How do you show support for your presidential candidate? Signs in your yard? Bumper stickers on your car? Maybe you just show up and vote on the first Tuesday in November? Whatever you do, I'll bet it doesn't compare to what this dad in Elizabethton, Tennessee did: he named his newborn daughter Sarah McCain Palin. Without his wife's knowledge. That's hardcore.

Mark Ciptak and his wife had settled on the perfectly lovely name of Ava Grace for their third child. But Ciptak decided that he needed to "to get the word out" about the Republican ticket for president and vice president and secretly filled in the birth certificate with a combination of John McCain's and Sarah Palin's names.

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And how did his wife and the mother of his child take the news? "I don't think she believes me yet," he told a local paper. "It's going to take some more convincing."

"I took one for the cause," he said. "I can't give a lot of financial support for the (McCain/Palin) campaign. I do have a sign up in my yard, but I can do very little."

Sarah McCain Palin is a nice name and all, but who does this? I don't mean who would name their child after political candidates - I mean who would risk the wrath of a mother by secretly changing the name of her child? If he really wanted to take one for the cause, perhaps he should have changed his own name. Any bets on how long he will be sleeping on the couch?

Thanks to widespread attention from the media and the medical establishment, we're all aware of the risk of postpartum depression. We know what to watch for in ourselves and in our girlfriends after the baby comes, and we know how important it is to get help before the "baby blues" turn into something more serious.

But it's not just new moms who are at risk -- new dads can suffer from postpartum depression, too. And it may be more common than you would imagine. According to Will Courtenay, a San Francisco, California-based psychotherapist, and a leading expert on paternal postpartum depression, "Each day in the U.S., 1,000 new dads become depressed, and according to some studies that number is as high as 3,000. That's as many as one in four news dads who become depressed."

While a variety of factors can trigger postpartum depression in new dads, there are things to watch for: dads of high-need babies (with colic, for example) may be at more risk, as will the partners of women who are prone to depression. And of course any parent with a history of depression prior to the birth of a baby should be prepared for a return of the depression once the baby arrives.

The spanking debate has been duked out repeatedly and will probably continue to be waged so long as people keep having kids. There was the California lawmaker who tried to ban it, but it seems that folks around here see it overwhelmingly as discipline rather than abuse. Me, I'm against it, but that's mostly because I'm very anti-violence.

Cathy Sorbo, a Seattle, Washington stand-up comedienne and mother, is on the non-spanking side as well and has written a column for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on the matter after a woman was arrested for abandoning her newborn baby near a church in the middle of the night. More than just opposing spanking, Sorbo offers an alternative: tickling.

"You can carefully and skillfully overpower your child and inflict torture in a dominant fashion," she explains, "but instead of crying and fear, you will elicit shrieks of laughter." She notes, also, that there are disciplinary advantages too -- "you'll find your child to be more receptive to your concerns after you have both had a good giggle."

I don't know how effective a method of discipline tickling would turn out to be, but it sure seems a lot healthier and happier than spanking. As Sorbo says, "Laughter is healing. Spanking is not."

When my older daughter was five months old, she started rolling over in her crib at night. Only, instead of rolling over and snuggling in with that cute butt-in-the-air pose that all parents know and love, she'd roll over, then fall back to sleep ... face down in the mattress. I'd lie in my own bed, watching anxiously on the video monitor. My mind would tell me that she was fine, while my heart would fantasize about worst case scenarios until I had enough. I'd go in to gently turn her head to the side. She'd thank me by either waking up, furious, or by being back in the face down position by the time I hit my pillow. At her six month checkup, her doctor told me to leave her alone and let her sleep.

I've never met a new parent who didn't worry about SIDS, who didn't fret about sleep positions. But the same study that found that running a fan in baby's room may reduce the risk of SIDS also found that up to 26% of parents don't heed the advice that babies should sleep on their backs. Babies seem to sleep better on their bellies, so I'm guessing a large chunk of that percentage are parents off poor sleepers. Still, over one quarter of parents don't follow the single most important piece of advice when it comes to preventing SIDS? That's amazing to me

I had one child would only nap during the day if I put her on her side, so I can relate. But I was never brave enough to let them sleep on their bellies until they were old enough to get there themselves. What about you? Did you let your babies sleep on their bellies?

The number one recommendation for avoiding sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS is to have babies sleep on their backs. In addition, get a firm mattress and avoid soft bedding. According to new research coming from doctors at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, there's an additional measure you can take: turn on a fan.

This does not replace the existing recommendations, of course, but adds to them. "If parents want to take an extra measure, they should consider using a fan," says Dr. De-Kun Li, the lead researcher in the study. Dr. Li, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist, found that using a fan reduced the incidence of SIDS by 72%. If the temperature in the baby's room was sixty-nine degrees or higher, the fan helped even more -- cutting the risk by 94% versus not using a fan.

It seems to me that putting a fan on is a simple enough thing to do and if it makes that big a difference, I can't see any reason not to. I think we'll be running out for a fan this weekend for sure.

A team of scientists at Oxford University in England have identified a gene linked to dyslexia, a learning disability that often leads to reading and spelling difficulties. If not addressed early on, children can fall behind in literacy skills and spend the rest of their lives trying to catch up. With this new discovery, however, children may be able to get help in coping with the condition sooner.

"On average," notes Dr. Silvia Paracchini, of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford, "people carrying this common genetic variant tended to perform poorly on tests of reading ability. However, it is important to note that this is only true for reading ability and not for IQ, so it doesn't appear to be connected to cognitive impairment." In other words, dyslexia does not affect intelligence, just the ability to process certain types of information.

It's estimated that about fifteen percent of the people in the UK carry the gene, so it seems to me that identifying it and being able to check for it is a very good thing.

Presidential nominee John McCain allegedly had a date set with actress Jenny McCarthy. The topic of their discussion? Not love but, rather autism, and specifically the link between the condition and the use of thimerosal in the vaccines McCarthy believes cause autism.

McCarthy was eager to meet with McCain after learning he believes there may be a link as well, and apparently flew herself out for a meeting with the Republican senator to try to make autism a major part of the presidential campaign.

According to reports, however, McCain backed out after his flack decided the subject matter was too controversial. Right, like presidential nominees should avoid discussing anything controversial! If they did all they'd end up doing at debates was drinking Yoohoos! Although not attributed anywhere, the post on IMDB claims McCain also bailed after learning there is no hard evidence linking vaccines with thimerosal and autism. Either way, McCain declined to meet with the former Playboy centerfold (huge mistake, dude!) and McCarthy has now set her sites on meeting with Senator Obama.

Are you having a baby but haven't yet figured out what to call the little bundle of joy? (Hey, I understand -- despite having the best names ever, our son Tuolumne Ezra was several days old before he had a name.) Could it be that you just don't think the name you've picked out does your little one justice? Are you a big fan of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her unusually named children? Well, why not let Palin choose a name for your baby?

Yep, coming all the way from Alaska via that well-known series of tubes, it's the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. Just put in the name you were thinking of and get back Sarah's suggestion for a better name. In fact, to show your support for the future veep, you could even put in your own name and change it to Sarah's suggestion. Just call me Geese Whalebone Sinasohn from now on.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF last week urged Asian mothers to return to breastfeeding in the wake of a series of infant deaths caused by melamine-contaminated powdered baby formula in China.

An update issued by WHO states that more than 40,000 children have sought medical attention after eating the formula, and nearly 13,000 more are receiving treatment in hospitals. So far, three deaths have been confirmed.

The organizations stress that breast is best for babies.

According to an article on Rueters.com, "no infant formula contains the perfect combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to enhance infant growth and brain development as breast milk does." Breast milk also contains antibodies that protect children against stomach upsets like diarrhea.

Experts say more and more Asian women have turned away from breastfeeding and adopted formula as the preferred food for their children.

However, medical experts warn that, on top of risking their infants' health, mothers in China are also putting themselves at risk by consuming more and more dairy products.

Right now, only 1 percent of the Chinese population is diagnosed with breast cancer, but occurrences of breast cancer-and also osteoporosis- will increase doctors say, if Asians continue to adopt a more Western-style diet.

Breastfeeding advocates advise women to exclusively breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of their lives.

Baby powder smells good and feels good too, that's why it's been used on babies' bottoms for decades. But for the last several years, pediatricians have been telling parents to resist the urge. Not only is there little evidence that talcum powder prevents diaper rash, it's easily inhaled and can irritate the lungs.

A new study, however, gives one more solid reason to avoid using talcum powder. Researchers found that when women used talcum powder every day in their genital area, their risk of developing ovarian cancer rose as much as 40%. Experts believe that the talc travels up to the ovaries, causing inflammation that can develop into cancer. It's important to note that most women who use talc will not develop cancer, but even so, they're recommending that women either stop using powder altogether or switch to a cornstarch based formula.

I think that based on previous recommendations regarding lung health, combined with these new studies, it's probably time to put baby powder to bed for good. What do you think? Do these studies cause you concern, or are you reluctant to give up this diapering tradition?

Hard to believe but it's already flu season again. Or, to be more accurate, it's really (hopefully) flu PREVENTION season. This week the Center for Disease Control whipped out a new, stronger than ever campaign to get pregnant women and young children vaccinated. This campaign, of course, is not without its controversy. Not so long ago, one of our commenters seemed to think the topic of vaccinations was my high horse, as I write about it frequently, but I can assure you that's not the case. I'm a parent, too, with the same concerns as many of you regarding vaccines and children's health--I'm just interested in getting as much information as possible and seeing how the whole thing turns out.

According to the CDC, children as young as six months of age should be getting flu vaccinations. It strongly recommended vaccinations for kids up to eighteen years old, pregnant women, healthcare workers and anyone over the age of fifty. Seems harmless enough, right? I mean, most of us have gotten at least one flu shot in our lives and for the most part we turned out OK. The problem with the flu vaccine, which contains thimerosal, is that thimerosal contains mercury. Yep, mercury. Rather DANGEROUS. Now, that said, we've all been assured that even if it did contain said mercury, the amount would be no more than that in a small can of tuna. Contrary to that, however, are the findings that the kind of mercury found in thimerosal differs from that found in tuna (methyl mercury) in that it stays in the system, namely the brain, for a lot longer period of time. This is not great news for a developing fetal brain.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists claim that pregnant women should be getting this vaccine and that there isn't any evidence of harmful effects to women or their unborn children. According to some that notion is quite misleading as it implies that tons of tests and research has been done on the subject, when, in fact, it has not. Still, what would my pediatrician say? Well, he'd tell me that the chances of something happening to my child as a result of the flu vaccine are a great deal smaller than what might happen if he remained unvaccinated. When one weighs the odds from that perspective the vaccination wins out.

Clearly, more research is needed and the results well-established before we make any uniform decisions with respect to vaccinating our children--unborn or not. The other side of the argument? Opt for what my pediatrician did--offer flu shots without thimerosal. Hopefully, pregnant women can get that option too.

Mr. Aiken, welcome to the wonderful world of parenting. Sure, it's one filled with joy and happiness, but it's also, more than occasionally, one filled with fear. Clay Aiken learned about this less seemly side of parenting just weeks after the birth of his son. Aiken's son Parker was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis, which affects the gastrointestinal tract, the symptoms of which had the American Idol star fearing for his young son's health.

Parker was throwing up everything he was eating and Aiken feared he would become dehydrated. Prior to that he'd been gassy for several weeks. Aiken was concerned about taking his son to the hospital, but then realized that, as the child's father, he would be given access to the hospital and that he had a responsibility to ask the questions his baby could not.

See, parenting brings out the best in us (at least most of the time). Aiken is well on his way to being a great dad. And, it's thanks to celebrities, much of the time, that the public becomes aware of certain health issues. Before yesterday I'd never heard of the pyloric stenosis condition, nor was I aware of its symptoms, which not might seem that bad to a new parent unaware of the hidden dangers of such symptoms in newborns. Luckily, Parker and family are doing well and the little tyke is well on the road to recovery.

In the wake of the Chinese milk scandal, the European Union has banned the import of all baby food containing Chinese milk. Four babies have died and more than fifty thousand have become sick due to melamine added to watered-down milk. The melamine is added to cover up the lower protein content.

Unfortunately, it's not just milk that's affected. Milk is an ingredient in many products, including baby food. In order to protect infants, the European Union has put the kibosh on baby food containing Chinese milk. Any products containing more than fifteen percent milk powder will be tested before being sold, according to new rules taking effect today.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF issued a statement about the scandal, saying "Whilst any attempt to deceive the public in the area of food production and marketing is unacceptable, deliberate contamination of foods intended for consumption by vulnerable infants and young children is particularly deplorable." I couldn't have said it better.

The best parenting advice I've ever heard is also the simplest: play with your kids as long as they will let you.

A family of nine children, ranging in age from one to seventeen, was left at a Nebraska hospital on Wednesday, thanks in part to the state's unique safe haven law. Generally, such laws are intended to protect newborn infants from being killed or left to die by allowing the parents to leave them at a hospital or police station without fear of prosecution.

That's the way Nebraska's law started out too -- but concern over arbitrary age limits led to the inclusion of the term "child" in the law, allowing it to apply to, some say, anyone up to the age of nineteen. The nine children left at Creighton University Medical Center were brought in by their father. "It was the parents not wanting to continue the journey with their kids," said Todd Landry of Children and Family Services, speaking of the older kids that have been abandoned since the law went into effect. In addition to the nine siblings, two other, unrelated, boys, aged eleven and fifteen, were also left at a hospital.

I can sort of understand a parent feeling the need to give up a newborn infant -- they may be unable to care for the baby or may not be ready for that sort of responsibility -- but I can't imagine abandoning a child older than that, let alone a teenager. By the time a kid is a year or two old, I would imagine that any parent would have bonded with them enough to make such an action impossible. And what about the kids? What sort of effect would this have on kids old enough to understand what's happening? It seems to me that Nebraska better start budgeting for a whole lot of therapists if this keeps up.