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The Baby Einstein Company, the leader in the infant media category, has received eight awards since the beginning of the year from distinguished organizations that recognize the best family-friendly products on the market and from moms and dads who simply cannot live without Baby Einstein. Since the company's debut 10 years ago, The Baby Einstein Company has been making millions of moms and babies around the world smile with its award-winning DVDs, books, CDs, toys and gear, all specifically designed to engage babies and provide parents with ways to help bring the world into their homes.

In 2009, Baby Einstein has received the following awards:

iParenting Best Products – Animal Exploration Tunnel

iParenting Excellent Products – World Music DVD

iParenting Excellent Products – World Music CD

Parent Tested Parent Approved Best Products – 10th Anniversary Baby Mozart

Parent Tested Parent Approved Best Products – 10th Anniversary Baby Beethoven

The National Parenting Center 2009 Seal of Approval – World Music DVD

2009 Mom's Choice Product Line of the Year – Baby Einstein Company

Cookie "Word of Mom" 2008 – Best Kids DVD: The Baby Einstein Collection

"We are thrilled to be among the winners of these prestigious awards, which are awarded by moms themselves because it is an ongoing reinforcement that our products are making an impact in the lives of parents and babies," says Susan McLain, vice president and general manager of The Baby Einstein Company. "Baby Einstein was founded by a new mom looking to share her passion for arts and humanities with her newborn daughter and we continue that mission because of the thousands of letters we receive each year from moms who are using our products to entertain and play with their child(ren)."

For more information on The Baby Einstein Company and its award-winning products, visit www.babyeinstein.com or www.littleeinsteins.com.

Learn more about the iParenting Awards at www.Family.Go.com/products or iParentingMediaAwards.com.

(6-30-09)

Sarah Jessica Parker, 44, best known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, and her husband, Matthew Broderick, 47, welcomed twin girls on June 22, according to People magazine. The baby girls, born via a surrogate, were named Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge Broderick. Marion weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, and sister Tabitha weighed 6 pounds. The babies will join the couple's first child, James Wilkie, 6.

(6-30-09)

Matthew McConaughey, 39, and his girlfriend, Camila Alves, are expecting their second baby, according to People magazine. "We have more blessed news to celebrate this Father's Day that [will] make this time next year double the fun. Levi is going to be a big brother ... Yeah, we pulled off the greatest miracle in the world one more time, Camila and I are expecting our second child, bringing more life into the world, making more to live for. The future looks bright as the family grows," writes McConaughey on his Web site. The couple already has one child together, Levi, 11 months old.

(6-30-09)

Rachel Griffiths, star of ABC's Brothers and Sisters, and her husband, Andrew Taylor, have welcomed a baby girl, according to People magazine. The new addition joins sister Adelaide Rose, 3, and brother Banjo Patrick, 5.

(6-30-09)

The number of women who drink alcohol while pregnant is not decreasing, according to a 15-year study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately one in eight women drank any amount of alcohol while pregnant, the study says.

The drinking patterns persisted despite repeated warnings from surgeons general about the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant. The surgeons general have told pregnant women, and women who may become pregnant, to abstain from alcohol consumption in order to eliminate the chance of giving birth to a baby with alcohol-related birth defects.

The CDC analysis, as well as a study also published by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, shows that far too many women use substances (especially alcohol) during their pregnancies. The CDC study, "Alcohol Use Among Women of Childbearing Age, United States, 1991-2005," is in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The CDC study also found that one of every 50 pregnant women engaged in binge drinking each year during the 15 years. "Exposure to alcohol can cause lifelong physical and mental disabilities that are preventable by avoiding alcoholic drinks while pregnant," says Edwin Trevathan, director of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. "All women should know that there is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink or safe time to drink it during pregnancy. We encourage all women to pay attention to the surgeon general warnings."

The study found that pregnant women most likely to report any alcohol use were 35-44 years of age (17.7 percent), college graduates (14.4 percent), employed (13.7 percent), and unmarried (13.4 percent). Pregnant women who binge drink were more likely to be employed and unmarried than were pregnant women who did not binge drink. This study did not examine the reasons why women are still drinking while pregnant.

Any alcohol use was defined as at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage in the past 30 days. Binge drinking was defined as having five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.

"By screening and advising women about the risks of drinking while pregnant, health care providers can play a key role in reducing rates of fetal alcohol syndrome," says Clark Denny, a CDC epidemiologist and primary author of the study. "This study revealed that there is still a great need for health care professionals to routinely ask all women who are pregnant or at risk of being pregnant about their alcohol consumption."

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/fasd.

Also learn more by reading the following articles:

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Why Moms-to-be Shouldn't Even Have "Just One"

Non-alcoholic Drinks for Pregnancy: Spirits of the Season for Mom-to-be

Conquering Addictions: Breaking Bad Habits for a Healthy Pregnancy

(6-30-09)

Elizabeth Castro Wilson, who on March 18, 1985, became the first "IVF baby" born in the East San Francisco Bay Area, joined two other "pioneer IVF babies" in a reunion with the doctors who helped create them, when the Reproductive Science Center of the San Francisco Bay Area (RSC) celebrated its 25th anniversary as one of the nation's first private IVF clinics.

Wilson, now 24, lives in Prescott, Ariz., and is a medical assistant, pre-med student and mother of two. At the reunion she will meet two others whose births made news: Travis McCullar, 22, the second baby in the nation born from a frozen embryo (October 26, 1986), and Brian Strickland, 24, the second IVF baby born in Contra Costa County (May 6, 1985).

McCullar's birth was so notable that he was featured in USA Today as "A month-old miracle of science" and on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle. "In those days I was involved in live televised debates with medical ethicists on the news of their births," says RSC surgical and research director Dr. Donald I. Galen, the infertility pioneer who treated the McCullars and Stricklands.

(6-30-09)

When should a parent schedule a comprehensive eye assessment for a baby? Clinical research has shown that at 6 months, the average baby has reached a number of critical developmental milestones, making this an appropriate age for the first eye and vision assessment.

According to the American Optometric Association's (AOA) 2008 American Eye-Q survey, which tracks public knowledge and understanding of a wide range of issues related to eye and visual health, only 13 percent of parents make sure their children receive a comprehensive eye assessment in their first year.

It's estimated that one in 10 children is at risk from an undiagnosed eye or vision problem that, if left untreated, can lead to difficulties later in school or even permanent vision loss. Additionally, many children at risk for eye and vision problems are not being identified at an early age, when many of those problems might be prevented or more easily corrected.

Infant eye and vision assessments offer early detection of vision and eye health problems and are critical to a child's development. Through the Optometry's Charity – The AOA Foundation's public health program, InfantSEE, optometrists provide a one-time, comprehensive eye assessment to infants in their first year of life, typically between the ages of 6 and 12 months. These assessments are provided at no cost to all families, regardless of families' ability to pay or access to insurance coverage.

"Many eye conditions have no visual symptoms so detection by a parent or in a well-baby checkup may be difficult," says Dr. Glen Steele, optometrist and chair of the InfantSEE committee. "Therefore, an early comprehensive vision assessment is the best way to ensure your baby has healthy eyes and appropriate vision development – now and in the future."

"The good news about a trip to the optometrist is that most babies seem to enjoy the 'games' we use to determine whether their visual development is progressing normally and their eyes are healthy," says Dr. Steele.

Since infants cannot speak, optometrists perform several non-invasive tests that evaluate visual acuity, refraction, motility, alignment, binocularity and overall eye health. As detailed below, these tests can identify signs of vision problems, such as strabismus (crossed-eyes), amblyopia (lazy eye) and diseases of the eye.

Family health history is also an important part of an infant's eye assessment. An optometrist will want to know about the parents' vision problems as well as the broader family's eye and medical history, developmental history and demographic data. Factors that may indicate a baby is at significant risk for visual impairment include the following:

Premature birth, low birth weight or oxygen used following birth

Family history of eye diseases such as retinoblastoma (eye cancer), congenital cataracts or metabolic or genetic disease

Drug or alcohol use during pregnancy

Sexually transmitted diseases, cytomegalovirus or HIV

Difficult or assisted labor, which may be associated with fetal distress or low Apgar scores

In addition to sharing findings with the parents, the doctor of optometry may send summary information to the infant's pediatrician, family physician or other appropriate practitioners to report and explain any significant condition(s) or concerns diagnosed in the assessment.

To learn more, visit InfantSEE.org.

(6-30-09)

A paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University researchers reports that amniotic fluid surrounding Down syndrome fetuses shows oxidative stress, a condition that could harm fetal cells and play a role in affected individuals. The results demonstrate secondary adverse consequences of Down syndrome and suggest potential prenatal therapies.

Dr. Diana Bianchi, Vice Chair for Research, Department of Pediatrics at Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, and Dr. Donna Slonim, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Tufts University, conducted an analysis of the human genome from cell-free fetal messenger RNA in amniotic fluid surrounding fetuses. Their team identified molecular and biochemical pathway changes that were evident in the Down syndrome fetuses as compared to normal fetuses as early as the fourth month of pregnancy.

Down syndrome occurs when an individual has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two. The longstanding assumption has been that proteins produced by the additional copy of chromosome 21 were almost exclusively responsible for the atypical development and function associated with the syndrome. A surprising aspect of the findings was that the molecular abnormalities observed were predominantly produced by genes on the other chromosomes.

As a next step, researchers are examining amniotic cells to determine if they show similar genomic profiles to the cell-free material in the fluid. If that is the case, they will begin to look at the effectiveness of anti-oxidant compounds as potential treatment in vitro.

"While more research is needed, this study illuminates a possible pathway to treating some aspects of Down syndrome in the womb," Dr. Bianchi says. "While we do not know the extent to which the developing fetus is affected by oxidative stress, we know this abnormal environment is not conducive to optimal development."

For more information, visit www.tufts-nemc.org or www.pnas.org.

(6-30-09)

Celebrities helped create a generation free of HIV at the 20th annual A Time For Heroes Family Picnic, held June 7 in Los Angeles in support of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. More than 80 of Hollywood's best-known names volunteered their time as "heroes" working carnival-style game booths and interacting with guests and families.

Drawn from the worlds of film, television, fashion, sports and music were such attendees as Heidi Klum, Mark Wahlberg, Dwyane Wade, Billy Crystal, Sharon Stone, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Tony Hawk, among many others. The day was topped off with a musical performance by superstar and Disney recording artist Miley Cyrus. The fun-filled day combined play with purpose as guests also learned about the Foundation's 20-year history of battling pediatric AIDS and helping children and families around the world. The event raised more than $1.3 million for the fight against pediatric AIDS.

Kids and families were dazzled with many activities and surprises including:

An incredible concert performance by Miley Cyrus and her full band on the main stage.

The Disney UP storytelling area where carnival attendees were read to by celebrities and special guests such as Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Melissa Joan Hart, Henry Winkler and Selena Gomez.

A Disney Channel Backstage area where guests were given the full star treatment.

The Disney-Pixar Toy Story area, where guests experienced the secret life of toys.

Becoming fashion designers at the Michael Stars Tee Shirt Customization Station.

Soap making at Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day area.

Denim decorating with 77kids by American Eagle.

Getting their photos on the cover of the world's most popular magazine at the People Photo Booth.

Following the yellow brick road and designing ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz area.

Working with celebrity Heroes to create special Generation-Free Kits to be sent to mothers and babies in Africa.

Face painting, hockey, basketball, football booths and many others.

For more information, visit www.pedaids.org.

(6-23-09)

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) has announced new oral health guidelines for expectant mothers and infants following its 62nd Annual Session in Honolulu, Hawaii. The guidelines call for all pregnant women to receive counseling and oral health care during pregnancy, and also that infants receive an oral health risk assessment and oral care by their first birthday. These steps will contribute to optimal oral health for both mom and baby.

"There is evidence associating periodontal disease and increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight," says AAPD's Immediate Past-President Dr. Beverly Largent. A recently published study found significant differences between women treated for periodontal disease and those who were not treated. The findings suggest that incorporating periodontal care may result in improved pregnancy outcomes.

"Because premature births have become the No. 1 obstetric problem in the United States, we felt the need to provide more guidance about necessary oral care for expectant moms, in addition to promoting oral health as a key part of pregnant women's overall health," says Dr. Largent.

The guidelines are based on studies that suggest that proper dental care during the perinatal period may help prevent preterm and low birth weight babies and is an important aspect of overall health for pregnant women – allowing them to enter delivery in optimal health. Many women, however, are unaware of the implications poor oral health can have on themselves and their babies and often don't seek oral care during pregnancy.

Additionally, mothers with poor oral health may be at greater risk of infecting their children with the bacteria that causes cavities, increasing their children's caries risk at an early age. Because cavities in infants are preventable, determining which mothers are at the highest risk improves opportunities for preventive intervention.

"Every expectant mother should receive a comprehensive oral health evaluation and risk assessment," says Dr. Largent. "Dental treatment is safe throughout pregnancy, and this is a time when expectant mothers need to be screened for oral risks, counseled on proper oral hygiene and receive necessary dental treatment."

The updated guidelines also address proper oral care for infants and toddlers, the age group most susceptible to early childhood caries (ECC), which is an infectious but preventable disease that causes tooth decay and potentially more serious health issues. When left untreated, ECC can affect speech and communication, eating and dietary nutrition, sleeping, learning, playing and quality of life – even into adulthood. The guidelines outline how simple changes in a mother's oral hygiene, diet, use of topical fluoride and sharing of eating utensils can significantly reduce a child's risk for ECC.

Additionally, because physicians, nurses and other health care professionals see expectant or new mothers and their infants on a regular basis, the AAPD guidelines also encourage health care professionals to talk to their patients about proper oral care. In addition, the AAPD recommends that curriculum at medical, nursing and allied health professional programs include education in perinatal and infant oral health.

For more information on perinatal and infant oral health or to view the updated guidelines, visit www.aapd.org.

(6-23-09)