PAPA

'Kiss of Death'
February 28, 2009 (Saturday)

Jennifer was just 11 days old when she passed away from the virus

When she kissed her newborn daughter, Ruth Schofield had no idea she was putting the baby's life at risk.

But days later, little Jennifer died - after contracting a common virus from her mother's lips.
 
An inquest into the baby's death yesterday heard Miss Schofield had unknowingly caught the herpes simplex virus - a common cause of cold sores - around a fortnight before the birth.

She went on to develop several mouth ulcers but there was no time for antibodies to form and be passed on to her child in the womb, so Jennifer was born with no resistance to the condition.

Soon after her birth, she became listless and sleepy before her health suddenly deteriorated. She died aged just 11 days. Read more

Octuplets mother fears not getting her infants
February 26, 2009 (Thursday)

thenadyasulemanfamily.com

California's octuplets mom has told television therapist Dr. Phil McGraw that she fears not being allowed to take her newborns home from the hospital until she proves that she has the means to care for them.

McGraw, host of a nationally syndicated self-help show, told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published on Wednesday that Nadya Suleman shared her concerns with him in a telephone conversation a day earlier.

Suleman has become a lightning rod for public ridicule since it was learned that she already was a jobless, divorced mother of six living in her own mother's three-bedroom house when she gave birth January 26 to octuplets conceived through in vitro fertilization.

Suleman, 33, also has acknowledged that she was collecting food stamps and disability benefits for three of her older kids, one of whom is autistic, and that a single "friend" was the sperm donor for all her children.

The public backlash grew so intense at one point that Suleman and her six older children, ranging in age from 2 to 7, went into seclusion because of death threats, according to a publicity firm previously hired by the family.

McGraw said Suleman called him on Tuesday afternoon, upset after she had spoken with officials at the suburban Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente Medical Center where the octuplets, born 9-1/2 weeks premature, remain in a neonatal care unit.

"What she is telling me is that unless and until she has a better living arrangement, that they are not likely to release the children to her," the Times quoted McGraw as saying.

He added that according to Suleman, hospital authorities had some concerns about her "ability to care for the children," but he did not have details about those concerns or what standards she might not be meeting, the Times reported.

McGraw already had interviewed Suleman last week for two segments scheduled to air on his show this Wednesday and Thursday. A show spokeswoman said those interviews did not address the issue Suleman discussed with McGraw this week.

Kaiser Permanente officials declined to comment on Suleman's case, citing privacy rules. Source

Tiger Woods: I Was Lucky to Miss Golf and Be with Family
February 25, 2009 (Wednesday)

More complaints about baby milk
February 24, 2009 (Tuesday)

Nineteen families complained yesterday that their children had developed kidney stones after drinking the milk powder made by Wyeth.

This is the second foreign company - after Dumex, a unit of France's Danone - to face such accusations. More than 100 children reportedly fell ill after drinking Dumex milk food, although the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said last week the company's baby food was free of melamine.

Li Xuefeng, a father from Chongqing and head of a local family group, said his 2-year-old son had been fed on baby milk formula of Wyeth since birth. In September, he was diagnosed with a stone in his left kidney.

However, the AQSIQ said in a report published the same month that Wyeth's products were free of melamine.

"At least 19 families with similar experiences have contacted me," Li said.

"But because we have no official reports showing that Wyeth products are unsafe, the only thing we can do is to gather as many cases as possible."

Wyeth sent a statement to China Daily yesterday saying its products are safe.

It said it had sent samples of 919 batches of milk products imported before September, and all milk powder products made in China, to government designated testing centers, but none were found to contain melamine.

All products imported after September were tested before entering China to ensure they were safe, and all products made domestically were tested by local quality control authorities before entering the market, the statement said.

"We have received complaints about kidney stones from consumers and care about their health," Xi Qing, public relations director of Wyeth China, told China Daily.

"But so far there's no evidence to prove the kidney ailments are caused by our products. We're willing to cooperate and help find the real cause," he said.

The AQSIQ said on Sunday it has tested 2,935 batches of baby formula since September and all of them were qualified. The report did not mention particular brands.

To find out the cause of the kidney ailments, the Ministry of Health said last week that it was conducting a nationwide epidemiological study into the Dumex case, as it did with Wyeth. No conclusion had been made as of yesterday.

Health experts have said it is too early to point fingers at milk powder producers.

Chen Junshi, a senior researcher with the National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, said although kidney stones rarely develop in young children, they can be triggered by various reasons, such as feeding habits or families' living environments.

"We need scientific research and evidence," he said.

Tang Zhiqing, a dairy industry analyst who has worked for both domestic dairy firms Bright Dairy and Mengniu, said complaints against Dumex and Wyeth were possibly started by rival firms seeking to gain a competitive advantage.

The accusations against Wyeth have already dented its reputation. An online poll at Sina.com found that 61 percent of about 10,000 respondents said the accusation will affect their future purchasing decisions. Source

Baby raped and sodomised
February 23, 2009 (Monday)

The baby with her mother

Whether you leave your baby to a maid or nanny to babysit, remember always peform physical body inspection of your tot by yourself from time to time.  

Pickup story from NST Onine. For seven months, a young couple entrusted a family friend to babysit their daughter, now a year old.

However, their world came crashing down last Wednesday when they found out that their baby girl had been sexually abused. They suspect this could be the work of one of the babysitter's two sons.

At the family home in Bandar Baru Sentul yesterday, the 20-year-old mother said the baby had been in the woman's care from 9am to 7pm daily, six days a week, for the past seven months.

"I used to work as a clerk at a private company and my husband is a mechanic.

"We only had Sundays to spend time with our daughter.

"Last Wednesday, after picking the baby up from the babysitter's house nearby, I saw bloodstains on her private parts while changing her diaper. My husband and I immediately rushed her to a clinic."

The doctor there advised the couple to take the baby to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, where she was admitted for three days.

"According to a doctor at the hospital, there were penetration wounds in my daughter's private parts, indicating that she had been sodomised and raped.

"The doctor said there were old and fresh wounds, meaning that my baby had been abused for some time now," the mother cried at a press conference called for by Segambut member of parliament Lim Lip Eng yesterday.

The babysitter has two sons, aged 21 and 26, who were at home most of the time.

On several occasions, she entrusted the baby to the two men when she had to go out.

"I never thought it would end up like this," the baby's mother said, adding that the baby was frequently feverish and constantly cried at night after the latest incident.

The mother had since quit her job to look after her daughter.

The family lodged a report at the Sentul police station on Wednesday night.

To add insult to injury, the baby's parents also claimed that when they lodged the police report, the investigating officer was rude to them, implying that they could have hurt the baby.

City police chief Datuk Ku Chin Wah confirmed that the baby had been sexually abused.

"We have not picked up anyone in connection with the case, but have asked the victim's family to come to the city police headquarters tomorrow to assist in investigations."

Ku also said they had recorded statements from the babysitter and her sons, adding that they were waiting for further medical reports.

On the family's allegations against the investigating officer, Ku advised them to lodge another report to facilitate a separate investigation.

Nicole Richie Pregnant Again
February 23, 2009 (Monday)

Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Nicole Richie and boyfriend Joel Madden are expecting another child, barely a year after the arrival of daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden last Jan. 11.

In a message on the Web site of Good Charlotte, the band he fronts, Madden, 29, wrote, "I am so happy to tell everyone that Harlow is going to be a big sister! God has truly blessed my family. Hope [you're] all feeling as good as i am right now." Madden's message is titled "Better than winning an OSCAR!"

After a famously wild childhood, Richie, 27, credited the birth of daughter Harlow for leading her to a more tranquil life at home with Madden. "She gives life a whole new meaning," Richie told PEOPLE in a coverstory featuring stunning photos of the blissful family. Source

Boy marries dog to ward off tiger attacks
February 20, 2009 (Friday)

Pic source

An infant boy was married off to his neighbors' dog in eastern India by villagers, who said it will stop the groom from being killed by wild animals, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.

Around 150 tribespeople performed the ritual recently in a hamlet in the state of Orissa's Jajpur district after the boy, who is under two years old, grew a tooth on his upper gum.

The Munda tribe see such a growth in young children as a bad omen and believe it makes them prone to attacks by tigers and other animals. The tribal god will bless the child and ward off evil spirits after the marriage.

"We performed the marriage because it will overcome any curse that might fall on the child as well on us," the boy's father, Sanarumala Munda, was quoted as saying by a local newspaper.

The groom, Sagula, was carried by his family in a procession to the village temple, where a priest solemnized the marriage between Sagula and his bride, Jyoti, by chanting Sanskrit hymns, a witness said.

The dog belongs to the groom's neighbors and was set free to roam around the area after the ceremony. No dowry was exchanged, the witness said, and the boy will still be able to marry a human bride in the future without filing for divorce.

Indian law does not recognize weddings between people and animals, but the ritual survives in rural and tribal areas of the country. Source

Meet Charlie Axel Woods
February 19, 2009 (Thursday)

Sarah Palin's 'Secret' Pregnancy – & How Family Found Out
February 18, 2009 (Wednesday)

A new biography of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reveals that her secret pregnancy with son Trig was nearly uncovered when one of her daughters discovered Trig's prenatal ultrasound scan and confronted Palin with the picture.

"Sarah made one slip-up – but [she] dampened suspicion by explaining it away," reports Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin, by PEOPLE Assistant Editor Lorenzo Benet and being published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions.

Palin also was aware Trig had been diagnosed with Down syndrome but did not disclose this to her four other children until his Trig's birth last April 18, several weeks after she went public with her pregnancy.

"Not discussing the pregnancy with her daughters, she felt, would shorten the process and spare them from unwanted attention," according to the book, which was not authorized by Palin.

Trailblazer also reveals another reason Palin kept the pregnancy quiet. She tells Benet, who interviewed Palin and her family for a 2008 PEOPLE cover story: "Not knowing in my own heart if I was going to be ready to embrace a child with special needs – I couldn't talk about it."

In the course of preparing the book, Benet received the cooperation of Palin's parents, Chuck and Sally Heath; the governor's older sister, Heather Bruce; as well as in-laws, political allies and rivals. Read more

13-year-old becomes a father in the UK
February 15, 2009 (Sunday)

Photo: THE SUN

Baby-faced Alfie, who is 13 but looks more like eight, became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne.

He told how he and Chantelle, 15, decided against an abortion after discovering she was pregnant.

The shy lad, whose voice has not yet broken, said: “I thought it would be good to have a baby.

“I didn’t think about how we would afford it. I don’t really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10.”

Alfie, who is just 4ft tall, added: “When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react.

“I didn’t know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it.”

Alfie's story, broken exclusively by The Sun today has sparked a huge political storm with Tory leader David Cameron saying: "When I saw these pictures this morning, I just thought how worrying that in Britain today children are having children.

"I hope that somehow these children grow up into responsible parents but the truth is parenthood is just not something they should be thinking about right now."  Source

An International Day of Love?
February 14, 2009 (Saturday)

                                                     Pic source

Just days before Valentine's Day, a young Saudi woman desperately searched for a red teddy bear to buy for her boyfriend. But all Nof Faisal could find were blue and white ones, minus the "I love you" she wanted hers to declare.

It's not because the store couldn't keep up with demand. It is because fear of the religious police forced the store's owner to strip the shelves of all red items, including the hottest-selling item: heart-festooned red plastic handcuffs inscribed, "Take me, I'm yours."

As Feb. 14 approaches, the police begin inspecting gift shops for items that are red or are intended as gifts to mark the holiday — a celebration of St. Valentine, a 3rd century Christian martyr — which is banned in Saudi Arabia. Such items are legal at other times of the year, but as Valentine's Day nears they become contraband.

At best, shops caught selling Valentine's gifts are ordered to get rid of them. Some salesmen have been detained for days.

The Valentine's Day prohibition is in line with the ascetic Wahhabi school of Islam that the kingdom follows. Marking Christian holidays is banned in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and a country where non-Muslims are banned from openly practicing their religion.

Celebrating any holidays but the two most important for Muslims — Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr_ is taboo because they are considered "religious innovations" that Islam does not sanction. Even birthdays and Mother's Day are frowned on by the religious establishment.

As Feb. 14 approaches, newspapers reprint a fatwa or religious edict issued by scholars a few years ago, declaring "eid al-hob," Arabic for the feast of love, a "Christian, pagan feast" that Muslims should not celebrate. Teachers remind students they must not mark the festival, and girls are warned against wearing anything red.

Nevertheless, Valentine's Day quietly creeps into the capital, Riyadh: While gift stores don't trumpet their Valentine's wares, they acquire a deep red hue as shelves are stocked with artificial flowers, heart-shaped frames and other knickknacks.

Lingerie stores display red lacy underwear and sheer short nighties. Boxes packed with teddy bears, some inscribed with "I love you," appear on supermarket shelves. Newspapers advertise diamond and ruby heart-shaped pendants.

And salesmen urge shoppers to snap up their gifts early because no one knows when the religious police will begin their rounds.

"My colleague spent a night in jail last year because of the color red," said one salesman, who insisted on anonymity, fearing his colleague's fate.

It is a challenge for courting Saudi couples to be together at any time of the year because of strict gender segregation. Unmarried men and women cannot take a drive together, have a meal or even talk on the street unless they are close relatives. Dating consists of long phone conversations and the rare tryst. Infractions are punished by detention.

"I wish things were different," said Faisal, a 20-year-old student, who said she would like to be wined and dined by her boyfriend. She has arranged to have red roses, a red box containing perfume, chocolate and a CD of love songs delivered to him.

Abdul-Aziz al-Shammari bought his girlfriend 10 red roses — one for each month he's known her — five days before Valentine's Day and stored the bouquet in his refrigerator to keep it fresh.

"I don't consider it a day venerating (St.) Valentine," said al-Shammari, a 24-year-old student. "I see it as an international day of love."

For at least businessmen, the commercial draw of the holiday was too strong.

Waleed al-Khuleiwi's store was perhaps the only one in Riyadh still brimming with Valentine's goods with just days to go.

His cheeky defense: "I'm not selling the items with the intention of celebrating Valentine's." Source

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mira Sorvino & Husband Expecting Third Child
February 13, 2009 (Friday)

Photo by: Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino and her husband Christopher Backus are expecting their third child, they confirm to PEOPLE.

"We are overjoyed at the thought of welcoming a new addition to the family," they say in a statement. "With each child the love in our hearts has expanded beyond what we ever imagined was possible."

Sorvino, 41, and Backus are also parents to Mattea, 4, and Johnny, 2.

Sorvino, who won an Academy Award for Mighty Aphrodite, recently appeared in the NBC miniseries The Last Templar, and Backus will next be seen in ABC's Life On Mars. Source

Salma Hayek Breastfeeding An African Baby Boy
February 11, 2009 (Wednesday)

Study shows pregnancy doesn't worsen breast cancer
February 10, 2009 (Tuesday)

Pregnant women who develop breast cancer have no difference in odds of death compared to other young breast cancer patients, said a study published Monday in the journal Cancer.

    The study is one of the largest to examine whether breast cancer hits pregnant women harder than other women. It contradicted some smaller, earlier studies that suggested maternity made things worse.

    In the study, researchers analyzed data from 652 women ages 35 and younger who were treated for breast cancer at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1973 through 2006.

    The result showed that rates of cancer recurrence, cancer spread and survival were normally the same for the women with pregnancy-associated breast cancers and other young women with the disease.

    "Breast cancer in young women is a highly aggressive disease, and it's important that we study it in hopes of making a difference in terms of treatment," said the study's lead author, Dr. Beth Beadle of the center.

    It's estimated that up to 3.8 percent of pregnancies are complicated by breast cancer, and approximately 10 percent of breast cancer patients under age 40 develop the disease during pregnancy, said the researchers.

    M. D. Anderson has a long history of being at the forefront of treating pregnant women for breast cancer.  Source

Breast cancer enzyme found
February 09, 2009 (Monday)

Scientists in Japan have identified an enzyme which appears to suppress breast cancer and they hope the finding will spur new therapies to control the second most common cancer in the world.

At issue is the enzyme CHIP, which experts say can stunt cancer growth by degrading a number of cancer-causing proteins. The enzyme occurs naturally in human breast tissue.

In an article published in Nature Cell Biology, the scientists said they injected two kinds of human breast cancer cells into mice. One set carried the CHIP enzyme and the other was without the chemical.

Tumors in the first group of mice with the CHIP enzyme were far smaller than the one without the enzyme, Junn Yanagisawa at the University of Tsukuba's Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences in Japan told Reuters.

The same results were seen in a parallel experiment using a more aggressive line of human breast cancer cells, he added.

"Our conclusion is that we have found that CHIP protein prevents breast tumor growth and metastasis," Yanagisawa said.

Metastasis occurs when cancer spreads from its site of origin, which challenges therapy and may even result in death.

"In breast tumor treatments, measurement of the CHIP protein levels in the tumors may be valuable information for the treatment. Furthermore, designing a new therapy that increases CHIP protein levels or its activity could be useful for breast tumor treatment," Yanagisawa said.

Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer, after lung cancer. In 2005, it killed 502,000 people worldwide, or almost 1 percent of all deaths. Source

China's toy makers gone bust
February 09, 2009 (Monday)

NEARLY half of China's toy makers closed last year due to shrinking exports brought about by the global financial crisis, Chinese media reported on Monday. 

At the start of 2008, China had 8,610 companies that produced and exported toys, but by the end of the year, that number had declined by 49 per cent to 4,388, the Beijing Times said, citing customs data.

Chinese toy exports grew marginally in 2008 by 1.8 per cent to US$8.6 billion (S$12.9 billion), but the overall figure masked a dramatically worsening performance towards the end of the year, according to the paper.

In November, toy exports declined by 8.6 per cent from the same month a year earlier, while December marked a drop of 7.6 per cent, the paper said.

China's southern province of Guangdong, which produces roughly half of the world's toys, has seen some large-scale factory closures.

Smart Union, a Hong Kong-listed maker of products for US giants Mattel and Disney, shut down in October last year, causing 7,000 people to lose their jobs.

China's toy industry had already been facing problems before the economic crisis struck.

Recalls around the world of dangerous Chinese-made toys severely tarnished the industry's reputation, while rising labour and land costs also caused problems.

Adding to the woes, India banned Chinese toy imports in late January for six months, triggering trade tensions between the world's two biggest emerging economies.

In reaction, Chinese officials are now deciding whether they should appeal to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, state media said last week.

Overall, China's exports have also been hit hard by the crisis, with shipments abroad declining for the first time in seven years in November and December. -- AFP

Woods' wife gives birth to son
February 09, 2009 (Monday)

On the day Tiger Woods usually hoists a trophy at Torrey Pines, a newspaper reported Sunday night that the world's No. 1 golfer was busy with the birth of his first son.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, citing an unidentified person with ties to the Woods family, reported that Elin Woods gave birth for the second time. They had a daughter, Sam Alexis, in June 2007 on the day after the U.S. Open.

Woods did not have an announcement about the birth on his Web site, where he reports his news. Neither his agent nor his spokesman immediately returned messages seeking comment.

The 33-year-old Woods is a six-time winner of the Buick Invitational, where he also won the U.S. Open last summer for his 14th career major. That was the last tournament he has played because of knee surgery a week later that ended his 2008 season. He is expected to return before the Masters, possibly as early as the Accenture Match Play Championship on Feb. 25.

He wrote in a newsletter last week that his return to golf depends largely on the birth of his baby, "which is due pretty soon."

"That takes precedent over anything I do golf-wise," Woods wrote. "Elin, Sam and I are very excited for the new baby to arrive, although that's when the real lack of sleep begins."

Woods was the only child born of his parents, Earl and Tida Woods. He had said after his marriage in 2004 that he looked forward to having more than one child.

Nick Watney won the Buick Invitational on Sunday, the sixth time that Woods has been unable to defend a title since his knee surgery. Source

Octuplets' mom: I always wanted a huge family
February 06, 2009 (Friday)

Paul Drinkwater / NBC News

The Southern California woman who gave birth to octuplets last week told TODAY’s Ann Curry in an exclusive interview that growing up as an only child, she had always dreamed of having “a huge family.”

“How did an only child end up with 14 children?” Curry asked Nadya Suleman.

“That was always a dream of mine, to have a large family, a huge family, and I just longed for certain connections and attachments with another person that I really lacked, I believe, growing up,” she replied.

“Describe what you felt you lacked within,” Curry said.

“Feeling of self and identity,” Suleman, 33, replied. “I didn't feel as though, when I was a child, I had much control of my environment. I felt powerless. And that gave me a sense of predictability. Reflecting back on my childhood, I know it wasn't functional. It was pretty dysfunctional, and whose isn't?”

While the world celebrated the birth of fairly healthy octuplets, public sentiment has shifted as it's been revealed Suleman also has six other children, ages 2 to 7, and is a single parent who conceived all 14 of her children through in vitro fertilization.

The divorced single mom told Curry she tried to get pregnant for years before finally succeeding. 

“I went through about seven years of trying, through artificial insemination, through medication. And all of which was unsuccessful. And then the first IVF procedure from that facility — it was successful. And then I just kept going in.” Read more

Jessica Alba's Body After Baby Secret: A Girdle
February 05, 2009 (Thursday)

Photo by: Steve Granitz / WireImage

Jessica Alba wants the world to know her body after baby secret – and it has nothing to do with celery sticks or crunches at the gym.

"I wore a girdle," the actress, 28, tells the March issue of Elle. "Eight weeks after my girlfriend had her baby, you could see her six-pack. She told me to put an elastic band around my waist – any kind of band or girdle works."

Adds Alba, "I didn't recover as fast as she did. I don't have a six-pack – that's just not my body at all."

The actress confesses that she tried working out to get in shape for a calendar shoot, but quickly gave it up.

"[The workouts] were horrible," she tells the magazine. "I cried. And I haven't worked out since."

What wasn't so tough for the Fantastic Four star? Surprisingly, childbirth itself.

"Contractions aren't that bad," she says. "If you've ever had bad cramps? That's what they're like. But that moment when they put the baby on your chest – that's deep. It's a deep experience."

Actually, tears have been a somewhat common occurrence for the new mother, especially when she is away from daughter, Honor.

"This is the first time I've been away from her," Alba tells Elle. "It's been six days. It sucks; it's the worst thing ever. But we Skype, so I can see her on video. The worst is when you can see her little chubby hands grab the screen, and I'm not there."

The magazine reported that the actress began welling up at the memory.

"That's a new thing – I never cried before," she says. "Just being a mother is making me a big, weepy mess."  Source

Travel in Style!
February 02, 2009 (Monday)

Baby Yok Shan to get artificial arm
February 02, 2009 (Monday)

BABY Lai Yok Shan, who had her left arm amputated below the elbow after a medical error, will be fitted with a prosthetic limb soon, reported China Press.

Her father, mechanic Kian Khee, 25, said they were negotiating with a private hospital over the fee, which is said to be RM1,500.

He said the amount was inclusive of consultation, casting and measurement, adding that the fitting would most probably be done in Kuala Lumpur after the Chinese New Year season.

He added that the artificial limb would enable Yok Shan to lead a normal life as currently, she had problems balancing herself while walking.

Yok Shan, who is 18-months-old now, lost her left arm in August 2007 when it turned gangrenous and dropped off after a houseman at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital inserted an intravenous needle into a muscle when the premature baby was placed in an incubator.

On the issue of compensation from the Government, Kian Khee said it would be handled by his lawyer Gobind Singh Deo.

It was reported the family only received a reply from the Health Ministry recently after sending seven letters to the ministry but there was no mention on compensation.