Octu-Mom.......wait....what?

Article:
For most young parents, one newborn is hard enough work. For a new mother in California, a lone screaming infant would probably be a welcome respite.

As of Monday morning, when she gave birth to a set of healthy octuplets – only the second known case in the US – she has a chorus of eight hungry babies demanding to be fed and changed.

It took a team of 46 doctors and nurses five minutes to deliver the nature-defying brood via Caesarean section – with the eighth taking everyone in the maternity ward by surprise. The medical team took up four delivery rooms and conducted a relay race to get the babies from the mother and into the care of nurses as they popped out.

“We decided to proceed with the delivery in anticipation of seven babies. We had done some drills, some preliminary dry runs,” said Karen Maples, a member of the delivery team at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Centre, 17 miles southeast of Los Angeles. “Lo and behold, after we got to Baby G, which is what we expected, we were surprised by Baby H.”

Hospital officials said last night that all eight babies – nine weeks premature – were doing “very, very well”, with only three initially needing to be put on ventilators.

The mother, whose identity has not been revealed, checked into the hospital in the 23rd week of her pregnancy. She was in her 30th week on Monday when she gave birth to the six boys and two girls, weighing between 680 grams and 1.4 kilograms. In total, she had been carrying almost 11 kilograms of baby weight before the delivery.

Now she is preparing for a new biological feat: breastfeeding. Dr Maples said that the mother was “very excited about the health of her babies and she’s extremely happy”.

Midwives estimate that the octuplets will require a daunting 56 nappy changes per day, with each nappy costing about 20p – and that’s before the cost of food, clothes, cots, prams, car seats, rubber ducks and, eventually, college tuition.

The US Government estimates that the average American parent spends $269,520 (£191,298) raising a child from birth to 17. At this rate the mother of the octuplets could be facing a total childcare bill of more than $2.1 million by 2026 – before adjustments for inflation.

Medical experts said that the octuplets were unlikely to have been the result of natural reproduction. The mother had probably taken fertility drugs, they said, which have resulted in a boom in multiple births over recent years – mostly twins.

Richard Paulson, the director of the fertility programme at the University of Southern California, said that the children could face serious health risks, including breathing problems and neurological damage. The mother also had an increased risk of haemorrhage, he said.

“It’s a risky decision to try to have all eight babies,” he said. “I would not recommend it under any circumstances, but I respect a parent’s decision.” The octuplets – currently still namedby a letter from A to H – will probably remain in hospital for at least another two months, hospital officials said. The mother is expected to be released within a week. However, there is still the possibility that one or more of the newborns may need help with breathing, and more dangers await when they begin feeding.

The world’s first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico City. All died within 14 hours. In the US the first live octuplets were born in Houston in 1998, three months premature. The smallest died a week after the birth. The surviving siblings turned 10 in December.

Their parents, Nkem Chukwu and Iyke Louis Udobi, said that they were delighted to hear that another mother had managed the feat. “It’s a blessing, truly a blessing,” said Ms Chukwu. “We’ll keep praying for them.”

Reaction:

It's eight babies. Thats it. Eight babies, why is everyone making a huge deal about a women having eight babies. Yes, it is a medical miracle. All eight babies lived as well.

Wait. She already had six children.

And no job.

And a two bedroom house.

Who has 14 babies and no job?! Who in their right minds would inseminate a women who already had six children. Seriously. I realize that common sense fails some people but this is an obvious judgment call.

Seriously people. Thats some crowded sleeping arrangements.

And then she gets offered $1 million dollars to star in a porno flick.

What is wrong with the world.

Does Facebook lower grades?

Article:

University students who use Facebook spend less time studying and have lower averages compared to those who avoid the popular social networking site, researchers say.

Researchers surveyed 219 students at Ohio State University – 102 undergraduates and 117 graduates – in the summer and fall quarters of 2008. Of that total, 148 said they had Facebook accounts.

Facebook users were typically younger, full-time students majoring in statistics, technology, math, engineering and medicine, said study co-author Aryn Karpinski, a doctoral student and graduate teaching associate at Ohio State.

When it came to academic achievement, Facebook users surveyed had grade point averages between 3.0 and 3.5, a B, compared to non-users with GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0 – an A, said Karpinski.

What's more, researchers found those on Facebook spent one to five hours a week studying compared to non-users who devoted 11 to 15 hours weekly to hitting the books.

When asked whether Facebook had an impact on their academic performance, 79 per cent of users said it didn't. Students also said it didn't affect their grades because they weren't using it frequently enough – even though nearly 65 per cent said they use their account daily or multiple times daily.

"I totally agree you cannot say Facebook causes lower GPA or less time spent studying, but there is some kind of relationship there," Karpinski said. "I hope that the more people that research this area will tease apart the intricacies of this relationship."

My reaction:

I am completely not shocked by this. I can totally admit that I'm always on Facebook. In fact, I'm on Facebook right now. I also know that when I'm working on homework, I have to put myself on a computer that doesn't have connection to the internet.

The sad thing is, that this is never going to end. Whether it's Facebook, Perez Hilton, Toxic Hollywood and now Twitter. The need to be connected to the world is always going to be a problem.

The Comprehensive!!

So, for one of our exams we had to do something called a comprehensive. Basically, we choose a story topic and are given 7 hours to find three sources, interview them, get interviews, take specific pictures and get it all handed in. Seems pretty easy right?

Wrong.

Not only are we given this assignment on Easter Monday, but for some reason (still unknown to me) I chose a topic about the environment and what Easter hunts do to it. I didn't realize it at the time, but almost every single government has the day off, along with many other business's.

So I start off trying to reach the Chambers of Commerce, but it's not their fault that they had the day off. Then I called the Picton Fire Department, not too much luck there. Then I tried Greenpeace. They didn't have much to say on the topic. So basically, I was a chicken without many eggs.

The whole day left me feeling glass half empty, which is weird, because I am a glass half full kind of lady.

Afghanistan's new law---> My reaction!

Basically:

Even though this legislation has not yet been confirmed, there is word that the Afghan government is putting a new law in place that basically allows husbands to control their wives.
The law will make it illegal for Shia women to refuse sex from their husbands, leave the house without permission or have custody of children.
Karzai officials have not commented on the legislation yet, but it seems that Canada is demanding more information. Canada has a pull because they supposedly spent approximately $10 billion dollars ‘propping’ up the Karzani government.

My reaction:

I can’t even decide where to start responding to this, I’m still reeling from the fact that this legislation could pass, from the fact that this legislation could even exist. Yes, I do understand that cultures are different everywhere, and I may not understand or being to realize how their culture is run, but I personally feel extremely appalled by this.
I feel as thought Canada is responding wisely to this. I feel like they are not reacting until they are sure that this is going to happen. I feel they made a very dumb decision in spending up to $10 billion dollars on anything that has to do with Afghanistan. The only exception to that statement is if they are spending money to bring our troops home.