Children & Parenting

Who's the daddy? The answer to that question can now be obtained by a quick trip down to your local Rite Aid drugstore, who have just begun stocking the $150 DNA paternity tests.

To find out whether the kid you've been raising all these years is really yours, all you need is a cheek swab from the mother, the child, and the man. Send off the swabs, and 3 to 5 days later you'll have your answer.

It is important to know that the results of the drugstore DNA paternity test is not admissible in court, so if you want to the real daddy to pay up, you'll need to go the route of a traditional, more expensive DNA test done at a medical facility.

The DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit recently went on sale at 4,363 Rite Aid drugstores throughout the U.S. According to the test's manufacturer, Identigene, the tests have been selling on a trial basis since November in California, Washington and Oregon, where they're already a hit.

Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy are expecting their first child in July, but its not the wife that's pregnant. Thomas is the one with child.

Thomas, however, is not a true man, and lacks male reproductive parts. He was born a woman and had a sex change operation that involved chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy. However, no change was made to reproductive organs.

In order to get pregnant, Thomas stopped taking testosterone injections. He still has facial hair and looks like a man, but also has a large protruding belly. Thomas was artificially inseminated with a donor's sperm after the couple learned that Nancy could not have a baby due to severe endometriosis.

Beatie has admitted that his situation "sparks legal, political and social unknowns."

The only vaccination required by Belgian law is that for polio, a debilitating disease that doctors around the world are struggling to be rid of. While doctors in other countries try to persuade parents to get their children the important vaccine, Belgium takes it one step further by enforcing prison sentences for those who do not comply.

Two sets of parents in Belgium were recently given five month prison sentences for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Each of the parents were also fined 4,100 euros, or about $8,000 USD.

The parents will still have the opportunity to avoid the prison term, as their sentences were delayed to give them one last opportunity to give their children the vaccination. However, if this next deadline passes, the parents will be serving their time in prison.

Due to privacy laws, Belgian officials could not talk about the specifics of the case, including why the parents refused to vaccinate their children, or how much time left they had to vaccinate them.

Exceptions to the polio vaccine law in Belgium are only granted if parents are able to prove that their children may have a adverse physical reaction to the vaccine.

A federal advisory committee voted on Wednesday to expand annual flu shots to include nearly all children - not just those under age 5. The only children not recommended for flu shots are those younger than 6 months and those with serious egg allergies.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said today that all children should begin getting vaccinated as soon as possible. This means that about 30 million more children could be getting vaccinated each year, and if parents heed the committee's advise, it would be one of the largest expansions of flu vaccination coverage in US history.

The flu vaccine has been available since the 1940's. Many doctors have already ordered their flu vaccines for the 2008-2009 season, so they may not be able to give all these shots until the 2009-2010 season. Flu season typically begins in autumn and continues on through spring.

Advice given by the federal advisory committee is routinely adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who issue vaccine guidelines to hospitals and doctors.

Until now, flu shots were recommend for those at highest risk of death or serious illness from the flu. Those groups included children ages 6 months to 5 years, adults 50 and over, and those with weakened immune systems.

Evenflo has recalled 1 Million Car Seats today because they could potentially become separated from its base in high impact side collisions similar to those in the tests. The models that were recalled 390, 391, 534, and 552.

Strangely, the company says that parents that own the models should continue using the product despite findings that they perform poorly but will give them a piece that they say stabilize the seat.

“We are parents, too, and protecting children is our core mission at Evenflo. While our current Discovery car seat models have performed well to protect infants in actual side impact automobile collisions without any reports of serious injury or death since they were introduced, we want to take further steps to protect the safety of children who use our products,” said Rob Matteucci, CEO of Evenflo. “These lab tests do show there is potential for the base to detach from the seat in high impact side collisions, so we are recommending that all Discovery owners use the supplemental dual-hook fastener, available free from Evenflo.”

Concerned consumers can call 1-800-356-2229 between 8 AM and 5 PM EST with their questions and to obtain the dual-hook fastener.

Here is a video story by the AP:

Following various surveys and investigations into the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines in children, the FDA this week is urging parents and caregivers to refrain from giving these OTC medications to children under 2 due to dangerous side effects. The FDA is still investigating the use of these drugs in children aged 2 to 11.

"We strongly recommend that over-the-counter cough and cold products should not be used in infants and young children under 2 years of age because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur from use of these products," said Charles Ganley M.D., director of the FDA's Office of Nonprescription Products.

An FDA news release this week indicates that rare, serious adverse side effects - including rapid heart rates, decreased levels of consciousness, convulsions, and death - have been reported with the use of cough and cold products in young children.

It should be noted that the FDA "has never endorsed the use of these products in children less than 2 years of age". Instead, the FDA has "acknowledged that there was no safety and efficacy data", and left it up to children's doctors to make the determination of whether OTC medication should be used.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. has issued a voluntary recall of about 1 million doses of two types of childhood vaccines due to possible microbial contamination. The recall was announced late Wednesday, and involves 11 lots of the PedvaxHIB vaccine and two lots of the COMVAX vaccine. The recall is expected to result in a serious vaccine shortage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Both of the recalled vaccines protect against Hemophilus influenzae type B, a bacterium that can cause a serious form of pneumonia, as well as a condition known as bacterial meningitis. The vaccines are popularly referred to as the Hib shot.

Merck decided on a recall of the vaccines after tests at their Pennsylvania manufacturing plant revealed a malfunction in the sterilization process. All affected lots were manufactured after April.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 just announced that the Ohio Department of Health has been awarded a $55,000 grant, which will fund coalitions in Cleveland and Toledo. These organizations will use the funds to promote healthy indoor air and asthma programs in their schools.

The colations are the Greater Cleveland Asthma Coalition, and the Northwest Ohio Asthma Coalition, both of which are branches of the American Lung Association of Ohio. Both have done extensive work in improving conditions for asthma suffers.

With the grant, the coalitions will use the EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools, Health School Environmental Assessment Tool, Integrated Pest Management, Clean School Bus and School Chemical Cleanout Program as resources to help improve the air quality in schools.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report on Thursday which showed that for the first time since 1991, teen birth rates were on the rise in 2006. Additionally, C-sections and births to unmarried women hit all-time highs last year.

There was no increase in births for the 10 to 14 age group, however, there was a 3% rise in the 15-17 age group, with 22 births per 1,000 women. There was also a 4% rise for teens age 18-19, with 73 births per 1,000 women.

Stephanie Ventura, head of the CDC's Reproductive Statistics Branch, said that the rise in teen birth rates is "notable", however, it is "way too early to know if this is the start of a new trend."

Births to unmarried women also reached a record high of more than 1.6 million babies, which is more than an 8% increase over 2005.

1/3 of all babies born in the U.S. last year were delivered via cesarean section (c-section), which is also a new record.

Birth rates for women in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s were on the rise in 2006, and rates of preterm births and low-birth-weight babies also rose slightly from 2005 to 2006.