Balmes and his producers found four families – one each in the veldt of Namibia, the plains of Mongolia, the high-rises of Tokyo and the cozier urban enclave of San Francisco. Then he and his camera spent 400 days over the course of two years, filming these babies through various stages of development through that first year and beyond.

Their circumstances couldn’t be more different. Little Ponijao seems to live within an extended matriarchy, involving his mother, aunts and various sisters and brothers, in mud huts on the veldt. Bayarjargal has Mongolian herders for parents and lives in a portable yurt, along with dogs, cats, chickens, goats and sheep.

Mari lives a fast-paced life in Tokyo, with playgroups and time spent with both parents. Hattie’s Bay Area parents also seem to indulge her, while trying to live an Earth-friendly existence.

There is no story other than the babies experiencing the world. But even in its relatively brief (82 minutes) running time, you can see amazing changes in these tots.

What’s startling is the degree to which you can see them absorbing their experiences. From a surprisingly young age, as their focal point lengthens and they become aware of their surroundings, they are ingesting information, stored away until their hands and legs are suitably operational to explore further. What happens if I pull the cat’s tail? What do my toes taste like? What’s that over there?

That’s the scope of a baby’s world – but it grows daily, as this film shows. Their awareness of their parents, their siblings, their parents and surroundings and toys – it is like a daily explosion of learning – most amazingly of retained learning. There’s also, from a dazzlingly young age, a sense of entitlement to the world around it by the baby. Infancy is a constant struggle to experience everything you can see, to put everything in your mouth at least once, before your mother tells you not to.

That’s what Babies understands and what it shows. And it does it without a single voice addressing the audience in any way. The produces don’t try to define or analyze or examine the babies’ behavior in the way that too many nature films do – hello, Meerkat Manor? It just lets these children be in front of the camera, within those moments when they’re left to their own devices, as well as when they’re interacting with their parents.

Once they start to talk, of course, it’s a whole different ballgame. But as Babies shows, these kids have a well-developed language of their own, long before the words start to come.

While semen samples from diabetics look normal under the microscope, a closer examination revealed DNA damage, Dr. Con Mallidis, of Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said in a news release issued by the conference sponsors.

“Sperm RNA was significantly altered, and many of the changes we observed are in RNA transcripts involved in DNA repair,” he said. “And comparison with a database of men of proven fertility confirmed our findings. Diabetics have a significant decrease in their ability to repair sperm DNA, and once this is damaged, it cannot be restored.”

Sperm DNA quality is known to be tied to decreased embryo quality, low embryo implantation rates, higher miscarriage rates and some serious childhood diseases, including cancers.

“We found a class of compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the male reproductive tract. These are formed as the result of glycation (the addition of sugar),” Mallidis said, “and accumulate during normal aging. They are dependent on lifestyle, diet, smoking, etc., and in many diabetic complications are centrally implicated in DNA damage. We believe that they play a similar role in the male reproductive system.”

The researchers plan to now determine how AGEs cause and contribute to DNA damage.

Obesity, which often plays a factor in diabetes, and being too thin, was also found to cause problems with sperm. In a separate study, scientists found that men with a higher body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) had less seminal fluid and more abnormal sperm.

The findings showed that men with an optimal BMI of 20 to 25 had higher levels of normal sperm than those who were either overweight or underweight. They also had higher semen volume.

The researchers did not look at DNA damage in the sperm, though.

“Our findings were quite independent of any other factors,” scheduled presenter A. Ghiyath Shayeb, from the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, said in the news release from the conference, “and seem to suggest that men who are trying for a baby with their partners should first try to achieve an ideal body weight.”

“Adopting a healthy lifestyle, a balanced diet, and regular exercise will, in the vast majority of cases, lead to a normal BMI,” he said. “We are pleased to be able to add improved semen quality to the long list of benefits that we know are the result of an optimal body weight.”

Now Sigmundsson and Brian Hopkins, a professor of psychology from Lancaster University have shown that baby swimming is good for developing balance and movement in infants and young children.

Very clear results

The study involved comparing 19 baby swimmers against a control group of 19 children who had not participated in baby swimming. The only factor that separated baby swimmers from the control group was swimming. All other factors, such as the parents’ education, housing and economic status, were the same.

The baby swimmers had participated in swimming classes for two hours a week from the age of 2-3 months until they were about 7 months old. A typical session might involve helping the baby do a somersault on a floating mat, having the baby dive under water, jump from the pool edge, and balance on the hand of a parent while reaching to pick up floating objects.

At approximately age 5, both baby swimmers and the control group were tested with similar exercises. The exercises included walking on tiptoes, balancing on one foot, skipping rope, rolling a ball into a goal and catching a beanbag. The results were crystal clear, the researchers say.

“We saw very clearly that baby swimmers were the best in exercises that related to balance and the ability to reach for things,” says Sigmundsson.

Swimming in Iceland

The survey took place in Iceland, which is Sigmundsson’s homeland.

“Water is as important to Icelanders as snow is for Norwegians. A typical Icelander swims on average once or twice a week, and there is great deal of interest in baby swimming. I know an instructor who has been teaching baby swimming for 20 years. He had a great deal of information about children who have participated in swimming courses. So it was natural for us to conduct the study in Iceland,” Sigmundsson says.

Sigmundsson says he was simply overwhelmed by what the instructor was able to get the babies to do.

“The instructor was able to bring three-month-old babies right up to a balanced position, standing on his palm. The babies locked joints — it was amazing to watch,” Sigmundsson says.

He believes the survey shows that specific training in young children gives results.

“It’s incredibly exciting that specific training for young babies has an effect later in life. Development is a dynamic interplay between maturation, growth, experience and learning. Our study shows that we must never underestimate the learning aspect,” Sigmundsson concludes.

They announced the pregnancy in August 2009 and the maternity was written into the “Scrubs” story. Back in the sixth season, Elliot was having trouble being the only one in the group with no child on the way. And by season 9 opener, she has been seven months pregnant with J.D.’s baby.

Experts said the findings suggest that playing Mozart could reduce the time babies spend in hospital, saving medical services millions of pounds as a result.

Researchers played Mozart to pre-term babies for 30 minutes and measured the energy they used and compared this against the amount of energy expended when the babies were “at rest”.

After hearing the music, the infants expended less energy, causing them to gain weight faster.

One of the main priorities of doctors treating premature babies is to increase their body weight so that they can be sent home.

Babies may be exposed to infections and other illnesses at the hospital and a healthy body weight keeps them immune to other problems in the future.

Dr Dror Mandel said the research would have wide-ranging implications for the treatment of premature babies.

“It’s not exactly clear how the music is affecting them, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated,” he said.

“The repetitive melodies in Mozart’s music may be affecting the organizational centres of the brain’s cortex.

“Unlike Beethoven, Bach or Bartok, Mozart’s music is composed with a melody that is highly repetitive. This might be the musical explanation. For the scientific one, more investigation is needed.”

The study, from the Tel Aviv University’s School of Medicine, was the first to quantify the effect of music, specifically Mozart, on newborn babies.

“Medical practitioners are aware that by changing the environment, we can create a whole new treatment paradigm for babies in neonatal care,” Dr Mandel said.

“That’s our main goal to improve their quality of life. The point of our research is to quantify these effects so that standards and care-guides can be developed. We still don’t know the long-term effects of themusic, or if other kinds of music will work just as well.”

The study came about through an international project led by the US based consortium NIDCAP, which aims to create a set of standard practices to increase the health and well-being ofpremature babies.

Confirming the birth of his daughter Vida via his website, 40-year-old Matthew revealed the meaning behind the unusual name choice for his gal. “Vida is Portugese for ‘life’ and that’s what God gave us this morning,” he gushed in his usual over-the-top manner. “Camila’s recovering wonderfully and we are both truly honoured to welcome this little lady into our family.”

Matthew’s little lady weighed in at 7lb 7oz and was born on January 3, at 12:13am. She joins big brother, 17-month-old Levi.

In a much grander and royal household in the UK, another Camilla is celebrating baby news! The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles is delighted to have become a grandmother for the third and fourth time to twin boys.

The 62-year-old wife to Prince Charles is reportedly “absolutely delighted” about the arrival of Louis and Gus, who were born to her daughter Laura on January 2. The newborn twins join their big sister Eliza, 2 and cousin Lola, 2, who is the daughter of Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles.

While the celebrations of 2010 celeb babies are in full swing, not everyone on the showbiz circuit is keen to spread the word. Actress and mum-of-one, Jennifer Hudson has been forced to deny rumours of a second pregnancy amid speculation.

The Sex and the City star and Oscar winning actress has revealed that the only delivery she is looking forward to in 2010 is her second album! “Contrary to what has been falsely reported, Jennifer Hudson is not pregnant,” her representative has said.

Jen is mum to 5-month-old son David but refused to deny or confirm she was expecting until the day little David was born! (link)

Here are just a few of the gifts my own particular charity St. Viencent dePaul has received over the past three months. All kinds, all shapes, and all textures of balls. There have been a few Hoola hoops donated – remember them. Play tunnels. Little toys that infants can push around. Maybe you’ve a supply of washable markers, they always go down a treat. Fisher Price’s animals and people always go down a treat. Maybe the next time your at your local store you might even think of buying a new toy.

Believe us there are many a child out there who will have a poor Christmas and your old toys or new donations could make all the difference.

In 1989-90 there were 1,075 incidents of Down’s syndrome births in England and Wales but by 2008 that number had jumped to 1075. While the risk of having a baby with Down’s syndrome is one in 940 for a woman aged 30. By the age of 40, the risk increases to one in 85.

Despite the increased diagnoses, the number of babies born with Down’s syndrome has remained almost static because of improved screening and subsequent abortions, researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, found. If screening had not taken place, the number of babies born with Down’s would have risen by 48%.

Live births of Down’s babies fell from 752 to 743 –or 1.10 to 1.08 per 1,000 births – over the period of time covered by the research. “What we’re seeing here is a steep rise in pregnancies with Down’s syndrome, but that is being offset by improvements in screening,” Joan Morris, the professor of medical statistics at Queen Mary, who led the study, said.

“It was thought that these improvements would lead to a decrease in the number of births with Down’s syndrome. However, due to increases in maternal age this has not occurred.”

Morris said there had been “major improvements to the Down’s screening test” which had become more widely available over the last 20 years”.

The professor added that this screening had led to a rise in the proportion of diagnoses among women under the age of 37.

“Among mothers aged 37 years and older, a consistent 70% of affected pregnancies were diagnosed antenatally,” the study said. Morris said

“In younger mothers, the proportions of pregnancies diagnosed antenatally increased from 3% to 43% owing to improvements in the availability and sensitivity of screening tests.”

The report also showed that the number of women who opt for a termination remained constant at 92 percent

However, the study showed that the actual number of abortions has risen because more babies are now being diagnosed with Down’s.

Because screening is now carried out earlier than ever before in a pregnancy, a proportion of cases would have gone on to miscarry naturally.

“Increases in maternal age would have caused a 48% increase in births with Down’s syndrome in the absence of terminations between 1989/91 and 2005/7,” the authors concluded.

“However, terminations of Down’s syndrome pregnancies due to an increase and improvements in antenatal screening have caused the number of live births with Down’s syndrome to remain constant.” The study used data from the Down’s register for England and Wales, published online by the British Medical Journal.

The anonymous register holds 26,488 antenatal and postnatal diagnoses of Down’s syndrome made by all cytogenetic laboratories, which analyse chromosomal abnormalities, since 1989.

This is something to be considered carefully during your pregnancy with your partner: you have to carefully weight the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a stay at home mum. Should you decide to return to work, for whatever reason, then the sooner you start to investigate child care the better your choice.

One bit of advice I always give to first-time mums is to ‘make some time for yourself.’ Don’t give all to baby, don’t give 24/7; take some time out for yourself whether it be going to the cinema once a week with the girls or taking yoga lessons. It’s a great opportunity for grandparents to baby-sit and spoil the little one!

It’s important that you have a break from the constant focus of your everyday activities with the baby. This can include many at-home activities as well, like reading, quilting, or even crafts that you enjoyed before the birth. The baby will be just as happy watching you relaxed and involved in your hobby, as they would be if you were doing the laundry!

You might even find a group for mothers at your church or local community centre. Sharing tips for a first-time Mom with others, is one way of easing the pressures and worry of whether you are doing things right, and the time out, even with baby, will be a change in routine that you’ll welcome!

 Here is a little of how Wikipedia describes VOC’s:  “Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere…Although ubiquitous in nature and modern industrial society, they may also be harmful or toxic.”

And.”.as organic chemicals, VOC may have health consequences. Because they tend toward the gaseous state, management of toxic VOCs is more difficult than with non-volatile compounds.” So it is a good idea to look for non VOC paint. Look for milk paint it is a great paint that you can mix with water for a warm eggshell feel. If you can’t find non VOC paint then make sure the nursery is painted well in advance of the new baby coming home.

In the nursery you should get rid of that carpet, it may feel warm to the feet but just think of the dirt, mould, mites and other elements it harbours your best bet is to go or a natural wood floor. If you do want to put down some covering then think rugs and think organic material like cotton. If you want to stick to carpets then go for one that is low in VOC’s and vacum at least every other day, daily is best.

The cribs or cot is where your baby will spend most of its early life so make sure that it is made of natural wood covered with a non-toxic finish. A lot of furniture, including nursery furniture is made from particleboards or veneers that can release toxic gasses, such as formaldehyde, into the air. Try also to avoid nursery furniture that is coated with polyurethane or other strong stains, best to go for a natural coating such as beeswax. When it comes to baby mattress go for one that is padded with organic and natural materials by doing so you can be sure that harmful carcinogenics are not been released into the air that baby is breathing.

Unfortunately organic material like those mentioned above can be more expensive than normal mass produced non-organic material. If you can’t afford to stock with organic material then an air purifier can help remove the chemicals and other allergens circulating through the air.

By doing your part in creating a non toxic environment you are giving your baby the best start you can.