Octomom – Morally Irresponsible?

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:12:15 +0000

We’ve all heard the never ending story of the one the media calls “Octomom”. Nadya Suleman of Los Angeles, California, previously had six children and now another eight! This makes a total of 14 children that she has had.

There are two sides to this story. On the one side, you have a woman who now holds the record for the most children delivered at one time and on the other, you have people who are outraged at her apparent lack of moral responsibility. So what is the real issue here? Well for one thing, what does God think about this? Is this a sin in His eyes? How can she justify this pregnancy that is shrouded in mystery?

Without a doubt she is the center of the world’s attention right now and the attention is growing, including a complaint filed by the Los Angeles County Health Department. She has told an outright lie about receiving $490 a month tin food stamps to help feed her previous six children according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper. What other secrets has she kept regarding the mysterious fertility treatments by her doctor? Is she doing this for media attention or status? What are her motives?

Here’s the way I see it. Firstly, although there is probably some truth regarding the morality twisting she has created, and that she seems aloof about how serious the charges against her are, there is still the issue regarding the care of these infants who will need food, shelter and clothing. In a report dated 2007 by NuWire.com:

In two-parent households, the report divided the total costs based on family income levels. In families with a before-tax income of less than $45,800, parents spent an average of $148,300 on their children from birth to age 17. Parents with income between $45,800 and $77,100 averaged a total of $204,060 on their offspring, and those earning more than $77,100 spent $298,680 per child, on average. Expenses for the youngest child of a single parent with two children were comparable to those of two-parent households, but in these families approximately 7 percent less was spent on the older child. Single parents with three or more children spent less than married couples, but single parents with only one child spent more. These totals do not include the costs of prenatal care and birthing, or expenses associated with post-secondary education. (courtesy of NuWire Investor. Article entitled: Cost of Raising a Child: The Ultimate Investment dated May 22, 2008 by Cali Zimmerman http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/cost-of-raising-a-child-the-ultimate-investment-51618.aspx)

Will Octomom abuse the welfare system to help raise now fourteen children? What will the government do now that the “cat is out of the bag?”

Just as a reference point, suppose it takes $120,000 to raise one child from birth to seventeen years old, it will take a whopping $1,680,000.00!! (One Million Six Hundred Eighty Thousand Dollars) For a woman who is on welfare / food stamps, that’s a pretty big chunk of change to come up with. I mean how in God’s green earth does she think she is going to support them? And where will they live? I don’t think that any apartment managers will let that many children live under one roof. Or how about a potential mate? “So, how many kids do you have?”, “Oh, uh, fourteen…(the sound of a lifeless body hitting the floor). What was she thinking? Were mind altering drugs involved? Or was it just plain stupidity?

So what should be done? Should the county step in and take custody of the Octuplets? Should we all just turn our backs and not give a darn? This is an extremely serious situation. There is a high probability that she will endanger several of the children due to the fact that she is massively overloaded. I can hear her now: “Oh, God, what have I done?” but maybe not. I think it was completely intentional and premeditated. Status has a enormous price tag doesn’t it? The price of fame sometimes ends in death!

Unfortunately, no matter what is done, some one is going to get hurt, whether it be the Octuplets or the previous six or the mom or the tax payers. Oh yes, I forgot about the tax payers. Would you want to help flip the bill for her Octuplets? Like it or not, we may see a tax increase in the short term to do just that!

By: James Noll

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Food Safety: What is Hiding in your Food?

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:11:20 +0000

As we head into the summer season, the number of barbeques and picnics increases. But this means more foods sitting out and shared by multiple people. This is the time that we all need to pay particular attention to the fact that food safety is NOT something to be taken lightly. Although just the thought of suffering from nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea should be enough to motivate people to take food safety seriously, often people don’t think about it until it’s too late.

Over 250 organisms are known to cause foodborne illnesses. The causes of foodborne illness include viruses, bacteria, parasites, toxins, metals, and prions, and the symptoms of foodborne illness range from mild gastroenteritis to life-threatening neurologic, hepatic, and renal syndromes. In the United States, foodborne diseases have been estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses and up to 9,000 deaths each year.

Keeping track of people who actually suffer from foodborne illness is complicated by several factors. The first is that many cases are not ever reported. If you are sick, but not sick enough to see your doctor or be hospitalized, it’s unlikely you would report it to the CDC. However, the CDC requests that you do report it if you do suspect you suffered from food illness after eating at a restaurant. There are many cases where this reporting helped stop a potential serious outbreak.

A foodborne disease outbreak is defined as a group of people developing the same illnesses after ingesting the same food. If you think you or others became ill from eating the same food, please report this outbreak to your local (city or county) health department. By investigating outbreaks, public health officials learn about problems in food production that lead to illness. Applying what is learned in the investigation of one outbreak can help to prevent many future illnesses.

Second, many pathogens transmitted through food are also spread through water or from person to person, thus obscuring the role of foodborne transmission. Finally, some proportion of foodborne illness is caused by pathogens or agents that have not yet been identified and thus cannot be diagnosed. The importance of this final factor cannot be overstated. Many of the pathogens of greatest concern today (e.g., Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Cyclospora cayetanensis) were not recognized as causes of foodborne illness just 20 years ago.

Do you know how long that potato salad has sat out? Do you know what may have stopped by to ‘visit’ your container of mayo salad dressing topping that’s on the table, next to the hot dogs? Never take food safety lightly. Just to emphasize the point, spend some time on this site from a mother who lost her daughter to food poisoning: http://www.geocities.com/tysca66/kelly.html.

Here are some tips how you can practice food safety at your summer barbeques and picnics:

Wash hands. Frequently wash your hands – before and after eating. If you anticipate no running water available where you are, be sure to pack a waterless hand sanitizer in your bag. Remind family members to do the same.

Check that cold foods are cold. Be certain that foods you are eating are as cold as they should be. Be sure bowls of cold food are nesting in bowls filled with ice.

Check how the meats are cooked. Before biting into a burger – break it open to be sure it looks thoroughly cooked – brown in the middle. Be sure you do not eat chicken that has pink inside.

Pay attention to how food is served. Check that each salad or plate of food has its own serving utensils.

Eat once food is served. Eating once food is brought out lessens the chance of bacteria growing as it sits out.

Ask your host. Finally – if you have any questions about how the food was prepared or how long something has been out – ASK. Chances are your host or hostess will want to assure you that she has taken appropriate food-safety precautions as she prepared for the barbecue.

Summer is a great time to get together with friends and family and enjoy some summer foods – just be sure to take those necessary precautions.

By: Marjorie Geiser

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Health Country » County Health Department

Octomom – Morally Irresponsible?

Food Safety: What is Hiding in your Food?