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Midwives, cellphones and CNN Hero Robin Lim

5/2/2012

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Cellphones can be a vital tool for midwives in poor countries. In northern Indonesia, the Bumi Sehat health clinic connected with expectant mothers in rural areas by putting cell phones in the hands of 13 traditional birth attendants around Aceh.

"You don't really know how many lives have been saved… but ever since the handphone program went into effect nobody has lost a mother in our area- which is amazing," said Filipino-American midwife Robin Lim.

Lim brought international attention to the need for midwives in Indonesia when she was voted the CNN Hero of the Year in 2011.

With the United Nations Population Fund saying 3 in 5 women in South Asia give birth without a skilled birth attendant, the demand for midwives was clear. But so was the need to extend their reach with technology. The mobile penetration rate in Indonesia is 54%, according to 2011 research by The Nielsen Company.

Lim discovered the need to give local healers cellphones when an 8.9 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter near Aceg shook northern Indonesia in 2004.

"We found that the people go to them first. So as soon as cell phone towers were up, our organization provided them with handphones and we paid for their plans. And we taught them how to use them because some of them were in their 80's," said Lim.

She added, "They are the trusted women, who are the first line of defense when a mother and baby are at risk."

She said that at the time, the YayasanBumi Sehat or Healthy Mother Earth Foundation distributed 32 other cellphones. She explained that while other aid organizations eventually left the disaster zone, "we had no exit strategy."

She said the cellphone program continues to this day.

A published author, Lim easily slips into storytelling. She describes a typical scenario where the phone comes in handy.

It's 3 a.m. and a husband calls the local midwife. The way she tells it, the healer knows the mother will need extra medical attention since she has high blood pressure and is undernourished from relying on the cup of soup and rice she gets from the World Food Program. As one of the 13 traditional birth attendants with a cellphone, she dials the number for the Bumi Sehat health clinic.

"Say it's mother Fetri in labor. She wants to give birth at the clinic. The clinic sends an ambulance and picks up her, her traditional birth attendant and her whole family and brings them. If she wants to give birth at home, our midwife goes… and the ambulance stands by. If we have to move her to the clinic it can be done. And we bring oxygen and a birth kit," said Lim.

Robin Lim advocates having an attentive midwife see the pregnancy and birthing through entirely. She internalized that lesson when her sister and the baby she was carrying died.

She said, "My sister died in pregnancy. She was in the United States. She was under the care of an Obgyn and she had medical insurance. But the doctor didn't take the time to address the problem. She had hypertension and it could have been solved. She needed medication."

"I feel like if my sister had a midwife, she would have been alive today. I lost a sister but I gained a passion," said the midwife.

Lim added, "I try to do something everyday for all the mothers of the world in her honor." (www.rappler.com)


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'It's More Fun in the Philippines' 1st TV ad now out

5/1/2012

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The Philippines' viral tourism campaign has gone to video.  Since CNN aired the first official commercial for the "It's More Fun in the Philippines" campaign on April 30, the video has taken to Internet and the social networks.

CNN has turned TV lenses to the Philippines for its "Eye On" series, which was timed to coincide with the 45th Annual Meeting of ADB in Manila from May 2-5.

The video incorporates still photos and video set to the catchy disco house song "Barbra Streisand" by Duck Sauce.

The short video ends with a call to citizens to continue creating their own memes, asking "What will you come up with?" (www.rappler.com)
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Instagram bans pro-anorexic content

4/30/2012

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Facebook’s recent acquisition, Instagram, has updated its community guidelines to prohibit content which promote or glorify self-harm such as eating disorders and suicide. According to their website, tags such as “thinsipiration” (a term coined from “thin” and “inspiration”) and “probulimia” will no longer be searchable. Accounts which encourage these activities would also be disabled. This addition can now be found in their Community Guidelines:

"Don’t promote or glorify self-harm: While Instagram is a place where people can share their lives with others through photographs, any account found encouraging or urging users to embrace anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders; or to cut, harm themselves, or commit suicide will result in a disabled account without warning. We believe that communication regarding these behaviors in order to create awareness, come together for support and to facilitate recovery is important, but that Instagram is not the place for active promotion or glorification of self-harm."

The Instagram ”thinspiration” controversy was sparked by British model Alexa Chung’s Instagram photo which she soon deleted after receiving a lot of flak from other users who commented that her legs were “disgustingly skinny” and that she was being a “terrible example” to her young fans.

Other social networking and photo-sharing platforms like Tumblr and Pinterest have also previously released proclamations which aim to ban pro-self-harm content on their sites. (www.rappler.com)
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Light bulb with 20-year life unveiled in US on Earth Day

4/22/2012

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A prize-winning, super energy saving LED bulb from Dutch electronics giant Philips, said to last over 20 years, went on sale online and in stores Sunday to coincide with Earth Day, April 22.

The bulb that won the 2011 US Department of Energy's "Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize," was available from retailers for $50, and the company said it was planning discounts to bring the cost down to as little as $25-$30.

The 10-watt light bulb was deemed an efficient alternative to the standard 60-watt incandescent bulb, and when used 3 hours a day, boasted an impressive 27.4 years maximum life span, the company said.

For consumers attentive to cost, Philips said the price tag was easily offset by energy savings of $165 over its lifetime.

"Because the new bulb is 83% more energy efficient than the standard 60-watt incandescent, consumers can now experience new savings for their pocketbooks," Philips' North America executive Ed Crawford said in announcing rebates.

International Earth Day, now in its 42nd year, was celebrated by environmentalists Sunday seeking to bring attention to climate change and pollution, and highlight ways to save energy.

President Barack Obama issued a US proclamation for the day to "reflect on the challenges that remain," and confront the "most urgent environmental issues and rallied around a single message: the success of future generations depends upon how we act today." (www.rappler.com)
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Brazilian actor playing Judas accidentally hangs himself

4/8/2012

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SAO PAULO - A Brazilian actor playing Judas was seriously injured Saturday, April 7, when he accidentally hanged himself during a Bible scene in which his character commits suicide after betraying Jesus, a report said.

The actor, identified as Tiago Klimeck, apparently confused which cord he should use, and remained hanging for several minutes during a performance of "The Passion of Christ" in the city of Itarare, police told news website G1.

The man's colleagues did not react immediately while he hung unconscious, believing the actor was still playing the role of Judas.

Klimeck was rushed to a hospital, where he remains in serious condition, the news site reported. (www.rappler.com)
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Cheap, safe device helps avoid premature birth

4/3/2012

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A simple low-cost silicon ring can slash the risk of premature birth, a major cause of death in newborns and health problems in adult life, according to a trial reported on Tuesday by The Lancet. Spanish doctors tested the 38 euro (US$49.50) device, known as a pessary, on women in their last three months of pregnancy who had cervical shortening, a condition that weakens the pelvic floor and leads to pre-term birth.

The pessary is designed to strengthen the cervix -- the lower end of the uterus that leads to the vagina -- so that it can cope with the extra weight of the final weeks of pregnancy.

Silicon pessaries have been used over the past 50 years as one of several methods to prevent pre-term births.

But their effectiveness has been debated, and this was the first time the device had been investigated in a randomized trial.

Six percent of women who were fitted with the pessary gave birth prematurely, compared to 27% of counterparts who did not have the device, according to the study.

Cervical shortening

The so-called PECEP trial recruited 15,000 women who underwent ultrasound examination in five hospitals when they were in between 20 and 23 weeks of pregnancy.

Of these, 380 had cervical shortening -- defined as a having a cervix whose length was 25mm (0.98 inches) or less -- and were randomly assigned to one of two groups, each comprising 190 women.

In the pessary group, 12 had a baby before 34 weeks of pregnancy, while the number in the non-pessary group was 51.

No side effects were reported in the pessary group, and 95% of its participants said they would recommend the treatment for others.

"Placement of a pessary is an affordable procedure, non-invasive and easy to insert and remove as required," said lead researcher Maria Goya, an obstetrician at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona. - (www.rappler.com)

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Laughter clubs catch on in stressed-out HK

4/1/2012

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HONG KONG - Hypnotherapist Dick Yu has a mission that seems unthinkable to some Hong Kong people: he wants to make the Asian financial hub's 7 million residents laugh.

"Hong Kong people don't laugh because they are under constant pressure to make more money, to make life better," says Yu, who has founded 11 Laughter Clubs in the southern Chinese city since 2007.

"People get worried easily because housing is so expensive, the cost of living is getting higher and people are concerned about whether they can keep their job."

The 35-year-old trained hypnotherapist set up Hong Kong's first laughter club in 2007, after he discovered the concept of laughter yoga -- made popular as an exercise routine by Indian physician Madan Kataria in 1995.

Since then hundreds of heavy-hearted Hong Kongers have signed up for the free classes, a sign, experts say, of the city's underlying health and social problems.

"When you laugh, you're happier, you become positive and everything else will become better," Yu says after a one-hour laughing session in a park.

"Ho ho, ha ha ha," the group of 30 students recite. They combine the exercise with deep yogic breathing, give each other high-fives, clap and waddle like penguins, all in the name of laughter.

The fake laughter very soon breaks into the real thing, demonstrating one of the core principles of laughter yoga: laughter has physiological benefits whether it is fake or real.

As the adage "laughter is the best medicine" goes, researchers credit belly laughs as a recipe for a healthy heart. It helps expand blood vessel linings to increase blood flow, reduces stress hormones and boosts the immune system.

A British study last year showed 15 minutes of laughter increased the level of pain tolerance by around 10%, as the action helps to trigger the release of endorphins, the body's naturally produced pain killers.

"It was a bit awkward in the beginning when we tried to fake the laughter with the 'ho ho, ha ha ha', but after a while you can tell the difference and you feel more relaxed," said Kaman Wong at one of Yu's classes.

The 37-year-old student joined the laughter club 2 years ago when he was a supervisor at a food processing firm.

"The work was stressful. There was a lot of overtime work, I had to deal with many workers. If anything went wrong I was responsible, but I've learned how to laugh away all the stress," he says.

But on top of his work problems, he said the pressure-cooker atmosphere of Hong Kong itself was getting him down.

"Everyone is like a balloon that is about to explode in Hong Kong. If you smile at me, I wouldn't know how to react to that. I think there are just a lot of barriers among Hong Kongers that we need to break," he says.

Social scientists say the laughter club boom highlights the stress issue faced by many residents of a densely populated city which groans under extremes of inequality, soaring property prices and cramped living spaces.

The number of people seeking psychiatric treatment at Hong Kong's public hospitals leapt 20 percent between 2007 and 2011 to 184,087, according to the Hospital Authority.

Hong Kong's suicide rate rose from 11.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 1990 to 14.6 in 2009, World Health Organization figures show. That's higher than in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, but lower than South Korea.

Paul Yip, director of the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, says material success means more to many Hong Kongers than physical well being.

"Hong Kong is a very fast-paced society. People walk fast... They have to work long hours not because it is their choice but because they have to survive," he says.

Sky-high property prices fuelled by the entry of rich mainland Chinese tycoons into the local market mean families often have to squeeze into tiny apartments.

"Even if you're not happy, you have nowhere to go," Yip says.

In other words, Hong Kong is fertile ground for laughing guru Yu, who hopes to set up branches of his club all over the city.

"The laughter club should be like a convenience store, which you have in every community. If everyone is laughing, the society will be happier," he says.

"I hope there are more laughing ambassadors in Hong Kong to spread joy and laughter to everyone." - Agence France-Presse (www.rappler.com)
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When is your 100th birthday? You may get P100,000!

3/30/2012

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MANILA, Philippines - Here’s a possible incentive to live long until you’re 100.

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to grant Filipino centenarians various rewards and incentives, including a cash gift of P100,000 from Malacañang.

If the Senate agrees and it turns into a law, you will also get on your birthday a letter of congratulations from no less than the President of the Philippines.

“Living to be a centenarian, or three decades past the life expectancy is an achievement and a distinction worthy of emulation and public recognition,” said Albay Rep Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the proposed “Centenarians Act of 2012.”

Life expectancy at birth is a major indicator of the level of nation’s human development. Lagman said the average Filipino can expect to live to only 71 years old.

“Centenarians are our role models for living long and aging well,” Lagman added.

It takes immense self-discipline to reach 100. While genetics plays a role in longevity, the dominant factor in living long is lifestyle, Lagman said, citing studies.

The bill seeks to amend the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 and declare every 25th day of September as the “National Respect for Centenarians Day.”

Other proposed rewards include:

  • 50% discount and exemption from the value-added tax (VAT) on the sale of goods and services from all establishments, but only for the exclusive use and enjoyment of the centenarians
  • A plaque of recognition and cash incentive by their respective city or municipal governments in appropriate ceremonies during the celebration of the “National Respect for Centenarians Day"
  • Psychological and other financial incentives
Lagman’s bill also wants to give deceased centenarians posthumous plaques of recognition. – (www.rappler.com)

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