Oregon Health and Science University scientists have discovered that high doses of vitamin C could counteract some of the harmful effects that smoking during pregnancy can have on unborn babies

After being pricked with a diabetes-testing needle by a classmate, 19 elementary school students are taking drugs to fight the HIV virus - one student has already tested positive.

According to authorities, the child who tested positive for the HIV virus could not have contracted the disease from the needle

Talk about giving the gift of life. A woman who agreed to be surrogate mother for a couple who couldn't conceive on their own -- gives birth to quintuplets. Officials with Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center say the five boys named Enrique, Gabriel, Jorge, Javier, and Victor are doing well, though one child will require surgery to repair a heart defect. Surrogate Teresa Anderson is also in good health. The babies were delivered by Caesarean section a week earlier than planned after about 33-weeks. The 25-year old Anderson already has two children with her husband, Jared. She has also given birth to two other babies who were given up for adoption. Initially, Anderson agreed to become a surrogate for $15,000. But after finding out about the quintuplets, she decided to do it for free, citing the expenses new parents, Luisa Gonzalez and Enrique Moreno, would face. Doctors implanted five embryos to increase the chances at least one would be successful. Anderson's obstetrician is unaware of any other surrogate mother carrying quintuplets

Scotland (AHN)- Researchers believe that working mothers harbor guilt about not being home with their children and therefore make more of an effort to make sure that their children are eating healthier. The University of Glasgow analyzed over 2,000 11-year-olds and their parents; they found children whose mothers did not work were more likely to eat unhealthy snacks. Children were asked which foods they ate at mealtimes and whether they consumed sweets, chocolate, cake, and sodas. Parents provided information about the household, the mother's qualifications and whether or not she was working. The researchers found 63% of children whose mothers were at home full-time consumed less healthy foods compared to 52% of those whose mothers worked full-time. Dr Hannah Theobald of the British Nutrition Foundation believes that the subject is timely, but still needs more research to confirm the results. "Studies looking at the association between non-working and working mothers and children's' diets tend to be inconsistent...we do know that healthier meals tend to be consumed if the family eats together as one unit

Geneva (AHN)-On Thursday the World Health Organization said that the situation for pregnant mothers and babies had worsened since the 1990s in dozens of countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite defying global advances in medicine one woman still dies every minute in pregnancy or childbirth, while each 60 seconds 20 young children are victims to easily preventable disease. WHO officials believe that some countries in Africa could take another 150 years to reach U.N. targets for reducing maternal mortality. Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, AIDS and neonatal ailments were the main killers of children under five. The toll includes more than four million newborns who die before they are a month old, but not some 3.3 million stillbirths annually. "The lifetime risk for a woman to lose a newborn baby is now 1 in 5 in Africa, compared with 1 in 125 in more developed countries," the report said. WHO determined that an additional $9 billion is required for each year of the next decade to reach the U.N. Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters by the target date of 2015