TORONTO – Toronto Public Health says women who attended a prenatal nutrition class earlier this week have been exposed to chicken pox.

Toronto Public Health says it’s trying to contact women who attended the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program class on Tuesday afternoon at York Community Services (1651 Keele Street).

Women who attended the class and have not had chicken pox, or are unsure whether they have had chicken pox, are being advised to contact their obstetrician or prenatal health care provider immediately.

Chicken pox poses a serious risk of complications to pregnant women, and can cause severe complications to the fetus.

Pregnant women whose immune status is not known should receive Varicella-zoster immune globulin within 96 hours of exposure.

Health officials say the treatment should be given as soon as possible, and may be effective as late as Saturday afternoon.

OTTAWA – The top scientific groups from the G8 countries say funding for maternal and child health, including initiatives aimed at unsafe abortions, must increase.

The Royal Society of Canada and its counterparts in the other G8 counties note that the risk of a woman dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth is one in seven in the poorest parts of the world and is more than 80 per cent preventable.

A statement from the groups says up to 40 per cent of maternal and infant deaths could be averted with improved access to contraception services and measures to reduce unsafe abortion.

The statement says abortions performed by unskilled providers or under unhygienic conditions because of local laws banning abortions account for 13 per cent of maternal deaths.

The Harper government has excluded abortion funding in its G8 maternal- and child-health initiative.

The scientific groups say governments and inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations must deal openly with unsafe abortions, and ensure appropriate and accessible treatment of women who develop complications.

“Provision of effective contraception for approximately 200 million women who have none would prevent 23 million unplanned births, 22 million induced abortions and 14,000 pregnancy-related maternal deaths each year,” the statement, released late Tuesday, reads.

The scientific groups also say practices such as female genital mutilation should be eradicated and the misuse of technology of prenatal sex determination for aborting female fetuses should be condemned.

The Royal Academy is the country’s senior national body of distinguished scholars, artists and scientists. Its objective is to promote learning and research in the arts and sciences.

The statement says the community shaping global political priorities for the health of women and children has been fragmented.

“G8 governments should work with international agencies to facilitate regional co-ordination mechanisms for women and children’s health,” it says.

The goal should be reducing child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters by 2015.

Leaders of the world’s G8 and G20 nations gather next month in Ontario.

WASHINGTON – The baby crib, usually a safe haven for little ones, became a death trap for six-month-old Bobby Cirigliano.

The side rail on his drop-side crib slid off the tracks and trapped his head and neck between the mattress and the malfunctioning side rail. His face pressed against the mattress, the boy suffocated.

“I just don’t feel complete anymore,” says his mother, Susan Cirigliano of North Bellmore on New York’s Long Island.

Bobby was one of at least 32 infants or toddlers since 2000 who suffocated or were strangled in a drop-side crib, which has a side that moves up and down to allow parents to lift children from the cribs more easily than cribs with fixed sides. Drop-sides are suspected in an additional 14 infant fatalities during that time.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has pledged to ban the manufacture and sale of the cribs by the end of the year with a new standard that would make fixed-side cribs mandatory. It could be several months into 2011 before becoming effective.

The industry has already started phasing out drop-sides and big retailers such as Babies R Us and Wal-Mart have taken them off sales floors. Yet there are still plenty for sale on the Internet, and that’s part of the reason Congress is getting involved.

“There’s a great urgency here. We have to make sure that no parent is unaware that drop-side cribs could kill their children,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said in an Associated Press interview.

She is preparing legislation to outlaw the manufacture, sale and resale of all drop-side cribs and ban them from day-care centres and hotels. The senator hopes the legislation, to be introduced this week, will accelerate efforts for a ban, either via Congress or the CPSC, and highlight concerns about drop-sides to parents who are using them.

“There still are thousands and thousands of children who are sleeping every night in drop-side cribs and we need to protect them,” said Gillibrand.

She planned to outline her bill at a news conference in New York on Sunday, joined by Bobby Cirigliano’s parents and the family of 10-month-old Tyler Witte, who died in a drop-side crib in 1997.

More than seven million of these cribs have been recalled in the past five years, often because screws, safety pegs or plastic tracking for the rail can come loose or break. The industry insists that babies are safe in drop-sides that haven’t been recalled.

“We believe firmly that when these products are assembled and used properly, they are the safest place to put your child,” said Mike Dwyer, executive director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents over 90 per cent of the crib industry.

But when the hardware malfunctions, the drop-side rail can detach partially from the crib. That creates a dangerous “V”-like gap between the mattress and side rail where a baby can get caught and suffocate or strangle.

Dwyer says manufacturers have seen cases where parents installed the drop-side improperly, sometimes upside down, or they have reassembled a crib for a second or third child with some of the screws or other hardware missing.

In addition to the CPSC’s pledge to vote on a ban by year’s end, two New York counties – Nassau and Suffolk, on Long Island – have banned the sale of drop-sides.

Late last year, crib manufacturers were already moving in that direction when they voted to eliminate the drop-side design and instead opt for four fixed sides, but the standard is a voluntary one.

Despite the industry’s move to end production, there are plenty of new and used drop-side cribs for sale online. The Associated Press found drop-sides for purchase on websites for Sears, Kmart and Amazon.com. Craigslist also had scores of used drop-side cribs for sale.

The industry doesn’t have figures on how many drop-sides might still be on the market, but Dwyer says it’s a small percentage.

A ban – by Congress or the CPSC – won’t come soon enough for Bobby Cirigliano’s parents or his sister, Jennifer, who was three-years-old when her brother died. She remembers him every day, her parents say. When the family moved to their new house on Long Island, her dad promised to build her a tree house.

“I want it as high as the sky,” she told her dad, “because then I can see my little brother.”

TORONTO – We all know where babies come from, but a new report provides a glimpse at what goes on in the delivery room as these bundles of joy make their debut.

Approximately 374,000 babies were born in Canadian hospitals in 2008-2009, an increase of 4.8 per cent from 2006-07, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Among provinces, rates for woman having a first baby by caesarean section were highest in Newfoundland and Labrador, at 23 per cent, and British Columbia, at 22 per cent, and lowest in Manitoba, at 13.5 per cent.

Jacinth Tracey, manager of decision support and analytical product at the institute, says C-sections have been steadily increasing, but patterns differ across jurisdictions depending on the preferences of patients and practitioners.

“They’re only done when it’s medically necessary, but the definition of medically necessary is still kind of nebulous in some people’s minds,” she said in an interview.

“And certainly people are saying well: Is it physicians’ preferences in collaboration with patients’ preferences? Is it just a shift in demographic, meaning that older women tend to have on average higher-risk pregnancies, or with in-vitro fertilization there is the risk of multiple babies, and sometimes those necessitate a C-section intervention?”

The Canadian average for women under 35 having a first baby via C-section has remained steady at about 17.5 per cent for the last three years, she said.

But for those 35 and over, there was a slight increase to 23.7 per cent in 2008-09, from 22.9 per cent the previous year.

The study found that use of an epidural varied significantly – for example, the hip- and leg-numbing anesthetic was given before 69 per cent of vaginal deliveries in Quebec and before 60 per cent of births in Ontario.

But only 38.5 per cent of deliveries in Manitoba and 30 per cent in British Columbia were preceded by epidurals.

“It could depend on culture, it could depend on availability,” said Dr. Andre Lalonde, executive vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

“For instance, epidural rates in Quebec – it’s kind of a standard to have anesthesia available 24 hours a day for obstetrical units so it’s not surprising that people would use it more.”

The age of first pregnancy in Canada is now over 30 years old, he noted, and use of epidurals is greater among older women.

He said CIHI should dig deeper into the statistics to find out whether availability accounts for the regional differences.

For instance, Lalonde said he was told that a major hospital in British Columbia was losing its anesthesiology services in the obstetrics department. If the hospital’s anesthesiologists were all tied up doing general surgeries, then the obstetrics department would have to do without.

The report Tuesday also noted that vacuum extraction was used in 9.9 per cent of deliveries and forceps helped things along in 3.3 per cent of deliveries.

“Vacuum is really for when the baby is very close to being born but the woman has been in labour too long and is now weak and doesn’t have the strength to push the baby out,” Lalonde explained, adding that Canadian doctors are well trained in these techniques and often practise on mannequins.

Forceps are mostly used nowadays for changing a baby’s position, he added.

There’s been no real change for three years in the statistics on low birth weight babies, with about one in 16 infants hitting the scales at less than 5.5 pounds.

An internal tracking system that would combat food fraud has been developed by a professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

“Adulteration of food products, either through mislabelling, ingredient substitution or dilution with a less expensive ingredient is a growing concern for Canadian consumers,” says Nicholas Low, who is leading the project with Robert Hanner, a professor at the University of Guelph.

“Through this project we are aiming to develop a cost-effective molecular internal tagging system in order to track food products as they move through the supply chain.”

The Grocery Manufacturers Association has found that five to 10 per cent of foods sold commercially are subject to adulteration.

Low will unveil details of the project later this month at the Advanced Foods and Materials Network annual Scientific Conference, which takes place in Halifax May 26 to 29.

In the meantime, he says that the tracking system would benefit both producers and consumers.

“For example, if there is an issue with a food product it could be rapidly identified in the supply chain where the problem occurred and so then we could identify where it is happening,” says Low.

For instance, a milk producer in China who is using an internal tag could ship to a facility making infant formula. If the formula was diluted at some point in the process, anybody testing that formula would be able to tell, he explains.

In 2008, a number of children in China were hospitalized after consuming milk products tainted with the chemical melamine.

Melamine has a high nitrogen content which can make products appear high in protein.

“A food product has a number of ingredients so if you can identify where the problem occurred you would be able to identify who made the error and whether it was intentional or unintentional,” Low says.

He says the tags are another tool “to help ensure food safety and security and another way that consumers can start to feel comfortable.”

GANDER, N.L. – A Newfoundland hospital is being investigated by the RCMP over the care of a newborn at the facility.

Authorities aren’t saying much about the incident at James Paton Memorial Hospital in Gander, but Sgt. Wayne Newell says it involves staff at the facility.

He says no one is in custody and he doesn’t know if more than one employee is involved.

Roger Pike, a spokesman for Newfoundland’s Central Health District, says the baby is fine.

He says the health authority called police after an incident Tuesday, but he’s declining to give details, citing privacy issues.

Pike says an internal review was done into the incident and that’s when they decided to ask police “to conduct a formal investigation.”

TORONTO – Mary Poppins was singing the right tune about how to make the medicine go down, according to a new analysis.

Researchers did a review of previous studies looking at whether sugar water solutions helped babies with pain when they were being immunized.

Altogether, 14 randomized controlled trials met their criteria, and they summarized the findings from more than 1,600 injections for babies aged one month to a year.

Babies who were given sucrose or glucose cried less often and for shorter periods and had lower pain scores in 13 of the studies, compared to infants who were given water or no treatment.

The review was done by researchers in Toronto, Australia and Brazil, and published ahead of print Wednesday in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Based on their findings, the team recommends that health-care professionals consider using sucrose or glucose before and during immunization for babies up to 12 months.

“For multiple immunizations, the total dose of sweet solution should be given prior to and throughout the procedure to ensure sustained effects of sweet tasting analgesia,” says the study, which involved researchers from Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

“Further studies are warranted comparing different concentrations of sucrose and glucose and the use of single dosing two minutes prior to painful procedures to multiple dosing over the course of procedures.”

It also suggests that sweet solutions should be considered for other painful procedures for infants, besides immunizations.

These solutions are readily available, easy to administer and inexpensive, the study notes.

Austrian researchers have debunked the Mozart myth once and for all.

A new study from the University of Vienna analyzed 15 years of research into the so-called “Mozart effect” which suggests listening to the famous composer can increase a child’s IQ.

The myth has its roots in science. A 1993 study in the journal Nature demonstrated that people perform better on spatial tasks ‹ such as recognizing patterns, or folding paper – after listening to Mozart for 10 minutes.

But since then, many researchers have attempted to recreate the study, each time to no avail.

Nevertheless, the Mozart effect took off, prompting plenty of parents to play the classical music for their children, and some private schools and music companies to use the study’s findings as a marketing tool.

In 1993, The New York Times published an article that said listening to Mozart would make high school students perform better on the SAT.

In 1998, Georgia passed a bill to ensure every mother of a newborn would receive a complimentary classical music CD.

That year, Florida¹s state government passed a law requiring state-funded daycare centres to play at least one hour of classical music a day.

More recently, a team of researchers led by Jakob Pietschnig looked at 40 studies on the topic, totalling more than 3,000 participants.

They found that while listening to music might have some positive benefits on cognitive abilities, Mozart’s music does not breed geniuses.

Most studies saw no effect on cognitive performance at all.

Some studies suggest if a Mozart effect does exist, it’s no different than a Pearl Jam effect or a Lady Gaga effect, because listening to any kind of music at all increased performance, though only slightly.

“I recommend listening to Mozart to everyone, but it will not meet expectations of boosting cognitive abilities”, said Pietschnig.

OTTAWA – Ottawa should have been basking in praise by now for its efforts to push the G8 to fund maternal and child healthcare in developing countries.

The last time Canada hosted a G8 summit, Ottawa’s centrepiece – to build a self-help plan for Africa – was well framed and well financed by this point in the summit cycle.

This time, with just seven weeks to go before G8 leaders meet in Huntsville, Ont., the signature campaign is still so vague that observers are left wondering if it will ever be meaningful.

No funding target has been set, no structure for the funding has been made public, and it’s not clear exactly what the donor countries will be contributing their money to, says John Kirton, director of the G8 research group at the University of Toronto.

“They’ve left it so long,” he said.

When Canada hosted the G8 in Kananaskis, Alta., in June 2002, the donor funding for the African initiative was already on the table by March of that year, Kirton noted. The rest of the time leading up to the summit was spent figuring out how to divvy up the money.

This time, “we’re almost two months late,” Kirton said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced with much fanfare at the end of January that the maternal and child health focus would be his signature on the summit. But many insiders say that decision was made just a few days before the announcement, and was not thought through beforehand.

“They just threw it out there,” said Liberal MP Keith Martin, who is heavily involved in international efforts for development and health.

Then, questions about whether Ottawa would support access to safe abortions and family planning dominated the discussion, until Harper and International Development Minister Bev Oda finally settled the matter 10 days ago with a firm No.

“The system did lose several weeks and months fighting about abortion,” Kirton said.

Development ministers from the G8 countries decided at a meeting in Halifax last month that their maternal and child health initiative should be cost-effective, focused on the poorest countries, and not involve new funding mechanisms.

They also agreed that their efforts would have “high impact” at the community level, targeting pre-natal and post-partum care, family planning, reproductive health, disease prevention, transmission of HIV, immunization and nutrition.

But they also said that before they agree on how to do this, they need international organizations to set out concrete goals, develop methodologies, collect data and improve tracking of investments.

“Having broad statements is fine,” said Kimberly Hunter, spokeswoman for ONE, a large, global anti-poverty group. “But we want to see specifics.”

Such talk about collecting more data is a clear sign the G8 countries are a far cry from agreeing to put money on the table, says Mark Fried, policy coordinator for Oxfam Canada.

“It generally has no substance to it.”

Improving maternal and child health is central to the Millenium Development Goals established by the United Nations as bench marks for the world to achieve by 2015. Of the eight goals, maternal health is the one showing the least progress.

So, efforts by the Harper government to have the G8 tackle that area were initially warmly welcomed around the world.

Non-governmental estimates for how much the G8 should contribute range from about $4 billion (U.S.) over the next five years to about $15 billion.

But as development officials figure out how to deliver something substantial by June 26, the G8 agenda has been overcome by other priorities that are just as demanding of the countries’ pocketbooks.

Rich countries have promised to pay poor countries $30 billion to help them deal with climate change. The G8 promised a year ago to contribute $20 billion for food security.

And now, the debt crisis that started in Greece and is spreading to other countries has meant an enormous bailout financed by European governments and the International Monetary Fund.

Talk of further funding is in the air, even as most G8 countries are struggling to keep their deficits from spiralling out of control.

Add to that an emphasis by Harper to make governments accountable for their previous promises, and countries are loath to trumpet big new spending announcements.

“I can see why they’d be gun shy about putting funding numbers on the table,” Kirton said.

WASHINGTON – U.S. safety officials are looking into a handful of reports of severe rashes caused by new types of Pampers diapers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission started an investigation this week following complaints of babies and toddlers suffering severe and persistent diaper rashes and blisters that resemble chemical burns.

In March, Proctor & Gamble launched new versions of its Swaddlers and Cruisers diapers in the U.S.

The thinner diapers use the company’s Dry Max technology to replace the paper pulp previously used. Parents’ groups blame the change for skin problems.

The company denies that Dry Max causes chemical burns.

A Facebook page asking the company to bring back the older versions of its diapers has more than 4,000 members.