No surgery for now on Brazilian cojoined twins

2011-12-22T20:30:12Z

Doctors in Brazil have determined that for now they will not attempt to surgically separate a set of conjoined twins who have two heads but share one body.

Born on Monday and named Jesus and Emanuel in honor of the upcoming Christmas holiday, the twins have distinct brains and spinal cords but share internal organs.

Because both brains are functioning and the twins are in stable condition, ...

Very preterm boys less likely to live than girls

2011-12-22T19:30:35Z

(Reuters) - Babies born extremely prematurely have much better survival odds now than in years past, but boys seem to be lagging behind girls despite advances in medical care, according to an Australian study.

Researchers whose findings appeared in Pediatrics found that of more than 2,000 infants born very preterm - in the 28th week of pregnancy or earlier -- boys had a somewhat lower survival rate and w...

Very preterm boys less likely to survive than girls

2011-12-22T11:30:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Babies born extremely early have much better survival odds now than in years past -- but boys seem to be lagging behind girls, a new study finds.

Australian researchers found that of more than 2,500 infants born very preterm -- in the 28th week of pregnancy or earlier -- boys had a somewhat lower survival rate and were more likely to have long-term neurological pr...

'Octomom' doctor fails to win back medical license

2011-12-15T19:31:09Z

A California fertility doctor who infamously helped a woman give birth to octuplets lost a legal bid Thursday to win back his medical license, stripped from him due to "gross negligence."

The California Medical Board revoked Dr Michael Kamrava's license in Jun...

Retired professor arrested in Oklahoma child porn case

2011-12-15T15:30:15Z

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Police on Thursday arrested a retired college professor in Pennsylvania on charges he conspired with an Oklahoma elementary school teacher to take lewd photos of third- and fourth-grade girls.

Gary Joseph Doby,...

Dangers stalk childbearing women in Afghanistan

2011-12-14T08:30:36Z

Three times Hasrat Bibi gave birth. Each time her baby died before reaching the outside world. After the third, she was left a social outcast and unable to have more children, but in Afghanistan her story is all too familiar.

Bibi first fell pregnant as a teenager 22 years ago. Her body may have been too young to cope with nine months carrying a child, but she was living in a society where motherhood is considered a woman's prim...

Giving birth is a battle for survival in Afghanistan

2011-12-12T10:30:08Z

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - She was 15 years old, heavily pregnant and had travelled eight days on the back of a donkey to reach hospital.

Suffering from seizures and high blood pressure, she died soon after at the Herat Maternity Hospital in western ...

Obese pregnant women can safely diet: study

2011-12-07T10:30:17Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese pregnant women can safely limit their weight gain by watching what they eat, an analysis of several clinical trials suggests.

The study, reported in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, adds to evidence that obese women can try to limit their weight gain during pregnancy without harming themselves or their baby.

General recommendations from the

Women's post-natal depression linked to partners' abuse: study

2011-12-07T01:30:43Z

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Forty percent of women who suffer depression after childbirth are abused either physically or emotionally by their partners, researchers in Australia said on Wednesday, calling on health workers to be more alert to such cases.

"That is a very important message to get out to health professionals," said ...

FDA takes aim at "unproven" HCG weight-loss brands

2011-12-06T11:30:24Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Regulators have taken first steps to remove from the market over-the-counter products containing HCG hormone, saying the homeopathic formulations fraudulently claim to produce weight loss and may pose serious health risks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the

Minnesota judge blocks child care unionization vote

2011-12-05T14:30:23Z

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - A state court judge blocked on Monday a unionization vote by thousands of state-licensed and subsidized child care workers that had been ordered by Democratic Governor Mark Dayton.

EU, tech firms link up to protect children online

2011-12-01T11:31:02Z

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission joined forces with major technology firms including Apple, Facebook and Google

Woman gives birth at airport restroom

2011-11-29T07:30:15Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman gave birth in a restroom at Baltimore's airport after arriving on a flight, an airport spokesman said on Monday.

The woman gave birth to a boy on Sunday afternoon at Concourse D of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshal...

Woman gives birth at Baltimore airport restroom

2011-11-28T09:30:15Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman gave birth in a restroom at Baltimore's airport after arriving on a flight, an airport spokesman said on Monday.

The woman gave birth to a boy on Sunday afternoon at Concourse D of Baltimore/Wash...

Most Britons oppose children having mobile phones, poll finds

2011-11-24T06:00:43Z

(Reuters) - Nearly three-quarters of Britons think it is inappropriate for children under 12 to own a mobile phone, despite the fact that most kids already have them, according to a poll on Thursday.

The survey of 2,000 people found that expensive bills, unmonitored internet use and lack of parental control were some of the reasons adults felt uncomfortable about kids owning mobiles.

However, more ...

U.S. teen birth rate drops to record low in 2010

2011-11-17T16:00:23Z

ATLANTA (Reuters) - The teen birth rate in the United States reached an all-time low last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on...

Rebekah Brooks expecting baby by surrogate

2011-11-17T13:30:41Z

Former News International boss Rebekah Brooks, a key figure in the phone hacking row, is expecting a baby girl in February via a surrogate mother, her spokesman said on Thursday.

The flame-haired Brooks, 43, and her husband, racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, were originally expecting twins with the surrogate but one of the babies died, sources close to Brooks added.

"Charlie and Rebekah Brooks are deligh...

When does pregnancy begin? Doctors disagree

2011-11-17T11:30:40Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though most doctors will give you a definition of when pregnancy begins, it's not always the same one, according to a new survey.

Most of the polled obstetrician-gynecologists believe pregnancy begins when the sperm fertilizes the egg. But a minority say it doesn't begin until a week later when the fertilized egg implants in the uterus -- the definition given by t...

AmberWatch unveils TV channel to stop sex abuse

2011-11-14T12:00:40Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A child protection group is launching a television service that it hopes will help prevent sex abuse scandals like the one engulfing Penn State University's football team.

The AmberWatch Foundati...

Mariah Carey hid pregnant body from hubby Cannon

2011-11-11T06:02:13Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mariah Carey put on so much weight when she was pregnant with twins that she says she used to hide her body from husband Nick Cannon.

But the Grammy-winning...

Big belly before pregnancy may mean extra-big baby

2011-11-11T06:01:57Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who have large waistlines before pregnancy may be more likely to have a larger-than-normal newborn than women who are trim around the middle, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the obstetrics journal BJOG, are in line with what experts know: Women who are obese before pregnancy are more likely to have a baby with an abnormally high birthweight -...

Obama targets education in new swipe at Republicans

2011-11-08T15:30:33Z

US President Barack Obama Tuesday used "huggable" young children as a backdrop for his latest bid to make Republicans pay a price for blocking his economic and education reforms.

Obama traveled to Pennsylvania, a state which he must win if he is to win reelection next year, to tout his ...

20th child due for "19 Kids and Counting" reality TV couple

2011-11-08T14:30:41Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "19 Kids and Counting" stars Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are expecting the birth of their 20th child, the couple said on Tuesday as they predicted a need to yet again change the...

Embryo vote to refuel US abortion row

2011-11-08T08:30:32Z

Mississippi residents vote on a constitutional amendment Tuesday stating that a fertilized human egg is a person, a controversial move likely to thrust the hot-button issue of abortion into the spotlight ahead of the 2012 elections.

The so-called "personhood amendment," which would confer rights on an embryo from the moment of conception, is similar to a measure that already has been rejected twice by voters in Colorado.

But it may have found fertile ground in co...

Obama to push education plans in Philadelphia stop

2011-11-08T03:30:07Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will highlight his proposals on education in a visit to Philadelphia on Tuesday aimed at bolstering his support in a state that could be important to his re-election prospects in 2012.

On the trip to the election battlegrou...

Performance artist gives birth in NY gallery

2011-11-07T10:00:55Z

There's something new to see at the Microscope Gallery in Brooklyn: a newborn baby called Ajax whose mother made her pregnancy the subject of her latest exhibition.

Performance artist Marni Kotak literally took up residence in the gallery last month, recreating a small apartment -- complete with birthing pool -- in anticipation of the arrival of her child, which came Tuesday.

"It?s a ...

China hospital disposes of live baby

2011-11-07T09:31:50Z

Health authorities in south China said Friday they were investigating a hospital medical team for mistakenly diagnosing a stillbirth and disposing of a baby that was alive.

The probe is taking place at the Nanhai Red Cross Hospital in the

Study questions twin-pregnancy weight-gain limits

2011-11-01T09:30:16Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a small new study, women pregnant with twins who gained more weight than current guidelines suggest were not at higher risk of serious pregnancy complications and they gave birth to bigger babies -- a welcome result since twins are more likely than singletons to have low birth weights.

Over a five-year period, 170 patients in a

Two abortion clinic employees plead guilty to murder

2011-10-27T15:00:28Z

Story contains graphic descriptions in paragraphs five through eight.

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Two employees of a Philadelphia abortion clinic where live, viable babies were allegedly killed and a patient died after being given on overdose of painkillers pleaded guilty on Thursday to murder.

Guilt...

Murder, suicide top medical deaths in pregnancy

2011-10-26T14:00:25Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Expectant mothers are more likely to die from murder or suicide than several of the most common pregnancy-related medical problems, U.S. researchers have found.

Roughly half of those women who died violently had had some sort of conflict with their current or former partners leading up to the death, causing experts to call for more thorough screening ...

UNWED BIRTHS

2010-11-06T13:00:59Z

Chart shows percentage of births born to unmarried mothers by race

...

Recalls This Week

2010-11-05T10:02:16Z

This photo illustration provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, shows the Britax Chaperone infant car seat. The car seat is being recalled because it has faulty harness clips. The seats were sold nationwide and on the company website from June 2009 to Sept. 2010. (AP Photo/U.S. Consumer Product Saf...

Troubled Foster Home

2010-10-22T18:06:12Z

In this June 22, 2010, Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe pauses when asked about the abuse that took place at a foster home in Elkhart, Texas during an interview in Palestine, Texas. Lowe contends that the state's failure to verify cases of abuse in the nearby foster home reflects a conflict of int...

Births On Planes

2010-10-27T15:10:11Z

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2010 file photo, nurses attend to a newborn baby found inside the lavatory of an airplane at Manila's international airport, Philippines. Ground crew cleaning the just-landed Gulf Air plane from Bahrain found the baby inside one of the airplane's lavatories. ...

TV Family Feud

2010-09-12T15:15:54Z

In this publicity image released by FremantleMedia N.A., host Steve Harvey, is shown with the Foster family during a taping of the game show, "Family Feud." (AP Photo/FremantleMedia N.A.)

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