Ranjit Hayer is 60 years old and is one of the oldest women to give birth, definitely among the oldest in Canada, and certainly as a mom of twins, according the CBC Canada. After several decades of trying to conceive, her patience finally paid off in double dose and delivered twins earlier this week.

Ranjit has been through several miscarriages and even an IVF scam. She and her husband were originally from India.

Ranjit’s case put fuel into the ongoing ethical debate about IVF treatments. In this case, the ground for objection is Ranjit’s advanced age. The cut off age for IVF treatment in Canada is 45 to 50 years old. Because of her disqualification due to her age in Canada, Ranjit went to India to have the IVF procedure done using donor eggs. She was initially pregnant with triplets but lost one embryo. However, she came back to Canada to deliver in Calgary.

With advancing age, pregnancy becomes more difficult and riskier. Ranjit suffered from gestational diabetes and hypertension, as well as placenta previa. She had hemorrhage in her 7^th week of gestation and her twins were delivered by emergency C-section. The babies are doing well but one baby needs breathing assistance and the other is in a special neonatal care unit. The mother had severe bleeding that led to the removal of her uterus as well as blood transfusion and a stay in an intensive care unit..

Many critics are objecting to the fact that people like Ranjit are circumventing the cut off age under Canadian law by having IVF outside the country but still the Canadian health care system has to bear the burden of the costs of prenatal complications as well as the postnatal and neonatal care.

Aside from pregnancy complications and the costs, there are also the social, psychological and financial implications of people close to retirement age still having to raise children to adulthood.

The IVF-at-any-age issue is a very difficult and sensitive topic. On the one hand, technology offers people the possibility of fulfilling their wish for children. On the other hand, at what price and how would it affect the children?

What do you think?

This CBC report doesn’t bode well for Canadian residents. A 2007 survey of vinyl plastic toys by Health Canada found that 76% of the toys contained phthalate levels that are above the amounts allowed in the US and European Union. The toxic diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is especially prevalent – found in about 60% of the toys surveyed. This year won’t be any different, say sceptics.

Environmentalists claim that Canada is becoming a dumping ground for products rejected by other countries for toxicological reasons. They claim that Canadian laws and regulations for consumer products are much weaker than the neighboring US or countries across the Atlantic. China is especially notorious for toy recalls and producing products with high phthalate content.

This comes in the wake of the “death” of Phthalate Control Act, a bill that was supposed to ban phthalates but didn’t go through federal approval.

To compensate, Health Canada is rushing to draft the new guidelines for phthalate content of plastic toys: However, it is doubtful whether the new guidelines will be in place well in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Phthalates have been linked to health problems in children, including type 2 diabetes, genital malformation in boys, and cancer.

The Conservative government currently in power in Canada announced plans to introduce legislation that would make it a separate crime to kill or injure a fetus when committing violence against a pregnant woman. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson also stated, rather emphatically, that the law would be worded in such a way that “leaves no room for the introduction of fetal rights.”

The announcement comes after a flurry of activity in the Canadian House of Commons surrounding Bill C-484, a private member’s bill sponsored by MP Ken Epp (also of the Conservative Party), which, as it is currently written, would instill fetal rights and possibly infringe upon a woman’s access to abortion.

Abortion is legal in Canada, and has been since 1969.

Source: Conservative bill closes door on fetal rights via Canada.com

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboards Recalls Cribs Due to Fall Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Cribs

Units: About 1,300

Manufacturer: Mother Hubbard?s Cupboards, of Toronto, Canada

Hazard: The cribs fail to meet the federal safety standards. The distance between the mattress support bracket in the lowest position and the top of the side rail in the highest position is less than the required 26 inches, posing a fall hazard to children who climb over the railing.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recall includes the following wooden full-size cribs: ?Enchantment? (model #210), ?Hush a Bye? (model #215), ?Once upon a time? (model #320) and ?Rock a bye? (model #1900-350). Only date codes from 0306 through 0308 are included in this recall. ?Mother Hubbard?s Cupboards?, the model number and date code are printed on a label located on the bottom inside of the right side.

Sold at: Juvenile product stores from March 2006 through March 2008 for between $500 and $650.

Manufactured in: Canada

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the cribs immediately and contact Mother Hubbard?s Cupboards to receive instructions on how to re-install the support brackets to eliminate the hazard.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, please contact Mother Hubbard?s Cupboards toll-free at (888) 661-8201 between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday, or visit the firm?s Web site at www.mhcfurniture.com

Romanian-born Livia Ionce, 44 yrs. old, gave birth to her and husband Alexandru Ionce’s 18th child in Abbotsford, British Columbia last Tuesday, July 22. The newborn, named Abigail, joins her 10 sisters and 8 brothers, who range from 20 mos. to 23 years in age. Staunchly religious, the couple has left the size of their family up to God, and considers all their children as gifts.

The Ionces are somewhat of a celebrity in Canada, being Canada’s “most prolific” in terms of child birth. Best of luck to the parents and to dear Abigail. I have a feeling she won’t be short on pairs of helping hands.

Source: Fox News

In January, someone abandoned a baby girl in a Toronto parking lot stairwell. The little girl, believed to be about 8 months old at the time, was discovered about two hours later in freezing temperatures.

Since her abandonment, the baby, named Angelica-Leslie by rescuers, has been living with a foster family, and has been thriving and happy.

And late last month, police tracked down a couple who they belive to be her parents. The married couple lived nearby the parking lot at the time of the abandonment, and have been charged with several counts relating to abandoning Angelica-Leslie.

The couple have three older children, aged 5, 4 and 2. The court ordered that the older children be taken into foster care, and this weekend several more charges have been filed relating to the care of those children, including assault, and assault with a weapon.

I wonder if the older children will be reunited with their baby sister?

Assuming that the allegations of neglect are true, then the abandonment of Angelica-Leslie, awful that it was, has ultimately lead to the rescue of her older siblings from an abusive situation, and I hope that the children will be placed together and can grow up safely in a new, and loving family.

A sad and mysterious story from Toronto.

Last week, someone abandoned a baby girl in a parking lot stairwell. The sleeping child was there for two hours in -16 degree cold until a passer-by found her and called 911. The baby was rushed to hospital, where doctors found she had bruising and signs of trauma.

This case is extremely unusual. Abandoned newborn babies are tragically something we’ve all heard about. But this baby appears to be about 8 months old, possibly older if past neglect has stunted her growth and development.

Toronto detectives have been canvasing the local area and despite media coverage, they are surprised that no-one has claimed, or identified the baby girl. They speculate she might be from out of the area, possibly abandoned by a parent, or perhaps she was abducted by a someone, then abandoned?

So enterprising detectives have placed security camera footage on video website YouTube in the hope that someone can identify the car or driver. The video was taken by a far-away camera and very grainy, but perhaps it will strike someone as familiar.

The baby, named Angelica-Leslie by rescuers, is still in the hospital.

I can only hope that if she was indeed from an abusive family, that in a bizarre way, this is the best thing that could have happened to her. I hope that she will recover, and be adopted by loving new parents and can start a new, happier life.

So please watch the YouTube video – can you shed any light on this case? What do YOU think happened?