The hospital I went through recommended no epidural for non-complicated births (they wouldn't offer, but would happily provide it if you asked), but recommended epidurals for long, difficult or complicated births. Generally because it can cause complications in otherwise uncomplicated births, but is an essential part…

Words can change meaning, but the problem here is that if you take the word 'pregnant' and make it mean any parent expecting a baby, how do you now distinguish between the one carrying the baby, and the one who is not? That is why this is a problem. The word pregnant has a specific meaning, if you change that meaning…

There's nothing objectively unprofessional about it. You are making those judgements based on your opinion about the type of people that you think speak that way. Unless you are hiring someone specifically for the way they talk (e.g. voice actor, radio presenter) then not hiring people because of uptalk, like, and…

It isn't just the entertainment industry either, all over the place our communities support abusers by ignoring what they have done. This is just playing out on a larger stage.

But it's also not like you have to look down on people who don't speak the same way that you do.

I was surprised to hear that this is a thing (I am also in Oz), but it is a good reminder that words can have a very different connotation depending on the context and audience.

Perhaps she didn't feel safe telling him. She may have feared something very much like this happening.

Good luck with it! I had better go get another screening soon myself. I also copped far too much sun as a child.

I remember getting detention in high school because I lost my hat.

Do you get regular skin cancer screenings now? Sunburns as a child are a major risk factor for getting them as an adult.

Yeah, my daughter's childcare centre (also QLD) requires hats and clothes with sleeves (no singlets) for the kids to play outside, and also apply sunscreen. I spent far too much time in the sun as a kid, and wonder when I'll get my first skin cancer. I'm glad there is more awareness now.

That's a really unpleasant and irresponsible punishment.

I read for the same reason I watch TV and movies - for relaxation and entertainment. The snobbery towards reading 'easy' books puzzles me.

It seems to be a combination of retro nostalgia and ignorance in a lot of cases, although I'm sure some people sell them just to be arseholes. I didn't understand just how offensive they are until I spent time on US based sites because they are normalised here. There is a type of kids biscuit here that was renamed…

I see them from time to time in Australia too.

That sucks :(

It seems really inconsistent. Am I understanding it correctly, that the policy means that all non-wait staff get a guaranteed cut of the business for the night, but wait-staff don't?

Yes, there are multiple factors that add up to create the difference. That said, it is also quite possible that abortions are cheaper there. Health care in the US is very expensive, so the price comparison might not mean much. Also, not everyone in a rural area is going to be poor.

Another article I read said that if she is executed the children will go into state care. They would not be permitted to go with the father. I presume because the marriage was declared invalid.

I have the same problem with mosquito bites. I use a cream that contains papain which I find effective if I use it soon after being bitten.