Parent Pages new website

A boy with life-threatening injuries suffered during the Libyan conflict has become the first patient to be flown to Britain from the war-torn country.

Abdul Malik Elhamdi has undergone emergency surgery in London after a grenade exploded when he and a friend discovered a stash of weapons hidden by Colonel Gaddafi’s forces in their school. The 15-year-old suffered devastating injuries but survived. His 13-year-old friend Wadir died.

Surgeons at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington last night performed the first of a series of operations to remove shrapnel from Abdul’s body and reconstruct his leg.

His father, Rashid, said he had tried in vain to secure specialist treatment after the blast and had feared for his son’s life.

Source: London Evening Standard>> Read full article and comment

But experts believe it is really aimed at stamping out the problem of selective abortion

Maternity units are refusing to tell parents the gender of their unborn babies with some experts claiming it is an attempt to stamp out the practice of selective abortion.

All the hospitals involved say the reason for not giving details of the sex of the foetus to expectant parents is staff-shortages or cost-cutting.

But some medical groups insist it is, at least partly, due to fears that among cultures which value boys more highly, female children are being selectively aborted.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

100 children die every day from disease because they can’t afford the vaccine

Challa Babu jolts ferociously from side to side, thrashing his head against a flimsy hospital bed as rabies consumes him. His eyes are wide, white spittle clings to the sides of his mouth and he bellows, pleadingly, between growls forced through clenched teeth. After an agonising three hours the 16-year-old is dead.

For 30 days his parents were repeatedly turned away from hospitals in Andhra Pradesh because they did not have 400 rupees (£5) for a vaccine. He was condemned to die of an antiquated disease, while modern technology meant the tragedy could be committed to film. Indian television crews immortalised his final moments for the internet.

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

It began as an intervention for extreme circumstances. So how did pregnancy reduction become an option for women carrying twins?

As Jenny lay on the obstetrician’s examination table, she was grateful that the ultrasound technician had turned off the overhead screen. She didn’t want to see the two shadows floating inside her. Since making her decision, she had tried hard not to think about them, though she could often think of little else. She was 45 and pregnant after six years of fertility bills, ovulation injections, donor eggs and disappointment – and yet here she was, 14 weeks into her pregnancy, choosing to extinguish one of two healthy foetuses, almost as if having half an abortion. As the doctor inserted the needle into Jenny’s abdomen, aiming at one of the foetuses, Jenny tried not to flinch, caught between intense relief and intense guilt.

Source: GUARDIAN>> Read full article and comment

Mother with cystic fibrosis defies medics to give birth to triplets

This is the woman who has made medical history – by giving birth to identical triplets whilst suffering from cystic fibrosis.

Kandace Smith, from South Louisiana, U.S. was told by doctors to terminate the dangerous triplet pregnancy as they didn’t think she was going to survive.

People with the lung disease cystic fibrosis have a shortened life expectancy and any pregnancy is dangerous because of the extra pressure it puts on the lungs.

But Miss Smith, 20, bravely refused, and carried on with the world-first pregnancy, even though it meant risking her own life.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Heart transplant father who finally found a donor just six weeks before Oscar’s birth

Lying critically ill in hospital, his girlfriend heavily pregnant, Ben Knight feared he would not survive to cradle his unborn child.

But not only has he fulfilled that wish, he is now looking forward to watching Oscar grow up and being the father he thought the little boy would be robbed of.

Mr Knight, 26, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a swelling of the heart muscle, ten years ago after a bout of glandular fever.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Hospitals are, by definition, buildings that are dedicated to health.

But in this week’s Scrubbing Up, Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science at World Cancer Research Fund, says that good work is being undermined by the contents of hospital vending machines.

Whenever I visit hospitals, I am always struck by how the efforts of the dedicated healthcare professionals who work in them are being undermined by what is happening in the waiting areas.

All too often, these waiting areas have vending machines that are filled with high-calorie foods and drinks such as chocolate bars, crisps and sugary drinks.

But because these foods are a cause of obesity, they are part of the reason many of the people will have ended up in hospital in the first place.

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

Council bans NHS worker from living in her parents’ garden while she saves up mortgage deposit

As most first-time buyers will tell you, getting on the property ladder these days is a minor miracle.

The first major hurdle is getting enough money together for a deposit.

With this in mind, Victoria Campbell and her boyfriend came up with a cunning plan to save cash more quickly – they moved into a rent-free garden shed. And the idea might have succeeded, but for Miss Campbell’s local council which has ruled that the structure does not provide ‘adequate living conditions’ and creates an ‘undesirable precedent’.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

The crusade against artificial flavors is getting louder around the world, with more and more health-conscious consumers seeking out naturally-flavored products, according to a food market research group.

In its latest report “Global Food Additives Market,” UK-based group Leatherhead singles out the growing demand for products bearing the phrase “no artificial flavors of colors,” reported industry online publication FoodNavigator.com this week.

It’s a demand that will likely see more products purporting to be free of certain additives. For example, the report identified the growing awareness of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and its negative health effects as the next ubiquitous label – MSG-free – that will be popping up on processed food products on grocery store shelves.

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

How obese mother lost 130lb by beating addiction to food

Food addiction is dismissed by many as an excuse for a lack of willpower. But those affected by the condition would beg to differ.

Iris Williams, from New York City, weighed 333lb at her heaviest, and was forced, two years ago, to have gastric bypass surgery in order to lose weight.

And though she has since lost 130lb, she has had to transform her lifestyle in order to beat her addiction to food.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Doctors find girl, 4, has rare kidney tumour

When a four-year-old took a tumble off her bike her father rushed her to hospital after she developed internal bleeding.

But the accident turned out to be a blessing in disguise for little Nikkita Mills, when doctors treating her discovered she had a tumour on her kidney.

Single father Adrian, 43, said: ‘That accident quite probably saved her life.
‘She is a lively, healthy child and was probably the most active child on the campsite. Who knows how long it would have been before we started noticing any signs she was unwell with the tumour if it wasn’t for that accident?’

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Mother-of-one did not know she was four weeks pregnant when she had operation

A mother told yesterday how her gastric bypass killed her unborn baby by starving it of nutrition in the womb.

Holly Emms, 25, had stomach surgery on the health service after doctors warned that her 18stone frame was damaging her health.

She was unaware that she was in the early stages of pregnancy. She lost nine stone in just four months following the procedure – while her unborn daughter was slowly starving.

The child, who she called Juli, and was born 15 weeks premature, weighing only 1.9lbs and too weak to survive.

Yesterday Miss Emms – who now weighs under nine stone and wears a dress size eight – said: ‘I heard her cry when she was born, which was wonderful, but then she was taken away and put in a incubator.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

A mother has gone on the run with her eight children, seven of whom have the same name.

The siblings, who were in foster care in New York, were snatched by their mother Shanel Nadal, 28, during a scheduled visit.
Seven of them are boys called Nephra Payne, after their father, and the one girl is called Nefertiti.
Police said they believed Mr Payne, 34, and Miss Nadal may be travelling together with the children in a black 1996 Chevrolet The boys, who all have different middle names, are aged between four and 11.
The girl is 11-months-old.
They disappeared from a child agency centre during an organised visit by their mother. She took them inside a building to get a drink and then slipped out a back door.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Mothers and babies are being put at risk by the craze for collecting blood from the umbilical cord to protect against future illnesses, doctors and midwives warn.

Thousands of women have the blood extracted minutes after giving birth. The blood, which contains stem cells, is then stored to be used to treat the child should they ever develop leukaemia or another life-threatening disease.

But according to the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the procedure ‘distracts’ midwives at a very risky time during births.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Mother claims her weight ballooned after she hurt her back in a fall

A woman who weighs 23st has been told she is too healthy to qualify for a gastric operation.

Seriously overweight Jennie Cannon said she was told the NHS would only help her if she developed a serious obesity-related illness.

The mother-of-three, from Clos yr Helyg, near Swansea, said her condition should be given the same importance as eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Boy, 5, endures horn implants so surgeons can remove birthmark

Doctors have treated a young boy with a large birthmark on his face… by implanting horns in his forehead.

George Ashman, 5, was born with a bright red blemish on his forehead and his mother Karen, 33, feared he would endure a lifetime of bullying.

So when he was four he underwent a surgical procedure to stretch the ‘normal’ skin on his forehead so the birthmark could be removed and covered with the new unblemished tissue.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

A mother has beaten odds of one in five million to give birth to twins from two separate uteruses.

Andreea Barbosa, 24, and her husband Miguel welcomed non-identical twins Nathan and Natalie on September 15, 2011.

Doctors at Morton Plant Hospital in Florida, where Andreea gave birth four weeks early, said both mother and children are healthy. Nathan weighed 5lb 8oz at birth, while his sister emerged two minutes later, weighing 5lb 10oz. They were both at 36 weeks gestation.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Large outbreaks of measles across the continent have spread to Britain, new figures indicate, with more than twice as many cases so far this year as occurred in the whole of 2010.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has released figures showing that across England and Wales there were 777 laboratory-confirmed cases in the first seven months of 2010, compared to 374 for all of 2010.
Most of those affected have been children and young adults. In many cases, the sources of local outbreaks are thought to have been people who travelled to Europe on holiday.
France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland have experienced major outbreaks this year, each recording thousands of cases.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Universities are preparing for an outbreak of measles as students start their degree courses.

Universities are preparing for an outbreak of measles as students start their degree courses.

Doctors’ practices in university towns and cities have been warned to expect a greater influx of students suffering from the disease.

Figures from the Health Protection Agency show that the number of confirmed cases so far this year is already more than twice that for the whole of 2010 – up from 374 cases to 777 by the end of July.

Several universities have sent out warnings to returning students that they should get MMR jabs if their vaccinations are not up to date. The HPA warned outbreaks could rise after students return to universities – the majority of cases have been confirmed in children and people under the age of 25

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

Jamie Oliver has taken his bid to improve children’s diets to the United Nations, demanding action on obesity as world leaders met in New York.

In an open letter to Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the British chef and campaigner said “everyone” working in health around the world should have “the food education and knowledge of good nutrition to become front line advocates in the fight against obesity”.
“You may not know me,” he wrote, “but I have spent many years now working in schools and communities and talking to governments in the US, Britain and Australia, campaigning against the epidemic of obesity which is threatening the lives of our children.”

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

The vaccine for whooping cough commonly administered to young children loses its effectiveness after three years, according to the preliminary results of a new US study.

The results released on Monday come from a survey of 15,000 children in Marin County, California, where an outbreak of the bacterial disease killed 11 infants and infected more than 8,000 people in 2010.

“When we first started having a pertussis outbreak, we assumed that this would be primarily in the unvaccinated population,” Dr David Witt, of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael, California told a conference in Chicago, using the scientific name for the once-common childhood disease.

“What we pretty quickly identify is that the bulk of the outbreak was in fully vaccinated children” in the 8-12 age group, he said.

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

Attack followed misunderstanding over a ‘joke’ about a football strip

Attacker Benjamin Owen, 27, jailed for five years. A guest at a christening needed 50 stitches after he was glassed in the face following a quip about his orange tie representing the ‘tangerine’ colours of Blackpool Football Club, a court heard.

Victor Lisowski, 25, was asked if he was a Blackpool supporter by Benjamin Owen, but Mr Lisowski misunderstood the comment and pushed Owen away who retaliated by smashing a glass in his face.

Mr Lisowski was left with a permanent scar running from his left eye to the bottom of his chin, while Owen, 27, was jailed for five years after he was convicted at Bolton Crown Court of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

There is a warning that the lives of hundreds of millions of children across the world are being put at risk by a shortage of health workers.

Save the Children says millions in Africa and Asia die every year from preventable diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea because they never get to see a doctor or nurse.

The charity is calling on world leaders gathering for the UN General Assembly in New York to tackle what it says is a global shortfall of health workers.

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

A mother has accused NHS chiefs of ‘age discrimination’ after they refused to supply special artificial limbs to her one-year-old daughter until she is 18.

Poppy Pickford has a severely shortened right arm and would benefit from a flexible silicone limb.

The NHS has provided the youngster with a more basic PVC limb that is attached with a velcro-strap and bandage. However, her mother Donna Padfield says it falls off easily and gives the appearance that Poppy’s arm is broken.

The local Primary Care Trust (PCT) has said it is not cost-effective to pay for silicone arms until Poppy is 18 because they need replacing regularly as the body grows.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Syndrome only affects one in three million in the UK
Mother planned daughter’s funeral by her bedside.

A teenage girl almost died in a million-to-one case of blood poisoning caused by her tampon.

Paige Roffey, 15, collapsed at her home in Rayleigh, Essex with toxic shock syndrome after using a tampon for just four hours.

She was initially sent home from hospital by doctors who thought she had a virus. But Paige was then rushed back to Southend Hospital after collapsing in the shower. Paige’s mother Sarah, 39, said doctors warned her that Paige was in a critical condition and put her into a coma for two days.

She said: ‘I sat beside my daughter’s bed and planned her funeral. I didn’t think she would make it.’

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

A claim about the harmful effects on children from attending day-care centres is bizarre.

There are obvious echoes in the recent curious claim about the harmful effects on children from attending day-care centres with the impassioned plea from Senator Reed from Kansas against mother and infant clinics. “I care not how estimable the expert may be,” he declared, “but nothing can substitute for a mother’s love – the golden cord that unites all animate creatures to divinity”. There was more: “Its light beams down from barbarous ages when mothers held their babies to famished breasts… and died that they might live.”
Slightly over the top perhaps, but Senator Reed was certainly right to be sceptical about the “experts” whose contradictory theories over the years have undermined maternal self-confidence.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Little Alex Hannard would like nothing more than to be able to play outside with his friends but can’t because a blade of grass could kill him.

Brave Alex, of Hill Head, Hampshire, suffers from immune deficiency illness chronic granulomatous disorder (GCD), which stops his white blood cells fighting bacteria and fungal infections.

The resolute nin-year-old, who is one of around 300 sufferers of the genetic disorder in Britain, rarely leaves the house because a speck of dust or piece of grass could kill him. Alex’s mum Louise, 40, who quit her teaching job to look after him, said: ‘It is hard for Alex to go outside and do things children his age want to.

A speck of dust or piece of grass could kill him. He can’t go near ponds or lakes because he could catch a fungal or bacteria infections from them.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Thousands of women with ovarian cancer could benefit from a technique which ‘lights up’ diseased cells during surgery.

It may help doctors to spot previously undetectable tumours measuring just one tenth of a millimetre, a study has found.

Scientists hope it will dramatically improve success rates in tricky cancer operations. Around 6,800 cases of ovarian cancer are identified in the UK each year. It is notoriously difficult to detect and often spotted at a late stage, by which time it is incurable. Two-thirds of those diagnosed will die from the disease.

Surgeons using traditional detection methods, which rely on vision and touch, often miss small tumours – containing clusters of cells which are less than three millimetres wide.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Plans by abortion clinics to send text-message reminders to women planning terminations have been criticised as “morally squalid”.

Britain’s largest abortion provider said it is introducing reminders because some girls and women had forgotten about their procedures.
Critics said the move, by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), gave a disturbing insight into casual attitudes to abortion.
BPAS, which carries out almost one third of NHS-funded terminations, likened the service, which begins in November, to reminders sent out by dentists before check-ups.
MPs and pro-life groups accused clinics of trivialising serious decisions. Dr Peter Saunders, Chief Executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship said the text reminders would exert pressure on women uncertain about whether to go ahead with an abortion.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Pregnant women who eat low-fat yoghurt can increase the risk of their child developing asthma and hay fever, a study says.

At the European Respiratory Society conference, researchers will suggest this could be due to an absence of protective fatty acids in yoghurt.

The diets of more than 70,000 Danish women were analysed and their children followed until the age of seven.

Asthma UK says pregnant women should follow a balanced diet.

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

Il Divo singer Sébastien Izambard and his wife Renee tell of the traumatic births of their children

The day before I meet Sébastien Izambard, I watch him sing with the rest of Il Divo to a packed London Coliseum.

The three other members of the opera group, who have sold more than 26 million albums worldwide, joke and flirt and have underwear thrown at them by an audience of near-hysterical women.

Sébastien, 38, devotes a song to his wife Renee and gives thanks for becoming a father. There is a hush on stage as he says how much it means to him because he ‘almost lost all of them’.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

A senior doctor at a scandal-hit maternity unit where police are investigating the deaths of five babies and two mothers warned managers that midwives were ignoring instructions and telling doctors ‘not to interfere’ in births.

Prabas Misra, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Furness General in Cumbria, wrote a damning letter to hospital bosses after the death of baby Alex Brady, who was asphyxiated at birth amid claims midwives delayed his delivery.

Mr Misra wrote he was ‘all for a natural, normal childbirth, but not at any cost’. He added that midwives appeared to be rejecting doctors’ advice. The comments were written in October 2008 after a six-month period during which six deaths occurred at the unit.

It is understood police have taken a statement from Mr Misra.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Sarah must remain fully covered outdoors to avoid her skin swelling and blistering

Most people dread the blustery rainy weather and dark mornings of autumn, but for one six-year-old girl the dull days are a blessed relief.

Every time the sun shines little Sarah Chapman is left in excruciating pain from an incurable skin complaint.

The little girl suffers from rare skin condition porphyria which means she has to be totally covered from harmful rays from the sun every time she leaves home.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

They clamour for the latest video games, but they secretly yearn for much simpler pleasures.

In the past few years, our society has been rocked by reports on the wellbeing of children in the UK. Unicef, the UN children’s agency, told us last week that family life is in crisis, and that rampant consumerism and parents’ long working hours are largely to blame. Out of 21 developed countries, our children come out the worst – even though Britain is the fifth wealthiest country in the world.
I created the BBC television series Child of Our Time, a unique 20-year project that follows the lives of 25 children from all over the UK and from all walks of life who were born in 2000. During that time I generated a separate project to unearth the real quality of British children’s lives. Our team filmed the children when they were eight continuously for 48 hours, for one school day and one home day. Every laugh, every tear and every movement was recorded, counted and analysed to build up a true picture of a day in the life of the average British child.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Intra-uterine devices designed to prevent conception may also protect against cervical cancer, according to a study covering more than 20,000 women that was released on Tuesday.

Introduced in the 1970s, IUDs are today widely used around the world. The T-shaped device, containing either a plastic-and-copper wire or hormones, is placed inside the uterus to prevent pregnancy.

The study, published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, found that women with a history of using IUDs had roughly half the risk of developing cervical cancer compared to women who never used them.

Earlier research on IUD found a protection against cancer of the womb lining, but data on cancer of the cervix had been mixed.

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

Study also links low-fat yoghurt to hay fever

Mothers-to-be who eat low-fat yoghurt are more likely to have children with asthma, a study found.

The analysis of the habits of tens of thousands of pregnant women also linked low-fat yoghurt with the development of hay fever.

The researchers, from the respected Harvard School of Public Health in the US, said that it may be missing fats that protect against allergies.

Previous research has linked low-fat dairy products with difficulty in becoming pregnant.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

A schoolboy has to be watched by his parents around the clock to stop him eating whatever he can lay his hands on… including cat food and toothpaste.

Ben Green, 10, has a rare condition that means he is ravenously hungry all the time.

It means his parents, Paul Green and Angela Booth, have to keep their son under permanent surveillance in case he binges to a dangerous level. However denying strong-willed Ben has led to exhausting tantrums that can last for hours.

Angela said: ‘Left unattended, he would eat absolutely anything. His compulsion takes over every other emotion.

‘We have to say no and that’s when the crying starts. He can go on and on for ages. He sobs in my arms. It’s horrendous. I have to be as strong as I can because I know I have to help him.’

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

The number of boys and girls under 5 who die annually has dropped from 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation say in a new report.

The two UN agencies estimate in the report being released on Thursday that the drop means that about 12,000 more children’s lives are being saved each day.
They said there are many reasons for the improved under-5 mortality rate, including better access to health care and preventive measures such as immunisation.
But while the numbers are positive, the agencies say more must be done for the world’s nations to reach U.N. development goals that call for lowering the under-5 mortality rate by two-thirds from its 1990 levels by 2015.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Every parent wants the best care for a sick child.

But – as this government makes its first decision about restructuring hospital care – Dr David Shortland, vice-president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health says being treated further away from home might be necessary to get the best.

As changes within the NHS and the financial squeeze start to bite, hospitals are looking again at the affordability of keeping skilled paediatricians available on call 24 hours a day in small hospitals where there are similar services within about 30 minutes drive.

There are many units operating with dangerously low levels of staff, and trainee doctors being left to manage wards because there are just not enough senior consultants.

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

The number of children under five who die each year has plummeted from 12 million in 1990, to 7.6 million last year, the UN says.

The reasons for the change include better access to health care and immunisation, says a report by Unicef and the World Health Organization.

But they warn that more needs to be done to reach UN development goals on reducing child mortality.

About 21,000 children are still dying every day from preventable causes.

But even the poorest regions have made progress. Child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa is declining twice as fast as it was a decade ago.

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

A dangerous shortage of midwives is putting the lives of mothers and babies at risk, experts have warned.

While there are shortfalls across the country, some areas are worse than others, putting mothers and babies at risk, the Royal College of Midwives said.

The RCM said 4,700 more midwives were needed across England to keep up with added pressures, such as growing numbers of obese and older pregnant women.

The college claims midwife numbers have not kept pace with the birthrate in England, which has risen 22 per cent in the past two decades.

Their figures showed the North East and North West had a shortfall of less than 10 per cent, while the East Midlands and east of England needed 41 per cent more midwives.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Parts of England are facing dangerously high shortages of midwives as Britain’s birthrate rockets, according to the Royal College of Midwives.

While there are shortfalls across the country, some areas are worse than others, putting mothers and babies at risk. Midwife numbers have not kept pace with the birthrate in England, which has risen 22% in the past two decades.

Prime Minister David Cameron has been urged by the RCM to honour his pre-election pledge to recruit more midwives.

The RCM report said 4,700 more midwives were needed across England to keep up with added pressures, such as growing numbers of obese and older pregnant women.

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

Experts fear widespread use of powerful medications

Hyperactive children already being treated with drugs. Children who are shy or considered moody run the risk of being diagnosed with mental illnesses and given powerful drugs like Prozac, psychologists have warned.

Experts said mental health diagnoses are likely to increase from 2013 as new guidelines on the definition of mental illness are being drawn up in America and are likely to be replicated in Britain.

Psychologists in the UK fear school-age children could be diagnosed with mental illnesses like ‘social anxiety disorder’ if they are quieter among their peers, or depression if a child is temporarily sad or is battling bereavement.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

A boy aged two is being flown to America for cancer treatment which is unavailable in Britain.

Kyle Jones, of Deptford, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in his left eye in March and had an operation to remove it, and seven months of chemotherapy. He now needs proton beam therapy on the socket as the tissue is still diseased.

The treatment, paid for by the NHS, will start this month and take about three months. Kyle’s mother, Rebecca Jones, 32, and his aunt Michelle James, 45, will travel with him to Jacksonville, Florida

Source: London Evening Standard>> Read full article and comment

Children who get less than nine hours sleep a night struggle at school, research has shown.

The study assessed 142 primary pupils and compared the number of hours sleep with performance in a range of academic skills.

Most six and seven-year-olds deprived of sleep were less able to communicate and work out basic maths questions, researchers found.

Their spelling, grammar and comprehension also suffered. Their memory and ability to learn were less affected.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Children who are merely shy or sad are at risk of being diagnosed with mental disorders and given powerful drugs, experts warn.

Psychologists say that new guidelines being developed in America will lead more young people seeing their common problems regarded as illnesses that must be treated, rather than just being given support.
They fear that pupils who are quiet at school could be diagnosed with “social anxiety disorder” while those who become withdrawn after suffering a bereavement are classified as having a “depressive disorder”.
Children who just talk back to adults or lose their temper regularly could be diagnosed with “oppositional defiant disorder”.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

In addition to making babies smarter, expectant moms who consume a diet based on fish and walnut oils may also be kickstarting their babies’ immune systems and warding off future allergies, scientists say.

The French study, published in this months’s Journal of Physiology, claims to have found that a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids – also known as n-3PUFAs – helps the baby develop a more ‘permeable’ gut.

A more permeable gut, in turn, enables bacteria and new substances to pass through the lining and into the bloodstream, which then triggers the immune system and the production of antibodies.

“The end result is that the baby’s immune system may develop and mature faster – leading to better immune function and less likelihood of suffering allergies,” said lead researcher Gaelle Boudry in a statement.

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

A “sit still” culture in schools and the workplace is leading to a “healthcare timbomb” of back pain in young people, a charity warns today.

Half of 18-to-34-year-olds now regularly suffer from back pain, found a survey of almost 2,400 people across Britain.
A quarter of young men with back pain said it affected their ability to work.
Overall, almost two-thirds of adults – all those over 18 – said they suffered from back pain, according to the online survey, carried out on behalf of Pfizer.
Sean McDougall, chief executive of the charity BackCare, which is involved with the drugs firm in a campaign to raise awareness of chronic back pain, said: “This survey backs up what our members are telling us about the difficulty in obtaining timely and adequate treatment for all types of back pain.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Modern mothers are much more adventurous in the kitchen and can prepare 25 per cent more dishes than their mothers, research suggests.

A study carried out across two generations dispels the myth that modern mothers serve up only fast food and ready meals.
They know 25 per cent more recipes than their counterparts in the 1970s and 1980s and are far more adept at making exotic foreign meals, it found.
On average they know 21 recipes off by heart and, although they favour British cuisine, they are happy to try more difficult international dishes.
Women aged 20 to 35 serve up meals such as Mexican fajitas, Chinese vegetable stir-fry and curries to their families regularly, it emerged.
Thirty or so years ago their mothers’ staple dishes included meat and two veg, pork or lamb chops and shepherd’s pie.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Almost half of women surveyed would rather have a house than a baby

44 per cent said working mums struggle to have it all. A generation of young women have been put off starting a family because it will damage their lifestyle, career and looks, a survey shows.

One-in-three childless women quizzed now say they don’t ever want to become a mother while increasing numbers of thirty-somethings in stable relationships and with good jobs have different priorities.

Almost half would rather get on the property ladder than have a baby while 28 per cent would prefer a £100,000 salary, according to a poll of 2,000 women.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment