Baby Crap You Don't Need

Women more likely than men to look away from ugly babies

(NEWSER) - A mother’s love may be “determined by facial attractiveness,” a new study suggests in finding that women were more likely than men to avert their gaze from an unattractive baby. Researchers showed men and women photos of normal and abnormal infants; men and women gave equal attractiveness ratings to the abnormal babies, but women tried harder not to look at the less-cute pictures, HealthDay News reports. More»

Avoid the five most common mistakes parents make with newborns

(NEWSER) - Babies don't come with manuals, so it's hard to get everything right. CNN asked pediatricians to spill: What are the most common mistakes new parents make? Their responses:

1. Letting your newborn sleep through the night.

Worldwide, about 1M too-soon babies die each year

(AP) - About 15 million premature babies are born every year—more than 1 in 10 of the world's births and a bigger problem than previously believed, according to the first country-by-country estimates of this obstetric epidemic. The startling toll: 1.1 million of these fragile newborns die as a result, and even those who survive can suffer lifelong disabilities. Most of the world's preemies are born in Africa and Asia, says the report released today. More»

Alicia Silverstone's practice offers benefits similar to breastfeeding

(NEWSER) - Alicia Silverstone's video of herself chewing her baby's food last week prompted disgusted comments, but she may actually be doing little Bear Blu a favor. Our ancestors did the same, and plenty of non-Western cultures still do it, Life's Little Mysteries notes. Like breast-feeding, "pre-mastication" offers benefits to a baby. The tiny quantities of germs in a mother's saliva prompt a baby's immune system to produce helpful antibodies. More»

Adorable 'facial cues' fade at that age: researchers

(NEWSER) - No one's saying that 5-year-olds can't be adorable—but it appears that they're past their prime, in cuteness terms. Researchers in Canada and China polled adults on the cuteness factor of kids from infancy to 6 years old. Subjects called the younger children cuter, with a big shift at age 4½. At that point, key "facial cues" like big eyes and heads combined with small noses and mouths become less apparent, Time reports. More»