The story behind this viral photo shows why mom-shaming needs to stop

It was just one tiny fraction of a moment, captured in time. And it didn't look good.

Back in 2016, a man in a Colorado airport took a photo of a mom browsing her cellphone, her young infant squirming on a blanket on the ground in front of her. His original post (which has since been removed) was uploaded to Facebook with the caption: "Albert Einstein said, 'I fear the day that technology will take on our humanity ... the world will be populated by a generation of idiots.'"

Sure, absent any context, background, or explanation, the photo seemed to show a mom so uninterested in her child she'd rather check Facebook than pick her up off the floor.

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Sweden's parental leave laws have revolutionized the lives of moms.

Science doesn't lie. Moms need help.

It turns out mothers recover from childbirth faster when they don't have to go it alone. Shocker, right?

Anyone who's ever had a baby or has been around someone who's had a baby can tell you that new mothers need help. But sometimes it takes science to point out the obvious. There have been studies showing the importance of a newborn spending time with its father. It improves the health of the baby and strengthens the bond between baby and dad. But a new study found that having a co-parent on hand can make a big difference in how mom feels.

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Family

Doctors just used HIV to cure 'bubble boy' disease.

Remember the Bubble Boy from the '70s?

One of the more famous cases in medical science, David Vetter was born in 1971 with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which made him extremely vulnerable to germs and disease. So, 20 seconds after he was born, he was put into a sealed, plastic chamber. He remained in there until the age of six at which point he was given a plastic suit designed by NASA so he could move around more freely. Still, a plastic shield separated him from the rest of the world until he died at age 12 after a bone marrow transplant, one of the only other known treatments for the disease, failed.

David Vetter in his plastic suit. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

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Heroes

The original Gerber baby met the newest, and the moment was magical.

You know the Gerber baby, right?

She's an American icon. And if you've ever wandered down the baby food aisle of the grocery store or checked out the pantry of a new parent, you've definitely seen her adorable face peering at you from the label of a tiny jar.

That baby was 91 years old in the early part of 2018. Her name is Ann Turner Cook, and aside from being a teacher and writer of mysteries, she's now the great-grandmother of six.

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