A paternity test is conducted to prove paternity, that is, whether a man is the biological father of another individual. This may be relevant in view of rights and duties of the father.
This by DNA analysis of the three individuals, although older methods have included ABO blood group typing, analysis of various other proteins and enzymes, or using HLA antigens. For the most part however, DNA has all but taken over all the other forms of testing.
A divorce is generally accomplished through a court of law, as a legal action is needed to dissolve the prior legal act of marriage. The terms of the divorce are also determined by the court, though they may take into account prenuptial agreements, or simply ratify terms that the spouses have agreed on privately.
Often, however, the spouses disagree about the terms of the divorce, which can lead to stressful (and expensive) litigation.
A less adversarial approach to divorce settlements has also emerged in recent years, known as family mediation, an attempt to negotiate mutually acceptable resolution to conflicts.
A casket (which some call a coffin) is a box used for the display and burial or cremation of a body.
A casket may be buried in the ground directly, placed in a burial vault or cremated. Some countries practice one form almost exclusively; in others it merely depends on the individual cemetery. The handles and other ornaments (such as doves, stipple crosses, crucifix, masonic symbols etc.) that go on the outside of a casket are called fittings.
A number of companies produce caskets. Some manufactures sell directly to the public on the internet, and offer a wider variety than would normally be found in a funeral home.
Same-sex, or gay marriage is marriage between individuals who are of the same legal or biological sex. The movement towards the legal recognition of same-sex marriages has resulted in changes in the law in many jurisdictions, though the extent of the changes have varied:
* Civil unions provide varying degrees of the rights and responsibilities of same-sex marriage, but use a different name for the arrangement. They exist in several European countries as well as in some U.S. states, some Canadian provinces, some Australian states, and Tasmania, New Zealand and the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
* Domestic partnerships or registered partnerships also provide varying degrees of privileges and responsibilities, usually fewer than those found in civil unions. They are often available to opposite-sex couples and exist in many jurisdictions.
Even in jurisdictions where they are not legally recognized, many gay and lesbian couples choose to have weddings (also called “commitment ceremonies” in this context) to celebrate and affirm their relationship, fulfilling the social aspect of a marriage.
Such ceremonies have no legal validity, however, and as such do not deal with issues such as inheritance, property rights or social security.
Fertility is the ability of people or animals to produce healthy offspring in abundance. The term was usually applied to females, but increasingly is applied to males as well, as common understanding of reproductive mechanisms increases and the importance of the male role is better known.
Human fertility depends on factors of nutrition, sexual behavior, culture, instinct, endocrinology, timing, economics, way of life, and emotions.
Fertility treatments include:
* Fertility medication which stimulates the ovaries to “ripen” and release eggs (e.g. clomifene citrate, which stimulates ovulation)
* Surgery to restore patency of obstructed fallopian tubes
* Donor insemination which involves the woman being artificially inseminated with donor sperm.
* In vitro fertilization (IVF) in which eggs are removed from the woman, fertilized and then placed in the woman’s uterus, bypassing the fallopian tubes.
What Is Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy is the treatment of any type of speech disorder. Speech therapy includes both speech and language.
Depending on the nature and severity of the speech disorder, common speech therapy treatments may range from physical strengthening exercises, practice, to the use of audio-visual aids.
Speech therapy is carried out by a speech therapist, who works with both adults and children.
You can find out more about speech therapy, including how to choose the right speech therapist or training, online.
A baby shower is a party in which expectant parents receive gifts or money for their expected child.
By convention, the goal is to help parents get things that they need for their baby, such as basic layette items. It is also an opportunity to help parents get items they may not be able to afford. In addition, it serves the function of welcoming a new member to the family and supporting them.
Traditionally, a baby shower is held only for the mother-to-be, and only women attend. However, many people choose to have baby showers for both parents, and some people have a men-only shower. It is not uncommon for a parent to have more than one baby shower, such as one with friends and another with co-workers.
Every good Halloween Party needs favors. Common halloween party favors include halloween treat bags, balloons and toys.
There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. The most common is bobbing for apples, in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water; the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin.
Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity which inevitably leads to a very sticky face.
Umbilical Cord Banking & Stem Cell Research
Both private and public cord blood banks have developed since in the mid- to late 1990s in response to the success of umbilical cord blood transplants in treating diseases of the blood and immune systems, such as Fanconi’s anemia and Leukemia. Cord blood, once seen as waste to be discarded after a birth, is now viewed as a precious resource. Since the first successful cord blood transplant was performed on a child with Fanconi’s anemia in 1988, more than 2000 patients have been treated with this procedure. Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells, progenitor cells that can form red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets and can be used to treat many diseases of the blood and immune systems.
Public banks, established by medical centers, accept donations for use by anyone in need. Once the blood is donated, it loses all identifying information after a short period of initial testing, so that families will not be able to retrieve their blood later. Private banking allows families to preserve their blood for their own use. For-profit private banks charge a fee of around $2000 to preserve a newborn’s cord blood for possible use by the family later.
Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth parents. Adoption results in the severing of the parental responsibilities and rights of the biological parents and the placing of those responsibilities and rights onto the adoptive parents. After the finalization of an adoption, there is little or no legal difference between biological and adopted children.
Different jurisdictions have varying laws on adoption and post-adoption. Some practice confidential or closed adoption, preventing further contact between the adopted person and the biological parents, while others have varying degrees of open adoption, which may allow such contact.
International adoption is becoming more popular with more young healthy children available than in most adoptive countries. China is the leading country for international adoptions by Americans.