Speaker: Dr Paul Tay Yee Siang (O&G)
Venue: The Auditorium, Prince Court Medical Centre, Jalan Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur.
Date: 29 November 2008
Time: 3pm - 5pm
Free admission by registration Tel: 03-2160 0000 (Aznida)
Shiloh, the two-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, slipped to second place and was joined by two others from the Jolie-Pitt household with three-year-old Zahara in third place and brother Pax, 4, coming in fourth.
To compile the list, Forbes.com ranked 50 celebrity children aged five years and younger by evaluating the amount of press and online attention they have received in the past year.
The website then recruited polling firm E-Poll Market Research to narrow the list, getting awareness scores for the children and consumer appeal rankings for their celebrity parents.
Suri received more blog mentions than any other Tinseltown child and was referenced in more than 1,300 news articles, which can help shape public opinion about her parents while also fuelling demand for what she wears, plays with and eats.
Rounding out the top five was one-year-old Sam Alexis Woods, the daughter of world golfing champion Tiger Woods and his model wife Elin Nordegren, who is now expecting their second child.
Others children in the top 10 were Cruz Beckham, late Australian actor Heath Ledger's daughter Matilda Rose, Madonna and Guy Ritchie's adopted three-year-old son David Banda, Britney Spear's son Sean Preston Federline, and Sam Sheen.
Celebrity media editors said these children, who grace the front of magazines with and without their famous parents, could be even more in the spotlight next year as people seek uplifting stories amid the financial crisis.
"It's much more fun to look at cute pictures of Suri than think about how much your 401(k) has decreased," Dina Sansing, entertainment director for Us Weekly told Forbes.com. Source
Angelina Jolie: Breastfeeding Twins "Harder Than It Looks" November 19, 2008 (Wednesday)
Photo by: Jason Merritt / FilmMagic
Angelina Jolie admits she struggled breastfeeding her 4-month-old twins, Knox and Viv, simultaneously.
"You think, 'Ah, if anybody can do that, I can do that,' she says in an interview on British show GMTV. "But it's a lot harder than it looks in the books. I did that a few times, but [mostly] I would take turns. It just takes a long time."
Jolie, 33, says she weaned the twins when they were 3 months old. "[That was] about as much as I could do," she says.
So how does having six kids affect her Hollywood commitments with Brad Pitt?
"The only time it ever collides is if, you know, we're trying to get ready for some event where we have to walk a carpet and somebody gets peed on, and figures, 'Oh well, I guess we'll be wearing that this evening," she says.
But she doesn't mind.
"We appreciate how much that keeps us focused on what's important," she says.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey to air Wednesday, Pitt called their kids "the funniest people I've ever met. And you know it really tells you - it's a great mirror for yourself.
"It really tells you a lot about yourself and who you are and how you react to things," he continues. "They make me better. They make me a better person as a father." Source
Children's Wall in Reykjavik November 18, 2008 (Tuesday)
Xinhua Photo/Guo Lei
A woman walks past a wall decorated with children's potraits in downtown street of Reykjavik, capital of Iceland, nov. 16, 2008. The Children's Wall consists of some five hundred potrait photos of three to six-year-old children living in the remote area of the country. Several local artists spent about one year to realize the project, which becomes a scenery in the city center of Reykjavik. Source
Melissa Joan Hart Talks About Her Boys November 17, 2008 (Monday)
Photo by: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty
Between potty training her first son and welcoming her second, Melissa Joan Hart has had a busy year as a mom. And it has helped her stay in shape.
“It’s a constant workout,” Melissa told People magazine of taking care of her sons Mason, 3, and Braydon, 8 months.
“You don’t have time to eat because you’re chasing them all the time!” she said Friday at the Jonas Brothers launch of 77 Kids by American Eagle in Los Angeles. “You kind of lift them in the car seat, out of the car seat, in the highchair, out of the highchair.”
Luckily, she says, her eldest has been making the transition easy with the latest family member.
“He’s a great big brother,” said Melissa “He’s just getting to the stage where he kicks [Braydon] when he walks by him. But for the first eight months he’s been a dream.”
Melissa, 32, actress and her husband, Mark Wilkinson, welcomed Braydon Hart Wilkinson in March, and so far things are “great” – silly moments and all.
“Because he’s teething he sticks his tongue out all the time,” she shared. “We took family photos yesterday for our Christmas card and he just kept sticking his tongue out. It was really bizarre, but cute.”
But it doesn’t mean the mom of two doesn’t have her own worries about young Braydon.
“He’s been crawling or scooting for like months now, but he’s starting to stand and balance on his own,” said Melissa. “I’m a little concerned that he’s skipping the crawling stage because I hear that they’re not good readers if they don’t crawl.” Source
'Pregnant man' expecting again November 14, 2008 (Friday)
(Steve Fenn/ABC)
The "pregnant man" who gave birth to a daughter earlier this year is expecting a second child, according to US reports.
Thomas Beatie, a married man who used to be a woman, said he did not go back on the male hormone testosterone after the birth of Susan on June 29 so he could have another baby.
"I feel good," he told ABC News' Barbara Walters. "I had my checkups ... And everything is right on track."
Mr Beatie, who lives with his wife Nancy in Bend, Oregon, said the baby is due on June 12.
Mr Beatie, who was pictured topless with a swollen belly during his first pregnancy, has previously posed for a gay magazine as a woman.
He posed as a muscular woman before his sex change with his bikini-clad girlfriend, Nancy, in 2000. A second picture showed the couple in a wedding-style photograph taken in Honolulu in 2002.
In April, while he was expecting baby Susan, Mr Beatie told US daytime TV queen Oprah Winfrey: "I see pregnancy as a process and it doesn't define who I am. It's not a male or female desire to want to have a child, it's a human desire. And I'm a person and I have the right to have my own biological child."
Mr Beatie was born female and called Tracy Lagondino before undergoing gender reassignment surgery. He is now legally male and married to a woman.
He was able to get pregnant because he kept his female organs when he switched genders and decided to carry a baby for his wife because she had a hysterectomy several years ago.
The couple have been together for 10 years and married for five. Source
Travel with Bond to Austria, Italy and South America in this high octane adventures. Synopsis contains spoilers, so go figure out yourself at the nearest cinema.
Melamine Contaminated Food May Cause Birth Defects November 11, 2008 (Tuesday)
According to a report released by the Yangcheng Evening News, Lin He, a geneticist and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted in his speech to the Summit Medical Academy that the continually increasing amounts of melamine contaminated food found in Chinese diets may be one of the most important factors resulting in the soaring number of birth defects in China.
He said that the rate of birth defects in China has risen to four percent and it is likely to continue to grow. Over the past year as many as 15 percent of newborns in Guangzhou City were diagnosed with birth defects such as multi-toe, Palestinian child's edema, congenital heart disease, and cleft lip and palate. The birth defects were caused by many factors, including environmental pollution, lead paints used in homes, home furnishings, poor lifestyle choices, and malnutrition.
When asked whether the drinking of melamine contaminated milk powder by pregnant mothers could impact the unborn child, He replied that the long-term consumption of food containing melamine would obviously have health implications. The experiments on animals have confirmed a high risk of cancer.
There are many processed foods in China today that contain melamine, which might be the main cause of birth defects in China. The poisoned milk and egg products have not only increased kidney stones in babies, but also contributed to the increasing number of birth defects. The long term impact of such melamine contamination and its effect on future generations remains unknown. Source
MH Global Online Sale (10 - 12 Nov) November 10, 2008 (Monday)
Those buying Malaysia Airlines (MAS) tickets at its global online sales will stand a chance to win a holiday package for two.
MAS senior general manager of sales, Datuk Bernard Francis, said in a statement that the airline was making it more exciting for customers who bought tickets during the global online sale.
MAS has partnered with Boeing to offer holiday packages to Rome, Kunming, Yogyakarta, Saigon and Bangkok.
Customers have to buy one ticket during the three-day sales from today. Tickets can be purchased at www.malaysiaairlines.com.
Tickets for a total of 26 international destinations go on sale including Xiamen and Kunming, Male and New Delhi, Dubai and Istanbul, Paris and London, as well as Sydney and Auckland. Source
Mama will be right back! November 06, 2008 (Thursday)
Credit: Kevin Perkins/ Pacific Coast News
Ben Affleck holds tight to daughter Violet, who turns 3 next month, as she clutches a note with mom Jennifer Garner's picture on it that reads, "Mama will be right back!," on their way to nursery school Wednesday in Santa Monica. Source:People
Change has come to America. When will it be coming to Malaysia? November 05, 2008 (Wednesday)
Democrat Barack Obama makes history to become first black U.S. president. The win by Obama, son of a black father from Kenya and white mother from Kansas, marked a milestone in U.S. history. It came 45 years after the height of the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King.
Congratulations! A victory for the American people.
Cut coffee intake for healthier baby November 04, 2008 (Tuesday)
PREGNANT women should keep consumption of coffee, tea and cola to a minimum, according to a new study that sees a link between caffeine intake and low birthweight among babies.
British researchers recruited 2635 women at between eight and 12 weeks of pregnancy, asked them about their dietary habits and monitored them for caffeine in their saliva at checkups.
Women who took between 100 and 199 milligrams of caffeine per day faced a 20 per cent increased risk of having a baby with a relatively lower birth weight compared with counterparts whose intake was less than 100mg per day.
For those who had an intake of 200-299mg per day, the risk rose to 40 per cent, and for those over 300mg per day, it was 50 per cent.
Birthweight is a widely used benchmark of health, especially for diabetes and heart disease.
An average cup of coffee contains about 100mg of caffeine and tea about half this amount, although the concentration varies according to the strength of brew and the brand of the product.
Caffeine is also present in cola, chocolate, coca and some drugs.
The so-called CARE study, published online by the British Medical Journal, said "sensible advice" would be for women to reduce caffeine intake before conception and throughout pregnancy.
Previous research has found that caffeine easily crosses the placenta into the foetus, although the evidence for low birthweight has also been inconclusive and muddied by factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption.
This is the first study that also sees a link in tea, which comprised 60 per cent of the caffeine consumed by the women.
On its website, Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it was cutting its recommended maximum intake of caffeine for pregnant women to 200mg per day - the rough equivalent of two mugs of coffee - from 300mg in the light of the study.
"This new advice doesn't mean that pregnant women have to cut out caffeine completely, simply that they should be careful and make sure they don't have too much. We would emphasise that the risks are likely to be very small," said the FSA's chief scientist, Andrew Wadge. Source
How Many Nannies Do Brangelina Have? November 02, 2008 (Sunday)
Getty Images
It was widely reported Wednesday that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have six to eight nannies working for them to help take care of their adorable brood of six. But when momlogic asked Jolie's rep, he told us that the story is untrue! Jolie's rep Oren Segal tells momlogic that the family only employs two part-time nannies and they do not live on the property. Source
Double joy for childless couple November 02, 2008 (Sunday)
Dr Magendran chatting with proud parents Lakshumanan and Chitra at the hospital in Klang. With them is Sister Inthrani.
Pickup story from The Star. It was double joy for a childless couple when their twin daughters who were born through invitro fertilisation (IVF) was also Klang district’s first such babies.
Both Sharmini and Sharvini were born on Oct 12 at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) through Caesarean section to A. Lakshumanan, 35, and A. Chitra, 36, who both work in an electronics firm.
“We had seven years of marriage without a child but now we have two babies.
“It’s going to be two of everything that we buy from now on,” said a beaming Chitra, adding that the procedure which required frequent injections was worth it.
“Most of the time I had to administer injections on my own but I was determined to have the children and never missed any check-up until the babies were born,” she said.
The delighted parents said their daughters had gained weight after being born premature after 33 weeks of pregnancy.
“We were worried initially as both our daughters had to be in the incubators,” added Chitra.
Chitra is now considering expanding her brood and will not hesitate to use the IVF method again if she has trouble conceiving, She thanked nursing sister Inthrani Ranggasamy who helped her throughout the pregnancy.
HTAR Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department chief consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Farouk Abdullah said the successful birth of the twins would encourage childless couples to come forward.
HTAR Obstetrics and Gynaecologist consultant Dr Magendran Ramalingam said the hospital started offering assisted reproductive technology since December 2007 and government subsidies made it affordable for the middle and lower income groups.
