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U.S. Ranks 27th on List of Best Countries to Be A Mom

Save the Children released its 9th annual Mothers' Index that ranks the best — and worst — places to be a mother and a child. Sweden tops the list while the African country of Niger ranked last.

The United States, which came in at 26th in 2007, placed one slot lower this year at #27. The top-10 countries have high scores for mothers' and children's health, educational and economic status. Conditions for mothers and their children in countries at the bottom of the Index are bleak. On average, 1 in 21 mothers will die in her lifetime from pregnancy-related causes. More than 1 child in 6 dies before her fifth birthday, and roughly 1 in 3 suffers from malnutrition, while only 3 girls for every 4 boys are enrolled in school.

Suri’s Drinking Habits Becoming “Bottle-Gate”?

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s daughter, Suri, was spotted sucking on a bottle in NYC earlier this week, spawning comments and criticism from various news outlets who say that at two years old, the tot should no longer be drinking from a bottle.

Us Weekly called on some experts to weigh in on the situation. "Most pediatricians recommend a bottle should be given up by age 1 — almost certainly by 18 months," Dr. Charlotte Cowan, author of the Dr. Hippo book series, tells Usmagazine.com. However, Dr. Cowan said that constant traveling with her parents might shed light on why Suri is still relying on a bottle. "When babies are challenged, their diet is upset, their sleep is upset," Dr. Cowan says. "They will regress back to previous habits ... lingering with a bottle is comforting. You could argue that her parents have decided that this is not the time to try to wean her off if they're traveling frequently."

Yet, every child is different and the important thing, some experts said, is to not distress over a situation like this one. "We panic and feel as if we have to break a child of that habit before it's really necessary to do so," psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow, who has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, tells Us Weekly.

What do you think? Should Suri have been weaned off the bottle already? Any tips for Katie and Tom?

Poll Reveals 34% of Moms Have Had an Affair Since Having Children

A new study of women with young children, conducted jointly by Cookie magazine and AOL Body, reveals that 34 percent of moms report having had an affair since having children, and 48 percent suspect their husbands have had or are having an affair.

The survey, entitled "Sex and the American Mom," polled a nationwide group of more than 30,000 mothers with at least one child.

A whopping 34 percent of women admitted to having had an affair since having kids, and more than half (53 percent) said they have thought about it. Fifty-eight percent of women said they fantasize about sex with coworkers, delivery men, and other dads.

So tell us -- have you had an affair or would you?  

 

More Disturbing News from Yearning for Zion Ranch

Just when you thought news from the Yearning from Zion Ranch couldn't get more disturbing, it does: Texas officials have told legislators they're looking at the possible sexual abuse of some young boys taken from the polygamist sect's ranch. Commissioner Carey Cockerell, in charge of the umbrella Department of Family and Protective Services, told lawmakers 41 children have evidence of broken bones.

To read more, click here.

First size 16 model in Miss England final

Pageant watchers in England are all abuzz about Chloe Marshall, the first plus-size contestant to be selected as a finalist for the Miss England competition. The 17-year old from Surrey has spoken of how proud she is of her curvy body. "I wanted to go through to the Miss England finals to break through the stereotype that you have to be tall and skinny," she says. Go, Chloe!

For more about Chloe, click here.

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