Drop-side cribs continue to cause injuries and deaths. At least 30 babies have been killed because of drop-side cribs over the past decade. Susan Koeppen reports that a federal ban on drop-side cribs is possible. Many of the cribs sold in the U.S. (about 1/5) are drop-side cribs. Take a look:
An Australian man held his baby in his arms and shielded it from an incoming out-of-control car. The baby was uninjured but the man suffered a broken leg. Take a look:
Japan Will Pay Money to Couples Who Have More Kids
Japan is now paying money to couples who have more kids. The plan is an attempt to solve Japan's rapidly again population. The government will pay $150 per child per month. Take a look:
Supermodel Claudia Schiffer Has Yet to Select Baby Name
Supermodel Claudia Schiffer says she is super excited ahead of the birth of her third child. She does not have a name picked out yet. She says she always leaves it to the last minute. It is a girl. Take a look:
BabyNames.com founder and CEO Jennifer Moss talks about finding cool names in your family tree. Jennifer Moss says she was able to find some really cool names from her own family tree. She also says using last names as first names is a popular trend. Take a look:
The BBC is reporting that there is some concern over ultrasound baby scans that are done simply for the sake of a souvener among health experts. Ultrasound scans are thought to be safe but sometimes the ultrasounds made as souvenirs as held over the baby's head longer than health check ultrasounds.
Although ultrasound scans to check the baby's health are entirely justifiable and safe, the Health Protection Agency is concerned about "boutique" scanning.
Its independent advisory board looked at the available evidence for any possible health ill effects.
It said more research is needed to determine the long-term consequences.
A similar warning was issued in 2007. The British Medical Journal in 2007 reported that doctors were worried about the rise in companies offering scans solely meant for people to take home and put in baby books.
New Scientistreports that size of newly born babies in the U.S. is shrinking in scientists do not know why.
A 52-gram drop in the weight of full-term singletons - from an average of 3.441 to 3.389 kilograms - has left Emily Oken's team at Harvard Medical School scratching their heads. It can't be accounted for by an increase in caesarean sections or induced labours, which shorten gestation.
The article says the light weight will not matter for regular size babies but it could be significant for premature babies if they are born even lighter.
The number of crib deaths from a Simplicity cribs defect has risen to 11. NBC4i says the CPSC is also aware of 25 other incidents with the cribs.
CPSC has recently been made aware of an additional death which occurred in September 2009 involving a 7-month-old child from Princeton, Kentucky who became entrapped in the crib when a part of it broke. On July 2, 2009, CPSC issued a recall describing the death of an 8-month-old child from Houston, Texas who became entrapped and suffocated between the drop side and the crib mattress when a plastic connector on the drop side broke. CPSC also is aware of an additional 25 incidents involving the drop side detaching from the crib.
There was a major recall issued by the CPSC in July. There have also been several other recalls of Simplicity cribs as noted here by Consumer Reports.
Babies Cries Match Melody of Mother's Native Tongue
Here is more proof that babies start learning language very, very early. The L.A. Timesreports on research that found babies cry in their native tongue. During the study babies as young as 2 to 5 days old cried in pitched and patterns related to their mother's native tongue.
The researchers recorded the cries uttered by 30 French and 30 German newborns when they were hungry, having their diapers changed or generally out of sorts. Though the babies were only 2 to 5 days old, they cried in distinct patterns.
The wails of the French babies started out low and rose to a higher pitch, whereas those of their German counterparts started out high and fell to a lower pitch. The German babies also cried with more intensity than the French babies, the researchers found. These patterns matched the intonation patterns of spoken French (in which the pitch tends to rise over the course of several words) and German (in which the opposite occurs).
The L.A. Times says the scientists believe babies pick up on the "melody of ambient language" while they are still in the womb during the third trimester.
Disney is offering refunds on its popular Baby Einstein DVDs. Consumers can submit for a refund or credit toward another product by filling out the online form located here. The refund follows a class-action lawsuit filed in 2008. The lawsuit cited research that found television viewing is harmful not educational for babies.
As the Boston Heraldreports many parents used it as a digital babysitter and felt good about because it had "Einstein" in the title.
And the soft music and sort-of-acidy-trip videos of wind-up toys and shapes were way better on our nerves than screechy Elmo and that whiny Caillou. Our children were mesmerized and we could fold onesies, shower or just join in on the catatonic state before another round of tummy time.
Baby Einstein was the video-induced tranquilizer every mother dreamed of - and, thanks to the title, didn’t have to feel guilty about.
Unfortunately, the videos are not helpful and may even be harmful according to some studies. This could be a big recall because as many as one third of babies owned at least on of the DVDs according to a 2003 study reported in the New York Times. That's a lot of baby Einsteins.
Report: 1 Million Babies Die Prematurely Each Year
USA Todayreports that a study released by the March of Dimes found that more than 1 million babies die each year because they are born too soon. The study also found 13 million babies are born prematurely each year, which is about 10% of all newborns.
The preterm birth rate in the USA is especially high: 12.7% of all babies are born early, according to the March of Dimes. That rate has increased 36% in the past 25 years, partly because of an increase in elective cesarean section, an increase in older mothers and the growing use of assisted reproduction, which increases the risk of twins, triples and higher-order multiple births, the report says.
Most of the increase in the USA is in "late preterm" babies, born at 34 to 36 weeks of pregnancy, the report says.
Some babies are at higher risk than others, the report says. In the USA, black babies are 1½ times as likely as whites to be premature — a major reason that black infant mortality is so much higher than that of whites, says Christopher Howson, vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes.
You can see the complete report from the March of Dimes here (PDF file).
Carley Roney from Thebump.com showed Maggie Rodriguez some great party ideas for your next baby shower. You can read an article with Carley's invitation, food, favors, games and gift ideas here. Some of the idea including serving milkshakes in baby bottles and a ridiculous but fun baby face game. Take a look:
Wow. This does not look like a good idea. Hundreds of babies are tossed one at a time off the roof of a mosque in western India where they are caught in a bed sheet. The baby tossers think the fall ensures health and prosperity the baby's family. It goes without saying that many of the babies look sad, confused and unhappy. Take a look:
Are animated babies cute or weird? If you like them then you will like Evian commercials. It's a little weird but not as weird as the commercial with the baby trading stocks. ShoppingBlog.com says the soundtrack in the commercial is "Rapper's Delight" by Dan The Automator.
This urban New York City wall decal found by ohdeedoh is interesting but it looks too grim and dark for kids. They need something brighter and more fun. You can find the decal here.
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