PAPA

Saving unwanted babies
May 30, 2010 (Sunday)

Credit: NORAFIFI EHSAN / The Star

A non-profit organisation has set up the country’s first baby hatch for mothers to anonymously leave their unwanted newborns to be put up for adoption.

The hatch has a small door which opens to an incubator bed.

Once a baby is placed inside it and the door is closed, an alarm bell will alert the staff.

Located at 6, SS1/24A, Kampung Tunku here, the hatch is run by OrphanCARE, a smart partner of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

OrphanCARE patron, the Sultanah of Pahang Sultanah Kalsom, said she hoped the establishment of the hatch could protect newborn babies and ensure that they would be placed in suitable families.

“Frequently, we read about cases of newborn babies being left on the streets or on a stranger’s doorstep.

“It can only come from an act of a mother’s desperation. Saving even a single life would make our efforts worthwhile,” she said in her speech at the launch of OrphanCARE’s administration and operation centre as well as the baby hatch.

Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the increase in cases of babies being abandoned was a disturbing trend.

Between 2005 and 2009, the police reported 407 such incidents in the country and 24 cases were recorded as of April this year.

Shahrizat said fear of punishment and disapproval of those around them usually compelled women or couples with unwanted babies to abandon them.

However, she stressed that the baby hatch was not an end-all solution to the problem.

“Such initiatives are part of the solution, a necessary stopgap measure to provide desperate mothers with an alternative to abandoning or taking the life of their child,” she said.

Shahrizat, who wept during her speech, said: “When I saw the baby hatch, I was heart-broken.”

She said the Government alone could not solve the problems and that parents should understand their responsibilities as well.

OrphanCARE president Datuk Adnan Mohd Tahir said women who dropped off their babies were encouraged to sign a consent form and leave their identification card numbers, which would be kept confidential.

The forms are placed outside the centre next to the hatch, he said, adding that the mothers’ details were important for the future of the babies.

So far, the organisation has nearly 200 parents on its list waiting to adopt unwanted babies, he added.

At the event, Shahrizat also announced a RM100,000 allocation from her ministry for OrphanCARE’s baby hatch programme.

Plans are afoot to set up more baby hatches in other areas. Source

Donnie Yen's wife suffers miscarriage
May 25, 2010 (Tuesday)

AP File Photo

Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen’s wife, beauty queen and Hong Kong socialite Cissy Wang, stepped forth and verified reports of a miscarriage during a press conference for a skincare product launch last week.

According to Hong Kong media, the 29-year-old was admitted to the hospital early this month due to an ectopic pregnancy. At that time, Donny and Cissy – one of Hong Kong’s most famous golden couples – refused to comment on the reports. However, Cissy has decided to step forward and confirm the reports last week.

Cissy revealed: "That's right. Earlier, I wasn't sure whether I was pregnant or not and continuously bled for one month. After consulting the doctor, I realised it was an ectopic pregnancy. The doctor told me if I went there any later, it would be dangerous."

She also revealed that she was bleeding continuously for a month and only realised it was an ectopic pregnancy after consulting her doctors. Cissy was reportedly very upset by the turn of events, but the loving husband that he is, Donnie took time off from filming and returned to Hong Kong to take care of his wife.

She added: "This incident is purely coincidental. It is so rare to have my husband fly back to Hong Kong to accompany and face it with me." Source

Asha Gill is the hottest mum
May 17, 2010 (Monday)

Television host Asha Gill, 38, has been voted the Hottest Malaysian Mum by readers of The Daily Chilli.

Read more on other hot mums in www.dailychilli.com.

Parents can be held accountable over 'home-alone' mishaps
May 17, 2010 (Monday)

Parents can be held accountable for leaving children home alone, resulting in mishaps that cause deaths.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil reminded parents that neglecting their children was a crime punishable with a RM20,000 fine or 10-year jail sentence under Section 31(1) of the Child Act.

“In the past, such cases were naturally sensitive and difficult to handle, given that parents had just lost a child. However, it is time to highlight that parents and guardians can be held accountable for such incidents,” she said yesterday. Commenting on a recent case in George Town, Penang, where 10-year-old Kuhesri Nadarajah accidentally hanged herself at her flat after being left alone, Shahrizat said parents must realise that a child should never be left at home alone under any circumstance.

Shahrizat wanted police to give priority to investigations of cases involving children.

She said the welfare department and the National Population and Family Planning Board had been asked to organise more awareness campaigns to prevent such incidents from happening.

She added that reasons given for leaving children at home alone, such as job commitment, were unacceptable.

“Seek other options such as placing children in nurseries or day-care centres,” she said. Source

Babies 2010 Movie Trailer
May 14, 2010 (Friday)

Silicone Baby Feeding Bottle
May 12, 2010 (Wednesday)

NS trainee gives birth in Sabah camp toilet
May 12, 2010 (Wednesday)

An 18-year-old National Service trainee has given birth to a healthy baby boy in a toilet at Camp Ovai in Papar, some 30km from the city.

The birth was discovered by fellow trainees who heard the infant crying in the toilet at about 2.30am yesterday.

Papar district police chief Deputy Supt Nik Zaidi Nik Zakaria said upon hearing the baby's cry, the fellow trainees entered the toilet and found the baby still covered in blood and the umbilical cord attached.

He said the trainee and her 2.6kg baby were taken to the Papar district hospital where they were reported to be in good condition.

DSP Nik Zaidi said initial investigations showed that the trainee from the interior Keningau district had been in a relationship with a 20-year-old man from her hometown.

The trainee had been at the camp since March.

DSP Nik Zaidi said the National Service authorities should consider requiring all future female trainees to undergo pregnancy tests to avoid any untoward incidents. Source

Jodie Sweetin – The Heart of the Matter
May 11, 2010 (Tuesday)

Michael Bezjian/WireImage

She wears her heart on her belly!

After recently confirming she is expecting another baby, Jodie Sweetin debuted her bump while attending The Silver Spoon 4th Annual Dog and Baby Buffet Mother’s Day Event at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, Calif., on Friday.

Baby-on-the-way will be Sweetin’s first with her boyfriend Morty Coyle. The actress is also mom to daughter Zoie Laurelmae, 2, with ex-husband Cody Herpin. Source

Four more H1N1 cases identified in Ampang
May 04, 2010 (Tuesday)

Four more Influenza A(H1N1) positive cases have been confirmed in Ukay Perdana here, health director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said.

The new cases raised the total so far to 13,748 people until 8.30am yesterday, he said in a statement.

He said three were admitted to private hospitals and another received outpatient treatment.

All four were given anti-viral medication.

Individuals suffering from fever, cough and cold, pregnant women, diabetic patients, the obese or those with symptoms of the H1N1 must seek treatment.

The public are encouraged to take preventive measures by getting vaccinated at 104 centres throughout the country, he said.

“Most deaths related to the H1N1 infection were those with high-risk factors.

“When they suffer such complications, they are vulnerable to bacteria infection that can cause death in some cases,” he added.

Meanwhile, there was joy for the Malaysian Thomas Cup and Uber Cup squads as they were free from H1N1.

National Sports Institute director-general Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz said the squads received the all-clear from a second test conducted jointly by the institute and the Federal Territory Health Department during a training stint at Juara Stadium, Bukit Kiara this morning.

“Despite the all-clear scan, the institute and the health department will continue to monitor the squads to avoid any risk of infection,” he added.

He said a medical team would also be stationed at a hotel where foreign players were putting up to check on their health condition.

The Chinese badminton squad is scheduled to arrive tomorrow while others on Friday. — Bernama

Family wonders if baby could have been saved
May 04, 2010 (Tuesday)

The family members of accident victim Linda Gayathiry Fernandez, 29, are questioning if the life of her full-term unborn baby Princess Mabel could have been saved.

Linda’s mother Ispiry Raman Fernandez, 54, questioned whether efforts could have been made to save the life of the baby, who was removed from Linda’s womb at 10.30am on Saturday, nearly 10 hours after the accident.

She said an official from the Penang Hospital contacted the family after her daughter’s funeral yesterday and that the family would meet with the hospital’s representative today.

“The accident happened at 12.45am on Saturday. When my family was contacted at 3.25am, we rushed to the hospital.

“At the emergency unit, we asked about Linda but were told that no such person had been admitted there.

“We then asked about her husband Prince Emmanuel Edore, and only then were we told that Linda’s body had been sent to the mortuary,” said Ispiry.

The family had expressed their suspicions to Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong who attended the funeral with Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai.

Liew said he contacted Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai who promised to investigate.

He also said that state Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh had instructed that an inquiry be carried out.

State Health Department director Datuk Dr Teh Lei Choo said there was an ongoing investigation. Source