Hospital considers kidney transplant for Amelia Rivera
In this Jan. 19, 2012 file photo, Chrissy and Joseph Rivera pose with their 3-year-old mentally disabled daughter, Amelia Rivera, at their home in Stratford, N.J.
/ AP(CBS/AP) Three-year-old Amelia Rivera was denied a kidney transplant because she's "disabled," her parents said earlier this month. After the controversy led to a public outcry, Amelia is now being considered for the procedure, her father said Tuesday.
PICTURES: Amelia Rivera, 3, in struggle for kidney transplant over disability
Joseph Rivera said he and his wife, Chrissy, met with doctors at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Friday and were told they are now willing to consider a transplant for their 3-year-old daughter, Amelia. The Stratford, N.J., family said doctors initially told them their daughter wasn't eligible for a transplant because of a mental disability.
Continue »Carpooling parents skip booster seats for kids
CBS
(CBS) Most parents make sure their child uses a booster seat in the car. But a new study found that many parents confess they don't insist on safety seats when their kids carpool.
PICTURES - Danger! 6 booster seats that get the red light
The study - published online Jan. 30 in the journal Pediatrics - surveyed over 1,600 parents across the U.S., 681 who had kids between 4 and 8 years old. Of those parents, 76 percent reported their child used a safety seat when riding in the family car - but only 55 percent insist on the seats when driving other children. And among the 64 percent of parents who carpool, 21 percent do not ask other drivers to use a booster seat for their child.
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Bella Santorum hospitalized: What is Trisomy 18?
In this June 6, 2011 file photo, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum holds his daughter Bella before announcing he is entering the Republican presidential race, on the steps of the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerset, Pa. Bella has the genetic disorder Trisomy 18, and was hospitalized over the weekend with pneumonia.
/ APTeen hospitalized from eating nuggets for 15 years
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PICTURES: Yum - or yuck? 20 freakish fried foods
Seventeen-year-old Stacey Irvine didn't think her nugget habit was a big deal - until she collapsed one day work, The Sun reported. When Stacey arrived at the hospital, doctors were horrified to find she had eaten chicken nuggets every single day and "never" ate fruits or vegetables.
USDA school lunch changes: What's on the menu?
First lady Michelle Obama takes her seat as she has lunch with school children at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Jan., 25, 2012.
/ AP(CBS) Big changes are coming to school lunches, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack of the announced today. Meals for more than 32 million children - who have school lunches subsidized by the government - will be much healthier, with less sodium, more whole grains and more fruits and veggies as sides.
Lunchtime staples such as potatoes and pizza will remain, after debate between Congress and the USDA about what foods constitute vegetables. These dishes will be made with more healthful ingredients, and kids might be more likely to see roasted potatoes (compared with greasy fries) as a side dish.
The announcement comes at a time when one third of America's youth between the ages 2 to 19 are obese.
Just how much healthier will these lunches be? High school students will have 6.5 more cups of vegetables per week than ever before, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a conference call.
Wondering what the new school lunches will look like compared to the old cafeteria fare? Keep clicking to see a sample before and after menu for a week at school, provided by the USDA.
Here's a look at Monday's menu...
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Asia braces for Year of Dragon baby boom
In this photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, Austin Tseng, 32, watches her doctor perform ultrasound imaging on her "dragon baby" at the Adventist Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.
/ AP(CBS/AP) "We haven't had a scene like this in years."
That's how one Taiwanese hospital official, Hung Tzu-chu, described the scene at the obstetrics department at Taiwan Adventist Hospital. Typically Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, but you wouldn't know that today.
What gives? This Monday marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. In Chinese culture, babies born this iteration of the 12-year Zodiac cycle - which alternates between other animals like rats, horses, and goats - are gifted with prodigious quantities of luck and strength. In ancient times the dragon was a symbol reserved for the Chinese emperor, and it is considered to be an extremely auspicious sign.
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Tiny baby Melinda Star Guido heading home
14-week-old Melinda Star Guido holds her mother's little finger while lying in an incubator at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011.
/ Jae C. HongPICTURES - World's tiniest babies: How are they now?
One of the world's smallest surviving babies, Melinda has been growing steadily and gaining weight since she was born premature at 24 weeks in August at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. She is the world's third smallest baby and the second smallest in the U.S.
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Parents of disabled girl denied kidney blame doc
CBS Philadelphia
(CBS/AP) Did the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia deny a kidney transplant to 3-year-old Amelia Rivera because she has intellectual disabilities?
The New Jersey girl's parents now say their problems might lie with one doctor, rather than the entire CHOP hospital.
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Babies read lips before they can speak: Study
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(CBS/AP) Before they can talk, are babies trying to figure out what people are saying to them? A new study suggests babies read people's lips when they learn to speak.
PICTURES - Top 15 places to be a mom
In that magical stage when a baby's babbling gradually changes from gibberish into syllables - and eventually into that first "mama" or "dada" - babies move their gaze from eyes to mouths, the study shows.
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Group petitions for breastfeeding on Sesame Street
Sesame Street/Youtube
(CBS) Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away, on my way to where the...moms breastfeed?
Sesame Street, America's landmark children's television show, is being urged by parents to bring breastfeeding back on air.
Famous for its educational techniques, the show premiered in 1969. Back then, breastfeeding on-screen was not unusual. In one 1977 episode, guest star Buffy St. Marie breastfed her baby, explaining "I'm feeding the baby. See? He's drinking milk from my breast."
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Girl, 7, ate peanut before she died at school
CBS/WTVR
(CBS) The first grade girl who died from a peanut allergy at her elementary school was reportedly given a peanut by her friend.
PICTURES - Food allergy: 9 dangerous myths
Amarria Johnson, 7, died on Jan. 4 at Hopkins Elementary School in Chesterfield Country, Va, after emergency crews were unable to resuscitate her. ABC News reports that there will be no criminal negligence charges filed against the school, Johnson's mother, or the girl who shared the peanut.
IVF study shows one or two embryos is enough
istockphoto
(CBS/AP) When it comes to fertility treatment, women who get three or more embryos implanted have no better odds of conceiving than women who get just two, a new study shows. But those women have a greater chance of risky multiple births.
PICTURES - 12 crazy myths about pregnancy
"Women who have gone through infertility treatment want the best chance of having a baby, but we need to explain that the data shows transferring more embryos doesn't actually do that," said study author Dr. Scott Nelson, head of reproductive and maternal medicine at the University of Glasgow.
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Women affected by cancer ask for bald Barbie
A bald Barbie mockup on the "Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let's see if we can get it made" Facebook page
/ Facebook(CBS) Rebecca Sypin and Jane Bingham were friends connected by cancer and hair loss. Sypin's daughter, Kin Inich, had been diagnosed with leukemia in Jan. 2011 and subsequently lost her tresses. Bingham's locks disappeared during her fight with lymphoma.
Though their experiences with cancer were different, both women realized that young kids fighting the disease or any disease that dealt with hair loss were missing a positive role model. The two women started the Facebook group, "Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let's see if we can get it made," in order to petition Mattel to make the famous doll an ambassador for this girl empowerment message.
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Mom gives daughter, 7, liposuction gift voucher
"Human Barbie" Sarah Burge set up a website for her 7-year-old daughter, Poppy.
/ www.poppyburge.com(CBS) Some parents are criticized for spoiling their kids with overly expensive Christmas presents. But one mom who spent roughly $10,800 on a single present for her 7-year-old daughter is under fire for a different reason. The hefty price tag came with a voucher for liposuction, the Daily Mail reported.
PICTURES - 13 bizarre but popular plastic surgery procedures
Sarah Burge, the UK's self-proclaimed "Human Barbie," is notorious for her plastic surgery fixation. For her daughter's recent birthday, the 51-year-old woman of Cambridgeshire, England, gifted Poppy with a 6,000-pound voucher (roughly $9,252) for breast augmentation. It's no surprise then that for Christmas, Burge stuffed Poppy's stocking with a gift certificate valued at nearly $11,000 for liposuction.
Continue »ADHD diet study says eating healthy could help
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(CBS) Do diets that claim to reduce symptoms of ADHD in kids actually work?
PICTURES: Does your child really have ADHD? 17 things to rule out first
A new review of ADHD diets by pediatric researchers suggests healthy eating could actually help kids reduce their ADHD symptoms. But the researchers warn a diet probably shoud not be the first line of defense against ADHD, but merely a supplement to other proven therapies such as medication.
