Ultraviolet: Denise Lewis and Helen Chamberlain strip off and dazzle in neon paint for cancer charity's nighttime walk

By GEORGINA LITTLEJOHN

All aglow: Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis dazzles in neon paint for Cancer Research

It's the sort of body art that is usually adorned by clubbers as they dazzle as they dance the night away under a party's UV lights.

But neon paint can also be a rather effective away of drawing attention to yourself in others way, say for a worthy cause - as two sexy sporting personalities have proved.

Former heptathlon medallist Denise Lewis and Sky's Sports' Soccer AM presenter Helen Chamberlain stripped off and got decorated in UV paint to support Cancer Research.


Electrifying: Helen Chamberlain's hair stands on end as she poses in the UV designs that adorn her upper body


The ladies looked stunning as they modelled the designs - inspired by microscopic images of cancer cells and painted by body paint artist Carolyn Roper.- to show their support for Shine, the UK charity's night-time walking marathon.

Both Helen, 44, and Denise, 38, have a connection to the disease and were happy to pose for the campaign.


Shining bright: Swimmer Mark Foster is splashed with designed that were inspired by microscopic cancer cells


The event, which takes place in Glasgow on September 10 and in London on October 1, hopes to raise more than £1 million.

It has been designed to symbolise the light that Cancer Research UK's doctors, nurses and scientists bring to the lives of people affected by cancer through life-saving research, and participants can choose to walk either the full marathon or a half marathon route.

The charity says people can dedicate the money they raise to a specific area of cancer research, including breast cancer, lung cancer and leukaemia.


source: dailymail

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School confiscates girl's Vaseline for her dry lips... due to health and safety fears

By ALISON SMITH SQUIRE

'Not prescribed': Ellie-Maye Wilkins, 7, from Sandbach, Cheshire with a tin of the offending Vaseline

When her seven-year-old daughter complained of dry lips, Joanne Wilkins gave her a tiny tin of Vaseline to apply at school.

But when Ellie-Maye went to use it, it was confiscated – because it is not a prescribed medicine.

And when Mrs Wilkins queried the decision, she was told if she wanted her daughter to moisturise her lips, she would need to take her out of school to apply the Vaseline.

‘This is health and safety gone mad,’ said Mrs Wilkins, 28, a project manager, yesterday. ‘Where has common sense gone? I can’t believe how my daughter was humiliated.


'Health and safety gone mad': The headmaster of Wistaston Church Lane Primary School confirmed that unless the Vaseline was prescribed, Ellie-Maye could not use it in school


‘This harmless ointment was taken away in front of all her friends. She was made to feel naughty and as a result was close to tears – all over a tiny pot of Vaseline.’

Mrs Wilkins took advice over her daughter’s dry lips from her pharmacist.

She said: ‘She recommended Vaseline Lip Therapy. It is the basic original Vaseline – just petroleum jelly - and is colourless and odourless.

‘She could apply it as often as she wished and it comes in a tiny pocket-sized tin that Ellie-Maye could easily carry in her schoolbag.

‘In fact, Ellie-Maye needed help opening the tin and the first teacher of the day helped her and had no problem with the Vaseline at all.

But at lunchtime, when she went to apply the Vaseline again, a second teacher she asked to help open it said she shouldn’t have it in school at all.

source: dailymail

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Pictured: Michael Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones smoking... seven months after he beat throat cancer

By CHRIS JOHNSON

Up in smoke: Michael Douglas smokes what appears to be a cigarette while aboard a yacht in the Italian Riviera last month

In January Michael Douglas proclaimed he was confident he'd beaten throat cancer.

But as these photos show, it seems the 66-year-old is struggling to keep his nicotine addiction under control.

The Hollywood actor is seen here smoking what appeared to be a hand-rolled cigarette while aboard a yacht on a recent holiday in the Italian Riviera.


Double trouble: His wife Catherine Zeta-Jone was also seen puffing away during the break

His wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, who supported her husband through his stage IV cancer battle last year, was also clocked with a cigarette in hand during the break.

To many, the image of the couple smoking just seven months after Douglas returned to health may come as a something of a shock.


Hard habit to kick: A recent study showed that it is not uncommon for cancer patients and their family members to continue smoking after diagnosis

However, statistcs show it is not uncommon for people who develop cancer to continue smoking after diagnosis.

A recent U.S. study by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that up to 18 per cent of lung cancer patients continue to smoke after discovering they have the illness.

And around 25 per cent of family members also kept up the habit, despite having watched their loved one's battle the condition.


source: dailymail

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Our deadly anorexia pact

Dangerously thin: Maria, left, and Katy both are 5ft 5in and weight less than six stone


They're trained doctors whose parents are distinguished writers - yet for 20 years these identical twins have competed with each other in the most disturbing way imaginable

Twins Maria and Katy Campbell were only 11 when they overheard a snippet of conversation between their parents which, they claim, was to change their lives for ever.

Maria recalls: ‘We were standing at the top of the stairs and heard our Dad remark: “Gosh, those girls are becoming young women, aren’t they? They’re getting hips.” ’

To most people, it’s the kind of harmless remark that an observant father might make about his pre-teen daughters. But for Maria and Katy, who are the identical daughters of distinguished writers, it triggered a sinister pact that would haunt the family for more than two decades.


Fertility fears: The twins are now 33 and dream of being mothers - but neither of them has ever had a period because they are so gaunt


‘We were incensed by Dad’s remark,’ says Katy, now 33 and, like her twin, a qualified doctor. ‘I remember screaming at him: “I’m never going to start my periods!”

‘We decided that day that if we stopped eating, we would lose our “hips”. I wanted to punish him and Mum — and I suppose that’s what we’ve both been doing ever since.’

Who can really tell what goes on in the muddled and duplicitous minds of anorexics? But the awful reality is that, thanks to their desire to ‘punish’ their parents, Maria and Katy have destroyed the past 20 years of their lives — and may never recover.


Happy children: Katy and Maria said they changed when they reached puberty and became obsessed with staying thin


‘It’s like having a ball and chain around my ankle that I can’t throw off,’ says Maria. ‘I’m so consumed by what I’m eating, how many calories I’m burning, what I’ll weigh tomorrow and what I weigh today. It’s an obsession.’

An obsession that could kill them both.

Even now, with preternaturally childish bodies and voices, the young women admit they struggle to make sense of what has happened to their lives.


Six months into the courses, tutors realised something was wrong and the twins were sent to different hospitals for treatment but it wasn't long before they were back together and losing weight again


To the utter despair of their parents — 58-year-old Christy and his wife Clare, 56 — the twins have spent most of their teenage and adult life in and out of various recovery clinics.

Today, the twins will be hospitalised again for several months — only this time, they say, they are determined to beat the disease.

‘It’s got to the point where Katy and I are absolutely sick of the situation,’ says Maria, who is 5ft 5in and weighs just under 6st.

‘I’ve lost everything due to this illness. I’ve lost my life, my house, my hair, my job, everything … and I’m absolutely sick of it.’

source: dailymail

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'It was my mom's dying wish': Man, 23, loses almost half 459lbs body weight in just a YEAR

By FIONA ROBERTS

Half the size: Alex Respess reveals his astonishing weight loss next to a cardboard cut-out showing him at his heaviest, when he weighed 459lbs


When Alex Respess's mother died after a battle with cancer, she made one last request - for her son to be happy and healthy.

And now, four years later, the 23-year-old can proudly say he fulfilled his mother's dying wish after he lost almost half his body weight in just 12 months.

He showed off his astonishing transformation on ABC's Good Morning America today, where he revealed his new 243lbs figure next to a cardboard cut-out showing him at his heaviest, 459lbs.



Before and after: Alex Respess, left, at his first weigh-in a year ago, and right, today on Good Morning America after he lost an astonishing 216lbs


The audience gasped as he held up one of his old shirts, and showed how he could now fit his whole body into one leg of a pair of shorts he wore before he shed the pounds.

Mr Respess, of Duluth, Georgia, said: 'The one thing I think [my mom] would say is she's proud of the man I've become.

'Because I'm not that kid that was overweight that she remembers - now I'm grown up.'
He added: 'Now in her memory I am happy and healthy and helping my brothers get that way too.'


Inspiration: Alex Respess pictured with his mother, Kim, who died four years ago. She told him she wanted him to be happy and healthy


Last year he was literally double the size. After a lifetime of unhealthy eating, Mr Respess, an ardent baseball fan, was too big to play, and was too mortified to go out to eat after once breaking a chair at a restaurant.

He said:' I was very introverted, I just didn't get out there, now I have the confidence to talk to anyone, to do anything.'

So, in desperation, Mr Respess wrote to personal trainer Chris Powell, who agreed to help him on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.

At the beginning Mr Respess was so big he had to be weighed on a freight-scale, and could only enter his bathroom door sideways.


Morbidly obese: At the beginning of the programme, Alex Respess was 459lbs, and had to be weighed using a pair of freight scales


First he travelled to Los Angeles, where he began his training - and learned how to make a healthier turkey version of his favourite bacon cheeseburger.

For the next 90 days Mr Powell lived with Mr Respess at his Duluth home, staying with him for 24 hours a day to help him meet his initial target, of losing 100lbs in just three months.

At his first weigh-in, he missed his goal - and the prize of a season ticket to his favourite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves - by just three pounds.


Astonishing transformation: Alex Respess demonstrates how he can fit inside one leg of his old shorts, left, and disappears behind an old shirt, right


Strict regime: Alex Respess meets Chris Powell, who spent the last year training him. Mr Powell even moved into his Georgia house for three months


But after Mr Powell moved out Mr Respess began to struggle, and worked out less and less. He said it gave him too much time to think about his mother's death, and he was angry about his father's impending marriage to his new fiancée.

The turning point came three days after the wedding, when Mr Powell took Mr Respess to an Army base in Georgia for a 24-hour boot camp.

He said the encouragement from the other soldiers as he trained alongside them spurred him on, and he went away with a coin to symbolise his goal: 'Get to it and fulfill your mission!'


Desperate measures: Alex Respess even let the Army shave his hair off so he could attend a 24-hour boot camp. He described it as a turning point


By January, he had lost a whopping 195lbs, and was able to undergo skin removal surgery to complete the transformation.

The end of the programme shows Mr Respess attending a ceremony with all his family and friends at a baseball field where he used to play little league - the last time he thought he made his mother proud.

He officially renamed a corner of the field Kim's Corner in her honour, and as he celebrated his 216lbs weight loss said: 'That number means a new life.'







sourc: dailymail

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Cindy Crawford treats her mirror image daughter Kaia to a night out in Hollywood

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Lookalikes: Cindy Crawford's daughter Kaia Jordan, left, was the mirror image of her supermodel mother, right, as they stepped out for dinner at Katsuya restaurant, last night


Cindy Crawford's daughter is looking more and more like her genetically blessed mother everyday.

Kaia Jordan, 10, was the mirror image of the 45-year-old supermodel, as they stepped out for dinner to the star-studded Katsuya restaurant in Hollywood, last night.

The mother and daughter duo were there for a family dinner and were joined by one of Kaia's friends.


Stunning: Cindy first became famous in the 80s alongside Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Helena Christensen


Dressed in jeans and a white singlet top, Kaia certainly bears a striking resemblance to Cindy, with the same signature brunette hair, facial features and tanned skin.

Her mother also slipped on a similar outfit of skinny jeans, a white top and a leather cropped jacket.

Both girls also wore near-identical flats.

Cindy is one of the most photographed women in the world, and first became famous in the 80s alongside Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Helena Christensen.


Model behaviour: Also bonding with her daughter was fellow super Christy Turlington, who took Grace for a frozen yoghurt in New York


In her mid-forties, the mother-of-two looks nowhere near her age and still models in various fashion and beauty campaigns, and was recently on the cover of Vogue Mexico in May.

But Cindy has admitted to using a little help from a plastic surgeon in the past to help maintain her looks.

In a magazine interview in 2006, she admitted that she first saw a plastic surgeon at the age of 29.

She said: 'I'm not going to lie to myself: Past a certain age, creams work on the texture of your skin but, in order to restore elasticity, all I can really count on is vitamin injections, Botox and collagen,' she told Gala magazine.



Genetically blessed: Cindy is seen here this month with her gorgeous family, husband Rande Gerber, left, son Presley, far left, and daughter Kaia, right


Cindy had once claimed that a 'miracle mixture' of ground coffee and olive oil kept her skin in its enviable condition.

Yet with refreshing honesty, she came clean and admitted to a little help.

'I have a very simple, healthy life, which works miracles,' she says. 'I drink a lot of water, watch what I eat and exercise. But I owe the quality of my skin to my cosmetic surgeon.'

Then last year she told Piers Morgan in the Mail on Sunday: 'There's a doctor here in London who I've gone to for Botox.'

In 2005, Crawford created a line of beauty products with Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh called Meaningful Beauty for Guthy-Renker

Married to club owner Rande since 1998, the couple also have a son, Presely, 11.
Cindy was also famously married to actor Richard Gere for four years.


source: dailymail

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'This is beyond empathy': Do these amazing conjoined twin girls share ONE mind?

By FIONA ROBERTS

Incredible bond: Conjoined twins Krista and Tatiana Hogan are joined at the skull, but they may also share one mind thanks to a unique neural link which effectively allows them to see with each others' eyes


Like any twins, the Hogans have their differences - for a start, four-year-old Krista loves tomato ketchup, but her sister Tatiana hates it.

Except their mother only knows that because one day when Krista was happily eating the sauce, Tatiana made a face and tried to scrape it off her tongue - even though she hadn't touched a drop.

It's just one of the remarkable incidents which have astonished doctors in British Columbia treating the conjoined twins, who say they may have a unique neural link which means they share one mind.


Astonishing: Krista, right, can correctly name the soft toy her mother shows to her twin sister Tatiana - even though she cannot see it. They have quite different personalities, and Krista is the bossier of the two


They believe the sisters share a part of the brain called the thalamus, which sends physical sensations and motor functions to the cerebral cortex.

In other words, they are effectively able to see through each other's eyes - and perhaps even hear each others' thoughts.

In an in-depth interview with the New York Times their mother, Felicia Simms, revealed how when one twin has her eyes covered, she can identify what the other one sees - and they even respond with a 'whoa' as if they are full when the other one drinks too much juice.


Unique girls: When one of the girls drinks, the other one will put a hand on her own stomach - despite not touching a drop. Each one can also seemingly taste something the other is eating


Shared mind? The girls are believed to have a unique thalamic bridge, in which they share the part of the brain which controls sensory perception

source: dailymail

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Superslim Princess Beatrice keeps shedding pounds thanks to 'water and fruit diet'

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Slim Bea: Princess Beatrice cuts a svelte figure compared with pictures of her in a larger frock of similar hue she wore two years ago, right


Does Princess Beatrice's yo-yo figure know no bounds?

The 22-year-old, who has struggled with her weight in the past, turned more than a few heads this weekend with her incredibly svelte figure, which appears to have shrunk further than ever.

Beatrice, who shed 2st before last year’s London Marathon, showed off her even slimmer frame as she attended a polo event at Cowdray Park in West Sussex wearing a short blue belted cocktail dress.

It was a dramatic contrast with a larger frock of similar hue she wore two years ago.


Young love: Beatrice was at the event with boyfriend Dave Clark

She now looks at least two sizes smaller, and credits a fitness regime based on exercise, lots of water and plenty of fruit and vegetables, with keeping the weight off.

Speaking about the pictures, she said at the time: 'I could probably do with losing the odd pound though, so perhaps it's the kick I need.

'It was such an unflattering bikini and I've got one that's so much nicer, so I could have kicked myself for wearing it.

'I thought people were a bit mean, although I know it comes with the territory.
'The trouble is, I don't have much confidence so it can be quite upsetting.'


Inspired: It was the unflattering pictures of the princess on a beach in St Barts that spurred her on to lose two stone and run the London Marathon as part of a charity team tied together


There has been no let up this year for the princess, who took part in the Windsor half marathon in September.

She managed to complete the run in a very respectable two hours and 16 minutes.

Then, in April she completed the London Marathon with her American boyfriend David Clark as part of a charity team tied together.

They formed a human caterpillar of 34 people who ran the 26.2mile course together along with Sir Richard Branson's two children Sam and Holly.


source: dailymail

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22-stone bride-to-be orders size 12 wedding dress... and then SLIMS to squeeze into it

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Beautiful bride: Beth Wheeler lost 10 stone ahead of her wedding so that she could fit into her dream dress


Almost all brides try to slim down a little ahead of their big day. However Beth Wheeler was more dedicated to her diet plan than most.

The 36-year-old weighed 22 stone when she got engaged.

But she ordered a size 12 wedding dress and put herself on a strict diet so she could shed 10 stone and fit into her dream gown a little more than a year later.

She embarked on a healthy eating and living campaign and shed more than half her body weight to reach her target of 12 stone just four days before her wedding at Halswell House near Bridgwater, Somerset.


In his wedding speech, James joked: 'When you get married you often get more than you expected, well I'm getting less'


'Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight will know that you can do it on your own for a few weeks but then easily become fed up so having something to aim for kept me focused.'

Beth weighed 22st 1lb when she joined her Weight Watchers group in April 2009.

The weight began to fall off steadily and she ordered her stunning wedding gown in October 2010, telling the seamstress that she aimed to be a size 12 on her wedding day.

Beth even managed to resist the temptations of festive food over the Christmas period and went on to shed the pounds through to her wedding day.

She was delighted when she stepped on the scales on February 20 this year - and found she had finally reached her goal of 12st.


source: dailymail

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'Terrible coincidence': Father and son, 3, may both need heart transplants due

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Unlucky: Frasier Rusling essentially has half a heart, while his father Simon is suffering from heart failure. The conditions are unrelated


A father has been told he needs a heart transplant just weeks after discovering his three-year-old son may need the same life-saving operation.

Simon Rusling, 31, was told he needed life-saving surgery and a possible transplant after doctors found out the arteries of his heart were in the wrong position.

His son Frasier has a serious non-hereditary heart defect that means he essentially has half a heart.

Mr Rusling said: 'Doctors have told us mine and Frasier's conditions are not linked or hereditary, it's just a terrible coincidence.'


Little fighter: Frasier has received treatment from a children's heart ward at Leeds General Infirmary - but it may close due to budget cuts


He and his wife Anita were delighted when Frasier was born in January 2008, but their joy turned to fear about a heart expert told them Frasier had a pulmonary atresia - a form of congenital heart disease in which the pulmonary valve does not form properly.

The little battler, who also has a hypo-plastic right ventricle, underwent surgery for the first time aged just two weeks to have a tube put into his chest to link his lungs and his heart to improve the oxygen supply.

Frasier went back in October 2009 for a second operation to fit a bigger tube and it was then that Simon discovered he was ill.

Former taxi company owner Simon, from Doncaster, went to see doctors after being unable to eat and losing three-and-a-half stone in just three weeks.

He initially put it down to the stress of Frasier's illness but doctors told him he had heart failure and would need a complicated operation involving new valves and chambers.

In the future he will need a heart transplant, because his arteries are the wrong way round, but doctors are delaying the operation as long as possible because the new heart would only be expected to work for 25 to 30 years.


source: dailymail

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Charlie Sheen's ex wife Denise Richards enjoys yoga by the sea

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Yummy mummy: Denise Richards shows off her beautiful form by the ocean in Nassau, the Bahamas


While her ex-husband Charlie Sheen continues his manic tour across the US, Denise Richards decided to go in search of inner peace in the Bahamas.

It's something that must be hard to find, with the father of her two daughters issuing forth blistering invective in venues across her homeland.

To make things worse, the venomous rants in his Torpedoes of Truth tour are frequently aimed at his former wife.


Yogi Bare: The actress looked stunning with minimal make-up on her face as she trained with master


Richards though, seems to have settled upon a spiritual solution to the turmoil and was quick to transport their daughters Sam, seven, and Lola, five , far away from news of their father's latest antics.

And the 40-year-old looked radiant and content for it, as she showed off her fine form in various complicated yoga positions in Nassau last Thursday.

Former Dancing with the Stars contestant, Richards, even had her own yogi to instruct in advanced positions and meditation by the beautiful ocean.


Inner peace: Richards looks calm after her session by the ocean, despite the turmoil in her personal life


Rant: Sheen has slated Richards


Richards is spending much time by the ocean in this tumultuous period and found unexpected inspiration in the form of former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife Maria Shriver, 55 , on the beach.

She tweeted to the journalist and author, who has been happily married to the Terminator star turned politician for 24 years: 'Great seeing you and your beautiful family. Everyone on the beach was talking about how pretty you are.'

Shriver returned the compliment by revealing her children had said she could take 'tips' from Richards, but the mum-of-two responded: 'thats very sweet. you don't need any! but next time I get married, I want marriage tips:)'


source: dailymail

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Catherine Zeta-Jones checks into treatment facility for bipolar disorder

By TOM LEONARD

Treatment: Catherine Zeta-Jones, pictured here with her husband Michael Douglas in New York on March 14, was this month treated for bipolar II disorder in a mental health facility


Catherine Zeta-Jones has been treated for manic depression over the stress of her husband Michael Douglas’s battle against cancer.

The 41-year-old actress was admitted last Wednesday to the Silver Hill psychiatric hospital, where she reportedly shared a ward with alcoholics and drug addicts.

She stayed for five days, joining ten to 15 others in the £770-a-day detox centre at the hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut.


Facility: The actress spent five days at the Silver Hill Hospital near New Canaan, Connecticut


Her publicist confirmed that she had received mental health treatment to help her cope with her traumatic personal life.

‘After dealing with the stress of the past year, Catherine made the decision to check into a mental health facility for a brief stay to treat her bipolar II disorder,’ she said.

‘She’s feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on two upcoming films.’


Difficult time: Douglas picked up supplies in New York City today



Family time: Catherine and Michael with their children Dylan and Carys at Disneyland in November


Douglas' adult son Cameron, from his marriage to Diandra, was sentenced to prison last year on drug charges.

Zeta-Jones and Douglas are parents to son Dylan, 10, and daughter Carys, who turns eight on April 20.

The actress' upcoming film projects include Playing the Field, a comedy starring Gerard Butler, Dennis Quaid Jessica Biel, and Dali, a biopic with Antonio Banderas.


source: dailymail

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X Factor judge's birth agony: After 20 hours of labour, Dannii Minogue realised her dream of a home birth was over

By Dannii Minogue


No place like home: But Dannii Minogue's plans to give birth at home were dashed after discovering baby Ethan was in the back-to-back position


At 6.39pm on July 5 last year, our little boy, Ethan Edward Minogue Smith, came into the world weighing 8lb 3oz.

My partner Kris and I were now, officially, Mummy and Daddy, and we were overjoyed.

But typically for me, nothing about the birth went according to plan.


For a start, Ethan arrived ten days early, and then we discovered he wasn't in the correct position for a smooth delivery.

So, after 20 hours of excruciating labour, my plans for a home birth went out of the window and I ended up having Ethan in hospital.

Contrary to reports of me being rushed to hospital in an emergency, my amazing home-birth midwives, Nicola and Helen, helped us carry out a smooth transfer to the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne.

The staff at the hospital were great, and worked with our midwives to make my little boy's birth the wonderful and happy experience I'd hoped it would be, even though I wasn't at home.

I'd had my heart set on having Ethan at home after talking to my friends Jasper and Lynne, from the UK, who were really positive about the idea and had done lots of research.

Lynne had given birth to my goddaughter, Amelie, at home, and her second baby, Theo, and she had loved the experience.

I really believe that a woman should have the right to have her baby at home if that's what she decides and medically it's safe for her to do so.

There's no right or wrong, for me it's about choice. But it's a constant battle for mothers and professional midwives alike to get that point across.

Another major factor in choosing a home birth was my residual anxiety about hospitals, as my recent memories of them had not been particularly pleasant.
There had been my sister Kylie's cancer treatment, and then I'd watched my best friend Laura go into hospital, again with cancer, and never come out.

I just wanted some comfort and privacy and, for me, that meant giving birth in my own home.

When my contractions started I was fairly serene - it was everyone else who seemed to get into a flap.

As I said, Ethan decided to join us early, so when my waters broke after I'd ambitiously tried to cram myself into a pair of jeans, I called Kris, who was playing golf.

He, in turn, called my mum, Carol, who happened to be on her way over anyway. I was quite calm, but I worried that Kris might drive too fast or miss a red light in all the excitement while dashing back to the house.


Centre of Attention: Dannii with partner Kris and baby Ethan (left) and Auntie Kylie gets to grips with the new arrival


My friend Ben Pauley, who was visiting from Los Angeles, was also at the house, and he and Mum made a hysterical double act during my labour, running around my kitchen, bumping into one another, repeating: 'Right, what do we do? What do we need?'

But several hours into my labour my initial serenity had evaporated. Because Ethan was in a posterior position, meaning his back was in line with my back and his arms and legs were moving freely across my tummy, I was in absolute agony.

Nicola and Helen have since told me how brave I was during those long hours of labour, but not having had a baby before I had no idea at the time whether it was bravery or delirium that saw me through.

I do remember walking up and down the stairs, holding on to Kris, and being told to lift my legs as high as I could. This was not something I was especially in the mood for at that stage, but as it can help to turn the baby to the correct position I wanted to give it a go.

Then the midwives showed Kris some acupressure points in my back he could press on to alleviate some of the pain and told him not to be afraid to press as hard as he could.

After several hours of this, at every contraction Kris asked Nicola if he should stop. 'Only if she's got quite a deep dent in her back,' came the reply. 'Keep going, you can't press too hard.'

Following in mum's footsteps: By the time he was born, Ethan had swum with a dolphin, walked the red carpet, been photographed for magazines, sat on the judging panel of TV talent shows, flown in a private jet and launched a clothing range


I didn't feel a thing at the time, as there was too much happening on the inside of my back, but I had bruises afterwards.

By the time I was transferred to hospital the following morning I'd been in pain, without any numbing medication, for a long time, so an epidural was very welcome.

When Laura was dying in hospital, I would rub her feet and when I was in hospital having Ethan, one of the nurses came to the end of my bed and did the same to me. I burst out crying. I felt Laura was there. I wanted her so much to be there with me and meet my little baby.

But when I held Ethan for the first time, the pain and worry melted away. Kris and I couldn't believe that we'd made another person together.

When you are first handed your baby, you try to take in every feature, every finger, toe and eyelash. I remember thinking: 'Who are you? How did you get here? I can't believe you've been in my tummy all this time and I'm finally meeting you.' It was wonderful.

By the time he was born, Ethan had swum with a dolphin, walked the red carpet, been photographed for magazine covers, sat on the judging panel of two TV talent shows, flown in a private jet and launched a clothing range. I guess pre-school will have a lot to live up to.


Mothers have the right to choose, but those at risk need to be in a hospital
By Clive Spence-Jones, Obstertricdian and gynaecologist

Dannii is not the first celebrity mum to opt for a home birth. Demi Moore had her three children at home, and model Gisele Bundchen, Davina McCall, and Charlotte Church chose to do the same.

None of these successful women were shy to advocate the benefits of delivering at home.

But Dannii's honesty is to be admired, admitting that her dreams were shattered by the unpredictable nature of birth.

Are there lessons to be learned from her story?

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends that all women should be offered options about where to give birth.

But home is still an unusual choice. Last year, 18,000 women in the UK gave birth at home (2.7 per cent of the total) without medical intervention.

Numbers have declined dramatically in the past 50 years. In 1960, one in three births in England and Wales was at home, but the figure has hovered around three per cent for the past 15 years.

Yet in the Netherlands a third of women have home births. Campaigners say this is the model we should aspire to. And it is not hard to see why. At home the mother is surrounded by familiarity, and there is no risk of a hospital-acquired infection.

Working together, midwives and obstetricians have developed guidelines to identify mothers we would not advise to choose home birth. It is not safe, for example, for mothers with high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia), a history of heavy bleeding after previous birth, and women whose babies are in the wrong position in the womb, to deliver at home.

But, even for women who should be eligible, the reality for those reliant on the NHS is different. Two midwives are needed to supervise a home birth, one for the mother and one for the baby.

Dire staff shortages in some areas mean this is not possible. Indeed, some Primary Care Trusts ask women to visit their hospital to see a midwife.

Unfortunately, it's not just staffing levels that make home delivery potentially unsafe.

Research in the U.S. has shown that the average mortality rate of babies born in hospital was 0.3 per 1,000 births, but one in 1,000 births for those born at home.

In the UK, even with careful selection of low-risk mothers for home delivery, a third of women who plan a home birth end up being transferred to hospital due to complications.

Dannii's labour failed to progress because the baby was in the occipito-posterior position (back-to-back) - the most common cause of delay in first labours.

Do try this at home: Demi Moore (left) gave birth to her children at home, as did Davina McCall. But while every woman should have the right to choose how she gives birth, it's important to consider the health risks


It is very difficult for the baby to move through the birth canal in this position, which can be excruciatingly painful for the mother.

Birth is a dynamic process, and how it progresses depends on the baby ' s size, the strength of the muscular contractions of the womb and the mother's weight.

Ten per cent of babies turn back round by themselves, but in the other cases we have to intervene or the baby will not come out.

Sometimes we give drugs that make the contractions strong, and this is enough. In other cases an epidural - an anaesthetic injection into the spine that numbs the lower half of the body - helps the mother's pelvic floor muscles relax so that the baby rotates naturally.

If labour has progressed to the stage where the cervix is fully open, and the mother is pushing but the baby won't deliver, options include manual rotation of the head or help with a ventouse suction device or forceps. In some cases, none of these approaches work so we have to deliver the baby by caesarean section.

The biggest problem, even with the most carefully planned home birth, are the complications which need medical interventions within minutes but can not be predicted.

Shoulder dystocia (when the baby's head has delivered but the shoulders are stuck in the birth canal) and babies who fail to breathe because of the cord round the neck which tightens just before birth, are examples.

It is mandatory that all health professionals involved in maternity care work together to provide for a happy and saf e birth.

And all mothers should be aware of the potential risks and benefits of the choices they make.



source:dailymail

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Chloe Madeley: 'I put on half a stone over four months... then lost it in a week'

By Daily Mail Reporter


Bikini workout: Chloe Madeley has lost half a stone, left, after putting on weight when she quit smoking


As she poses in her bikini, Chloe Madeley looks more than happy with her trim figure.

And with little wonder. The TV presenter daughter of Richard and Judy has slimmed down in time for summer by losing 6lb - in just one week.

The 22-year-old took herself off to bikini bootcamp after she quit smoking and started eating junk food, putting on half a stone over four months.


It is further confirmation that she is getting her life back on track after being ridiculed for her 'showbiz reporter' role on her parents' ill-fated satellite show.

And last August, she was arrested for drink-driving after crashing her Peugeot 206 in North London.

But she proved that she was trying to take control of her life as she signed up for a reality TV programme, Celebrity Quitters, on Channel Five.

She has not had a cigarette since November 23.

Read the full story in this week's Closer, out now

Chloe, 5ft 7in, said: 'After I stopped smoking last year, I turned to junk food and put on half a stone in just four months.


'By February I weighed 9st and was a size 10, which isn’t big by any means but I was becoming very unfit.

'A week at bootcamp seemed the perfect solution!'

The camp saw her take part in intense days of exercise and follow a healthy low calorie diet.

Chloe said: 'The average weekly weight loss is 8lb - which more than half of my group achieved. A few lost a lot more.

'Alongside the pain, hunger and sheer exhaustion, I laughed louder than I have done in months, learned a lot about my body and met some fantastic women.

'And I lost 6lb and 7½in and am down to a size eight.'

Now weighing eight and half stone, Madeley has a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 18.3, which means she is just slightly underweight.

The minimum BMI reading to be considered a 'healthy' weight is 18.5, meaning she would need to put on two pounds.

Other stars to have got back into shape at bootcamp include Kerry Katona, who spent two weeks getting back in shape earlier this year.


source:dailymail

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