A pain-free labour? Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? Well, it China it may soon be a reality.
According to an article in Science Daily, the decade-long initiative known as the "No Pain Labor N' Delivery China Mission," is showing promise, with increased rates of epidurals and decreased rates of episiotomy and Cesarean delivery. Further, newborns are exhibiting decreased stress levels.
Ling Qun Hu, M.D., a Chinese-Canadian anesthesiologist from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, founded the mission to teach "safe and effective labour analgesia practices, particularly epidural analgesia, over a 10-year period" in a country where pain relief during labour is rarely an option.
Despite the risks associated with Cesarean delivery, Chinese women have the highest rates in the world of optional (non-medical) C-sections.
"It has been a dream for Chinese women to give birth without pain and without compromising safety," said Dr. Hu. "Common questions on Chinese childbirth websites include Where can I get labour pain relief? Which pain relief method is the best? and Is pain relief medication safe for my baby?"
Is childbirth without pain a realistic dream? Do you think offering an epidural is a vital service to Chinese women if it means lowering the rate of Cesareans?
Here I thought I took a lot of pictures of my son. I stand corrected. UK dad Ian McLeod has me beat, having taken a photo of his now-21-year-old son Cory virtually every day of his life and compiled them in a moving visual feast.
According to an article in Huffington Post, the entire slideshow plays back in just over six minutes, yet the capsule of 7,500 photographs is testament to a father's "devotion and creativity."
Since McLeod uploaded the file on YouTube two weeks ago, it's gone viral, with more than 614,000 page views.
McLeod insists that even he didn't imagine he could continue the photographic ritual he'd started.
“I was thinking I could do it for two years at most, then knock it on the head,” said McLeod, who had Cory take self-portraits for when dear old dad couldn't be there.
McLeod isn't a maverick when it comes to the time-lapse. Filmmaker Frans Hofmeester produced incredibly cute videos of both his son and daughter over the years, but the oldest is just 12.
Is the time-lapse video a precious souvenir or a tad OCD?
Love her or hate her, Nadya Suleman has rarely strayed far from the public eye since she became famous for birthing eight babies.
Pursuant to her money problems and porn stint, there is speculation that Suleman is now up against child abuse allegations in the wake of this sad story.
According to an article in Mommyish, two former nannies have accused the mom of 14 of sexual abuse and child neglect.
Obviously no one yet knows what goes on behind the many doors of Octomom's home, yet the fact that these nannies voiced their concerns anonymously (having previously signed confidentiality agreements) makes you wonder if there is any truth to their claims—namely that Suleman "tied [her kids] to their beds" and "propped a chair against a door, so none of the kids could bother her when she was napping."
But possibly the most troubling allegation is that older siblings abused younger ones, both physically and sexually, when left in charge of the brood. To which Suleman apparently turned a blind eye.
The nannies wrote an anon letter to neighbours, asking that Child Protective Services be contacted. Clearly their motive must be the safety of the kids, as they are not spilling what they've seen to the tabloids.
Turns out the California Police Department aren't going to press charges (for now). In celebration mode, Suleman went out and did this. Shocked/disgusted or not so much?
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