I couldn’t stop my tears (of excitement) from flowing for a couple reasons.

I read about a story of a 14-year old girl, Tee Hui Yi, getting a heart transplant after waiting for the right donor for more than a year.

Definitely it’s good news for Hui Yi who has been using a luggage-like mechanical heart all this while. It’s also an exciting moment for her parents who have never stopped praying for her fast recovery.

As a parent, I share in the joy too. The transplant gives a huge relief to her parents.

But what really touched me was more than that.

I feel so proud for the father of the donor - a 15-year-old boy who has been confirmed brain-dead after a road accident.

It really touched my heart when he said this after he received a telephone call from a doctor telling him that his son’s heart had been successfully transplanted to Hui Yi:

“Although I have lost a son, I now feel like I have a foster daughter.”

On why he agreed for his son to be an organ donor, he said: “My son was God’s gift to me. Now, it is time to return the gift to God.”  

The moment I read this, my tears started to flow uncontrollaby.

I truly believe that Hui Yi would agree with me that this is a gift of life that is so full of love and selflessness.

I wish more people would pledge to donate their organs to save more lives and help others live a better life.

Pregnant and breast-feeding women should eat at least 12 ounces (340 grams) of fish and other seafood a week because the benefits for infant brain development outweigh any worries about mercury contamination, a group of U.S. experts said on Thursday.

The recommendations contradict U.S. government warnings that these women should consume no more than 12 ounces of fish and other seafood weekly due to concerns that mercury -- which can harm the nervous system of fetuses -- might exist in trace amounts in this food.

But the group of 14 obstetricians and nutritionists said the threat of mercury poisoning remains only theoretical, while the warnings have scared many pregnant women into not eating fish at all, robbing them and their babies of vital nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, known to help brain development.

Full report: Eat fish while pregnant, U.S. experts recommend

A German scientist has come up with a solution for snoring--a computerized pillow that shifts the head's sleeping position until the noise stops.

Daryoush Bazargani, a professor of computer science at the University of Rostock and the pillow's inventor, was displaying a prototype of his pillow at a health conference in Germany on Wednesday.

"The pillow is attached to a computer, which is the size of a book, rests on a bedside table, and analyzes snoring noises," Bazargani told Reuters.

"The computer then reduces or enlarges air compartments within the pillow to facilitate nasal airflow to minimize snoring as the user shifts during sleep," he said.

Full report: Scientist invents computer pillow to stop snoring

It occurred to me when I was young, my mom always asked me to stop crying whenever I cried.

Now that I am a dad myself, it's only natural that I follow my mother's footsteps. But I realize there's something wrong to ask a child who is genuinely sad to stop crying.

Men don’t cry mentality is a misconception. We should throw it out of the window. Crying won’t make men a sissy. Rather it makes you stronger.

If you have cried before as I did on a few occasions, you know the "high" feeling that comes after a good cry. Not to mention the feeling of relief. Hard to describe but it's such a great feeling!

Now let's talk about crying children.

Do you know what parents say to their children when they are small could have an impact on the future of the children?

I do. However, to the shock of my life, the impact is bigger than I originally thought.

This revelation dawned on me when I heard two true stories. Both gained enlightenment on their underlying problems after attending a workshop.

I hope, after reading these stories, it’s enough to convince you that you must be very careful with what you say to your child. As this has a huge relationship how your child handles himself in the future, whether at home or office.

Lazy to read about pregnancy? Why not listen?

Thanks to Sinead of Breastfeeding Mums who has created some wonderful podcasts.

The good thing about podcasts is you can download the audio and listen while driving or cooking.

One of the topics touched by Sinead is Early Pregnancy Symptoms. 

Other topics include Preparing for Pregnancy and Pregnancy and Morning Sickness.

For future podcasts, remember to check back often here.

The H5N1 bird flu virus can pass through a pregnant woman's placenta to infect the fetus, researchers reported on Thursday.

They also found evidence of what doctors had long suspected -- that the virus not only affects the lungs, but passes throughout the body into the gastrointestinal tract, the brain, liver and blood cells.

"The work helps us to understand H5N1's high fatality rate, as well as serving as model for global collaboration in the field of emerging infectious diseases," said Dr. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University in New York, who directed the study.

Full report: Bird flu virus can pass mother to child  

Your baby didn’t come packaged with an owner’s manual, but her body language can tell you plenty, including what she wants and needs from you. Some of those early body signals are hard-wired—more instinctual than intentional—but as grows little older she’ll use her body language to communicate a whole lot more. Here’s a quick guide to baby body language.

“One moment my one month old will be almost asleep. Then suddenly, for no reason at all, she’ll fling her arms and legs out and start wailing.”

How could I miss this important day?

I was tipped off by Megan Bayliss of Imaginif that today is Bloggers Unite – Blog Against Abuse Day.

It’s important that bloggers get together to spread the message of love and care toward children. With the increasing number of child sexual abuse, assault and murder, this has become even more important than ever.

I am really pissed off by news of this nature. One such recent example is Nurin Jazlin.

I urge you to spread the word about Blog Against Abuse Day and ask your friends to write something about child abuse on their blogs.

Or you can submit a story to Megan’s blog here. No story is too trivial to share. Submit it now.

Do your bit and let’s work together to make this world a better place, especially for the young and innocent children. 

Teenage girls who stick close with their circle of friends are less likely to take abuse from the boys they date, a new study suggests.

The intricacies of the teen years include more than the physical sprouting and associated zits. Teenagers begin to define their sense of self as individuals while forming friendships and potentially romantic relationships.

The new research, published in the Sept. 20 issue of the journal BMC Nursing, sheds light on the teen-dating scene and finds that a close-knit circle of same-sex friends provides structure for teenage girls as they navigate the dating course. The maintenance of a strong friendship circle reduces a teen girl's uncertainty about abuse, and in turn protects her from it.

In this study, teens defined abuse, whether physical, verbal, or emotional, as an act in which a boyfriend intended to hurt a girl.

Full report: Close Friends Protect Teen Girls From Abusive Boyfriends  

A Siberian woman who gave birth to her 12th child -- doing more than her fair share to stem Russia's population decline -- was stunned to find that little Nadia weighed in at a massive 7.75 kg (17.1 lb).

Nadia was delivered by caesarean section in the local maternity hospital in the Altai region on September 17, joining eight sisters and three brothers, a local reporter said.

"We were all simply in shock," said Nadia's mother, Tatyana Barabanova, 43. "What did the father say? He couldn't say a thing -- he just stood there blinking."

Full report: Russian woman's 12th baby weighs in at 7.75 kg  

I was startled when my friends asked how I got my two kids to sit quietly in the car seats when they saw two fitted in the back of our car.

According to them, they have problems getting their child to sit in a car seat. Worse, some never think of using car seats at all!

Oh my God! I thought parents are supposed to put child safety as priority when they are on the road.

It’s better safe than sorry. As for me, since the birth of our first child, J, car seat is something that my wife and I seem to agree upon without much argument (not that we always argue).

If you want to have lots of kids, look for a Barry White instead of a Justin Timberlake. Men with a deep voices have more offspring, a new study suggests.

Previous studies conducted by David Feinberg of McMaster University in Canada have shown that women are more attracted to men with deeper voices, judging them to be older, healthier and more masculine than their higher-pitched rivals.

Men, on the other hand, go for women with higher pitched voices because they find them more attractive, subordinate, feminine, healthier and younger-sounding.

In the new study, detailed in a recent issue of the journal Biology Letters, Feinberg set out to see how that attraction to deeper-voiced men affected reproduction and the survival of offspring.

Full report: Deep-Voiced Men Have More Kids

Jennifer Garner, who stars in the upcoming film, "The Kingdom," says she's grateful that she can balance her career with motherhood.

"My job is great to have as a mom," she tells Marie Claire magazine in its October issue. "I get to take long breaks and then work hard in a really concentrated way."

Garner nursed her daughter, Violet, during the filming of "The Kingdom," co-starring Jamie Foxx, which opens in theaters Friday. Garner says she found herself staggered by the heat on the Arizona set.

"I checked with a pediatrician, I checked with my gynecologist," she recalls, "and they said, `Breast-feeding? You'll be fine. Just drink plenty of water.' But the rules when it's 138 degrees are different. ... It sent me to the hospital a couple of times."

Full report: Garner Balances Career With Motherhood