lot of mens brain cells do tend to be *ahem* down near their swimmers, so maybe there in fact is… if you know what I mean!

disclaimer for those who don’t know me… even thought I posted some pics of my kiddos earlier this week, I chose this random pic of a hawt guy over my hubby today. Sorry, dear.

Kids will risk it all? Children these days are more frequently using steroids to increase their athletic performance. And of children surveyed, 60% said that seeing pro athletes encouraged them to start using. Eighty-five precent of users of users thought they would help them “reach their athletic dreams”. And, most disturbingly, they are willing to risk their current and future health to optimise their physical performance now. As the mom of an eleven year old athletic boy, I find all of this very disturbing and you can bet I am going to keep a close eye on my children. No steroids in this family!

I resiliency gene? Scientists, in trying to find out why some children recover well from childhood abuse while others have depression and other issues later in life, are linking this to a resiliency gene. Is the cause for depression nature or nurture - or a combination of both? Doctors now are able to pinpoint these things even better and have come up with this:

The new study focuses on the brain’s CRH1 receptor, which responds to corticotropin-releasing hormone, a chemical that controls the fight-or-flight response. “There are all kinds of reasons to think the CRH receptor could be important for the biology of depression,” says Insel. The amygdala, the brain region associated with fear and other intense emotions, is loaded with CRH receptors. Levels of the hormone seem to get set, like a thermostat, in infancy and childhood. “Early activation of the receptors could change the way they work and how sensitive they are,” says Insel. “They have these imprinting effects where you often see very long-term consequences.”

Of course, if children weren’t abused in the first place they would not need to use this… sometimes I really do not understand the evil in mankind.

A sad note to the holiday season. Unfortunately, the holiday season sees an increase in reported child abuse cases. “Between the financial pressure to overspend, fatigue from being overscheduled, excessive drinking, unrealistic expectations and potential isolation from family members this time of year, factors can combine to really take their toll on those who have problems controlling their temper.” The article gives some helpful tips including:

Don’t over schedule. If childcare demands already leave you feeling stressed, don’t compound that by trying to attend every party, shopping for the perfect presents, cooking, baking and decorating up a storm.

Watch your budget. Skip that expensive toy in favor of something else on your child’s list that is within your means. Better yet, give the gift of time - a simple afternoon at the park or Saturday of sledding together will build memories that long outlast this year’s hot toy.

Accept help. Don’t be afraid to ask for a break. Lean on friends, family or neighbors. You don’t have to do it all.

Recognize when you’ve reached your boiling point. Make sure your children have a safe haven, whether that is their own crib, a bedroom or even a quick visit at the neighbor’s house while you gather yourself and give yourself a “time-out.”

Make this holiday season and safe and happy one!

Older moms unite! Even though, biologically, women are in their peak reproductive years from the ages of 20-24, many women are choosing to delay having children until they are older. This is due to many reasons - waiting to develop a career first, and continued advancements in fertility treatment to name a few. My interest piqued, I looked for trends in settling down and getting married and this article confirmed what I thought - women are as well waiting longer to get married, the average for a first marriage is steadily increasing. (not intending to tangent too much, but the article also says that a marriage has a better chance going the distance when the couple are in their late 20’s or older)

There are some disadvantages to waiting. Statistically, it takes longer to conceive. And as well the potential for many pregnancy complications increases over 35. As a woman of “advanced maternal age” for my last pregnancy, I can confirm that once you do hit the magical age of 35, the care your OBGYN will provide does change and you will probably have more tests during the pregnancy.

On the flip side, late pregnancy has its own advantages too. An older woman has waited for so long for motherhood. She considers it as blessing rather than a burden. She has probably achieved her career goals and is ready to devote time for the baby. She is more at peace with herself.

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.

Drug Warnings and Pregnancy: A committee of the Teratology Society is recommending that the FDA modify the way drug warnings for pregnant women are labeled to include more complete information on the risks posed to a developing fetus. The society notes that inaccurate or confusing labeling results in the unnecessary termination of wanted pregnancies.

Progesterone’s Limited Usefulness: A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine finds that progesterone treatment is not effective at preventing preterm delivery in women carrying twins, though an earlier study indicated that progesterone can help prevent premature birth in women carrying a single baby who delivered a preemie previously. “This study shows that progesterone therapy is not beneficial for all women at risk for giving birth prematurely,” said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD, the NIH institute that supported the research network.

Ovarian Transplant Success: For the first time, doctors have performed a successful ovary transplant between two non-identical sister. The patient’s ovaries had been destroyed by her earlier cancer treatment, and she was ill before the availability of preserving fertility through egg or ovarian tissue freezing. After receiving her sister’s ovarian tissue, the woman began to ovulate, and doctors extracted two oocytes that were fertilized with her husband’s sperm. However, for reasons unknown, the resulting embryos did not develop.

Army Wives and Stress: A new study funded by the Pentagon finds a 42% increase in child abuse in families with a deployed parent since soldiers were sent to Afghanistan and Iraq. Among wives left behind, rates of neglect went up fourfold, and rates of physical abuse doubled. Army spokesman Paul Boyce notes that last month the Army directed $100 million towards programs that are to help support military families.

That’s the law California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber is trying to get on the books.

Hm.� Is this a good idea?� Should we really start legislating the way we as parents, parent?� And how would a law like this be enforced anyway?

According to a survey of 500 adults in the Bay Area, 57 percent are opposed to the bill, while only 23 percent support a law make spanking illegal.� And I’d venture to bet none of these people condone child abuse.

If the goal of a law like this is to reduce deaths from infant and child abuse, is it realistic to think a law is going to do it?� Perhaps�providing parents with parenting classes, giving them tools to deal with stressful situations in the heat of the moment would help.� But of course Ms. Lieber, who has no children of her own,�isn’t suggesting anything like that.

The chances of a bill like this actually becoming law are slim, which I for one say is a good thing.� States need to focus their efforts on stopping real child abusers, and stop wasting their time and our money making ridiculous laws that simply spell out what anyone with an ounce of common sense already knows.�

God knows we don’t need one more thing to add to our parental guilt.

Posted by Pager12.

(via Salon.)

This morning I logged onto one of my favorite photography boards to see a very disturbing thread title. It was an urgent post, saying that other members had photos on another blog, and that the site seemed fishy. What were these people doing with all these photos of young children on their site, and how did they get them?

Most of the photos came from people perusing through albums in Flickr, an on-line photo sharing site.

Reading the thread, I stumbled accross a post about another site…a pedophile’s site. Or at least that’s what it appears to be. Without linking to it, the site is called little boys rule (if you want to see it, type in�the title with www and dot com, and remove the spaces).

This is a legal site with pages of links to other people’s photos…most of these people probably don’t realize their children are being viewed by others to get their jollies. This just makes my stomach hurt.

So how do they get around it? It’s not child pornography.�The legal criteria for�child pornography is:

• it has to show sexual conduct
• depictions of genital arousal (so just genital photos don’t count)
• PRIMARY focus on genitals or anal area
• purposeful erotic posing

Because we have freedom of speech in the United States, these types of�photos fall under that “legal zone”. I personally find it disgusting that there is nothing that can be done.

To protect your child from on-line pedophiles, there are a few things you can do.

(more…)

Faulty Research Ethics?� A consumer watchdog group accuses�researchers at Parkland Hospital in Dallas of putting women with herpes at risk for C-sections by including them in a clinical trial testing valacyclovir (Valtrex) as a placebo group.� The researchers published a report halfway through the study, noting that valacyclovir reduced the C-section rate for pregnant women with herpes (herpes can be fatal to an infant if passed on during delivery), but they continued with their research, giving some women “dummy” pills.� The women were mostly from the poor community served by the hospital.� The researchers dispute the complaint, noting that the study was properly designed and approved by the hospital’s ethics board.

Media Law:� Vitenam’s capital has banned television ads�for baby food because it is believed such ads discourage breastfeeding.� Ads for dairy products aimed at children older than one year old still must include a disclaimer that breastmilk is best for babies.� (Just FYI, other products that face new restrictions include cigarettes, liquor, condoms, feminine hygiene products, and skin whitening creams.)

Oh.� My.� Lord.� Over at The Anchoress, a depressing tale of a couple with a one-month-old willing to loan their baby out to a radio station host in exchange for a PS3.

And now, to end on a positive note…� Check out the totally yum Kate Winslet on the cover of British Vogue!� Faded Youth�has more pics.

Posted by MommaSteph.

What an odd story on Boing Boing…

A 22-year-old pedophile convinced a�twelve-year-old girl to take him into her home, where he hid for three months in a hole he made in the bottom of the girl’s bed.

His hideout was not detected until the girl ran off with him, leaving a note for her mother.

Read the full account here.

Posted by MommaSteph.