A new study could explain why "daddy" and "mommy" are often a baby's first words – the human brain may be hard-wired to recognize certain repetition patterns.

In Australia more than one woman dies every fortnight as a result of childbearing – some could be preventable - according a study in published by Wiley-Blackwell in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

New parents should be aware of a fairly common condition affecting infants called positional plagiocephaly. Since infants’ skulls are soft, it is not uncommon to have a misshapen head related to the rigors of childbirth, but this usually resolves itself within six weeks of birth. If it does not, you should make an appointment with your infant's pediatrician as soon as possible.

A slightly greater number of males than females are born worldwide every year. In recent decades, although there are still more baby boys born than girls, there has been an apparent decline in the ratio of male to female newborns in several industrialized countries, including Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Japan and the United States.