Antibiotics in pregnancy tied to asthma in children: study

(Reuters) - Children whose mothers took antibiotics while they were pregnant were slightly more likely than other children to develop asthma, according to a Danish study.The results don't prove that antibiotics caused the higher asthma risk, but they support a current theory that the body's own "friendly" bacteria have a role in whether a child develops asthma, and antibiotics can disrupt those beneficial...

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Extra prenatal choline doesn't help kids' brains

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking extra choline during pregnancy does not improve babies' language and memory skills, according to a new study."I think eating the recommended amount of choline, which is just about a half of a gram a day for pregnant women, would probably do you well," Dr. Steven Zeisel, the senior author of the study and a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,...

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Europe mulls banning 'boxes' for abandoned babies

BERLIN (AP) — German pastor Gabriele Stangl says she will never forget the harrowing confession she heard in 1999. A woman said she had been brutally raped, got pregnant and had a baby. Then she killed it and buried it in the woods near Berlin.Stangl wanted to do something to help women in such desperate situations. So the following year, she convinced Berlin's Waldfriede Hospital to create the city's...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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U.S. kids getting recommended amount of sleep: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children in the U.S. appear to be getting as much shut-eye as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends, according to a new study."We can't say this is the amount that they should be sleeping," said Jessica Williams, the lead author of the study and a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles."All we could really do is compare...

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Barroso says Italy vote must not stop reform drive

ROME (Reuters) - Early elections in Italy must not hinder the economic reforms of Prime Minister Mario Monti, the head of the European Commission was quoted as saying on Sunday, in a sign of growing international concern over the political crisis in Rome.Monti's surprise announcement on Saturday that he intended to resign early once next year's budget is approved has opened the prospect of an election...

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Bangladesh police fire tear gas at election protest

DHAKA (Reuters) - Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse armed protesters staging blockades across Bangladesh on Sunday as part of an opposition push to get an independent administration to oversee next year's general election.Activists from the country's two main political parties hurled homemade bombs and threatened to use guns and other weapons, Reuters witnesses and local television...

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Obama: Republicans blocking middle-class tax cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Saturday that Republicans in the House are blocking a bill that would prevent a tax increase on the first $250,000 of income earned by all Americans.The Democratic-controlled Senate has approved the measure, but Obama said House Republicans have "put forward an unbalanced plan that actually lowers rates for the wealthiest Americans." Obama supports a...

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Democrats want jobless benefits in 'cliff' deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hovering in the background of the "fiscal cliff" debate is the prospect of 2 million people losing their unemployment benefits four days after Christmas. "This is the real cliff," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. He's been leading the effort to include another extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed in any deal to avert looming tax increases and massive spending cuts...

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Boustany trounces Landry for La congressional seat

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany, a veteran Republican allied with House Speaker John Boehner, has trounced freshman GOP incumbent Jeff Landry in an attack-heavy runoff race.The two incumbents were forced into the same district when Louisiana lost a congressional seat because of anemic population growth in the latest federal census. The state will have six U.S. House...

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