Human development report 2011 by UN

Men Exceed Women – UN
Population Shoots Up
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27, (KUNA): A UN report issued on Wednesday noted that the Kuwaiti male population exceeds the female population and that the population growth rate in the country is seen increasing at a rate of 2.4 percent in the period 2010-2015.
The report, entitled ‘State of the World Population 2011’, issued by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said the Kuwaiti’s population (locals and residents) is now 2.8 million, and that the male population is 1.7 million, whereas the female population is only 1.1 million.
Globally, the report said that with the world population projected to reach 7 billion in five days’ time, actions taken now will decide whether the future will be healthy, sustainable and prosperous, or marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks.
The world must seize the opportunity to invest in the health and education of its youth to reap the full benefits of future economic development, or else face a continuation of the sorry state of disparities in which hundreds of millions of people in developing nations lack the most basic ingredients for a decent life, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin warned in the foreword of the report.
The report noted that the record population size can be viewed in many ways as a success for humanity because it means people are living longer and more children are surviving worldwide. But not everyone has benefited from this achievement or the higher quality of life that this implies.
Great disparities exist among and within countries and in rights and opportunities between men and women, girls and boys, as evidenced by the fact that that 215 million women of child-bearing age in developing countries lack access to voluntary family planning.
“Our work is far from done,” Osotimehin said, suggesting that charting a path now to development that promotes equality rather than exacerbating or reinforcing inequalities is more important than ever. “We must tear down economic, legal and social barriers, to put women and men and boys and girls on an equal footing in all spheres of life.”
Source: Arab Times

Words of wisdom

"Perhaps the greatest gift that women can give their daughters is to take precious care of their own lives—to develop their natural talents and to honor the opportunities that come their way. By so doing, they become vital models for their children as well as full women in their own right."

— Evelyn Bassoff

Steam cells discovered in breast milk

UWA discovers 'ethical' embryonic-like stem cells in breast milk
Courtney Trenwith October 18, 2011

UWA PhD student Foteini Hassiotou has discovered stem cells can be obtained from breast milk.

Serious and fatal diseases such as pancreatic cancer, Parkinson's disease and diabetes may eventually be treated using stem cells from breast milk following a remarkable discovery at the University of Western Australia.
UWA PhD student Foteini Hassiotou has potentially broken through the greatest hurdle in stem cell research - the ability to ethically obtain stem cells in a non-invasive manner.
Her finding that stem cells from breast milk can be directed to become other body cell types such as bone, fat, liver and brain cells, could reduce the need to use embryonic stem cells and therefore fast-track future therapies.

Words of wisdom

"I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong. [...] I don't feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in the mysterious universe without having any purpose."
Richard Feynman, phycist

The silent knitting session or support of laboring woman by staying calm

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recently came to the conclusion that too many babies are born in hospitals. In other words, according to the college, it would be beneficial to increase the number of out-of-hospital births (www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14145862). This would lead to a radical rethink of the selection and education of midwives. Outside hospitals, where women must rely entirely on the release of their natural hormones, the main preoccupation should be to protect the involuntary process of birth against situations that can inhibit it. Modern physiology can identify such situations, particularly those associated with a release of adrenaline, and those that stimulate the neocortex (the part of the brain highly developed among humans only).

The time is therefore ripe to underline the historical significance of one of the 27 workshops offered during the Mid-Pacific Conference on Birth and Primal Health Research (Honolulu, October 26–28, 2012). It will be called “The Silent Knitting Session.” The participants will realise at which point a repetitive task such as knitting (or, in Hawaii, making a wreath of flowers to be draped around the neck, for example) is an effective way to reduce the levels of adrenaline.

Since the release of adrenaline is highly contagious, the main preoccupation of an authentic midwife, after the paradigm shift, will be to maintain her own level of adrenaline as low as possible when she is close to a labouring woman. Midwives of the future will also need to train themselves to remain silent, since language is the most powerful stimulant of the neocortex. The silent knitting session will be a necessary step towards an understanding of what authentic midwifery is. We present it as the symbol of a vital new phase in the history of childbirth and midwifery.

— Michel Odent
midpacificonference@gmail.com
www.wombecology.com

Words of wisdom

"Midwives often forget that our beliefs in [mom’s] abilities can alter her accomplishments. It is important to check our hearts and push through any lack of belief that may inhibit her strengths. This may sound silly or ethereal, but I guarantee it can make a difference for a laboring mom and family."

— Carol Gautschi
Excerpted from “Getting to Second Stage,” Midwifery Today, Issue 98, Summer 2011
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