DR. WALLACE: Maria is my best friend. Our family has recently been blessed with some extremely good fortune. Both my mother and father have been promoted at work. The promotions came within two weeks of each other, so our family had one big celebration. Maria was invited and was in attendance. Also, my brother received a letter saying that he had been accepted at Notre Dame University.

When I told her about our good fortune, she wasn't excited. Instead, she had to tell me about her family's good luck. She said that her uncle in San Francisco won $25,000 in the lottery, her brother was promoted in the Navy and her cousin was accepted at Yale. All she did was tell me her family had more good fortune than mine. There were no words of congratulations about the achievements of my parents and brother.

I said I was happy for her, but I later checked out her stories, and only the story about her brother was true. He is an enlisted man who did earn a promotion. The other two stories appear to be complete fabrications.

Why would she try so hard to impress me with such tall tales? We have been best friends for a long time, so I don't know if I should be a touch upset with her or feel sorry for her. — Confused Friend, via email

CONFUSED FRIEND: It appears that your friend is going through a period where her self-image has been slipping, and by topping your family's news of good fortune, her ego will get a boost.

Don't challenge her about these tall tales she has told you. It won't solve her problem; it probably will make it worse. Do what you can to help her gain self-confidence. Compliment her and make her smile. She needs your friendship. Hopefully, over time, her need to one-up others will recede. Also, at an appropriate time in the future, have a gentle discussion with her about the value of honesty, particularly with friends. Her personal integrity is at stake, and not just with you and your family. None of us is perfect, and it's a great friend who can hang in there a support a friend during a period of struggle.

SECOND COUSIN IS MY BABY'S FATHER

DR. WALLACE: My second cousin and I used to have sexual relations, and now I'm pregnant with his baby. My friends have told me that since we're cousins, the baby won't live very long, so now I'm scared to death.

I've prayed to God for forgiveness and promised him I would never do this again.

Please tell me what to do. I'm already eight months pregnant and don't want my baby to die! — Scared, Embarrassed Mother-To-Be, via email

SCARED, EMBARRASSED: Tell your attending physicians that your baby's father is your second cousin. Your doctor should be aware of this fact before the baby is born.

I'm told by my personal physician that there is no chance your baby will die simply because your second cousin is the father. She did say the chances of the baby having a birth defect are about 1% higher than babies whose parents are completely unrelated. This is a very small difference.

Even the children of first cousins do not exhibit a high rate of birth defects, so please do not listen to the uninformed, inaccurate gossip that has startled you. Do all you can to be happy, healthy and nurturing during this final period of your pregnancy. Eat right, get plenty of rest and please avoid smoking, alcohol and any and all substances that could potentially be harmful to your unborn child.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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