Despite PerezHilton’s news story that Cuban President Fidel Castro is dead, the Florida press sez he is probably still alive.

When I read Perez’s piece, I went to Granma, the Cuban newspaper, to see if Fidel had recently posted one of his famous hours-long speeches. He hadn’t. In fact, there was only this story about how 2,000 journalists worldwide gathered in Havana for the unveiling of a book on interviews with him. Hmm.

But I also know this “Castro is dead!” hysteria all too well. Like Perez, I am Cuban. Growing up in Miami, I can't begin to count how many times I have heard:

--“Castro has cancer!”

--“Castro gave a speech for only 10 hours versus 14 hours. He must have cancer!”

--“Castro hasn’t been out in days. He must be dead from cancer!”

The cancer rumor was rampant. It didn't matter. Each rumor was enough to send my family and I to Univision for hours at a time. I will believe it when I see CNN cover his (open casket) funeral.

A scare story: More women in the U.S. are dying in childbirth, according to an MSN article, which included the picture of a healthy, pregnant mom with her two sons. (The mother died a month later in childbirth.)

But once you read the story, you will realize that the actual death rate has risen by one a year from 12 per 100,000 births to 13 per 100,000 births. The article blames the rise in C-sections for the death due to blood loss and other complications related to the surgery. But the article goes on to say that states such as California and Montana have changed the way deaths are reported. Also, African-American women appear at greater risk due to high blood pressure and poor prenatal care. Obese women are also at greater risk for maternal death.

As for the woman in the picture, she actually died a day after delivering her baby vaginally. She died of a heart attack following massive blood loss. The doctor, who was not found legally responsible for her death, says he never conducted an autopsy -- a decision he now regrets.

I don’t doubt that c-sections -- or any surgery for that matter -- carry greater risks. And while 12 to 13 is statistically relevant, it seems to be a small number when you take into consideration all the other risk factors and the different ways deaths are reported. The headline was so much more frightening than the actual story.

Another health story: Women who are overweight are more likely to quit breastfeeding than their normal-weight sisters, according to Reuters. The study was conducted in Denmark where breastfeeding is nearly universal and the women receive plenty of social support.

Among women who were morbidly obese (body mass index of 40 or greater), 14.4 percent had stopped exclusive breast-feeding by the time their child was a week old, compared with 3.5 percent of normal-weight women. Throughout the course of the study, the likelihood of stopping breast-feeding rose with BMI.