Midwives delivering more babies

(AP) -- Instead of a conventional hospital birth, Heidi Teeple and her husband, Rod, brought baby Logan into the world while soaking together in a freestanding tub of warm water in their living room, with a fire in the fireplace and two midwives at their side.

Study: Americans sicker than Canadians

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- You can add Canadians to the list of foreigners who are healthier than Americans.

Extensive pregnancy benefits don't lead to bigger babies

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- For pregnant women who work outside the home, rest -- provided in some countries by the combination of taking time off from work and government-supported social benefits -- does not appear to lead to bigger, and, therefore, perhaps healthier babies, according to a study conducted in Sweden.

Doctors say flu vaccine safe in healthy infants

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The trivalent influenza vaccine can be safely given to healthy children 6 to 24 months of age, doctors report in the journal Pediatrics.

Kids' deprivation effects last long, study finds

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Severe malnourishment and other forms of deprivation for sustained periods during a child's early years may have lasting consequences on his or her intellectual development in later childhood, results of a new study show.

Cordless device lets you skip the rope

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If you think keeping fit is merely mind over matter, Lester Clancy has an invention for you -- a cordless jump-rope.

Does estrogen make cancer behave differently?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lung cancer acts differently in women from the way it does in men, and major new studies are exploring whether estrogen is a key reason -- and whether harnessing the hormone might help fight the No. 1 cancer killer.

Study: Global warming causes itchier poison ivy

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Saving lives on the front lines

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- I remember the day well. It was in April of 2003. A 23-year-old Marine, Jesus Vidana, suddenly fell to the ground, his helmet and head bloodied by a sniper's bullet.

U.S. is an impatient nation, poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) -- We'll make this quick. We know you're busy.

Two more bird flu cases confirmed in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) -- Two more Indonesians have been confirmed as infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, a health official said on Monday, citing results from a World Health Organization-recognized laboratory in Hong Kong.

Standards, costs keep docs from digital age

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Dr. Brian Zell was an early adopter of electronic health records when he switched his suburban Philadelphia practice to a computerized system five years ago -- but he still uses reams of paper.

Surgeon's blood saves patient

WHITE PLAINS, New York (AP) -- A heart surgeon had to take a break from a mercy-mission operation in El Salvador so he could donate his own rare-type blood for his 8-year-old patient.

Thalidomide approved for cancer treatment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thalidomide received federal approval Thursday for treatment of bone-marrow cancer, marking the further rehabilitation of a drug originally banned more than 40 years ago after it caused thousands of birth defects.

Women at war: Mental health toll unknown

(CNN) -- More American women are closer to combat in Iraq than in any other modern war, and there are many unknowns about the mental health effects they may experience when they come home from the war zone.

Looking forward to running backward

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Timothy "Bud" Badyna has broken world records. He ran a marathon in under four hours. He finished a 10K race in 45 minutes.

FDA OKs extended-cycle birth control pill

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An extended-cycle birth control pill that limits women to just four menstrual periods a year received federal approval Thursday.

Researchers say they found where HIV started

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Researchers who picked up and analyzed wild chimp droppings said on Thursday they had shown how the AIDS virus originated in wild apes in Cameroon and then spread in humans across Africa and eventually the world.

Study: Inadequate sleep linked to weight gain

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Women who fail to get enough shut-eye each night risk gaining weight, a researcher reports.

Smoking might have 'sleeper effect'

LONDON (Reuters) -- Trying just one cigarette may not be so harmless for non-smokers after all.