According to a recent British poll, only one out of four parents spends enough time, playing with their kids. Children and their parents said commitments and pressures of modern life get in the way of spending time together, which makes them unhappy. Only one out of four parents has enough time to play with their children, according to researchers from Play England who conducted the poll. Full story

DNA tests to establish fatherhood at home have hit pharmacies in Britain. Despite a sales pitch, the test could not be carried out at home completely. First, a user has to collect cheek cells from the father and the child and then to send DNA samples to a lab. After 5 days (or after one day for vip-version of the test), the lab will return 100% reliable result showing if the user is a biological father. Regular test will cost £160 and VIP-version will go for about £300. Full story

Kerry Greaves, a woman from York weighing 308 pounds, decided to get slim surgically so her daughter would not be teased at school. But she died after her stomach surgery. Miss Greaves suffered serious complications after having gastric band. She died from organ failure despite 14 following operations to save her. The mother of the deceased, Anne Greaves, said that Kerry had done it for the sake of her daughter, Melissa, because she didn’t want her to be teased that her mother was fat. Full story

Swedish economists have calculated how much parents spend on their children from the moment they are born until the graduation exam (Swedish students graduate at 19). According to their calculations, average parents spend 100 thousand Euro per child. If there are two children in the family, then expenses fall a little bit and average to 90 thousand Euros ($144 thousand). Full story

The tendency to spank infants was brought down to such factors as depression, drug and drink abuse, low self-esteem and general behavioral problems. Now the latest study highlights such a factor as physical abuse directed at mothers when they were children. An article in Pediatrics says that mothers who were subjected to spanking and other forms of violence in their childhood spank their children more than mothers who were not so mistreated. They also go on with it for a longer time. Full story

Motherhood at 18 is a challenge, but it is even harder to become a mother of many children in this age. When Sian Robbins found out that she was pregnant with triplets, she was devastated at first. She became mom for the first time when she was only 15; while being pregnant with Jaden she wrote her final exams. Sian was not scared when she found out that she was pregnant again, it was the moment when she was told that she was to have triplets that shocked her. Specialists were concerned about her health and warned her immediately that she had a higher risk of miscarriage unless she aborted one child. Full story

The twins born by 67-year-old María del Carmen Bousada de Lara from Spain are now left orphans, although they have not turned three yet. Christian and Pau were born in Barcelona in December 2006, just a day before their mom celebrated her 67th anniversary. And last Saturday 69-year-old Maria Carmen lost her fight with cancer and died in her house in south-west Spain. The disease was diagnosed months after having the children. Relatives and friends unanimously talked the pensioner against the pregnancy because of the costly treatment of the woman whose menopause had been 18-year-long by the time. Full story

A study recently published in Pediatrics delves further into the issue of genetic abnormalities caused by prenatal air pollution exposure. It is known to be an aggravating aspect increasing the possibility of the child developing cancer and asthma. The baby may have a smaller birth weight and head size. Full story

Men with lowered fertility capacity are recommended by scientists to make sex daily. According to Dr. David Greening of Sydney IVF, an Australian center for infertility and in vitro fertilization treatment, daily sex accompanied by orgasm improves the quality of sperm, lowers the number of DNA malfunctions and makes spermatozoons more active. This was heard at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam. Full story

First artificial spermatozoon has been created by scientists at Newcastle University, Great Britain. During this experiment male and female stem cells were utilized to develop a fully-fertile spermatozoon. While female stem cells never produced a male gamete, the same attempt with male cells turned out to be a success. Full story

When your little one’s teeth stand in need of filling, what should you do? Hmm… that remains a moot question. There is no prevalent idea on whether it is worthwhile to treat tooth decay in little children. Some dentists believe that proper filling is necessary to prevent possible pains that may result in staying awake at nights. Yet there are others who argue that it is required only when the child is already in pain. Full story

Nadya Suleman from Los Angeles suburbs, who gave birth to eight babies recently, confesses that she always wanted to have many children. Besides the newborns, Nadya, 33, has six other children. All of the fourteen children were conceived with the help of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). The happy mother will have to bring up all 14 children alone. Full story

Fish-rich diet during pregnancy is linked to better physical and cognitive development of the infant. The study conducted by the Harvard University and Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark, provides new evidence about the benefits of foods rich in fatty acid Omega-3 for the health of newborns. The study followed 25 thousand of children for five years. Weekly serving of fish in the pre-birth diet of pregnant women helped the women give birth to healthy and strong babies, who displayed fast development during the first 18 months of life. Full story

Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) promises that it will pay pregnant smokers if they quit. Now the trial scheme has been launched only in one UK region, North-East Essex. Pregnant women who will kick the bad habit for the sake of their future babies are going to receive vouchers worth up to ₤100 (about $143). Full story

Vitamin D is responsible not only for potassium and phosphorus uptake but also influences the health of pregnant women, new studies say. Vitamin D regulates absorption of calcium and phosphorus into the blood and their delivery to bones and teeth. Together with vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D protects from common cold, diabetes, skin diseases and eye disorders. This vitamin also helps avoid caries and gum conditions, fights osteoporosis and accelerates the fracture healing process. And new studies show vitamin D deficiency does affect the pregnancy process. Full story

Can I ensure the health of my future children? Yes, you can! The scientists reassured that pregnancy diet influences baby's health in the long term. Eating just an apple every day will help pregnant woman to protect her baby from possible allergies and asthma, according to the team of immunologists from St. John Hospital, The Detroit Medicine Centre and Beaumont hospital. Full story