Train drives over baby; no one injured

An Australian mother forgets to use the brakes on her 6-month-old baby's stroller, and he falls to the tracks seconds before a train barrels through. The stroller was destroyed, the baby unscathed.

Watch this heart-stopping video:

Parenting Roundup

As I've mentioned over at Mama Never Said, this week I've been a little lax on posting. Forgive me, my baby has been trying to hack up his lungs.

Here's a wrap-up of what's been going on in the parenting world:

*A 40-year-old German woman delivered a healthy baby while in a coma.

*In another unconscious-mother story: A British woman credits the sound of her baby's voice in pulling herself out of a five-week coma.

*A new report suggests the number of abortions worldwide has declined, while the number of unintended pregnancies hasn't gone up. This is being attributed to an increased availability of contraceptives. Every country is different though -- read about that here.

* A substitute teacher heavily pressured a 10-year-old student to stand up and say the pledge after he refused based on principle. According to him, our country's lack of gay rights proves that we do not, in fact, have "liberty and justice for all."

* Utah abortion laws are protecting a teenage girl who paid someone to beat her up in order to terminate her pregnancy at seven months. Strangely, while the state's abortion laws forbid legal medical late-term abortion (forcing her to take these extreme measures), these same laws state a woman cannot be prosecuted for seeking an abortion. Happily, the baby survived the beating and is now living in state custody while her mother is on trial.

*This is beyond disturbing.

*Co-sleeping deaths largely attributed to parents using alcohol or drugs.

*Congratulations to Heidi Klum and Seal who welcomed baby girl Lou Sulola Samuel on Oct. 9.

Chubby baby denied health insurance

As if we couldn't despise the cold, cruel health insurance companies enough: A healthy, breastfed 4-month-old baby in Colorado was denied health insurance because he's "fat," making him a financial risk.

Alex Lange is in the 99th percentile for height and weight, and according to the Denver Post, insurers don't take babies above the 95th percentile, no matter how healthy. No one in Lange's family has weight issues.

The silver lining to this discriminatory, absurd practice: The Rocky Mountain Health Plan -- where the Langes attempted to get coverage -- released a press release announcing a "companywide policy change...now [providing] health plan coverage for healthy infants, regardless of their weight."

“A recent situation in which we denied coverage to a heavy, yet healthy, infant brought to our attention a flaw in our underwriting system for approving infants,” says Steve ErkenBrack, president and CEO, Rocky Mountain Health Plans. “Because we are a small company dedicated to the people of Colorado, we are pleased to be in a position to act quickly. We have changed our policy, corrected our underwriting guidelines and are working to notify the parents of the infant who we earlier denied.”

Whew, looks like Alex won't have to substitute Slim Fast for breastmilk.

Photo: Denver Post

Product Recall

Let's cut to the chase: Don't use anything from Simplicity. Two more deaths have been reported with Simplicity convertible bassinets -- originally recalled in August 2008 -- and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled millions from the brand. To check if you're using a recalled product (some bassinets are under the name Graco!), visit cpsc.gov or call CPSC at 1-800-638-2772.







131,500 Safety 1st Smart-Light Stair Gates are being recalled because of faulty hinges. Go here to find out if your gate is compromised.







Target is recalling 43,000 Circo Booster Seats because the restraint buckle has been opening unexpectedly, putting children at risk for falling. If your booster seat was bought between December 2008 and June 2009 -- with codes XJ0811, XJ0812, XJ0901, and XJ0902 -- return them to Target for a refund.

Lucky number three

Pennsylvania couple Amanda and Matthew Faher gave birth to identical triplets last week -- a rarity that is estimated to be a one in a million chance.

That's not the only oddity of the story:

• The 3 babies were born on Sept. 30 to 30-year-old parents
  
• At 33 weeks gestation
• On the couple's 3rd wedding anniverary
• In room 1233

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, they are done having babies. Good luck to the new family!

For my own weird number connection, read this.

Photo credit: Tribune-Review

Attention Fever phobics

With flu season upon up, we're bombarded with tips and warnings and fear-mongering. Without fail, every year our 24-hour news cycle sings that same old tune -- and this year we have The Swine to top it off.

Here's some advice you're not likely to hear: Avoid fever-reducing drugs.

Yet this is exactly what Dana Ullman of the Huffington Post suggests, citing the 2,000-year-old understanding that a moderate fever is beneficial.

"It is widely recognized that fever is a vital defense of the body in its efforts to fight infection. A fever enables the body to increase its production of interferon, an important antiviral substance that is critical for fighting infection. Fever also increases white blood cell mobility and activity, which are instrumental factors in fighting infection."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/epidemic-of-fever-phobia_b_305615.html

Aggressively suppressing a fever strips the body of its natural fighting process, according to Ullman. There are exceptions: A fever above 104 degrees for over six hours, or any fever in an infant under four months old.

The article also cites the inherent danger in aspirin and acetaminophen. Aspirin can cause Reye's syndrome -- a potentially fatal neurological condition -- in children, and can increase the risk for bleeding disorders. Acetaminophen -- widely assumed to be safer than aspirin -- has been associated with asthma and eczema in children; and is the number one overdosed drug reported to U.S. poison control centers.

Are you a Tylenol addict? Do you give your children OTC drugs?

230 babies die every hour from childbirth

While we may gripe about maternity leave and day care expenses here in the U.S., at least we're alive. A new study released at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics on Tuesday reports that 2 million babies and mothers die around the world each year from childbirth complications.

Childbirth claims more lives than malaria and HIV/AIDS combined.

According to the AP, 3 out of 4 of the maternal and infant deaths occur in Africa and South Asia, and poverty is the main culprit. Improved health care and better training would drastically slash this number, considering 60 million of the 136 million yearly births take place outside of health facilities without any skilled assistance.

It's time that awareness is brought to this unnecessary, barbaric tragedy, and that money is invested where it matters: Our future generation. As the study says, "The world will continue to miss the unheard cry of the 230 babies who die every hour from childbirth complications."