Breastfeeding in the News: April 21st – 30th, 2010

In a move straight out of a Hollywood movie leaflets denouncing Nestle’s flagrant disregard for the WHO Code dropped through a hole in the ceiling of the Palais recently and floated onto the table in front of the startled Nestle executives below.  Nestle indignantly responded by insisting that they abide by the law in all countries and that in fact they had received very few complaints about their marketing of infant formula. “Governments are not making these calls, Nestle abides by the law in every country.” This should serve as a reminder to the rest of us that it is the law of the land that carries the greatest weight.  Unfortunately thirty plus years of boycotting hasn’t even made Nestle blink.

The incident reminded me of a meeting of Human Resource executives that I attended a few years ago.  I was there pitching a lactation support program for businesses.  After enthusiastically touting the benefits of supporting breastfeeding mothers in the workplace (“Companies save $3 for every $1 spent on breastfeeding support.”), one HR woman interrupted me and asked point blank, “Is there a law requiring this?”  There was no law, and the discussion was quickly dropped. 

Happily today there is a new federal law but as I mentioned before the details still have to be worked out.  It is interesting to note that prior to this law the issues of work breaks was covered by state laws only. “Until this amendment, rest break requirements had been the subject of state regulation.” So this is new territory for federal law makers. Luckily state and local laws will still supersede the federal rules which means that Oregon’s $1,000 fine for each missed “breast milk expression session” will still stand, and employees in Monterey will still receive extra training and support. 

In science news HAMLET a component of breast milk now believed to kill 40 different types of cancer cells including bladder cancer is being touted as the next big thing in cancer research.   HAMLETs which are formed by “combining alpha-lactalbumin in the milk and oleic acid which is found in babies’ stomachs,” are remarkable not just for their ability to kill cancer but also the way they leave all healthy cells intact.  In other science news another study noted that babies who were breastfed showed better lung capabilities which were still measurable at 8 years of age.  A study showing that obese women who got extra breastfeeding counseling not only breastfed longer they their babies had fewer fevers and upper respiratory infections and were “3.5 times less likely to be hospitalized during their first 3 months of life.”  Across the pond the Brits just held their first conference exploring the benefits of breastfeeding for babies with developmental disabilities!  I would love to see more of that done here.

In Uganda they noted a suspicious rise in breast cancer in younger women. The same article noted that, “Breastfeeding also changes the make-up of a mother’s breast cells, making them more resistant to cancer.”  And that “Breastfeeding will also rid the breast toxins like carcinogens that are likely to cause cancer in the future.”  While I’m glad to see them put in a plug for breastfeeding I’m not entirely sure they got this exactly right.  Can any of my more knowledgeable readers set me straight on this?  And while we’re talking about Uganda I’m happy to report that the issue of breastfeeding mothers in prison has been looked into, and that mothers now receive their own special cells.  This is one of those times when the child’s rights supersede the mother’s.

For years we’ve been pushing for more breastfeeding using evidence based studies as our strongest ally, but we tend to ignore any evidence showing that breast milk often contains toxin.   One author insists, “Were it regulated like infant formula, the breast milk of many US mothers would not be able to be legally sold on supermarket shelves.”  We find ourselves in the delicate position of ignoring the canary in the mine (canaries would die from the poisoned air before the effects on miners could be noticed), and still trying to convince society to accept breastfeeding as normal.  As blogger Anna Fahey puts it “The choice is a personal one, but a choice there should be! And it should never be a question of choosing the lesser of two evils. We have a shared responsibility to safeguard the basic human right to grow up untainted by damaging chemicals.”

An interesting study in Australia showed that positive interest in breastfeeding did not mean that mothers would breastfeed longer.  And to answer the question, “What do women really want?” the answer was clearly that they wanted more support.  In fact, “It is not important what people close to them think about their decision to breastfeed, what is important is the support they receive.” This may sound like a conundrum but I totally get it.  My mother constantly questioned me about my decision to breastfeed but at the same time she did everything she could to help make it work.  She even vocally defended me against all nay sayers as she would not tolerate any criticisms from others.  That was her job!  (Speaking of grandmothers I totally applaud a local health department’s decision to host a “Grandmother’s Tea … to educate, influence and encourage Grandmothers’ support of breastfeeding.”)

As always the conversation about breastfeeding continues. From car seat analogies, to letters to tv news producers (by the way ABC news got slammed for using a doctor known for accepting money from formula companies as one of their “expert opinions” on a breastfeeding piece), to books for fathers (“Breastfeeding Facts For Fathers” Platypus Media), to celebrity complaints about breastfeeding police everyone has an opinion.  What is most interesting to me is the way the conversation is being portrayed in the movies and on TV.  As breastfeeding infants becomes more accepted there has been a trend towards making more jokes about breastfeeding the older child.    One piece took this to the farthest extreme with a really funny bit about a mother nursing her 30 year old son (“I Want My Bitty”).  And I have to admit I loved Pam’s return to work on the “Office” and the moment when she realized she was feeling engorged.  Not being able to find her breast pump (a non-lactating coworker had slipped off to the bathroom to give it a try -“Wow. This is like the Cadillac of breast pumps!”) her coworker Dwight who was brought up on a farm offers to assist her with hand expression, “Three squeezes and I would drain you.”  

But if you only have time to read one story today make it “A Unique Challenge to Breastfeeding” by Michael Wuebben a CBS News producer.  He tells the loving story of how his own child was born with a rare medical condition that left the baby physically unable to move his facial muscles, and how the child’s mother never gave up on breastfeeding.  It is beautifully written and adds a potent counter weight to all those stories we hear from mothers who “had to give up” for reasons x, y, and z.

As always I love hearing from you (remember links to all the stories are below).  I hope you all had a Mother’s Day that was as pleasant as mine.  My daughter made a poster filled with pictures of the two of us and across the top she wrote “Best Friends”.  I couldn’t ask for anything more than that! 

Kathy Abbott IBCLC
www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com

www.TheCuriousLactivist.Wordpress.com

On Facebook:” Breastfeeding in the News”           

The risks of non-compliance with Oregon’s milk expression law

Penalties for noncompliance are similar to those that may be assessed for other wage and hour violations, and may be as high as $1,000 per missed breast milk expression session, possibly as much as $2,000 on an average work day. There is no statute of limitations regarding when an employee may file a complaint.

… But for some women working in places that are slow to change, they fear they would be asking their employer for too much or inconveniencing their colleagues. In addition some women just don’t feel comfortable discussing breast milk expression with their direct supervisor or human resources department. Even with all these progressive reforms the burden is on working women.

Marion Rice is workplace lactation support specialist with the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/04/the_risks_of_noncompliance_wit.html    

Almeda County to lower flags in remembrance of Livermore baby (San Jose Mercury News)  

Police arrested Jessica Adams last week on suspicion of murder after a yearlong investigation. Police said during that time, they learned she had been continually smoking methamphetamine for four days leading up to Gary’s death. She had not slept at all during that time, and when she finally fell asleep on March 19, Gary was with her on the couch.

Police say Adams told them she had stopped breastfeeding the baby March 12 because she planned on using the drug.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14984679?nclick_check=1

Most Hilarious Breastfeeding video ever!

Sometimes we all need a little laugh though, right? And so, in the interest of easing a little breastfeeding debate tension, check out this clip from the UK comedy Little Britain. The episode is called “Meet the Parents.” But it should be called “I Want My Bitty!”

http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/102144/Most_Hilarious_Breastfeeding_Video_Ever

BBC News: Cultural Barrier to breastfeeding older children

“Once I gave birth to Jonathan and I started breastfeeding, I thought we’ll just get to six months and then I thought we’ll go to a year and then it never stopped.

“And here I am five years on. It became a natural thing.”

“I’m a firm believer that Jonathan should choose his own path in life,” she said.

Ms Hurst said breastfeeding Jonathan would stop when he lost the ability to suckle as his milk teeth fell out

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/8652825.stm

Does breastfeeding protect against asthma? (Reuters)

The extended and exclusive diet of breast milk also resulted in better lung function at age 8, the researchers report in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63R4TL20100428

Ugandan News: Conservative Party calls for special (jail) cells for breastfeeding mothers

The President of CP says the breastfeeding mothers jailed at Luzira prison have told him that they are finding it hard to produce enough milk for their babies because of the poor meals.

Inmates at Luzira and other prisons in Uganda get one meal a day at 2:00pm and a cup of porridge at 8:00am daily. The major food they get is posho and beans.

http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/news.asp?about=CP+calls+for+special+cells+for+breast+feeding+mothers+&ID=14323

First UK conference to address benefits of breastfeeding for babies with developmental disabilities

Dr Roja Sooben at the University’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work has organised the conference  called,  Breastfeeding infants with developmental disabilities – let’s talk about it!, which will take place at the University on 11^th  May.

  http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100429/First-UK-conference-to-address-benefits-of-breastfeeding-for-babies-with-developmental-disabilities.aspx

The Day WHEN breast isn’t BEST

But as Sandra Steingraber (author, biologist, and breastfeeding advocate who’s written and lectured extensively on the subject) points out, breast milk commonly violates Food and Drug Administration levels for poisonous substances in food. She writes: “Were it regulated like infant formula, the breast milk of many US mothers would not be able to be legally sold on supermarket shelves.”

…The choice is a personal one, but a choice there should be! And it should never be a question of choosing the lesser of two evils. We have a shared responsibility to safeguard the basic human right to grow up untainted by damaging chemicals. Put another way, chemical risks in today’s environment aren’t a matter of choice; they’re an assault on basic rights.

http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2010/04/28/is-breast-always-best

A Unique Challenge to Breastfeeding

Michael Wuebben is a CBSNews.com senior producer overseeing video production and original video programming.

Finally we knew something. He couldn’t suck because he couldn’t move the muscles of his face. He didn’t react because his muscles were weak and he couldn’t blink.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504544_162-20003507-504544.html

Monterey County Adopts breastfeeding Policy

Existing law provides for unpaid break time and appropriate facilities for lactating employees to express milk for their infant children. The Monterey County policy includes additional provisions for training and support to maximize the benefits of breastfeeding for employees and their children.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20100428/NEWS01/4280316

http://www.janeparker.org/breastfeeding     

New Book: Fathers Critical to Success of Breastfeeding

One key message in Breastfeeding Facts for Fathers (Platypus Media, 2009, 41 pages) is made quite clear upfront: You are critical to the success of breastfeeding . 

In fact, the book cites a study showing that when fathers are completely supportive of breastfeeding, mothers working outside the home breastfeed 98% of the time, compared to mothers whose partners were indifferent to breastfeeding, who breastfeed 26.9% of the time.  The book also notes that the father is the “first person to show his baby that feeding does not equal love.”

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/new-book-fathers-critical-to-success-of-breastfeeding

Kate Ford

But the 32-year-old is loving her new role as a mum – although she is not a fan of the breastfeeding police. She said: “I didn’t breastfeed. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, it just didn’t work for me.“I did manage to express some milk for Otis for the first few months, though. “The thing about the breastfeeding police is that they bring so much guilt to women that don’t manage to, or aren’t able to breastfeed. “I think that’s a shame. “Breastfeeding is the most healthy thing, but it’s not the end of the world if you can’t do it. “If it doesn’t work for you, don’t cut yourself up about it.“It’s more important for your baby to be with a happy, contented mother – not one who’s distressed because she can’t breastfeed.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/04/27/kate-ford-won-t-let-son-otis-see-her-coronation-street-return-as-tracy-barlow-115875-22214220/

Breastfeeding: Why the Controversy?  

If I had a dime for every blog post, news article, or discussion I’ve had regarding breastfeeding over the last eight years, I’d be a rich woman.  

My personal advice to mom’s who are concerned about breastfeeding is the following:

• Screw the store clerks. If your baby is hungry, feed him.
• Stop breastfeeding when you want to stop breastfeeding. Guess what, I breastfed my children until they were…. oh wait IT DOESN’T MATTER. My kids are not yours so it doesn’t matter what I did. And guess what? I don’t care how long you breastfeed yours, whether it’s for one year or five.
• If people don’t like the breastfeeding photos you post on your Facebook profile, they don’t have to look at them.
• Call your HR person. That’s right, the laws they are a changin’. This country is attempting to make itself more family friendly and one way they’re doing that is by requiring your company to make it possible for you to breastfeed. If your boss doesn’t like it, tell him to call congress and complain, but leave you to your business. And clarify that it’s YOUR business not his.

When will we finally reach a point in society that says “breast is best, end of story”?

http://www.life360.com/blog/breastfeeding-why-the-controversy/

Are today’s young women more at risk?

Kampala Uganda— THE Ministry of Health recently announced that there is an increase in the cases of breast cancer among women less than 40 years of age. Reports show that the age trend of breast cancer has changed from 40-50 years to 30-40 years of age, compared to the Western world, where the diagnosis is still among the old – 50-plus years.

Murokora says breastfeeding helps by reducing the oestrogen levels in the body. Oestrogen increases a person’s risk of developing breast cancer. Breastfeeding also changes the make-up of a mother’s breast cells, making them more resistant to cancer. Breastfeeding will also rid the breast toxins like carcinogens that are likely to cause cancer in the future.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201004270148.html

It’s okay to stop breastfeeding.

I feel like the breastfeeding issue is almost as polarizing as the last presidential election in this country.

http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/102066/Its_Okay_to_Stop_Breastfeeding  

Peer counseling, support can improve breastfeeding success in obese women

++++Conn. 154 puerta rican –

predominantly Puerto Rican, low-income, and had less than a high-school education For instance, women in the ‘intervention’ group were visited three times in their homes during late pregnancy and 11 more times in the first few months after birth. Whereas 16% and 46% of the women in the ‘control’ group had stopped breastfeeding by 2 and 8 weeks postpartum, respectively, only 7% and 33% of the women in the ‘intervention’ group had stopped++++++

And to add even more bang for the buck, babies of mothers who received the extra counseling were 3.5 times less likely to be hospitalized during their first 3 months of life. This was mostly due to lower rates of respiratory infections and fever.

http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_peer-counseling-support-can-improve-breastfeeding-success-in-obese-women_1375830

Khloe Kardashian wants to start breastfeeding someone after seeing the weight drop off her sister Kourtney

“If that’s all it takes, breastfeeding? Then someone breastfeed off of me! I don’t care,” joked Khloe in an interview with Us magazine.

http://www.musicrooms.net/showbiz/5886-Khloe-Kardashian-Wants-Start-Breastfeeding.html

Nursing can be a challenge for working moms

Companies save $3 for every $1 spent on breastfeeding support.

http://www.uticaod.com/health/x57966717/Nursing-can-be-a-challenge-for-working-moms

The Back Up Plan (Movie Review) – Pregnant with Problems

The biggest laughs come from the ingloriousness of being pregnant and giving birth, but their overworked bits — like home birth and a toddler breastfeeding — are all gags we’ve seen and heard before

http://www.buzzsugar.com/Back-up-Plan-Movie-Review-Starring-Jennifer-Lopez-Alex-OLoughlin-8206763

United States: FLSA Amended to Require Breaks and Space to Express Breast Milk for Nursing Mothers

Until this amendment, rest break requirements had been the subject of state regulation. The FLSA does not require employers to provide breaks or meal periods to workers. Unless rest breaks are required by state law, when and how they are provided has traditionally been a matter of agreement between the employer and employee.

http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/article.asp?articleid=99004

Keeping the Breastfeeding Conversation Going

We got a lot of great response from our recent video segment “The Challenges of Breastfeeding.”

Again, we love the “100 letters” challenge. Please leave comments below on this blog post and let us know what you thought of the piece. And also share your ideas for future Health and Wellness segments.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504544_162-20003186-504544.html

Mums need more support

 

Friday, 23 April 2010

Queensland University of TechnologyJoy Parkinson“Ms Parkinson said if governments wanted to increase breastfeeding rates they needed to increase loyalty to the act of breastfeeding and this would be best achieved by encouraging support from family and friends.” “There needs to be a more mother-centred approach as opposed to a baby-centred approach,” she said. “One of the most surprising things that came out of this study was that positive attitudes towards breastfeeding didn’t equate to larger numbers of women breastfeeding for longer.”

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20102304-20885-2.html

Health Department to hold Grandmother’s Tea (IL)

Michele Beckstrom, RN of the Health Department notes, “This Grandmother’s Tea is being held to educate, influence and encourage Grandmothers’ support of breastfeeding.”

http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=489641

The Office Review: “Secretary’s Day”

It’s the third week now. Dwight prepping to help Pa , Meredith using her apparatus in the bathroom … how long can the writers milk (har har) the breastfeeding jokes?

Dwight: Three squeezes and I would drain you.

Meredith: This is like the Cadillac of breast pumps

http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/04/the-office-review-secretarys-day/

Breastfeed for the Health of the Nation?

Not nursing has major societal and health consequences — but even so, mothers deserve our support and understanding, not our judgment.

Ellen Painter Dollar, guest blogger

While 43 percent of American mothers do some breastfeeding, only 12 percent breastfeed exclusively for the first six months as recommended. Advocates argue that breastfeeding’s life-saving qualities should convince mothers to do it, and everyone else to support them, without all the drama about choices and guilt. The blogger Feminist Breeder, for example, had this to say: “You know what else saves lives? Car seats. So, why aren’t people spitting mad at the [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] for saying that? Why aren’t they leaving thousands of comments on car seat articles saying, ‘But I just couldn’t afford a car seat, why are you trying to make me feel guilty?!’ Well, maybe it’s because our society will admit that car seats save lives, and we’re willing to give them out free at fire stations and hospitals if we have to because it is that important.”

…This latest study makes clear that nursing is much more than a personal lifestyle choice the rest of us have no obligation to support. New mothers need hospital policies that give priority to breastfeeding; low-cost or insurance-covered lactation assistance; paid maternity leave; flexible workplace policies; and husbands, relatives, friends and neighbors who help care for other children and manage the household during an infant’s first months.

…Because breastfeeding involves unpredictable, limited human bodies, it is not directly comparable to life-saving technologies. Using an infant car seat, for example, does not require a mother to wake up every 90 minutes throughout the night, grit her teeth as her baby latches onto sore nipples, and lock herself in a bathroom stall at work to attach a mechanical contraption to sensitive body parts (although the recent health-care overhaul, which requires large employers to provide a private, non-bathroom space for women to pump breast milk, should make this task less unpleasant for some).

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/women/2010/04/breastfeed_for_the_health_of_t.html

Why this Earth mother hates Earth Day

“I see Earth Day as the new Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, a Hallmark holiday for us to give lip service to the environment. There are contrary forces, good in the mix – but then there are good things in the mix of Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or Valentines as well. But the reality of Mother’s Day doesn’t seem to be that it inspires us to be more respectful of the needs of mothers – what comes out of Mother’s Day isn’t more calls for breastfeeding stations and child friendly policies, but a “we told you we loved you last Sunday…aren’t we done yet?” The same is true of Valentines Day – there’s no compelling reason to believe that once a year special chocolates and sex really do all that much to lower the national divorce rate.”

http://blog.beliefnet.com/roddreher/2010/04/why-this-earth-mother-hates-earth-day.html

Breastfeeding Advocates Red-Flag ABC News Story

(April 21) — An international breastfeeding advocacy group is accusing ABC News of failing to reveal that a pediatrician it quoted in a report critical of a breastfeeding study is a formula industry spokeswoman.

ABC News did not respond to several e-mails sent by AOL News to its media relations department for comment. Beard said she was called by an ABC News reporter for comment and was not asked about her industry ties, which she noted are “open information,” or available online.

She said she does not believe her work for Nestle “had any relevance to this comment” she made in the ABC News report.

http://www.aolnews.com/health/article/breastfeeding-advocates-red-flag-abc-news-story/19449346

Breast Milk Kills Cancer Claim Scientists

Mothers should breastfeed their babies because a substance in their milk kills cancer, researchers claim.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 6:00PM BST 20 Apr 2010

The same compound, Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumour cells or HAMLET, could be a common cancer treatment for adults within five years.

Human trials have shown HAMLET can kill bladder cancer and laboratory tests have found it kills 40 different types of cancer. But crucially, the chemical does not kill healthy cells which means it does not cause the nasty side effects of current chemotherapy treatments.  “HAMLET is produced by combining alpha-lactalbumin in the milk and oleic acid which is found in babies’ stomachs,” he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7611360/Breast-milk-kills-cancers-claim-scientists.html

Nestle Challeneged on baby milk health claims

By Lorraine Heller, 21-Apr-2010

Related topics: Health claims, Industry, Maternal & infant health

Greenpeace activists cut through the ceiling of the Palais in Lausanne, dropping flyers and absailing above the audience, while shareholders were also addressed by a baby milk activist who claimed the firm is still not abiding by marketing standards adopted by the World Health Assembly.

Patti Rundall, OBE, policy director at Baby Milk Action, said the health claims Nestle was using on its infant formula were misleading and putting the health of babies at risk. She called on Nestle shareholders to “try and find a way to bring an end to this interminable problem that is causing so much harm to children.”

Nestle this morning reiterated to NutraIngredients that it abides by the law in every country where it sells its products.

‘Protect’ is misleading

Rundall, who was able to speak at the shareholder meeting as she owns 200 Nestle shares, said she represented “thousands of citizens and IBFAN (International Baby Food Action Network) groups around the world who monitor the marketing of baby foods”.

Rundall specifically took issue with the health claims being made on the firm’s infant formula and called for the company to remove the ‘Protect’ logo from the product labels. She also said the labels should carry the correct warning language, which alerts parents to potential intrinsic bacterial contamination of the product.

Abiding by laws

Nestle said its ‘Protect’ range of products and its infant formulas are sold in over 100 countries around the world. “To date, other than via Baby Milk Action, no other complaint about the logo’s potential to mislead mothers has been received,” said the company.

It added that the action group was the only one to be calling for the firm to stop making nutrition and health claims. “Governments are not making these calls, Nestle abides by the law in every country.”

Nestle told NutraIngredients that “there has been very little pressure (on its infant formula marketing practices) for a number of years” and that calls to stop making health claims on its infant formula are unique to Baby Milk Action.

Rundall responded that 23 health professionals and mother support groups in the UK alone are calling for the removal of health claims, which, she claims, is in line with Codex regulations.  

http://www.dairyreporter.com/Products/Nestle-challenged-on-baby-milk-health-claims

Breastfeeding in the News: April 13th – 20th, 2010

Breastfeeding could save the US $13 billion dollars, US employers must now provide women with time and space to express their milk, even the new Adam Sandler flick features a four 48 month old child breastfeeding; it all sounds good, and then we find out that Enfamil now has a new flavored formula – chocolate, created especially for toddlers, and suddenly I want to crawl back into bed again. 

Melissa Bartick (chair of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition) had an impressive study published in Pediatrics recently.  Her figures show that in addition to saving the US $13 billion dollars in health care costs over 900 lives could be saved as well if breastfeeding rates were to meet US recommendations.  Her follow up article (“Peaceful Revolution”) calls for women to feel anger (rather than guilt) for the lack of support they receive.  Amie Newman however believes that it will take more than public policy and knowing about health care cost to get women on board.  Using herself as an example, she nursed her first child for a few days and her second for three years.  The only thing that had changed was her frame of mind.  While visiting Vermont’s only “Baby Friendly” hospital recently I had a conversation with their Lactation Consultant Terry Donofrio voiced similar concerns.  “It used to be that women chose breastfeeding as a lifestyle.  Today they choose it for health reasons but they don’t have the lifestyle to accommodate it,” says Terry.  I have to agree.   Having to go back to work before your baby has even started solids is not conducive to breastfeeding.  Nor is the new IPhone app that lets you keep track of every feed, and don’t even get me started on the number of mothers who are scared silly at the thought of taking their baby to bed with them.  We need a cultural change as well.

Thanks to Obama’s new health care package (“Thank you, page 1239!”) we now have a law guaranteeing mothers who work in a company with over 50 employees time and space to express their milk.  (Notice I didn’t say pump?  I’ve met mothers who work full time and hand express.  They were able to meet their baby’s need without any help from Medela, thank you very much!)  What we don’t know yet is how the law will be enforced, what a “reasonable” amount of space looks like, and whether or not women will get paid for their “lactation time”.  It’s a step in the right direction if the direction we want to go in is separating moms and babies.  I would have preferred a six month paid maternity leave, but beggars can’t be choosers.

In the medical news, there was an interesting Canadian study that showed that the negative effects of giving your children fast food can erase some of the positive benefits of breastfeeding (Higher asthma rates linked to fast food.)  The rise of celiac disease in Sweden in the 1980’s has been tied to the recommendation at the time to wait before weaning to introduce gluten.  Weaning was early in those days and the amounts of gluten recommended were high.  And how it was wonderful to see an article about reducing pain during vaccinations recommending that the baby breastfeed during the inoculation!  I will always remember the story Diane Bagley once told me about her daughter Leah.  Leah was a still a young nursing toddler when she fell and cut her finger.  After no one could her to hold her hand still at the ER Diane insisted that they let her nurse her while they stitched her up.  The staff watched in amazement as Leah held out her tiny hand and nursed until the stitches were complete. (Diane by the way is the graphic designer for the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition – she did the wonderful “For All Walks of Life” campaign!)   

While we’re talking about medical advice, a study about advice given over the internet used breastfeeding as one of their topics found that only 200 out of 500 studied sites gave advice that was reliable  But as Alicia Huntley one of my Facebook friends pointed out  “ah, but what it the ‘right’ answer? Particularly on areas of controversy such as vaccination, or HIV and breastfeeding?”  That’s something to think about, but on the other hand just this week Parenting.com in an article about how to save money pointed out that breastfeeding is never really free and then encouraged mothers to ask their pediatrician for some of that free formula they always seem to have on hand.  Great….Another article wonders why there is so much cat fighting over parenting issues and breastfeeding in particular.  She wonders if parenting bloggers are really more polarized than political shock jocks or even sports commentators?

Last but not least will someone please explain to me what the big fuss is in Ohio?  A breastfeeding campaign that includes a billboard of a black baby with breast milk dribbling down his chin has upset quite a few folks.  Apparently it’s not the slogan (“Breast Milk Satisfies”) that has people upset.  It’s the idea of human milk on a baby’s chin that bothers them. “ Never mind how cute or attractive people find the “Got Milk” campaigns and the trademark milk mustaches. A baby with breast milk on its chin is disgusting, you know, because it came from a woman and not a cow. “  Like I said I just don’t get it.

And for those of you who have been wondering where I’ve been lately; two funerals, a speaking engagement (my talk “Going Baby Friendly in New England” went well thanks!), and a new dog have kept me busy.  The dog is a year old, she wasn’t house broken, and couldn’t do stairs.  She is a shelter dog with “issues”.  So far she has chewed through two leashes, the power cord to my lap top (twice), and her dog bed.  She has peed on the couch three times.  This is my first dog ever and I feel like a new mother who doesn’t know how to do anything right.  I’m sure the whole experience is going to make me a better lactation consultant – if I can only live through it!  (Did I mention we have five cats?)

As always I love to hear from you.

Kathy Abbott IBCLC
www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com 

www.TheCuriousLactivist.Wordpress.com 

On Facebook:” Breastfeeding in the News”            

NEW Enfagrow™ PREMIUM™ Chocolate

A delicious new flavor for toddlers 12 months and older – with prebiotics for digestive health!

As your child grows from an infant to a toddler, he’s probably becoming pickier about what he eats. Now more than ever, ensuring that he gets complete nutrition can be a challenge

http://www.enfamil.com/app/iwp/enfamil/productDetail.do?dm=enf&id=-12781&iwpst=B2C&ls=0&csred=1&r=3449233698

The Burden of Suboptimal Breastfeeding in the United States: A Pediatric Cost Analysis

Framed another

way, the United States incurs $13 billion

in excess costs annually and suffers 911

preventable deaths per year because

our breastfeeding rates fall far below

medical recommendations. Substantial

gains could be made with exclusive

breastfeeding for 4 months and any

breastfeeding at 6 months.      

http://sz0155.wc.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/Bartick%20Reinhold%202010.pdf?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=171920&part=2

Got Breast Milk? First We Need Equity (Aime Newman)

Turns out, breastfeeding a baby is not some secret society to which only some women hold the password. I breastfed my daughter for three years, enjoying (almost) every moment of it in a way I have never and certainly will never experience again. It had as much to do with my frame of mind as anything else.

Which is why solely focusing on public policy or solely focusing on the health benefits of breastfeeding or solely focusing on just trying to convince moms of how wonderful breastfeeding can be are not panaceas.

A study that finds that breastfeeding saves money and lives is not earth-shattering. But what we do with this information has the potential to be. From public spaces to workplaces, hospital rooms to women’s living rooms, society must expand its notion of what women need to feed their babies from birth and beyond.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amie-newman/got-breast-milk-first-we_b_532424.html

Cat fight on the mom blog: Are we meaner than the sports blogs?

In a groundbreaking segment, the Today show figured out that Moms are mean to each other on parenting blogs. Shocking I know!! (They also pieced together like Sherlock Holmes that people trying to egg on others are called “trolls.”)

I also try to avoid breastfeeding/formula feeding whenever possible. You may not have noticed but I was a day late on that breastfeeding story last week because I just didn’t want to get into. I only used the story when I had the angle of how can we facilitate 90 percent breastfeeding instead of should 90 percent breastfeed. The facilitating discussion went really well. The other discussion would have gotten ugly!

http://blogs.ajc.com/momania/2010/04/13/cat-fight-on-the-mom-blog-are-we-meaner-than-the-sports-blogs/?cxntfid=blogs_momania

Internet advice may not be reliable for your kid’s health—study

Details of the study
For the study, the researchers used Google to seek facts about five conditions–HIV breastfeeding, mastitis breastfeeding (breastfeeding while the breast tissue is inflamed), baby sleeping

position along with green vomit and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and autism.

On observing the sites for child healthcare information, the researchers found that the type of guidance offered differed notably.

They also found that half of the search results were unable to answer the question typed.

The study also revealed that mere 200 out of 500 studied sites were able to offer accurate information and also that government-run websites were the only absolutely dependable source.

In other words, 39 percent of the 500 results gave accurate information while 11 percent gave the wrong answer; the most incorrect replies being given to search results regarding MMR and autism along with HIV and breastfeeding.

http://www.themedguru.com/20100413/newsfeature/internet-advice-may-not-be-reliable-your-kid-s-health-study-86133985.html

A BREASTFEEDING ROOM OF ONE’S OWN

A nifty provision in the healthcare bill is a boon to working moms

By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Thank you, page 1239! Deep within the new health care bill, right before the part where the Rostovs flee Moscow, there’s a neat provision that will thrill working mothers. CNN notes this week that companies with 50 or more employees are now required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.” 

http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/04/13/breastfeeding_rooms/   

Peaceful Revolution: Motherhood & the $13 Billion Dollar Guilt

Do you feel guilty for not breastfeeding? Or do you feel angry because it didn’t have to be this way?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melissa-bartick/ipeaceful-revolutioni-mot_b_536659.html

Higher asthma rates linked to fast food

The Canadians were puzzled: Could fast food override some of the benefits of breastfeeding?

Their study involved children born in Manitoba in 1995. The team looked at 246 children, aged eight to 10, diagnosed with asthma, and 477 children without asthma. Parents filled out questionnaires that asked, among other things, “how often has your child eaten burgers or fast food in the last week” and “when did your child first have any formula/cow’s milk?”

Children who ate fast foods more than once or twice a week — more than half the children studied — were almost twice as likely to have asthma.

Children who were breastfed exclusively for more than three months had a lower risk of asthma. But the association disappeared in kids who ate fast food frequently, compared to those who occasionally or rarely consumed fast food.

http://www.windsorstar.com/health/Higher+asthma+rates+linked+fast+food/1226588/story.html

Save on the Top 3 New-Baby Expenses (parenting.com)

COST SAVING STRATEGIES ESSNETIAL FOR KEEPING YOUR FAMILY’S BABY BUDGET IN CHECK DURING YOUR CHILD’S FIRST YEAR.

By Rachel Grumman, Babytalk

Eating Up the Budget

 Formula costs a minimum of $1,500 the first year, according to Bradford — more if you use one that’s gluten-free or contains prebiotics. Although breastfeeding is less expensive, “there’s a fallacy that breastfeeding is free,” says Bradford. A breast pump can run $250 to $300, then there’s nursing bras, pads, and breast milk freezer bags. How to save: Pediatricians often have free formula samples, notes Sandberg. Also, sign up for coupons at the formula company’s website. If you’re breastfeeding, “buy breast pads and freezer bags month-to-month and finish them before buying another,” says Bradford. “Women often don’t know how long they’ll breastfeed and supplies are expensive.” Also, rather than buying the 2- to 4-ounce baby bottles that you’ll only use for a few months, buy the 8-ounce bottles, which have greater longevity.

http://www.parenting.com/article/Mom/Work–Family/Save-on-the-Top-3-New-Baby-Expenses

Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups”

“Breastfeeding a four year old. Ick! Ptoeey! Gross! Yup, this film is going to make money.”

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2010/04/16/new-trailer-adam-sandlers-grown-ups/

Quick steps to lessen pain to your baby

1. Let the medical assistant offer the injection at this point while you are breastfeeding.  You can also switch the baby to a pacifier.
2.  No talking throughout or after the injection until the baby stops crying.  Whether or not there is crying do the next step.

1. Offer the baby breast milk.  Remember the endorphins effect.  Or if you don’t breastfeed, offer the baby the pacifier.  Continue not talking.  Begin doing the next step.

 

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=130634http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=130634

Companies must soon provide private space for mothers to pump breast milk: Health Care Fact Check

Lactation-room requirements will take effect as soon as the Labor Department lays out some basic rules in the coming months. Until then, there are several uncertainties about the law, according to law firms, trade associations and advocates of breastfeeding.

For one, the provision says mothers must be given a “reasonable” amount of time to lactate, without defining what is reasonable.

The law also says employees do not have to be paid for work during their lactation time. That could cause confusion, because it is contrary to the existing Fair Labor Standards Act mandate “that employers pay employees for breaks of less than 20 minutes,” according to a primer on the new law by Jackson Lewis.

It’s also unclear how the law will be enforced, although the Labor Department should provide guidance on that, says Gina Ciagne, director of breastfeeding and consumer relations at Lansinoh Laboratories, a manufacturer of lactation supplies.

For employers, the law could raise other practical concerns. Retailers with small stores might have to give up sales space for lactation rooms. The law does not specify the size but says the place may not be a bathroom and must be private, shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public.

Asked if employers are scratching their heads over all this, DeFilippis said it’s too soon because “I think that most employers probably aren’t aware of it.”

http://www.cleveland.com/medical/index.ssf/2010/04/companies_must_soon_provide_pr.html

Celiac Disease and Breastfeeding – The Missing Link

Celiac disease became a rising epidemic in Sweden in the mid 1980’s. The influx of celiac patients under 2 years old was cause for concern, considering neighboring countries were seeing a decline in celiac patients during that same time period. The Swedish celiac epidemic pattern was eventually correlated to the new dietary guidelines, which as a result of the study, were later changed. The initial dietary guidelines mandated that infants were to be introduced to gluten only after they were weaned from breastfeeding, and larger amounts of gluten were given to the infants during this time.

The recommended age is older than 4 months of age, but younger than 7 months.  It is also recommended to introduce gluten gradually, in small amounts and while your child is still nursing.

http://www.celiac.com/articles/22092/1/Celiac-Disease-and-Breastfeeding—The-Missing-Link/Page1.html

Ohio Billboard Promotes Breastfeeding, Offends Some

The billboard in question features a young child with a little bit of milk dripping out of its mouth and the slogan “Breast milk satisfies.” The kid looks pretty satisifed so far as one can tell from a staged photo. There are no bare breasts in sight, so what’s everyone finding so offensive about this ad? Apparently, it’s the fact that the milk coming out of the baby’s mouth is breast milk.

Never mind how cute or attractive people find the “Got Milk” campaigns and the trademark milk mustaches. A baby with breast milk on its chin is disgusting, you know, because it came from a woman and not a cow.

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/13682

Breastfeeding in the News March 9th – March 18th, 2010

When the government in Taipei enacted a law mandating breastfeeding rooms in public buildings it was hailed as a symbol for “the enhancement of women’s rights”.  Compare that to here in the US where acceptance of breastfeeding varies widely from state to state.  In New Jersey a council woman was photographed arguing her point as she stood and nursed her attached baby.  Said one politician, “If that’s her forte, God bless her.” Meanwhile in North Carolina a woman who couldn’t afford child care began nursing her baby in an unemployment office.  Despite the fact that North Carolina has a law protecting the rights of mother’s breastfeeding in public she was asked to leave.   According to the NC Employment Security Commission they “do not prohibit a mother from breastfeeding, but do have a breastfeeding policy.” The policy states they will offer private rooms, if available, for the mother. If not, they ask the mothers wanting to breastfeed to cover-up or step outside.”   Never mind the issue of state law versus private policy; this is an employment office we are talking about!  Where is the enhancement of “women’s rights” in this case?

In other world news mothers in Kenya are protesting the withdrawal of free formula, a policy that was instituted when it was learned that the survival rate of babies born with HIV was higher than those who are formula fed.  One mother spoke against the policy “because I cannot generate enough breast milk, I wean my babies at two months. Six months is unworkable.”   Meanwhile in Cuba 98% of babies leave the hospital exclusively breastfeeding!  Down under the Australian Premier has decided that whenever Labor MP Rite Saffioti wants to leave the chamber to nurse her baby a Liberal will be asked to leave as well.  I wonder how the Liberals feel about this.  (Only a politician would come up with such a solution.)

 In the UK a committee is investigating the increasingly blurred line between the marketing of infant formula and so called “follow up” formula.  In Scotland policy makers are taking their cues from the Harlem, New York by adopting a program created there that includes home visits during pregnancy and for the first two years.  I love it when the vision of innovative locals gets the notice it deserves! In France however the land where the “crèche” (daycare) was invented, the concept of the “good mother” does not even exist, and according to one author that is a good thing.  In France it’s wife first, worker second, and mother last.  See what century’s of wet nursing can do to a country. 

In what’s now being called the “Air Freshener” incident a mother in Britain was told she couldn’t nurse in the dressing room of a charity run clothing store because she was told “your breast milk stinks”.  So much for the ‘oxytocin factor’ bringing out the best in people.  Breastfeeding issues made two advice columns this week, the first was a question I certainly had never considered before.  In Backpacker.com a hiker wanted to know if the smell of his wife’s pumped milk would attract bears.  I wanted to know why the baby wasn’t with her, but according to my Facebook friends there are mothers who leave their baby at home and climb a mountain carrying a breast pump instead.  In a UK column advice giver “Claire” bravely takes on the thorny question of breastfeeding a toddler in public. Her answer was a gem, “It pains me to have to break it to you but I’m not, in fact, a world authority on breastfeeding. I’ve never done it and to be honest I find the whole concept quite baffling. I’m not sure why you have written to me or indeed anyone as it is quite clear that no one could convince you that breastfeeding a toddler is a good idea. The puzzle is why it bothers you so much. If your friend ends up standing in the school canteen offering her breasts up as an alternative to mini pizzas then so be it.”

A new issue of La Leche League’s most famous book “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” is scheduled to arrive in July!  This will be the first updated edition in six years and from what I hear it will include some major revisions.  There is also a new book out from a different publisher about breastfeeding older children, and by older I mean the 6 years old not the 6 months.  Medela has a new link on their website for those looking for advice on how to get lactation coverage from their insurance companies.    

  In consumer news slings took a hit when the US  Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that in the last 20 years 14 infant deaths had been associated with slings.  According to the report “many of the babies whose deaths they are investigating were either born prematurely, had breathing difficulties (eg because they had a cold) or they were a low birthweight twin.”  A follow up article by the New York Times notes that the number of slings available has exploded in recent years.  We all remember how Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (which includes crib makers) came out with all those studies against co-sleeping, considering how many slings are made by smaller women owned businesses I would hate to see this organization take on slings as well (especially since only one sling manufacturer was implicated).  One way to avoid this is for sling makers to police themselves.  It would not be a bad idea for certain standards to be created and in my humble opinion the best way to do that is to join the American Society for Testing and Materials (http://www.astm.org/ ).  The ASTM is a highly respected voluntary organization that is a well known leader in creating standards around the globe.  Check it out ladies; don’t let the Goliath’s of the world get their way!

In science news  ‘pregnancy brain’ has been associated with a lack of fatty acids (which presumably have been suctioned off by the fetus) and does not return to normal until the baby reaches 6 months.  Whether or not lower levels of fatty acids is a true deficit to a woman’s ability to think I’m not sure.  What I am sure of is that this will be used a new marketing tool for yet another perinatal product shortly.

I have to thank you all for patience in waiting for this latest edition of “Breastfeeding in the News”.  In the past two weeks I have visited five Baby Friendly hospitals in New England for a fascinating look at the process of going Baby Friendly.  When I was done with that I finally caved in to my daughter’s constant request for a dog. (For three years she has added the word “puppy” to every shopping list I have ever written.)  Never mind that we have five cats, never mind that I have never owned a dog before, I caved in and now we have a gentle, one year old, thirty pound, West Virginian, shelter dog who was not house broken and apparently had never seen stairs before.   On the second day we had her she busted out of her crate and chewed the power cord to my laptop clean in half.  And just now while I was writing this she stole and opened up a container of cat food!  If anyone needs a reminder of what motherhood is like in the early days just get yourself a puppy.  I’m exhausted already.

As always I welcome your comments, and if you haven’t had a chance to read my last essay “Wetness is Opportunity” please take a look at it.  I want to send a special shout out to my Facebook friend Effath Yasmin from India for the kind words she sent me about the essay, so nice to hear from you Effath!

 Kathy Abbott IBCLC
www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com

www.TheCuriousLactivist.Wordpress.com

On Facebook:” Breastfeeding in the News”             

PREGNANCY BRAIN MAY BE FIRST SIGN OF EFA DEFICIENCY DURING CHILDBEARING YEARS

Thursday, March 18, 2010 by: Sherry Rothwell, citizen journalist
…”If not attended to, EFA (essential fatty acids) status in the mother will continue to decline throughout the breastfeeding period, with repercussions to both her breastfeeding baby and subsequent children. Essential fatty acid deficiency has been shown to play a key role in many growth and developmental difficulties such as: learning, behavioral, nervous and immune related disorders.”

…”While “pregnancy brain” is also associated with the “amnesia” effects of the hormone oxytocin and other nutritional deficiencies, science has now shown that a pregnant woman`s brain actually shrinks in size during pregnancy, and then increases again at six months postpartum. It is likely no coincidence that this occurrence co-relates with the time when many women stop or decrease breastfeeding, thus eliminating or reducing the strain on the mother`s EFA stores. Since we know that 60% of the human brain is composed of fat and that a woman’s reserves are most strained during the childbearing years, we have to at least consider essential fats as a significant contributing piece of the “pregnancy brain” puzzle.”

http://www.naturalnews.com/028391_pregnancy_nutrition.html

Deficiency of essential fatty acids and membrane fluidity during pregnancy and lactation

Lactating mothers showed less recovery from the deficiencies than did the nonlactating mothers, but neither approached normal at 6 wk. The changes seen in phospholipid profiles suggest a significant transfer of omega 3 and omega 6 polyunsaturated FA from the mother to the fetus. These FA are essential for normal fetal growth and development; their relative deficiency in maternal circulation suggests that dietary supplementation may be indicated.

http://www.pnas.org/content/88/11/4835.abstract

Hospitals friendly to newborns and their mothers are widely realized in Cuba

By David Koch

SANCTI SPÍRITUS, Cuba, 17 March 2010 – With a history of poverty and political strife, Cubans have experienced much deprivation over the years. But access to basic services, such as healthcare, is available to all – especially children – whose first right is to the best start in life.

   VIDEO: Watch now

In 1991, Cuba ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which states that nations “shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.” And the country vigorously defends a children’s right to health, and hospitals friendly to newborns and their mothers cover the island.

 “Undoubtedly, the reach and quality of child- and mother-friendly hospitals in Cuba sets one of the highest standards in the world.”

Breastfeeding to the fore

Post-delivery care is one of the hallmarks of child- and mother-friendly hospitals like the General Camilo Cienfuegos Provincial Hospital in Sancti Spíritus, the capital of the province of the same name.

“During the first 48 hours, we ensure that the mother is always by the child’s side, that she breastfeeds him or her on demand over the first 15 minutes of the child’s life,” explained Dr. Gladys Figueredo Echagüe, Deputy Director of the hospital’s maternity ward. “We ensure that the families participate in this process, and ensure that 98 per cent of our newborns are sent home breastfeeding exclusively.”

Despite such practices, some experts believe that breastfeeding among Cuban mothers is declining slightly due to an increased reliance on powdered formula.

“I believe that Cuba is an excellent model regarding the protection and best interests of the child,” he said.

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cuba_53057.html  

Taipei protects right to breastfeed

Government offices, public venues and most shopping malls must also set up nursing rooms.

Anyone who does not comply with the law will be subject to a fine of NT$5,000-$30,000 (US$157-943).

Catholic hospitals have long promoted breastfeeding and have welcomed the measures.

The law, proposed in 2005, will finally come into force in Taipei on April 1, said Yu Li-hui, head of the health promotion division of Taipei city council.

“This is the first law of its kind in Taiwan. It not only follows the world trend but also symbolizes the enhancement of women’s rights,” Yu told UCA News.

The rate of breastfeeding has dropped since the 1970s when TV commercials created a misconception of healthier babies with formula milk. Breastfeeding draws strange stares from passersby, making it seem that this is not a norm in Chinese society, said Yu.

But Chinese mothers have breastfed their babies publicly in the 1960s when breastfeeding was common.

“The practice has been encouraged since 1980s and now more than 90 percent of mothers breastfeed their newborns in hospitals…”

http://www.cathnewsindia.com/2010/03/18/taipei-protects-right-to-breastfeed/

ASK A BEAR: BREASTFEEDING AROUND BEARS

Q: My wife has been breastfeeding our 3-month-old daughter, and she’d like to get out for her first post-pregnancy backpacking trip this summer. While we cannot take the little one along with us yet, we had planned to take a breastpump and dispose of the pumped milk.

We can’t seem to find any information about whether it is safe to camp in bear country while…uh…lactating. So, how about it? Is it safe to camp in bear country when you are a breastfeeding mom? Thanks! —Mike from Virginia, via email

A: Hey Mike. First of all, congratulations on the new cub—here’s hoping she has two eyes, ten claws, and a shiny fur coat.

Secondly, as long as you dispose of the milk properly, your wife should be good to go on that backpacking trip. There’s no evidence to suggest that lactating females would attract bears any more than those who aren’t. If it’s inside your body, a bear probably can’t smell it; any food or external odors left on your skin or clothes are more likely to attract bears.

As for disposal: You can treat it much the way you would treat dishwater. Scatter it broadly at least 200 feet away from water sources, and well away from your camp (strain it, if need be). This way, impact should be minimal. If you want to truly reduce your impact to zero, however, you should probably wait to go backpacking until your wife stops lactating. It’ll certainly cut down on her discomfort.

http://www.backpacker.com/ask_a_bear_breastfeeding/blogs/daily_dirt/1715

Breastfeeding a risk in bear country?

“ Large food caches, quantities of cooked food, and left-overs are what you worry about, as far as I’ve learned. The bears know where the most food is. If a bear smelled food stains on a person, or smelled the very strong odors of a food cache or a pile of scraps, which way do you think that animal will turn? Bears, black and grizzly, are extremely smart omnivores and scavengers, and they’re inclined to expend the least energy for the biggest payoff. So, attack a human who smells like her own milk (and risk human counter-attack), or sneak in at night, rip open a cooler, and grab and go?”

http://trueslant.com/scottbowen/2010/03/17/breastfeeding-a-risk-in-bear-country/

RIGHT TO BREASTFEED QUESTIONED

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) – A woman said she was asked to stop breastfeeding her child while at the Winston-Salem Employment Security Commission Office last Tuesday.

Elizabeth Abbott, a mother of four, said she went to the employment office to search for a job. “I don’t have a job, which means I can’t afford $200 a week in daycare. Which means, when I go look for a job, my child goes with me,” said Abbott. While waiting at the office, she started breastfeeding her infant son when a female receptionist asked her to to stop, stating it was a distraction.

“She came over and said for the comfort of the men in the office, I need to leave and nurse him elsewhere. I told her I wasn’t going anywhere, and she continued to tell me that the comfort of the men was going to be an issue. I said I really don’t care. My baby is hungry, I’m here to find a job and my baby wants to eat,” said Abbott.

North Carolina law protects mothers and gives them the right to breastfeed their child anytime, anywhere.

“There were other people that heard her comment and actually were upset about the comment she made to me,” said Abbott. “If a man can sit there and feed his child at the ESC with a bottle, then a women should be able to nurse their child the same way.”

A spokesman for the NC Employment Security Commission said: “They do not prohibit a mother from breastfeeding, but do have a breastfeeding policy.” The policy states they will offer private rooms, if available, for the mother. If not, they ask the mothers wanting to breastfeed to cover-up or step outside.

Abbott said she believes no policy should trump state law. “There shouldn’t be a policy. I don’t care what their policy is,” said Abbott.

North Carolina is one of 44 states that have laws protecting mothers wanting to breastfeed in public.

http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-story-breastfeed-policy-100316,0,6082191.story

Suffocation Danger To Young Babies In Sling Carriers: US Consumers Warned (Medical News Today)    

“The commission said many of the babies whose deaths they are investigating were either born prematurely, had breathing difficulties (eg because they had a cold) or they were a low birthweight twin.”

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182256.php

PARENTING GROWS UP – PUBLISHERS ANSWER MOMS’ AND DADS’ CALL FOR AN INCREASING VARIETY OF CHILD-REARING TITLES

BY GWENDA BOND — PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY

But perhaps the biggest postpregnancy book of the season is Ballantine’s newly revised and updated edition of the classic The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by the La Leche League. Since the last update to the title six years ago, major changes have created more questions for breastfeeding moms, says Marnie Cochran, executive editor at Ballantine, even as the science has solidified its importance. She cites increases in C-sections and multiple births, improved pump technology that can be overwhelming for new mothers to choose from, and women juggling the return to the workplace and nursing.

“Much like a La Leche League meeting itself, the new book will now meet the urgent needs of women of all ages who choose to breastfeed, and for however long they choose to try to keep doing it,” says Cochran.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/452900-Parenting_Grows_Up.php  

Family says accused mother is mentally ill

SARASOTA – Brittany Livingston tried to get help for mental health problems including postpartum depression, but she would not take the prescription medicine while breastfeeding her youngest daughter, worried that it might hurt the child.

On Feb. 26, she showed up at her mother’s Sarasota house in crisis, asking for help and saying she needed to go somewhere for psychiatric treatment, as she had done several times before. But she took off before anyone could help her, family members say.

“She was begging, pleading,” said a family member, who would not give her name. “But that other part of her would not let her sit still.”

That night, deputies say, she tried to drown her two daughters — a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old — in a retention pond in Charlotte County.

On Friday, they charged her with two counts of attempted murder and moved her to the jail.

Her bail has been set at $300,000

Family members say Livingston, an honors student at Riverview who enrolled in State College of Florida and wanted to be a teacher, should be getting psychiatric help, not jail time.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100314/ARTICLE/3141038/-1/NEWSSITEMAP?p=1&tc=pg

Roselle Park councilwoman nurses baby at meetings so other mothers can too (New Jersey)

ROSELLE PARK — The strongest public statement at this month’s Roselle Park council meeting was never entered into the minutes.

Near the end of the meeting, 3rd Ward Councilwoman Larissa Chen-Hoerning brought her 6-week-old son, Enzo, onto the dais with her and began to breastfeed him while the council debated an ordinance regulating overnight truck parking on borough streets.

Chen-Hoerning said that she doesn’t think the act of nursing her baby, discreetly shielded from view by the desk in front of her, should be stigmatized as dirty or shameful.

“I want to help women say ‘Someone else is out there breastfeeding, and maybe it’s OK to do,’” Chen-Hoerning said last week.

Mothers in the United States often face complaints when they nurse in public places like restaurants or stores, according to La Leche League International spokeswoman Loretta

On several occasions since his birth in January, Enzo has dropped into Roselle Park council meetings for a snack. No one on either side of the dais has batted an eye.

“I was telling someone about it the other day, and they said, ‘Do you nurse on camera?’ and I was like, ‘Well, yeah,’” Chen-Hoerning said.

After the meeting, resident Eugene Meola said the baby was so quiet he hadn’t even noticed him during the meeting. Other residents, Chen-Hoerning said, have expressed their support for her. Former councilman Jacob Magiera, who attends many borough meetings, said last week the councilwoman is modest and perfectly within her rights.

“If other council members don’t object to it, she’s entitled to do what she wants to do,” said Magiera. “If that’s her forte, God bless her.”

http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/03/councilwoman_nurses_baby_at_ro.html

Mo’Nique Portrays a Mother from Hell in Precious

“This neglect begins in infancy,” Dr. Fine warns. “What’s the message mothers give their kids while plopping pacifiers in their mouths? I don’t have time to nurse you. Your needs are not important.”

http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=350159&Itemid=95

Are French mothers right to put marriage before motherhood? 

It stems from the 18th century, according to Badinter, when French women would give their newborn babies to wet-nurses to save themselves from sagging bosoms. The French maman has long been party to a “woman before mother” policy, she says; it was the French who invented le crèche for children aged two and three.

These days bottle feeding enables French women to perform three roles: wife, professional and mother. More than half of French women choose not to breastfeed; the number of non-breastfeeders rose from 45.6 per cent in 1995 to 56 per cent in 2002. The concept of “good mother” does not exist in France, Badinter says.

But this is not necessarily a bad thing, according to her book Le Conflit, la femme et la mère

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/7421368/French-mothers-Maman-knows-best.html   

Barrett Fund Awards $77K in Adams, Cheshire, Savoy

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The William J. and Margery S. Barrett Fund for Adams, Cheshire and Savoy, a fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, recently awarded grants totaling $77,000 to 12 nonprofit organizations in the three towns.

Berkshire Nursing Families: $10,000 for Breastfeeding Support Services, a program that provides comprehensive breastfeeding support services for families in Adams, Cheshire and Savoy.

http://www.iberkshires.com/story/34263/Barrett-Fund-Awards-77-000-in-Adams-Cheshire-Savoy.html

Dear Claire

It pains me to have to break it to you but I’m not, in fact, a world authority on breastfeeding. I’ve never done it and to be honest I find the whole concept quite baffling.

I’m not sure why you have written to me or indeed anyone as it is quite clear that no one could convince you that breastfeeding a toddler is a good idea. The puzzle is why it bothers you so much. If your friend ends up standing in the school canteen offering her breasts up as an alternative to mini pizzas then so be it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthadvice/pillowtalk/7428576/Graham-Nortons-problem-page.html

Mothers’ protest at withdrawal of free formula milk (Kenya)

Provision of free formula milk in public health centres for HIV positive mothers has been halted drawing protests from the women.

The government says the move is aimed at promoting exclusive use of breast milk for the first six months. However, the mothers say the directive is impractical because they cannot afford enough food for themselves to generate milk.

The government says it took the decision after studies showed that survival rates of breast-fed babies born of HIV positive mothers is higher than those on formula milk.

“Because I cannot generate enough breast milk, I wean my babies at two months. Six months is unworkable,” said Ms Everlyne Atieno from Mathare North.”

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Mothers%20protest%20at%20withdrawal%20of%20free%20formula%20milk/-/1056/877918/-/ff2wlb/-/

SHOULD  A MOTHER BREASTFEED A CHILD OF SIX? A NEW BOOK TELLS THE STORIES OF WOMEN WHO DID JUST THAT.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1257327/Should-mother-breastfeed-child-A-new-book-tells-stories-women-did-just-that.html

MEDELA ANNOUNCES NEW WEB LINK

MCHENRY, Ill., March 11 /PRNewswire/ — Medela today announced the launch of an important new resource – www.breastfeedinginsurance.com – where new and expectant mothers can access comprehensive information and tools to help them discover if their breastfeeding related expenses, such as breastpump rental/purchase or lactation consultants, are covered by insurance.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medela-announces-launch-of-new-insurance-reimbursement-resource-for-new-and-expectant-mothers-87323922.html

Sibling jealousy (‘Nagje-jelling si Big Sister!)
PARENTIN TALK By Tintin Bersola-Babao (The Philippine Star)

“Whenever she’d see me breastfeeding her baby brother, she’d get jealous. So she’d also insist on being fed. And I allow her to experience it all over again. Funny what she said one time, “Mommy, I don’t like the taste!” Ha, ha, ha. What’s important is that I did not deprive her of the renewed breastfeeding experience. I believe this made her feel that she now has a shared experience with her baby brother but she holds the badge of honor of being the one I breastfed first.”

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=556895&publicationSubCategoryId=70

Doyle signs measures on breastfeeding, carbon monoxide detectors  (Wisconsin)

12 Comments

“Why do we need breastfeeding detectors?”

“Breasts, if not properly ventilated, give off large amounts of carbon monoxide. This should save hundreds of lives annually.”

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/87282252.html

Teen pregnancy initiative unveiled in Edinburgh

The £1.6 million scheme to help first time parents has been based on a successful community nursing drive in Harlem, New York.

“The test project, based on a parental support scheme running in Harlem, New York, will provide home visits from nurses to young mothers-to-be throughout their pregnancy and during the first two years of their baby’s life.”

“Lesley Backhouse, chair of the UK-wide Breastfeeding Network, commented: “We know from a similar scheme’s success in New York that a close relationship between a nurse and mother develops ongoing support in best practice for parenting skills – including increased breastfeeding.”

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/162371-teen-pregnancy-initiative-unveiled-in-edinburgh/

Fiona McCade: Please, let’s not create a breastfeeding frenzy

FUTURE generations will probably call it The Air-Freshener Incident. The unfortunate event happened in Dulwich, south-east London, when a woman taking refuge in a charity shop changing room to feed her baby was sprayed with the aforementioned by the manager, because “your breast milk stinks”.

http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Fiona-McCade-Please-lets-not.6133609.jp

Mind writes policy on breastfeeding after shopper told her ‘breast milk stinks’

Mental health charity Mind has been forced to devise a breastfeeding policy in its stores after a mother was told her “breast milk stinks” by the manager of its East Dulwich store.

Mrs Baker has subsequently called on the charity to create “a clear policy allowing breast-feeding in changing rooms, and guaranteeing privacy behind curtains” and said she was left feeling “shocked and indignant” by the events.

http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/6267/mind_write_policy_on_breastfeeding_after_mother_left_shocked_and_indignant

Premier offers breast feeding solution (Australia)

Premier Colin Barnett has moved to head off controversy over breastfeeding in Parliament by guaranteeing new mum and Labor MP Rita Saffioti will be automatically “paired” with a Liberal if she has to leave the chamber to feed her baby. …

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/6907561/premier-offers-breast-feeding-solution/

UK investigates baby milk marketing enforcement

By Shane Starling, 16-Mar-2010

Related topics: Omega-3, Regulation, Dairy-based ingredients, Nutritional lipids and oils, Probiotics and prebiotics, Maternal & infant health

A UK government committee looking into European Union baby milk marketing laws has raised issues with local enforcement procedures which it says need to be addressed.

The Independent Review Panel (IRP) voices concerns held by LACORS – the UK local trading standards enforcement agency – that classification of baby milk that often include omega-3s and prebiotics is not clear enough.

“One of the major problems for enforcement officers is the use of advertising and promotional material which blurs the distinction between follow-on formula and infant formula,” the IRP concluded.

BMA criticised the IRP for focusing on potential baby milk-infant formula confusion that may exist among caregivers rather than internet, point-of-sale promotion, baby clubs, care lines, labels and health claims that continue to promote follow-on formula.

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Health-condition-categories/Maternal-infant-health/UK-investigates-baby-milk-marketing-enforcement/?utm_source=Newsletter_Product&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BProduct

Baby’s snuggled in a sling, but safe?  NY Times.

“At first it was like, ‘Am I trying to be an indigenous tribal woman?’ ” Ms. Ossinova said, noting that she had four other carriers at home. “But I got over that hump, and I’m quite passionate about it now.”

In recent years, the number of carriers has expanded from a handful of styles to scores. “In 2004, there were barely any carriers,” said Bianca Fehn, an owner of Metro Minis. “You had to find these work-at-home moms who made them and go on a waiting list for weeks or even months to get a carrier.” Before opening the store, she started an Internet community called Slings in the City that held regular baby carrier demonstrations around town. The demonstrations are now offered at Metro Minis four times a month, and are usually crowded.

But as carriers have grown more popular, their safety has been questioned, with particular alarm about bag-style slings, which have contributed to the suffocation deaths of several infants. On Tuesday, Inez M. Tenenbaum, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, announced a forthcoming warning about slings, saying that “we know now the hazard scenarios for very small babies” carried in them. Many specialty stores, like Metro Minis, do not sell bag-style slings whose safety has been challenged, and instructs buyers to position babies in any sling upright and tight against the caregiver.

While most people using baby carriers extol the convenience of having their hands free to steer a toddler, dial a cellphone or maneuver through a grocery store, some see it as an integral part of their parenting philosophy, which holds that babies should be worn on the body to foster a strong attachment to their parents.

Other experts dismiss any suggestion that strollers may be psychologically detrimental.

Claire Moore, 33, nuzzled her 7-week-old daughter, Zoë, while explaining that her carrier had been picked by her husband, Adrian. Walking their dog most mornings in nearby Prospect Park, he had spent months during her pregnancy trying to figure out the most practical, comfortable carrier for them both by surveying the park’s many fathers with babies tethered to their chests. Eventually, Ms. Moore said, he settled on the ERGObaby; they bought one in cranberry.

“He’d been keeping an eye out and knew that was the one,” she said. “All the dads are wearing it.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/fashion/11BABY.html?emc=eta1

Breastfeeding in the News March 1st – 8th, 2010

This week’s news certainly had its share of titillation.  From a chef who serves his patrons a cheese made from his wife’s breast milk, the woman in jail who was charged with assault for squirting her milk at a guard, to the mother who admits to breastfeeding her 14 year old.  And let’s not forget that fashion show that Bravado (makers of nursing bras) held in Las Vegas where the pregnant models were banned from walking the runway.

Mixed in with the odd ball articles two very sad stories also caught my eye.  In the Philippines a 31 year old woman was shot dead while breastfeeding her one year old.  The baby was still suckling her breast when they found her.  And in Uganda authorities say they have no proof that a mother who says her husband forced her to breastfeed puppies is telling the truth.  Apparently the scars on her breast were believed to be the result of her epilepsy, and the testimony from her children (ages 5 & 2) was not to be taken seriously because they after all merely children. 

 There were several stories about breastfeeding and the workplace this week and none of it was very encouraging I’m afraid.  Although donating a handmade quilt to a local health department breastfeeding room was a nice gesture of support it appears that combining breastfeeding and work remains a struggle in many places.  Utah failed to pass a bill requiring workplaces to set aside space for breastfeeding.  In Oklahoma where they have a law allowing mothers to express milk at work (during unpaid time) there was no mandate to set aside space to do so.  Officially encouraging businesses to set aside space hasn’t worked either as only 26 offices now have a designated pumping space.  (I find it ironic that the title of this article was “Workplaces Nurture Nursing Moms”.) 

In “To Pump or Not to Pump?” a mother whose office had a designated pumping room explains the dilemma she found herself in when she found it difficult to accept a travel assignment that would have made it difficult to pump.   In Taipei a survey found that less than 4% of businesses had a breastfeeding room and that lack of space was one of the main reasons cited for not doing so.  They too are considering a bill requiring public offices to create such a space which, unlike Oklahoma the bill, includes a provision to fine those who don’t comply.

Meanwhile according to the Wall Street Journal breastfeeding for six months or longer leads to an overall decrease in a woman’s income because they either work fewer hours or they quit.  “We can’t just look at health outcomes. We must look at economic outcomes as well,” says Mary Noonan, an associate professor at University of Iowa’s sociology department and co-author of the paper. “Money also matters for a child’s health.”  I think she has a valid point.  Why should a mother have to decide between her financial security and her child’s health?  Likewise why should business owners have to redesign their workspaces to accommodate the pumping mother? 

To me the answer is obvious.  Women need a nationally guaranteed long term (I’m thinking one year here!) paid maternity leave.  I’m tired of legislators trying to grapple with this problem from state to state with their pathetic attempts to combine breastfeeding in the workplace.  It also annoys me that these laws are promoted as laws to encourage breastfeeding when in reality they are promoting pumping not breastfeeding.  Did you know that Medela’s sales of the “Pump N Style” have quadrupled in the last five years?  Is it any wonder that we now have mothers who plan to “EP” (exclusively pump)?  To really support breastfeeding we need three things; intensive prenatal breastfeeding education, “Baby Friendly” hospitals, and a national one year paid maternity leave.  Work place legislations are a mere band-aid.  And for those of you who feel that I am ignoring the rights of mothers who want to go back to work, yes there should be legislation to accommodate them in the workplace, but I really feel we should be pushing for maternity leave first.  At the very least we should be making a lot more noise about the issue.

And yes I’m totally in favor of legislation to accommodate breastfeeding in public both as way to bring the issue to the foreground and to ensure that no mother ever feels stuck at home because of her decision to breastfeed.  In the Philippines at Manila’s International airport they recently opened a free mother’s breastfeeding room.  I’m so glad it’s free.  They weren’t really thinking of charging mothers for this were they?  Although depending on the price it might be worth it.  The room includes four cubicles each with a bed, a swivel chair, a window, a drawer and a door that locks!  This is the first breastfeeding room that I’ve heard of that offered a bed!  How cool is that?  (Of course the Philippines also have a law preventing companies from promoting formula.  It’s about the culture people!)

OK, let me get off that soap box for a minute.  In other news we can congratulate actress Angela Kinsey for explaining to the female writers of “The Office” the realities of breastfeeding.  And it is interesting to note that one writer found it to be impossible to believe that there could be male lactation consultants or for that matter baby mix ups in the hospital.  While we’re on the subject I want to give a shout out Tom Johnston who is stationed with the army in New York.   Tom is both a Lactation Consultant and a certified midwife.  Tom’s Facebook profile exclaims “I catch babies for the Army!”  

Speaking of midwives a midwife in the UK has been nominated for a national award for her efforts to help a mother breastfeed following a c-section.  In other news a daycare provider resigned after someone gave a baby in her charge the wrong mother’s breast milk.  In Nigeria due to the fall in breastfeeding rates the government has decided to reach out to religious groups (both Muslim and Christian) in an effort to educate parents.  In health news Breastfeeding has been associated with a lower risk of peptic ulcers (caused by H.Pylori).  And in environmental news it has been suggested that the contamination of breast milk with toxins should be considered a “child’s health issue” rather than a “woman’s issue”.

“Dear Prudence” got an interesting letter from a dad who wasn’t sure what to do about his wife.  It seems that because he was a stay at home dad he was better at noticing their baby’s feeding cues than his wife who was primarily pumping.  Apparently she resented him for it.  “Recently my wife blew up at me and said that her breasts are her body and no other person can tell her what to do with her body. From now on I am not allowed to tell her when I see signs that our daughter is hungry because it then would be controlling my wife’s body.”  “Dear Prudence” replied   “Your wife is in the difficult situation of trying to provide nutrition for your daughter while being at work all day. It doesn’t help that when she’s home you indicate you are more in tune with your baby’s needs than she is.”   And she went on to say; “…It will not harm your daughter to let a few lusty cries for milk, instead of having Dad anticipate her hunger. Just relax and let your wife handle it.”

Do you see now what I mean by pumping taking us down the wrong road?  Do we really want women to be mad at their husbands because their hubbies are more in tune with their babies than they are?  I’m going to say it again people – women need long term, paid maternity leave!

As always I love hearing from you & the links to all the article are below.

Kathy Abbott IBCLC
www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com 

www.TheCuriousLactivist.Wordpress.com 

On Facebook:” Breastfeeding in the News”           

Mothers Who Opt for Breast Milk, Not Breast-feeding (Catherine Sharick – Time Magazine)

Technology has helped fuel the trend. Medela, the Swiss breast-pump maker and industry leader, introduced its first electric-powered, vacuum-operated at-home breast pump in the U.S. in 1991. Five years later, the company launched the Pump in Style, a portable breast pump that comes in a fashionable bag that looks like a purse. Since then, Medela’s sales of the item — not cheap at around $279 — have quadrupled.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1971243-1,00.html

 Woman Charged in Breast Milk Assault on Jailer  

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OWENSBORO, Ky. — A woman in jail for public intoxication was accused of assaulting a jailer by squirting breast milk at her. WYMT-TV reported that a 31-year-old woman was arrested Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of public intoxication. But as she was changing into an inmate uniform, she squirted breast milk into the face of a female deputy who was with her. …The woman now faces a felony charge of third degree assault on a police officer. Her bond was set at $10,000.

http://www.bnd.com/2010/03/07/1163728/woman-charged-in-breast-milk-assault.html

Nursing my infant child was a gift — to me

Perhaps the favorite piece of advice from grandmothers and random women on the street is that nursing should come naturally. Just let your baby and your body do what they were made to do, they’ll say.

Well, here’s my advice: Look straight in that woman’s face and say, “Nice try, lady. Nice try.”

The truth is — at least for me and every other mother I know — nursing does not come naturally, and you will spend the first month of your child’s life struggling to figure it out.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700014726/Nursing-my-infant-child-was-a-gift-2-to-me.html

To pump or not to pump?

I was lucky to work for a company that had a designated room for breastfeeding moms, but I couldn’ stick to my routine during my business trip. The courthouse where I was supposed to be covering a story didn’t have a similar room for breastfeeding moms.

I was torn. On one hand, I wanted to tell my boss that I couldn’t go on the trip and that she needed to find someone else. At the same time, I didn’t want to seem incapacitated and incapable of doing my job.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/parents/2010/mar/07/pump-or-not-pump/  

Cheers and Jeers: March 8, 2010

CHEERS to the Ladies of the Lake Quilting Club for donating a quilted wall hanging for the Clinton County Health Department employee breastfeeding room. The gift betokens a genuine empathy for motherhood and breastfeeding, certainly both compatible with Health Department goals. Clinton County has taken steps to comply with state legislation to create a space for mothers who are nursing their babies, and the quilt will certainly encourage that activity. For the gesture, the Health Department has presented the club a Community Partnership Award. Through the years, many women and babies will have their experience enhanced by this thoughtful donation.

  http://www.pressrepublican.com/0202_cheers_and_jeers/local_story_066223108.html

Natural Cooking with Human Breast milk Going Too Far

An eco-conscious chef has taken advantage of his wife’s breast, but not in the way my first few words lead you to believe. Instead he is using milk she extracted from her breastfeeding breast and making it into cheese he serves at his restaurant. Shocking? Disgusting? Bizarre? You be the judge.

What if Chef Angerer did not serve human cheese at his restaurant

and instead only served it to his baby? Would that make a difference? Is it less disgusting?

http://inventorspot.com/articles/natural_cooking_human_breast_milk_going_too_far_38543  

WORK PLACES NURTURE NURSING MOMS

BY Paula Burkes – OKLAHOMAN

A 2006 Oklahoma law requires employers to allow nursing mothers the ability to express milk during lunches, breaks and other unpaid times. But there’s no mandate that employers provide breaks or a private room.

In 2008, the state Health Department launched its Breastfeeding Works! initiative to encourage businesses to establish private lactation rooms and policies acknowledging the importance of breastfeeding. But only 26 workplaces, mostly health-care related, have been recognized as breastfeeding-friendly and working moms continue to face difficulties.

http://www.newsok.com/workplaces-nurture-nursing-moms/article/3444530?custom_click=lead_story_title

Nursing: No Free Lunch

“In terms of long-term earnings, women who breastfeed less than six months have similar income trajectories to those who never breastfeed, but those who breastfeed for six months or longer have far steeper declines in income,” mainly due to reduced work hours or quitting, Ms. Rippeyoung says.

Some mothers endure real economic hardship if they miss work hours to pump or breastfeed. “We can’t just look at health outcomes. We must look at economic outcomes as well,” says Mary Noonan, an associate professor at University of Iowa’s sociology department and co-author of the paper. “Money also matters for a child’s health.”

— Ruth Mantell, The Juggle, WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126791010300157469.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Bosses in Taipei not keen on setting up breastfeeding rooms: poll

Only 3.9 percent of the companies in Taipei City installed breastfeeding rooms on their premises in 2009, according to the Taipei city Department of Labor.

…According to the draft bill, government agencies and business premises with floor space of more than 500 square meters, as well as public service facilities with over 1,000 square meters of floor space, must be equipped with clearly marked breastfeeding rooms.

Breastfeeding rooms must be established on the premises of such facilities, which include railway and metro stations and airport terminals, within one year of the promulgation of the regulations, the draft bill states

http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aSOC&ID=201003070003

New Life for Mother who was Forced to Breastfeed Puppies

… “He added that a test was carried out in Mbale Hospital but it also found no evidence of breastfeeding puppies. “The hospital results only indicated that Ms Alupo suffers from epilepsy illness,” Mr Madiri said

 

…In a separate interview with Mr Awoloyi, he said that his wife Alupo suffered a brain disorder caused by her epileptic condition which could explain the earlier injuries she had suffered on her body and her breasts.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/Insight/-/688338/874504/-/7f7ji2/-/

Top Moments: The Office Baby Blues, The Bachelor’s First Dance, and a Monster’s Balls

1. Best Lactation Joke: In the special one-hour Office baby episode, a tender moment in which Pam finally gets the baby to “latch” for breastfeeding is turned on its ear when she realizes that she’s accidentally picked up her hospital neighbor’s newborn. “Wrong baby, wrong baby,” she repeats to panicky dad Jim, who quickly replaces the sated infant in its bassinet before its mother wakes up.

http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/416254_tvgif5.html

‘The Office’ Baby — Jim & Pam Welcome Cecilia Marie!

The episode did raise four burning questions, though:

1.) Do hospitals really employ male lactation consultants? Young, handsome ones who offer hands-on breastfeeding counsel to new moms? While new dads watch? Pam accepted the nature of the clinical situation, totally indifferent to anything but the task at hand (getting Cecilia fed) — but we’re with Jim. That’s just not right.

2.) Mistakenly breastfeeding someone else’s newborn doesn’t happen — does it? It seemed beyond credible that Pam would sleepily bring another mom’s baby to her breast, but when you factor in the mind-numbing exhaustion of birthing a child in the first place, it actually makes you wonder how it doesn’t happen more often!

http://www.ivillage.com/office-baby-jim-pam-0/1-a-121935

Angela Kinsey Pitches Nursing Humor to Office Writers

“I … tried to pitch them some breastfeeding jokes,” she revealed to the Toronto Sun, noting that she returned to the set when her own daughter Isabel Ruby, now 22 months, was just eight weeks old.

“Not to over-share, but I had to pump,” she explains. “That’s a working mom’s life if you want to breastfeed.”

“We had to take pump breaks all day. Our female writers on the show don’t have children, so I pulled them aside. I don’t know what they used or didn’t use, but it’s a fun episode.”

http://celebrity-babies.com/2010/03/02/angela-kinsey-pitches-nursing-humor-to-office-writers/

Bridgwater midwife shortlisted for national award  (UK)

Monique Korrs was nominated for The Infacol Baby Bonding Award by Esther Loh, who felt inadequate as a mother after an emergency caesarean last September

More than 150 health professionals across the country were nominated for the award and Monique is down to the last ten.

http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/5045178.Bridgwater_midwife_shortlisted_for_national_award/

Breastfeeding teen

A US woman still breastfeeds her 14-year-old son to “comfort” him.

Jocelyn Cooper, 36, allows her teenage son Billy to suckle on her breasts for 10-15 minutes each day – because it keeps them close.

http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/161459-breastfeeding-teen/  

Daycare director resigns after breast milk mistake

BREMERTON, Wash. – A Bremerton daycare director has resigned after she allegedly gave a baby the wrong breast milk, then tried to hide the mistake.

http://www.king5.com/home/Daycare-director-covered-up-breastmilk-mistake-86111702.html

Pregnant ladies banned for their own Good

Bravado is a company that sells breastfeeding bras for ladies with breasts that are used for breastfeeding babies. But when Bravado goes out to fashion trade shows to have their pregnant lady models model the breastfeeding bras in their pregnant way, can you guess what happens? Yes, they are banned, for their own pregnant good. From a runway show! In a nightclub! At the Wynn Casino, in Las Vegas, the City of Sin!

http://gawker.com/5484608/pregnant-ladies-banned-for-their-own-good  

Breastfeeding facility set up at airport

Manila: Manila’s international airport in Pasay City has opened a private area for breastfeeding mothers, a senior official said, adding it is part of the government’s effort to promote breastfeeding in the Philippines.

“This facility was set up to give mothers a relaxed and secure area where they can nurse their babies free of charge,” said airport general manager Alfonso Cusi.

The 32-square-metre breastfeeding station is located after the immigration area for departing passengers. It has four cubicles, each with a bed, swivel chair, drawer, a window and a lockable door, said Cusi, adding the facility was opened in time for the celebration of International Women’s Month.

The Philippine Congress recently passed a bill that prevents companies from promoting infant formula.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/philippines/breastfeeding-facility-set-up-at-airport-1.591070

Moms, babies deserved better from legislators

UNEDITED) Sadly, Utah legislators missed an easy opportunity to make life easier for working families last Friday when they defeated House Bill 252, Workplace Accomodation of Breastfeeding.

This bill would have required employers with more than 15 employees to provide unpaid break time and a private location — other than a toilet stall — where a working mother could express her milk for her baby. This is a simple request and would not be a strain for most employers, if they understood the value of providing this accommodation

http://www.standard.net/topics/opinion/2010/03/01/moms-babies-deserved-better-legislators

Slate’s ‘Dear Prudence’: My European coworkers are calling me a cow, my wife is preparing for the apocalypse, my husband has bad teeth, dad’s breastfeeding dilemmas

Stay at home Dad land: I have a question that I do not think a stay at home mom has faced before. My wife works and is also very intent upon breastfeeding our daughter until she is 1 year old. So she pumps for when she is gone and breastfeeds when she is home. The problem has arisen because I tend to see the signs that my daughter is hungry before she starts to cry. I will then suggest to my wife that she feed our daughter. Recently my wife blew up at me and said that her breasts are her body and no other person can tell her what to do with her body. From now on I am not allowed to tell her when I see signs that our daughter is hungry because it then would be controlling my wife’s body. Feeding a bottle at those times is out because my wife does not want to confuse our daughter by feeding her a bottle while she is present.

How do I be a good stay at home dad without suggesting that my wife use her body to feed our daughter?

Emily Yoffe: Have used a breast pump myself, I do not understand why cows seem so contented, because breastpumping is one of the more unpleasant aspects of modern motherhood. Your wife is in the difficult situation of trying to provide nutrition for your daughter while being at work all day. It doesn’t help that when she’s home you indicate you are more in tune with your baby’s needs than she is. Men constantly complain that women want them to do more of the childcare, then micromanage their every action. That’s what you’re doing with your wife. It will not harm your daughter to let a few lusty cries for milk, instead of having Dad anticipate her hunger. Just relax and let your wife handle it

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/02/23/DI2010022303485.html

Mom shot dead while breastfeeding baby

MANILA, Philippines—A 31-year-old mother was shot and killed Tuesday morning while she was breastfeeding her one-year-old child inside her home in Manila.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20100302-256267/Mom-shot-dead-while-breastfeeding-baby

Breastfeeding and better hygiene may protect against peptic ulcer bacterium infection.

Young children in developing countries are infected at an early age with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which can cause peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. New findings show that childrens´ immune responses help in fighting the bacteria. In addition, breastfeeding and better hygiene appear to protect against infection. The results provide hope for a vaccine, according to research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100301/Breastfeeding-and-better-hygiene-may-protect-against-peptic-ulcer-bacterium-infection.aspx

Breastfeeding rates drop in Nigeria

The Federal Ministry of Health plans to engage the participation of religious mothers to stress the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life, so as to reduce the current high rate of child mortalityn

The method, which is to begin this year, is following Nigeria’s poor assessment in the most recent National Demographic Health Survey where the rate of exclusive breastfeeding dropped from 17 percent in 2003 to 13 per cent in 2008.

“We are taking the campaign to them through this channel because we believe that by the time Muslim mothers, and Christian mothers talk to their various women groups, they will listen to them and thus more women will comply.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5533490-147/breastfeeding_rates_drop_in_nigeria_.csp

Professors spar about potential risks of breastfeeding

“After her presentation, McKenzie said society is hesitant to address the issue of contaminated breast milk related to environmental pollutants “because it’s still seen as a women’s issue. Maybe we should be reframing it as a child health issue rather than a women’s issue.”

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/603719

Breastfeeding in the News Dec. 15th – 25th, 2009

Hello All,

The good people of Nashville Tenn. have decided against putting a new WIC (Women, Infants & Children) office in a downtown mall for fear that it would affect “the safety of those who work and shop in the Antioch area”, that, and they were worried it would undermine property values.  Right, I guess having all those breastfeeding peer counselors running around would be scary; after all they might throw someone up against a wall and threaten to attach them to a breast pump and turn the suction up really high.  Yes, I’m sure that’s what they were worried about, because they couldn’t possibly be worried about the impact of mothers in need getting help for their babies.

If that isn’t enough to get your blood boiling listen to what the food giant Nestle is up to these days.  Having decided that they are the best nutrition experts around, Nestle has taken it upon themselves to start educating doctors on the needs of people requiring enteral nutrition therapy (think premmies & coma patients).  No doubt their year long clinical program will focus primarily on their own products (I can’t imagine them putting in too many plugs for breast milk).   But as we can see from the author of “Parenting Perspective: Figuring out how to feed your baby!” formula is not always the easy answer that everyone thinks it is.  Individual babies react differently to each brand (her baby had constipation with one brand and diarrhea with the next). 

While here in America mothers worry about the consequences of switching brands of formula in some parts of the world, a bigger fear is switching mother’s milk.  In Dubai recently a mother was horrified to find a nurse feeding her pumped milk to someone else’s baby.  “In Quran and Hadith a child who has nursed from a woman becomes not only a blood relation to the nursing woman, but also a milk sibling to others who shared her breast, a relationship that prevents future marriage to a complicated array of “relatives”.”  Such an act is simply “unacceptable” in a Muslim country.  Muslim or not, I think such a major screw up should be unacceptable in any country.

Cultural beliefs play a big part in whether or not a society supports breastfeeding.  The myths covered in this week’s news ranges from gender specific “boys may be introduced to camel milk early as a rite of initiation so they will like the animals they will herd in future,” he said. “The belief is that if the male child is first introduced to his mother’s milk, he will become a useless boy.” (Kenya) to the more common “A mother should not breastfeed if she has cold.” to more localized beliefs, “Squeezing breastmilk in ant’s nest or fire will dry out the mother’s milk.”  to this colloquial gem “Extensive breastfeeding will give the mothers ‘slipper titties’” (Jamaica). 

But let’s keep in mind that some countries that we tend to think of as being less developed are actually far ahead of us.  In the Malaysian Parliament building there is now a room for nursing mothers and more importantly there are at least two legislators who will be using it, while in Indonesia students hit the streets for a peace rally on Mother’s Day (which is in December for them) distributing flowers to every mother and demanding that the government give more support to mothers and babies.   They also “called on the government to set up a space for breastfeeding mothers and a crèche for working mothers.”  How’s that for a mother’s day present?  Young people who care enough to demand more rights for mothers!

Here at home, another California county is attempting to support breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.  It’s good to see local governments taking the lead on this.  Meanwhile Sen. Merkley  

Is taking credit for the addition of an amendment covering lactation support in the workplace (“I led the fight”) but not everyone is happy with the good senator.  “sorry,” comments one blogger, “ the fact that male Senators are supporting the right of women to breastfeed their infants (which is already legal in Oregon) does not make up for government intrusion on women’s right to choose. In fact, that male Senators selectively support women’s rights that benefit their infants more than their rights to control their own bodies is frightening, not reassuring.”

While we are on the subject of “comments” check out some of the reaction to an article (“Breastfeeding in Public?”)about the mother who was caught breastfeeding in the electronics aisle at Target and given a police escort out of the building.  Here’s just one example:  “Couldn’t she go out in the car to do it? This is so Third World.”  Right, didn’t that mother know that real Americans breastfeed in their cars!  And while I’ve got you all riled up you may be interested to learn that one newspaper listed an article about breastfeeding as being one of the top ten articles of the year.  The article?  It was about a poster put up in doctor’s office of a toddler breastfeeding a doll, apparently the story “provoked a passionate debate among readers.”

There was some good news.  Medela gave out some cash awards to five US hospitals, and Julie Wood (one of our Facebook “Breastfeeding in the News” members) was elected to the board of directors to the US Breastfeeding Committee (congratulations Julie!).  Also one of our local Boston area hospital has initiated a return to sanity by introducing a “no visitor” period from 2 -4pm.  The folks at Newton-Wellsley hospital did their homework and when they discovered that “staff and visitors interrupt new moms more than 50 times on average in a 12-hour period.” They decided that enough was enough.  Kudos to the Lactation Consultants at Newton-Wellsley for leading the charge on this fight!

Thanks to an article by our own Kathy Kendall-Tacket in the International Journal of Breastfeeding, inflammation is now being recognized as a significant cause of depression.   And according to foodconsumer.org:  “In the case of post partum depression, breastfeeding is the most obvious remedy of choice as it naturally eases stress and modulates the inflammatory response.”  While we’re on the subject of PPD, a new study about the effects of Hurricane Katrina revealed that although the trauma had a negative effect on breastfeeding over all most mothers came through just fine.  In fact, “many women are capable of surviving and thriving in post disaster environments”.

I hope some one tells that to the women in Figi.  After Cyclone Mick left them with no clean water for at least three days Unicef was ready to step in to distribute “Emergency Hands” – communication materials promoting key sanitation and hygiene behaviours, posters promoting hand washing and breastfeeding, collapsible water containers and water purification tablets”.   With that in mind, even though the holidays are officialy over you might want to look into buying someone a “Mercy” breastfeeding kit ($75) the gift that “can make a difference in the lives of others in need around the world.” The money goes towards training a breastfeeding counselor in another country.

That’s it for now.  Next week I’m off to Florida where I’ll be giving a talk at the Healthy Children conference in Orlando (wish me luck!).  Hopefully I’ll be able to find a little down time while I’m there so that I can be a little more up to date with the news.  As always I love to hear from you.  If you want to leave a comment just scroll way down to the very end & you’ll find the comment box. 

Kathy Abbott, IBCLC

www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com

On Facebook: “Breastfeeding in the News”

My Blog:  http://TheCuriousLactivist.wordpress.com/

Nestle to train doctors about tube-feeding nutrition

For some hospital patients, the nutrients delivered to the body through a tube feeder can make the difference of a speedy recovery.  That is why Nestle Nutrition, part of Nestle U.S.A., which manufactures products ranging from baby formula to chocolate and is considered to be the world’s largest food company, is working to ensure doctors nationwide better understand how to prescribe the right mix of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and other essential nutrients for patients requiring extra help eating, said Sally Steele of Nestle HealthCare Nutrition. “The right food can positively influence a patient’s outcome, heal wounds, nurse a premature baby to health,” Steele said.

Nestle Nutrition, based in Florham Park, is launching an Enteral Nutrition Fellowship Program this year that will offer physicians and surgeons hands-on experience and information about enteral nutrition therapy.

Enteral nutrition is a milkshake-like mixture of necessary nutrients given through a tube in the stomach or small intestine. It differs from parenteral nutrition, another type of nutrition therapy, which is delivered to patients’ bloodstream using a needle.

People requiring enteral nutrition therapy range from premature infants to someone in a coma or those diagnosed with a chronic illness such as advanced dementia.

Research has indicated that the addition of certain nutrients and amino acids to formulas are associated with the reduced risk of infection in surgical patients and those who are immune-system compromised. These nutrients can help decrease antibiotic use, reduce ventilator use and the incidence of pneumonia, and reduce surgical complications.

Nestle’s yearlong program will offer offers fellows the chance to work one-on-one with a mentor and a month in a clinical rotation to learn tube-feeding-related procedures, shining a light on a component of patient recovery typically left for specialized dieticians or certified nutrition support clinicians.

The aim, Steele said, is to create a network of nutrition physician leaders that will return to their hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities to spread the word. Some will go on to further research the benefits and effects of nutrition therapy, thus helping to save more lives, she said.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100103/BUSINESS/91231017/1003/Nestle-to-train-doctors-about-tube-feeding-nutrition

Women warned about morning sickness remedy

Women who are in the throes of morning sickness are often willing to try almost anything to ease the queasiness and vomiting that accompanies those first months of pregnancy.

Some herbal or traditional remedies work like a charm and are innocuous, but pregnant women in particular need to be sure of what they are ingesting.

The Texas Department of State Health Services issued a warning this week that pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid using of a product called “Nzu,” also known as Calabash chalk. The product is a traditional remedy for morning sickness used largely by Nigerian and West African women. It can also be used as a cosmetic.

Laboratory analysis in Texas, mirroring earlier findings in the UK and Canada, show the products contain high levels of lead and arsenic. According to the state’s press release, the product was found by food inspectors at two African specialty stores — one in the Dallas area and one in Houston.

The product generally resembles balls of clay or mud and is also called Calabar stone, Mabele, Argile and La Craie.

The Nzu may be covered in a brown or white dust and is usually sold in small plastic bags with a handwritten label identifying it as “Nzu” or “salted Nzu.”

Anyone who has been ingesting the product should contact their health care provider. The source of the product in Texas is not yet known, but inspectors are continuing to investigate.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/mamadrama/entries/2009/12/24/women_warned_about_morning_sic.html?cxntfid=blogs_mama_drama

An Imperfect Stride Towards Justice – Sen. Jeff Merkley

At 7 am this morning, a short time ago, I voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It passed.

If you are like me, it is hard to respond with uninhibited celebration. It is hard to celebrate when you are mourning. I am mourning the loss of the national public option. I am mourning the infringement on women’s constitutional right to choose.

…One of my favorites–in part, I confess, because I led the fight for it–is the amendment that guarantees every mother returning to work the privacy and flexibility in break time needed to nurse her child or pump breast milk. Breastfeeding is great for the baby’s and the mother’s health, and is a big factor in emotional bonding as well.

Comments:

“Senatpr Merkley, Your “mourning” the restrictions on women’s choice does not make up for the fact that you nevertheless voted for them…..

And sorry, the fact that male Senators are supporting the right of women to breastfeed their infants (which is already legal in Oregon) does not make up for government intrusion on women’s right to choose. In fact, that male Senators selectively support women’s rights that benefit their infants more than their rights to control their own bodies is frightening, not reassuring.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-merkley/an-imperfect-stride-towar_b_402959.html

Council says no to WIC clinic in Metro Nashville

While some say opening a WIC clinic at the Hickory Hollow Mall in Metro Nashville would have meant a boost in sales for local business owners, council members voted “no” to the plan during Tuesday night’s Metro Council meeting. The plan in consideration targeted residents specifically in southeast Nashville (Antioch) to receive the assistance WIC provides. According to the official WIC website, “WIC provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.” Although 43 percent of Davidson County’s WIC participants reside in Antioch justifying the location for the program, other factors swayed the vote.

Protesters concerned about the WIC clinic opening in the Hickory Hollow Mall were relieved with the council’s decision. Property values in the already unstable market remain unaffected as a result of the vote. Patrons and employees directly affected by the decision were pleased when they heard the official ruling that businesses would not be driven out of the mall, and the safety of those who work and shop in the Antioch area continues to be a top priority.

Those in the community targeted councilman, Sam Coleman, for not communicating the plan to open a WIC clinic in the Hickory Hollow Mall to the public. Officials from the health department and Coleman’s supporters insist that bill readings about the plan were advertised appropriately. Coleman stated, “I apologize, but sometimes these federal grants, they come at such a pace and then you have to act upon them. That’s what happened here.”

http://www.examiner.com/x-33945-Nashville-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m12d24-Council-says-no-to-WIC-clinic-in-Metro-Nashville

Milk of Woes for New Mother

DUBAI – A UAE national woman who gave birth to a boy in a Dubai hospital said a nurse fed her milk to another baby and another woman’s milk to her son, adding it is against Islamic beliefs.

The mother, who asked not to be named, said she had been ill after delivery and was not breast feeding. “The nurse pumped the milk from my breast to feed my baby,” she said.

“All of sudden I saw her holding a bottle with my name and the name of my baby written, and feeding another baby.” The mother said she shouted at the nurse and called the doctor, claiming the nurse had not been paying attention to her work.

“The nurse was not aware such a thing is against our religion,” she said. “It was shock for me and I couldn’t do any thing after my baby had someone else’s milk.”

… Al Marzouqi said it was believed that breastfeeding established a biological link that would not have been present otherwise.

“In Quran and Hadith a child who has nursed from a woman becomes not only a blood relation to the nursing woman, but also a milk sibling to others who shared her breast, a relationship that prevents future marriage to a complicated array of “relatives”,” Al Marzouqi said.

“There is some indication in early medical thought that a woman’s milk is a product of her blood, and so by ingesting it, a blood relationship is created.”

Al Marzouqi said the alleged act by the nurse was unacceptable in a Muslim country adding that training and religious programmes should be provided for non-Muslims who work in the health care establishments.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2009/December/theuae_December674.xml&section=theuae&col=

People in the News 

AAFP member Julie Wood, M.D., of Lee’s Summit, Mo., has been elected to the board of directors of the United States Breastfeeding Committee and began serving a two-year term in August. She also serves as the nonprofit organization’s membership committee chair.

The United States Breastfeeding Committee is a coalition of more than 40 organizations — including the AAFP — working to improve the nation’s health by protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding.

Wood recently completed her term as chair of the AAFP Commission on Health of the Public and Science. She is a board member of the Missouri AFP.

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20091222pplinnews.html

Government Urged to Assist Breastfeeding Mothers  (Jakarta Indonesia)

Mother’s Day in Makassar yesterday was commemorated by students and mothers from various organizations with a peace rally in front of the Mandala Monument
Scores of female students from the South Sulawesi and West Sulawesi Coordination Agency of the Muslim Students Association (Kohati) demonstrated by distributing flowers to mothers on the street.

 
The students, mostly wearing kebaya and South Sulawesi’s traditional bodo dress, called on the government to set up a space for breastfeeding mothers and a crèche for working mothers. There are only two rooms reserved for breastfeeding mothers in Makassar, at the Global Trade Center Mall and the Panakkukang Mall.
They also called on the government to encourage policies that support mother and child’s interest as well as to pay more attention to Mother’s Reproduction Health Program. “Mother and child mortality rates continue to rise,” said Arlina, rally coordinator.
At the same location, youths and mothers from the Indonesian Poor People Union and the National Student League for Democracy also demonstrated to demand that mothers be given bigger roles.

http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2009/12/23/brk,20091223-215353,uk.html

The ten most read stories of 2009

8. ‘Breastfeeding’ tot storm A story on May 20 told how a poster had been put up in Rochdale Infirmary showing a toddler breastfeeding a doll. The article provoked a passionate debate among readers.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1186981_the_ten_most_read_stories_of_2009

The Links Between Sugar and Mental Health

Published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, the study entitled “A new paradigm for depression in new mothers: the central role of inflammation and how breastfeeding and anti-inflammatory treatments protect maternal mental health” discovered that inflammation may be more than just another risk factor. It may in fact be THE risk factor that underlies all others.

The researchers’ stated:

“The old paradigm described inflammation as simply one of many risk factors for depression. The new paradigm is based on more recent research that has indicated that physical and psychological stressors increase inflammation. These recent studies constitute an important shift in the depression paradigm: inflammation is not simply a risk factor; it is the risk factor that underlies all the others.

Moreover, inflammation explains why psychosocial, behavioral and physical risk factors increase the risk of depression. This is true for depression in general and for postpartum depression in particular.

Puerperal women are especially vulnerable to these effects because their levels of proinflammatory cytokines significantly increase during the last trimester of pregnancy–a time when they are also at high risk for depression. 

Moreover, common experiences of new motherhood, such as sleep disturbance, postpartum pain, and past or current psychological trauma, act as stressors that cause proinflammatory cytokine levels to rise. “

In the case of post partum depression, breastfeeding is the most obvious remedy of choice as it naturally eases stress and modulates the inflammatory response.

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-food/Miscellaneous/sugar_and_mental_health_2212090659.html

 Hospitals change policy on maternity visiting hours. 

---

After customer satisfaction concerns led them to transition from specific visitation periods to open-door policies more than a decade ago, some hospitals are now drifting partway back, finding new families have become too busy to rest, bond with their babies and take in lessons on providing care.

“It’s an overwhelming experience in a very positive way,” said Virginia Prout, director of maternal and child health at Newton-Wellesley. “I think families need time to process what has just happened to them.”

Prompted by comment cards from patients and concern from hospital lactation consultants rest periods boost milk production a team of Newton-Wellesley nurses studied the issue, finding national data that staff and visitors interrupt new moms more than 50 times on average in a 12-hour period.

While noise and action on their unit hadn’t hit circus-like proportions, nurses realized there was room for improvement. Patients were seeing a constant flow of birth-certificate preparers, hearing testers, photographers-for-hire, housekeepers, dietitians and other staff, as well as a parade of well-meaning family and friends.

On top of that, hospital maternity stays have been shortened in recent years to two days for vaginal births and four for C-sections.

“That doesn’t really give new families a lot of time to absorb what we want to teach them,” Prout said, with sessions devoted to bathing, breastfeeding, holding and bonding.

So last month, Prout’s unit introduced a new daily “quiet time” from 2 to 4 p.m. While essential medical care is still provided new moms, especially those coming off C-sections, require a lot of monitoring other staff are asked to make way for family rest or lessons from nurses.

http://www.dailynewstribune.com/homepage/x1599182795/Hospitals-change-policy-on-maternity-visiting-hours

Breastfeeding in Public? 

Mother of three Mary Martinez was ousted from a Target store in Michigan earlier this month, after she began breastfeeding her hungry 4-week –old daughter in the electronics section.

Though there were few other shoppers in the area, Target security approached Martinez and her husband, Jose, and told them to leave.  “He said, ‘It’s against the law.  Tou have to go,’” Josr Martinez told Fox News.

The police were called, and even after an officer admitted that breastfeeding in public was not, in fact, against the law, the family was escorted out of the store.

Comments:

1. 8.     I fully support the rights of nursing mothers to feed their babies in public. But this situation creates a scene in my mind of a mother walking around shopping and nursing the baby at the same time.

Even though I nursed both of my babies, and on occasion in public places when necessary, I can see myself (and DEFINITELY my husband) doing a double take at someone breastfeeding alongside me as I browse the Wii games through the glass case in the electronics section at Target. It’s unlikely that either of us would complain about it to store management or security, but we’d definitely shake our heads and laugh over dinner later at how some people just have no sense.

1. 5.      If the bfeeding is so discreet that I don’t know about it–then I personally don’t care — feed away!
   However, there are bfeeding women who are essentially exhibitionists and they rightfully should be shown the door. I once saw a young woman walking the aisles of a supermarket with a baby attached to her completely exposed breast. Another time a mother was sitting in a waiting room of a post-secondary school with her baby attached about a foot and a half away–her breasts were that enormous– and the one in use was completely exposed. She made a roomful of people very uncomfortable. Oh I know, they were all in the wrong while she alone was in the right.
3. 6.      Why cause drama? I used to pump, put the goods in a baby’s bottle, and pack the bottle with the rest of baby stuff.
   Fed baby where-ever and when-ever. So simple. sheesh!

Posted by Electra December 18, 09 10:15 PM

1. 34.   Couldn’t she go out in the car to do it? This is so Third World.
2. 35.   Could racism also be a factor here?

Posted by Liz Pakula December 19, 09 10:07 PM

1. 21.   I breastfed my daughter but I think it’s odd to do it in the middle of the electronics aisle. Find a chair someplace! I think some mothers get righteous on this topic–sure, it’s your ‘right’ but be discreet about it.

Posted by anna74 December 19, 09 02:03 PM

30.  I breast fed in public with both of my kids. People should focus on the “feed” but not the “breast” part of breast feeding. Maybe we should call it biological feeding or natural feeding so that people won’t be get nervous with the “breast” part.

http://www.boston.com/community/moms/blogs/child_caring/2009/12/breastfeeding_in_public.html

Malaysian women lawmakers get enclosure to nurse babies

Malaysian women parliamentarians now have a special area in the VIP restroom at the Parliament building to nurse their infants. The move comes as breastfeeding by women lawmakers, and by women at workplaces in general, are issues being debated in many countries. In some places, women have been banned from nursing their infants. In 2003, the Victorian state parliament in Australia ejected a new mother, Kirstie Marshall for breastfeeding her baby in the chamber, according to The Age newspaper. The first Malaysian lawmaker to benefit from this enclosure divided by a curtain is Nurul Izzah Anwar, an opposition lawmaker who uses it to feed her five-month-old baby, The Star newspaper said Saturday.

Deputy Health Minister Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, who is seven-and-a-half-months pregnant, said she plans to use the facility after her baby is born.  The facility was made available since the opening of the current Parliament session in October. Nurul Izzah, 29, requested for a nursing room when she gave birth to her second child five months ago. Her child was only a few months old when Nurul Izzah won the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat in the March 8 general election last year.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/malaysian-women-lawmakers-get-enclosure-to-nurse-babies_100291713.html

What do Pokwang and Cory Aquino have in common?

MANILA, Philippines – Former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino was recently feted a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award by Lifestyle magazine “Working Mom.”

According to a press statement by the magazine, Aquino was awarded at the 2009 Working Mom Balance Awards as “one of the greatest working moms the country has ever known.”

The annual awards event, which started in 2003, recognize women who excelled in their respective careers but still “maintain a healthy balance in facing the demands in their personal lives.”

This is the first time that Working Mom gave a posthumous award.

The magazine also honored 5 women who each won a “Balance Award” for 5 categories: Educator, Entrepreneur, Health and Well-being, Public Service and Corporate

… Public Service awardee Anna Lisa Dee, meanwhile, was honored for her breastfeeding advocacy as co-founder of the non profit group Lactation Attachment Training Counseling and Help (L.A.T.C.H.).She works as a breastfeeding counselor, resource speaker and contributing writer to various “mom and baby” publications and web sites. Dee is also a loving wife to her high school sweetheart Dudu and a doting mother to her children.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/12/17/09/pokwang-cory-aquino-cited-working-mom-awards

KENYA: The role of culture in child nutrition

MOYALE, 18 December 2009 (IRIN) – Two-year-old Safia Emoi is weak, thin and listless. She has just arrived at the Heillu Health centre with her mother Amima Mohammed, who set off early to make the 4km trek to the clinic in the outskirts of the upper Eastern Province town of Moyale. Safia is enrolled in a programme for severely malnourished children.

“Up until recently, things were a bit better for me and my family,” Amima Mohammed, 35, said. However, a prolonged drought has killed livestock, in turn affecting children’s nutrition and milk consumption.

“We are hungry most of the time. I make some strong tea in the morning and then we have one meal of maize during the day,” said the mother of six.  
 
There are dozens of children enrolled in a supplementary feeding programme run by Concern Worldwide in Moyale; in the past three months, the NGO recorded an average of 70 to 80 admissions per month. “I have seen other children getting better when given ready-to-eat therapeutic food, so I know Safia will too,” said her mother.

According to the Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ALRMP), agro-pastoral and pastoral communities are among the worst affected by food insecurity after four consecutive rainy seasons failed.

Despite ongoing mid-October to December short rains, drought-related stress, such as inadequate food and pasture, remains high in Moyale and other Eastern Province Districts such as Isiolo, Garbatulla, and Marsabit.

The proportion of children classified as “at risk” of malnutrition (mid-upper-arm circumference, MUAC, less than 135mm, in ages 6-59 months) in October remained higher than respective five-year averages in the districts, according to ALRMP surveillance data, stated a Kenya Food Security Update for November.

An MUAC of less than 110mm indicates severe acute malnutrition; between 110mm and 125mm moderate acute malnutrition, while one between 125 and 135mm shows that the child is at risk of acute malnutrition and should be followed up for growth monitoring.

The wrong kind of food

Another nutritional problem in this region is a widespread tendency not to breastfeed babies during their first six months. According to the UN Children’s Fund, exclusive breastfeeding is the perfect way to provide the best food for a baby’s first six months as breastfed infants are much less likely to die from diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and other diseases.

But Humphrey Mosomi, a nutritionist with World Vision Kenya in Marsabit district, said some 60 percent of mothers gave their babies additional food as well as water within two weeks of birth.

Improving pastoral community awareness of better child-feeding practices was vital, Mosomi told IRIN.  

“For example, boys may be introduced to camel milk early as a rite of initiation so they will like the animals they will herd in future,” he said. “The belief is that if the male child is first introduced to his mother’s milk, he will become a useless boy.

“There is also influence from grandmothers. They say the children are dying of thirst and that they must be given water,” he said. In an effort to improve the situation, traditional birth attendants, who, as older women, enjoy respect in the community, are being educated about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding.

Challenges

Cultural beliefs also fuel poor child health, noted Mosomi. “It takes a long time to convince someone to sell a cow or a goat to buy food. [People refuse] to sell so as not to be viewed as poor or to look cowardly. If, as a leader, you sold off your cows during the drought, people may refuse to vote for you.

“Sometimes, the cows are there, the milk is there, but it is not available to the children. The herders are ‘favoured’ and allocated the bigger share of milk, for instance,” he noted, adding that there was a need for advocacy.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87454 

Medela Announces Virtual Human Milk Collection Campaign

MCHENRY, Ill., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Medela announced today the award recipients from its November Virtual Human Milk (breastmilk) Collection Campaign in honor of the March of Dimes’ National Prematurity Awareness Month. More than 4,100 participated in the campaign, voting for their preferred Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Each of the following hospitals will receive $5,000 in neonatal human milk support products from Medela:

* Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, Gulfport, MS. * St. John Medical Center, Tulsa, OK. * The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.* University of New Mexico Hospital, Albuquerque, NM.

“We are very pleased with the participation in our Virtual Human Milk Collection Campaign. The intent was to help raise awareness of the importance of human milk which works like a medicine to help protect premature babies from many serious complications during and after their hospital stay,” says Carolin Archibald, vice president, professional business at Medela Inc. “We’re thrilled to be able to donate products to our award recipients that will support feeding more human milk and improving outcomes for their vulnerable patients.”

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medela-announces-virtual-human-milk-collection-campaign-award-recipients-in-honor-of-2009-prematurity-awareness-month-79531102.html

Study data from E.W. Harville and colleagues update understanding of depression

“We reviewed the literature on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on perinatal health, and providing data from our own research on pregnant and postpartum women. After Katrina, obstetric, prenatal, and neonatal care was compromised in the short term, but increases in adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth, low birthweight, and maternal complications were mostly limited to highly exposed women,” investigators in the United States report (see also Depression).

“Both pregnant and postpartum women had rates of post-traumatic stress disorder similar to, or lower than, others exposed  to Katrina, and rates of depression similar to other pregnant and postpartum populations. Health behaviors, such as smoking and breastfeeding, may have been somewhat negatively affected by the disaster, whereas effects on nutrition were likely associated with limited time, money, and food choices, and indicated by both weight gain and loss,” wrote E.W. Harville and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: “With a few specific exceptions, postdisaster concerns and health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women were similar to those of other people exposed to Hurricane Katrina. In such situations, disaster planners and researchers should focus on providing care and support for the normal concerns of the peripartum period, such as breastfeeding, depression, and smoking cessation. Contraception needs to be available for those who do not want to become pregnant. Although additional physical and mental health care needs to be provided for the most severely exposed women and their babies, many women are capable of surviving and thriving in postdisaster environments.”

Harville and colleagues published their study in Birth – Issues in Perinatal Care (Hurricane Katrina and Perinatal Health. Birth – Issues in Perinatal Care, 2009;36(4):325-331).

http://behavioralhealthcentral.com/index.php/20091216156741/Clinical-News/study-data-from-ew-harville-and-colleagues-update-understanding-of-depression.html

Unicef Ready To Support Flood-Affected Fijians

Friday, 18 December, 2009 – 16:48

UNICEF estimates that at least 17,500 people in the area were affected by severe flooding causing extensive damage in housing areas and to water mains and supplies.

Three days after category 2 Cyclone Mick hit major islands of the Fiji Islands group, the affected population still does not have access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

UNICEF stands ready to distribute “Emergency Hands” – communication materials promoting key sanitation and hygiene behaviours, posters promoting hand washing and breastfeeding, collapsible water containers and water purification tablets at the request of the Government.

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/unicef-ready-support-flood-affected-fijians/5/33810

Monterey County eyes breastfeeding policy for workers

Monterey County is working toward becoming just the third county in the state to have a breastfeeding policy for employees. The policy is currently being test-driven in the county’s Health Department.  “I anticipate that this policy will benefit both the Health Department and the community,” said Dr. Lisa Hernandez, the county’s deputy health officer.

The plan sets aside space other than a restroom for breastfeeding mothers to pump breast milk. It also allows for flexible schedules so women can continue both work and feeding. If it moves forward, Health Department officials will work with leaders in each county department to find appropriate spaces to designate for nursing moms.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20091216/NEWS01/91216024/1002/Monterey+County+eyes+breastfeeding+policy+for+workers

Parenting Perspective: Figuring out how to feed your baby!

December 16, 2009 (WPVI) — One of the surprises for many new mothers is how hard breastfeeding can be. Something that seems so natural often comes with a lot of frustration, anxiety and concern. But if you find yourself struggling with it, there are books, videos and support groups, not to mention a cadre of other women who have negotiated the difficult moments of “latching” and “supplementing.”

So, I thought I’d have it a little easier since our son is bottle fed. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and the drugs I take to combat are toxic and make it impossible for me to breastfeed. (I stopped the drugs while pregnant and resumed them about a month after delivery). Bottles also would mean that I could share feedings with my husband and not have to contemplate cover-ups whenever we wanted to take the baby out for a while.

Not so fast.

For the past three months, we have been taxed trying to find the right formula. The first one made him constipated. The second one gave him explosive gas and diarrhea, even as he spit up ounces. A third mix led to thick chunks on his bib. Another variant turned him off, pushing away from his bottle. Our solution this week is to mix two different brands together. He seems to keep them down without much wear on his system.

There are some other things I’ve been taught to do to try to keep his formula in his system, not spit up on my shoulder: I hold him at a 45-degree angled as he feeds, rather than letting him lay back. He doesn’t always burp, even though I try, but I make sure he at least sits upright for 30 minutes, which half the time means an upright snooze on my shoulder. Another thing you can try: burp after half or even thirds of the bottle.

We’re not sure whether our current solution will be the final call. We ruefully look at the barely used cans of formula – they are not cheap – sitting around our kitchen. But then we try to keep it all in perspective: Before we know it, our little guy will be on to cereal and solids.

Here’s to Mother Nature and hopes our little guy fares better with strained sweet potatoes, peas and pears!

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/parenting&id=7174378

Pregnant and breastfeeding women exposed to workplace hazards  (Spain)

A new study shows the employment and sociodemographic characteristics involved in the exposure of pregnant women to workplace hazards. Of these, 56% say they often work standing up or have to lift heavy objects, 63% are exposed to workplace stress and 62% say they are frequently exposed to some physical risk in their place of work.

“Pregnant and breastfeeding women are especially sensitive to exposure to workplace hazards”, Mª Carmen González, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Higher Centre for Public Health Research in Valencia, tells SINC. “Certain workplace pollutants and working conditions can have negative impacts on pregnancy and the development of the foetus”, she says.

… Almost one-quarter of the women (22%) said they were exposed to some chemical agent, particularly cleaning products, and 6% to biological risk factors, such as in jobs involving the care of others.

The conclusions show that it is the youngest, least-educated and non-Spanish women, who are self-employed or working on temporary contracts, who are most likely to report being frequently exposed to workplace risks.

…
“Although Spanish legislation regulates the protection of pregnant or breastfeeding women in their places of work (Law 31/1995 and Organic Law 3/2007), the conclusions of this study indicate that this legislation is insufficiently implemented in Spain”, concludes the Valencian researcher.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20091217/Pregnant-and-breastfeeding-women-exposed-to-workplace-hazards.aspx

What to Give to the Person Who Has Everything

When confronted by malls full of frantic holiday shoppers and barraged with advertisements promising the perfect gifts, we’re sometimes overwhelmed. We realize we’re very fortunate to be living somewhere that has so much available, while many others have very little. That’s why Mercy Kits — symbolic humanitarian gifts that support the health and education programs of Mercy Corps — are perfect for the person who has everything.

Since 1979, Mercy Corps has been helping individuals, families and communities hurt by economic crisis, armed conflict and natural disasters around the globe, from the United States to Kyrgyzstan. The organization, based in Portland, OR, started offering the tax-deductible Mercy Kits in 2003. “With Mercy Kits, gift-givers can make a difference in the lives of others in need around the world,” says spokeswoman Joy Portella. Proceeds from most of the kits go to where Mercy Corps determines it is most needed, though the following support specific projects: Breastfeeding Kit ($75), Climate Change Kit ($150), Fuel-Efficient Stove Kit ($45), Send an Orphan to School Kit ($100), Plant a Tree Kit ($55) and Play to Heal Kit ($75).

http://mercycorps.org/inthenews/17036

Push for exclusive breastfeeding

MOST Jamaican mothers are not practising exclusive breastfeeding as it goes against their belief that babies require water or tea. So says Dr Pauline Samuda, a nutritionist, who is calling for greater education on exclusive breastfeeding and its benefits.

“[But] it’s very difficult in a hot country, when a mother is hot to tell her that her baby is not hot, although you’re trying to say to them, ‘look at what you have eaten versus what the baby has eaten, you have eaten pure solids while the baby has had only liquid, so you’re thirsty, the baby is not’,” Dr Samuda said. “It’s very difficult but it is something we have to work on.”

In addition to the mother’s misperception of what the child requires during his or her first six months, Dr Samuda said that a large number of public health care workers were also making the task difficult as they themselves were not aware of the correct definition of the term ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ and at times misinform the mothers about the baby’s diet and the appropriate time to introduce additional food.

Dr Samuda was speaking against the background of a recent study she conducted in St Catherine and Clarendon, where she found that over 90 per cent of the mothers in the survey had never heard the term ‘exclusive breastfeeding’, while 80 per cent were introducing supplemental food such as tea, formula, porridge and irish potato between one to three months after the baby’s birth.

Popular myths surrounding breastfeeding

• Infants needs bush tea to clear their stomach in the mornings.

• Babies need water to quench their thirst.

• Expressed milk is not good for the baby.

• Squeezing breastmilk in ant’s nest or fire will dry out the mother’s milk.

• Feeding young babies tomato leaves will help with gripe.

• Mothers do not produce enough milk, hence the reason for additional food.

• Extensive breastfeeding will give the mothers ‘slipper titties’.

• A mother should not breastfeed if she has cold.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/allwoman/push-for-exclusive-breastfeeding

Breastfeeding in the News: September 16th – Sept. 24th, 2009

Hello All,
For those of you who are unhappy with the way infant formula companies conduct their business in your neighborhood wait till you hear what they are doing in Vietnam. Even though it’s against the law to advertise formula in Vietnam the big formula companies spend $10 million dollars a year doing just that (making them the 5th largest advertising market in the country.) Doctors are paid a commission on each can of formula they sell, mothers are invited to ‘nutritional seminars’ at five start hotels to watch a video of a girl who could talk at 6 months, and formula companies claim outrageous benefits for their products (“make your baby taller!”). Exclusive breastfeeding rates at six months have dropped to 17%, half of what they were a decade ago, while in 2008 alone formula sales rose 39%.

Here at home formula companies are pushing additives like DHA. (DHA derived from fish oil by the way, contains EPA which can be absorbed by adults but not by infants. In breast milk “the amount of DHA is four times higher than the amount of EPA – Mother Nature knows best!”) But one blogger asks an interesting question, shouldn’t we be in favor of these companies making their products healthier and safer? He uses the analogy of motorcycles which we know to be riskier than cars, don’t we pass helmet laws to try and make them safer to use? My answer to that is yes, improving formula is a wonderful thing, but marketing it as good as or better than breast milk is false advertising. And not informing people of the known risks is unconscionable. Wouldn’t it be great if every magazine ad for formula had to list all the possible risks just like all the pharmaceuticals do?

In China breastfeeding rates have fallen from 76% to 64% in 2002. But after last year’s formula scare more mothers want to breastfeed but like working mother’s every where they face obstacles when they get back to work. Even though a national law exist giving two 30 minute feeding breaks a day, hardly anyone seems to know about it. But here’s an interesting twist, in Shanghai there is a delivery service that will pick up and drop off a mother’s freshly pumped milk. Imagine that, a milk man who delivers human milk!

Here in America if Starbucks is any example, the biggest factor in reaching the 6 month exclusive breastfeeding goal seems to be whether or not you work behind the counter or in the corporate office. While Starbucks headquarters may boast of a lactation room, their chain store employees are still pumping in the bathroom. The CDC says that while 53% of college grads are still breastfeeding at 6 months (I’m assuming this is not exclusive breastfeeding – can anyone tell me for sure?) only 29% of mothers with just a high school education make it that far. Like me I’m sure this isn’t news to most of you. I still remember the mother I once met who worked as a paralegal in a lawyer’s office. While the female lawyer’s received 6 months maternity leave, paralegals were only given 6 weeks. This is crazy! It’s like saying an executive recovering from a heart attack automatically deserves 6 months to recover, while a janitor with the same health condition only needs 6 weeks.

In TV this week the HBO series “Mad Men” featured a birth typical of the 1960’s complete with twilight sleep and hallucinations. True to form when the mother was asked if she wants to breastfeed the answer was a defiant “no”, only people who can’t afford formula do that! Meanwhile in England the Royal College of Midwives complained when a soap opera star quickly turned to formula. For those of you who think letter writing is a waste of time take heart, as a result of their complaint the producers are considering making breastfeeding “the nub of a story on some future occasion.”

Meanwhile in Jamaica breastfeeding activists hosted a game show challenging health workers from different regions on their knowledge of breastfeeding. Reading the scores it sounds like people really got into it! If you want to host your own breastfeeding quiz show you might consider using the questions in the AAP’s new “Breastfeeding Residency Curriculum.” Better yet take their quiz yourself and tell me what you think. Would you teach it any differently?
In odds and ends a new use has been found for Fenugreek, seems adults can use it for weight management! (Like formula it slows the rate of gastric emptying.) Here’s an interesting statistic – apparently the air in a typical American home contains 135 more toxins than those found in breast milk. And just a reminder – the H1N1 vaccine can’t be given to infants less than 6 months old, which is just one more reason to breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months.

Meanwhile Ghana is proud to have one of the best rates for exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months in Africa, but apparently after that mothers are feeding their babies substandard food so childhood malnutrition is still a problem. What’s interesting is that the problem is not linked to poverty – it seems that children in rural poverty stricken areas are doing better than others, mainly because of their access to traditional local foods.

Come January 1st, 2011, New York residents can expect to chose a hospital based on a new “Maternity Information Leaflet (MIL) that hospitals will provide to all new mothers. New required information includes the percent of infants breastfed at the hospital, the percent of infants exclusively breastfed, and the number of instances in which breast milk is supplemented with formula.” This is a direct result of new changes in the CDC’s mPINC survey. (I’m honestly not sure if every hospital in the US will have to distribute a similar leaflet – does anyone know for sure?)

Last week there was an interesting split on the question of whether or not we should stop talking about the benefits of breast milk and talk more about bonding instead. 32% said we still have to convince the medical community while another 32% said we should cautiously start talking more about bonding. (See https://thecuriouslactivist.wordpress.com/todays-poll/ for the results.) While you’re there answer this week’s question “Should corporations like Starbucks be required by the law to offer the same lactation benefits to all their employees?” The crux of this question is whether or not law makers should take a stand on the issue. Personally, after my experience testifying at the State House I get nervous when lawyers get involved, but I would like to hear what you think.

As always I look forward to hearing from you!
Kathy Abbott, IBCLC
http://www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com
On Facebook: “Breastfeeding in the News”
My Blog: http://TheCuriousLactivist.wordpress.com/

Using Organic Breast Milk
What are the pros and cons of feeding babies formula versus breast milk? And if I purchase formula, should I spend the extra money on the organic variety?
One concern with breast feeding is that toxins present in mom’s bloodstream can make their way into baby. But a 2007 study by Ohio State and Johns Hopkins University researchers found that levels of chemicals in breast milk were far below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum acceptable levels for even drinking water, and that indoor air in typical American homes contains as much as 135 times as many contaminants as mother’s milk. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control maintains that the benefits of breastfeeding far outweigh any chemical exposure risks. “To date, effects on the nursing infant have been seen only where the mother herself was clinically ill from a toxic exposure,” reports the agency.
http://www.livingwellmagazine.net/health/family-health/282-using-organic-breast-milk.html

Health authorities’ quiz highlights Breastfeeding Week (Jamacia)
IN TRUE Schools’ Challenge Quiz style, health workers faced each other in the National Breastfeeding Competition, which marked the peak of National Breastfeeding Week activities.
The competition this year featured health workers from across the island, who answered questions concerning breastfeeding. In one semi-final match, the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) squared off against the Western Regional Health Authority in a tightly contested competition. SRHA ended close 36-35 victors. In the other semi-final, the North East Regional Health Authority lost 32-34 to the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA).
Ding-dong battle
In a dazzling final match, which showcased the speed and awareness of the participants about the various health issues surrounding breastfeeding, a fierce battle took place between the SERHA and the SRHA . The final was played at the Ministry of Health. The first segment of the competition, ended 10-10. However, the SERHA squeezed by its opponents, earning a two-point lead by the end of the second segment. In the third and final segment, the SRHA extended its lead, ending 34-28 winners. Though the competition proved exciting, it was about much more than scoring points, as the Ministry of Health has plans to take the message of ‘breast is best’ throughout the island.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090924/lead/lead5.html
Welcome to the Breastfeeding Residency Curriculum
The American Academy of Pediatrics developed this Breastfeeding Residency Curriculum to help residents develop confidence and skills in breastfeeding care.
Time to Complete the Curriculum
The curriculum is flexible. It can be implemented over 1 rotation, 1 year, or during the entire length of residency. Go to the Implementation Strategies page for examples of how some residency programs have implemented the curriculum.
Activities and Evaluation
The curriculum allows you to make choices. Whether you implement 1 activity or 20, you are helping residents to develop confidence and skills to help breastfeeding infants and mothers. The Essential Activities are the activities that you should strive to complete with every resident. The Additional Activities are provided to give more options if time allows. It is strongly urged that you evaluate residents on these activities. Evaluation will help the residents know how they are doing and will help you keep track of their progress. The evaluation tools are effective in evaluating the residents as well as the breastfeeding residency curriculum as a whole. Here are some examples of the tools included.
http://www.aap.org/breastfeeding/curriculum/

Corrie’s Maria sparks breastfeeding row
Coronation Street producers have been criticised by the Royal College of Midwives over scenes involving the soap’s new mum Maria Connor.
Macdonald also slammed the ITV1 drama’s portrayal of breastfeeding. Earlier this year, viewers saw Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) advising Maria to start using bottles after she experienced problems with feeding her child naturally
The RCM manager commented: “The representation of bottle-feeding as the way to feed an infant in a family programme such as Coronation Street contributes to normalising bottle-feeding in our society.”
A producer for the programme responded to the concerns by claiming that Coronation Street cannot always match the requirements of “accuracy and interested bodies”.
The representative added: “We do not want Coronation Street, which is a character-led drama serial, falling into the genre of drama-documentary. Notwithstanding, we have of course taken your comments on board over the issue of breastfeeding and it may well become the nub of a story on some future occasion.”
http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a178399/corries-maria-sparks-breastfeeding-row.html

Labor and Delivery, Starring Betty Draper
The Emmy-winning AMC hit “Mad Men” (featured today on “Oprah”) is well regarded for its story lines that remain loyal and true to the clothing, trends, current events, and social attitudes of the early 1960s. It’s the scenes displaying primordial parenting skills that cause many viewers to wince: Kids without seatbelts climbing in the front seat, playing with dry cleaner bags, little Sally sneaking sips of Daddy’s martini, and all that second-hand smoke.
A recent episode centered around the birth of Betty and Don Draper’s third child, which was a painful reminder of the birthing process (and lack of comfort) during that time. When Betty was wheeled into the labor room, a burly nurse abruptly stops Daddy Don and sternly tells him “Your job is done” (as if it ended at conception) and banished him to the “father’s lounge,” where he meets another dad-to-be with whom he shares a bottle of scotch whiskey. The first-time dad is kept in the dark about his wife’s progress until a graduate from the Ratchet School of Nursing nonchalantly informs him that he has a son, he was breech, and his wife, who had a transfusion, “is recovering, as she lost a lot of blood.”
In the next scene, Betty is informed that her regular doctor is unavailable, and to deal with her delivery. When asked if she’ll be “giving the baby the breast,” she quickly snaps “NO!” as if it was beneath her. Mind you, at this time in our past, many believed that breastfeeding was for the lower-income families that couldn’t afford formula.
Betty is eventually knocked out in a Demerol-induced “twilight sleep,” hallucinates, and wakes up with a baby in her arms.
Do you think husbands should return to the waiting room? Do they have a place in the labor room? Have we lost intimacy by revealing, uh, a little too much?

Read more: http://www.momlogic.com/2009/09/labor_and_delivery_starring_be.php#ixzz0S2q20QJ4
http://www.momlogic.com/2009/09/labor_and_delivery_starring_be.php

Being a Breastfeeding Dad
Author’s note: This piece of humorous truth was written in response to a disturbing statistic: The number-one factor in a woman’s decision to nurse her child is her partner’s attitude.
Now, we all understand the primary job of your babaloos, I mean, that is, your wife’s babaloos. Yes, God put those fabulous twins on earth entirely for your pleasure. Period. But God also gave them a stint of hard labor as punishment for all the naughtiness they have performed. It’s called breastfeeding. And during this time of hard labor, you will be the holder of the keys — the jail guard, if you will. You are about to oversee the work camp of a breastfeeding mother. And, lemme tell ya guys, this gig is not for the faint of heart.
Have you ever sat in a pediatrician’s office, dude? I mean really sat in that petri dish of a waiting room, where snot reigns supreme and the Muzak is obliterated by the screams of infected infants? Eye infections. Allergies. Green vomit. It’s all there, man. Well, you won’t be there much. Your kid will have the immune-boosting benefit of white blood cells that get manufactured on demand, on site, at the first sign of your baby’s sniffle. The technology is right there in your girl’s cantaloupes. For real. Who knew?
Breastfeeding boot camp often — though not always — lowers estrogen levels enough to impact a woman’s sex drive. Oh, and there’s one other problem. That dudette is so damn drained that when you get home from work, she’ll most likely want to hand you a stinky bundle and take a long nap. It’s all part of the game. You’re on the team and she’s just handed you the ball. Run with it. And pray she stocked the freezer with plenty of pumped supplies. How long will she behave like a sexual anorexic? Well, as long as it takes. And if the going gets really rough, buy her a steak, some new shoes, and remind her about the corkscrew motion.
Remind her politely. Because breastfeeding mamas may have the cha-chas of La Madonna, but they also have the heart of a mother bear. Tread carefully, brother. This is a woman wired to protect her little miracle above all. This is not the time to argue over the bills, the laundry, or the room service. She’s focused on winning the game. She needs a trainer, a coach, a team physical therapist, and a paycheck.
http://www.momlogic.com/2009/09/being_a_breastfeeding_dad.php
Breast-feeding a burden for Shanghai working moms

Qian, 31, is one of a growing number of mothers in China who have thrown out their supermarket baby formula, and rely on breast milk to keep their baby healthy.
The number of women who do this has grown especially after last year’s tainted milk scandal that sickened 300,000 infants
Despite the positive benefits of breast-feeding, the number of mothers who breast-feed in China fell from 76 percent in 1998 to 64 percent in 2002, according the United Nations Children’s Fund
Some mothers in Hangzhou, Zhengjiang Province, are using a delivery service that promises to collect and drop off milk within two hours, according to a report by China News Service.
While it is common for Chinese people to stress the family bond, the public shows little sympathy for breast-feeding mothers.
Only a few companies reportedly provide mothers a room they can use discreetly to pump milk ,so many end up doing the task in public
According to Regulations Concerning the Labor Protection of Female Staff and Workers issued by the State Council, working mothers with babies under 1 year, are entitled to two feeding breaks daily, each one lasting 30 minutes.
But most mothers are unaware of this policy. However, those who know their rights are reluctant to demand time off to pump milk.
Ge Yingmin, director of women’s rights department of Women’s Association of Shanghai, told the Shanghai Morning Post that if a mother has difficulties arranging nursing she could apply for feeding holiday.
“But if the mother and baby are both healthy, it’s OK for the company to turn down the application,”she said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/21/content_12088921.htm

Multinationals break Vietnam law in formula sales
The number of Vietnamese mothers who exclusively breast-feed in the first six months — the most crucial period — stands at just 17 percent, less than half what it was a decade ago, according to UNICEF. Meanwhile, formula sales in Vietnam jumped 39 percent in 2008, according to a study by Nielsen, a market research firm. Another survey found that the industry spent more than $10 million on advertising last year, placing it among Vietnam’s top five advertisers.
Multinational companies in Vietnam sell baby formula so aggressively that they routinely stretch and sometimes break laws designed to promote breastfeeding
the Vietnamese government adopted an ambitious target: a 50 percent exclusive breast-feeding rate by 2015. Health Ministry officials also announced they had uncovered dozens of violations of formula labeling rules.
But only one fine was levied — for less than $200.
Among the most serious violations that sources described separately to the AP were commissions paid to doctors to sell formula.
“We got a small commission for each can,” she said
Vietnam’s law prohibits advertising formula products for children under age one — a weakened version of an earlier law that set the age limit at 2.
But Nguyen Thi Minh, 29, a Hanoi paralegal, said she was approached by a Mead Johnson salesman at a Hanoi maternity clinic shortly before giving birth.
“I chose Mead Johnson’s EnfaGrow because the advertisements said it boosts your child’s IQ and makes them taller,” Minh said.
Nursery schools across Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are adorned with the logos of Mead Johnson and U.S.-based Abbott, which have provided benches, playground equipment and other gifts. Companies routinely suggest that children will be smarter and stronger if they drink formula, claims widely rejected by independent health professionals.
Salesmen also often invite women to “child nutrition seminars” at 5-star hotels. About 600 mothers packed a recent Abbott seminar co-sponsored by the Vietnam Nutrition Association, which receives heavy funding from formula companies. They listened to a talk called “Awakening Your Child’s Intelligence Potential” and watched a video of a girl learning to talk at 6 months and read at 14 months.
Doctors often appear at these seminars. The ties between the companies and the medical community are very close, said Olive, the WHO representative. Shortly after he arrived in Vietnam, Olive was invited to speak at a pediatrics association meeting and found a formula logo hanging behind the podium.
“I turned it around before speaking,” he said
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i2ha12J-KjsIg5Ur30x9Hzs5TybAD9AQF8IO0

Nothing fishy about this
Developing infants cannot efficiently produce their own DHA and must obtain this vital nutrient through the placenta during pregnancy and from breast milk after birth.
Breast milk DHA versus fish oil DHA
Fish oil is derived from the tissues of oily fish and it contains both DHA and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). However, ordinary fish oil supplements contain fairly large amounts of EPA and moderate amounts of DHA. In adults, both are digested and absorbed. However, in infants and foetuses, EPA might compete with DHA for a place in the nerve cell membranes and this may be detrimental to the developing brain, eye, and nervous system. In human breast milk, the amount of DHA is four times higher than the amount of EPA – Mother Nature knows best!
http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2009/9/20/health/4737696&sec=health

Ghana makes giant strides in promoting exclusive breastfeeding
Ghana is rated among the best breastfeeding countries in sub-Saharan Africa but expressed worry that the feat was being marred by high rates of malnutrition among children under five years due to improper feeding
Mrs Agyapong noted that after six months of exclusively breastfeeding some mothers failed to give nutritional foods to their children and stressed that the local dishes had all the rich sources of nutrients that would facilitate the healthy growth of children.
She said the problem of malnutrition could not be attributed to poverty because some mothers from very poor communities had well nourished children and they revealed that they gave them local foods such as nuts, green leaves, fruits and fish during their weaning from exclusive breastfeeding.
http://news.peacefmonline.com/health/200909/27210.php

Fenugreek extract may boost satiety, aid weight management
“animal studies have suggested a slowing in the rate of gastric emptying, meaning the stomach stays fuller for longer.”
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Fenugreek-extract-may-boost-satiety-aid-weight-management/?c=ei8s7T8XuY4IS7%2BKgzeyAg%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BWeekly

Is formula with DHA and ARA better than breastmilk?
A new study this week concluded that formula fortified with fatty acids DHA and ARA (also known as Omega 3s and 6s) is better for babies’ brain development than unfortified formula.
The study looked at how 202 nine-month-olds dealt with a cognitive test involving a rattle and found that babies that had been given formula fortified with DHA and ARA did better on the tests than those given regular formula. According to this LA Times blog post on the subject:
Among babies who drank formula from Day One, the proportion that successfully completed all three tests was 51% in the DHA/ARA group and 29% in the control group. Among babies who were weaned at six weeks, the results were 46% for the DHA/ARA group and 13% for controls.
The study did not compare breastmilk to to the fortified formula. And most experts I’ve seen quoted still agree that breastmilk is still the healthiest option for babies overall. But that hasn’t stopped some breastfeeding advocates from complaining that this latest study is just another marketing ploy by formula makers to get mothers to give up breastfeeding…
But as long as some women feed their babies formula — whether by choice or because they can’t breastfeed — shouldn’t we applaud any effort that makes formula safer and healthier (ie. more like breastmilk)?
Surely we shouldn’t prevent advances in formula simply to encourage breastfeeding. After all, if our main goal is encouraging breastfeeding at any cost, maybe we should go beyond banning supplements and instead force formula makers to put added toxins and carcinogens in their product to make it even less appealing.
Think about it: In what other context would we be against making an inferior product more healthy and more safe? Take motorcycles, for example. It’s well-documented that motorcycles are far more dangerous to drive than cars (28 times more deadly to be precise). But we still try to design safer helmets and pass helmet laws to make the practice as safe as we can.
No doubt there is a line somewhere — something that is so clearly harmful that we, as a society, would decide reducing its harms would just encourage too many people to do it.
But I’d argue that line is way, way, way past mothers giving their baby infant formula. Heck, here in Vancouver we’ve even been experimenting with giving people free heroin.
Indeed, I think the most shocking story to come out this week about DHA and infant formula is not this latest study, but a story by Canwest’s excellent consumer reporter Sarah Schmidt that Health Canada allows formula makers to make claims about the benefits of DHA on their label even if they have only trace amounts of it in their product.
According to Schmidt’s story, even though most studies have found you need to have at least 0.3% DHA in your product to make a difference, some formula makers make claims about being “DHA fortified” with less than 0.1% DHA content!
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/parenting/archive/2009/09/18/is-formula-with-dha-and-ara-better-than-breastmilk.aspx

Maternity Leaflet Must Include Additional Reporting Next Year
The Department of Health (DOH), beginning in 2010, will require maternity hospitals to include new information in the Maternity Information Leaflet (MIL) that hospitals provide to all new mothers. New required information includes the percent of infants breastfed at the hospital, the percent of infants exclusively breastfed, and the number of instances in which breast milk is supplemented with formula. The new reporting measures are part of a broader initiative launched recently by DOH to promote and to highlight the importance of breastfeeding among new and expectant mothers.
Hospital administrators received a letter in late August indicating that DOH would begin sharing with each hospital its most recent available data on hospital-specific breastfeeding practices. The data are collected in the DOH birth certificate supplement and the New York City birth certificate medical report. Hospitals will have an opportunity to review and evaluate the data before they are added to the MIL.
Information on infants cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit will not be included in the data.
Hospitals outside of New York City will be required to include their performance on these measures in the MIL beginning May 1, 2010; New York City hospitals will be expected to begin reporting on their performance on January 1, 2011.
DOH will also review maternity hospital policies and practices related to promoting and supporting breastfeeding. DOH plans to use that information to develop training and technical assistance for providers to further encourage and support breastfeeding-friendly policies.
Commissioner of Health Richard
http://www.hanys.org/news/index.cfm?storyid=1193

Q Doc, my wife has just given birth and we have a fine son. A female relative has told her we need not use any birth control for the next year because she is breastfeeding, which gives her special protection against pregnancy.
I am not so sure. Is this safe?
A This way of preventing unwanted pregnancy is called ‘the lactational method’, or the ‘lactational amenorrhoea method’. The word ‘amenorrhoea’ means ‘absence of menses’.
The method is based on a discovery in Africa years ago, when it was found that women who breastfed intensively were unlikely to conceive.
Does it work? Well, earlier this month a very good research paper on contraception was published. It originated from the University of the West Indies’ St Augustine campus in Trinidad and from a university in Belgium.
The conclusion of the authors was that the lactational method generally works, because suckling (feeding) a baby suppresses egg release and also prevents the periods from returning for a while. However, the researchers say that for the method to work three conditions must be fulfilled:
The baby must be nearly exclusively breastfed (i.e., no bottles) on demand, day and night.
The mother must have had no periods since the delivery.
The method must not be used for longer than six months.
If your wife thinks she really can breastfeed as intensely as that, the method will probably work.
Please bear in mind there are alternatives. For instance, your wife could simply go on the mini-Pill (progestogen-only Pill) while she is breastfeeding.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090919/talk/talk2.html

Surviving H1N1 — with baby in belly
Is it safe to get vaccinated while breastfeeding? Should my newborn also be vaccinated?
According to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, the H1N1 vaccine will be recommended for children ages six months and older. Newborns and infants younger than 6 months cannot receive the vaccine.
Health officials say breastfeeding is one way a mother might be able to help protect her baby. “The vaccine is safe if she breastfeeds, and she may even pass along some immunity to her infant,” says Tepper of the CDC. “It will also reduce the chance that [the mom] will get the flu and pass it to her infant.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/16/pregnancy.h1n1.flu/

Low breast feeding numbers “pathetic,” say doctors
In a meeting last month at the Centers for Disease Control
, officials said they plan to issue a “Call to Action” to address the surprisingly low numbers of women who breast feed, calling it “an urgent public health priority.”

According to CDC statistics, almost 74 percent of women in 2005 breast-fed in the days right after birth. But just 12.3 percent of those women exclusively breast fed for the first six months of life.

“We have come a long way in helping moms start, but those are still pathetic numbers,” said Dr. Sheela Geraghty, of the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-food/Lifestyle/low_breast_feeding_numbers_pathetic_say_doctors_160920090712.html

On the Job, Nursing Mothers Find a 2-Class System
When a new mother returns to Starbucks’ corporate headquarters in Seattle after maternity leave, she learns what is behind the doors mysteriously marked “Lactation Room.”
Whenever she likes, she can slip away from her desk and behind those doors, sit in a plush recliner and behind curtains, and leaf through InStyle magazine as she holds a company-supplied pump to her chest, depositing her breast milk in bottles to be toted home later.
But if the mothers who staff the chain’s counters want to do the same, they must barricade themselves in small restrooms intended for customers, counting the minutes left in their breaks.
But as pressure to breast-feed increases, a two-class system is emerging for working mothers. For those with autonomy in their jobs — generally, well-paid professionals — breast-feeding, and the pumping it requires, is a matter of choice. It is usually an inconvenience, and it may be an embarrassing comedy of manners, involving leaky bottles tucked into briefcases and brown paper bags in the office refrigerator. But for lower-income mothers — including many who work in restaurants, factories, call centers and the military — pumping at work is close to impossible, causing many women to decline to breast-feed at all, and others to quit after a short time.
Twelve states have passed laws protecting pumping mothers — Oklahoma’s law, the newest, will take effect in November. But like Oklahoma’s, which merely states that an employer “may provide reasonable break time” and “may make a reasonable effort” to provide privacy, most are merely symbolic.
According to the nonprofit Families and Work Institute, a third of large corporations have lactation rooms.
Even without these perks, professional women can usually afford a few months of maternity leave during which to breast-feed. When they return, they can generally find an office for the two or three 20-minute sessions per workday typically necessary. Even bathrooms — the pumping spots of last resort — are more inviting at an accounting firm than in a fast-food restaurant.
Because of this and similar efforts, 73 percent of mothers now breast-feed their newborns, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But after six months, the number falls to 53 percent of college graduates, and 29 percent of mothers whose formal education ended with high school. In a study of Oklahoma mothers who declined to breast-feed, nearly a third named work as the primary reason. Others, like Ms. Moore of Starbucks, find the early days of breast-feeding frustrating, and their impending return to work means they have little incentive to continue.
“Sometimes my co-workers will sneak in two or three smoking breaks” before she can steal away to pump, said Laura Kruger Rowe, who works at a Starbucks in Rochester.
As at Starbucks, the gap between working mothers can play out within a single organization. At many law firms, lawyers can pump in their offices, while secretaries use bathroom stalls; in the Army, which also has no policy on the matter, officers are less likely to encounter problems than enlisted soldiers, who have less autonomy and a more complex chain of command.
Shortly after Marlene Warfield, a dental hygienist in Tacoma, Wash., began pumping on the job, she said her boss wore a Halloween costume consisting of a large silver box — his interpretation of a pump, perhaps — with a cutout labeled “insert breast here.” When he instructed Ms. Warfield to leave her pump at home, she said, she quit her job— and consulted the local human rights commission, which found nothing illegal about the dentist’s actions.
Dr. Philipp recalled a small furor about whether Jane Swift, the former governor of Massachusetts who gave birth to twins, would breast-feed after returning to work.
“That’s a great thing to do, but she had her own office and could set her own schedule,” Dr. Philipp said. “The one I want to know about is the lady cleaning her office.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/01/health/01nurse.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Breastfeeding in the News: Sept. 2nd, – Sept 9th 2009

Hello all,
Let’s talk about men and breastfeeding for a minute. Sometimes I think men “get it” better than a lot of women. The creator of the statue of Angelina Jolie breastfeeding actually seemed surprised at all the public reaction. Apparently there had been no great out cry over his last statue which portrayed Brittney Spears on her hands and knees giving birth on a bear skin rug. “I was kind of stumped because I didn’t realize people were so much against public breastfeeding. I thought, ‘How much more wholesome can you get than breastfeeding,” And then there’s the dad blogging about multiples who reports “Dads are the first line of support because they’re usually the ones present for the late night feedings after friends, families, and lactation consultants have gone home to sleep in their own beds.” Ain’t that the truth! (Be sure to vote in this week’s poll. The question this week is, “Do you think that more men are supportive of breastfeeding than women?” https://thecuriouslactivist.wordpress.com/todays-poll/ )
It’s nice to hear that some men are so supportive, but that’s nothing compared to the efforts of a young dad in Sweden. This 26 yr old student is using a breast pump every 3 hours in an attempt to induce lactation. “Anything that doesn’t do any harm is worth trying out. And if it works it could prove very important for men’s ability to get much closer to their children at an early stage.” Even more interesting is the chatter this is causing over here in America. In response to the ugly jokes going around on talk radio one male blogger wrote,” I am willing to stand as a second for anyone defending the manliness of being that physiologically devoted to your kids. And further, I argue that any male who wouldn’t be willing to lactate to feed their child, if the need arose, is NOT MAN ENOUGH to be a dad and should not have children. Period. Man up and grow a pair.” Well said!
Now let’s compare this to how women react to breastfeeding. A “Hoboken Moms” Yahoo group have been trying to decide if the kids playing ball in Church Square Park were too close to nursing moms, or as others believe the nursing moms shouldn’t be, well, nursing where kids are supposed to play ball. Apparently “one mom said she felt more threatened by a “friendly squirt.” Whether she was referring to a friendly squirt of breast milk or a young child I’m not sure.
Over in Chicago a mother was nursing her 7 month old when “a woman in her 40s–with two young children in tow–approached and asked Trost what she was doing. “And then she said, ‘Do you have a blanket?’” Trost recalled Friday. “I said, ‘It’s 90 degrees out — of course I don’t have a blanket.’ Her response was an immediate call to arms which resulted in a nurse-in with a photo-op on the front page of the Chicago Sun. Meanwhile back on the net they are still arguing at the Momlogic blog over the “Stop telling me to breastfeed” story. “All these articles do is cause the fanatical breastfeeders to come out of the woodwork and cause all the non-breastfeeders to feel like crap and for the non-breastfeeders to be endlessly trying to defend themselves. Both sides end up hurt or angry. STOP THESE ARTICLES!!!!” pleads one reader.
So what do the female experts have to say? Well let’s check in with Dr. Wendy Walsh who wants us to know that while it’s perfectly normal to have an orgasm while breastfeeding, but if you do it’s definitely a sign that need to stop sleeping so closely to your baby. “Then one night while I was sleeping, I had one of those fabulous dreams that, if a guy had had it, would have involved moisture. You’ve heard about them. I woke up from the dream to find that my tiny vampire had been doing some nocturnal suckling while I slept. Let me tell you, the experience totally freaked me out. And that was it. I had a co-sleeping bed beside me after that. I needed that bundle an arm’s length away.” Gee Doc, so you’re saying it’s normal; just don’t let it happen again? Hmmm.
But in case you think I’m focusing too much on gender perhaps it would interest you to know that according to a Supreme Court judges in Ohio (in the Totes/Isomer case I told you about last week) breastfeeding is not gender related. (“Breastfeeding discrimination does not constitute gender discrimination.”) Well, I guess that might be true in Sweden but are Ohio dads also lactating? No, it’s just that in Ohio pregnancy and lactation seem to be totally unrelated. “Pregnant [women] who give birth and choose not to breastfeed or pump their breasts do not continue to lactate for five months. Thus, Allen’s condition of lactating was not a condition relating to pregnancy but rather a condition related to breastfeeding.”
This is just making my head spin. Let’s look at what else is happening around the world. Drawing inspiration from their own industry a commercial bank in the Phillipines has created a “milk bank” (lactation room) that enables nursing mothers to express breast milk during office breaks, deposit them in the facility’s refrigerator and withdraw them at the end of the working day. I like it! Maybe some day a creative insurance company will come up with “insurance rooms” to insure the good health of their working mothers or hospitals will provide “health rooms”, or schools will have “brain power rooms”, etc. (stop me before I try to figure out what to call lactation rooms in the entertainment industry.)
Australia was a bit of a disappointment this week. Seems the government has chosen not to support a bill protecting breastfeeding mothers from discrimination. But don’t give up all hope, the government in Uganda having recognized the need for mothers and babies to be together breastfeeding mothers in prison will now be allotted more than just on meal a day. The fact that some of these mothers are still in prison even though their sentence is finished is also being looked into.
So what are our lactivists been up to lately? Well in southern California the local breastfeeding coalition is sponsoring a debate on vaccines, which I think is a great way to get a little publicity. And in England a parenting group has posted a link to a free breastfeeding instructional video (if any of you have a chance to watch the video I would love to know what grade you would give it).
And lastly in odds & ends, Nebraska University is starting the school year with dozens of lactation rooms in place. Another hospital has gone Baby Friendly in California bringing the US total up to a whopping total of 83. And reality star Michelle Duggar who is pregnant with baby number 19 confesses that she uses the “lactational amenorrhea” method of birth control. (Michelle by the way delivered 13 of her babies by VBAC!)
Again be sure to vote in this week’s poll. The question this week is, “Do you think that more men are supportive of breastfeeding than women?” (https://thecuriouslactivist.wordpress.com/todays-poll/ )
Kathy Abbott, IBCLC
http://www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com
On Facebook: “Breastfeeding in the News”
My Blog: http://TheCuriousLactivist.wordpress.com/

Government won’t support breastfeeding Bill (Australia)
There has been an emotional debate in the WA Parliament over a Bill which aims to protect breastfeeding mothers from discrimination.
The Labor frontbencher Michelle Roberts introduced the private members bill earlier this year after a breastfeeding woman was asked to leave the lobby of a Perth hotel.
The Premier Colin Barnett this morning said he supported the principle of the Bill, but the Attorney-General Christian Porter has told parliament the government will not support it because the protection is already enshrined in law.
“If what we’re about is sending messages then so be it,” he said.
“But if what we’re about is actually protecting people’s rights not to be discriminated about, that protection exists.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/09/2681363.htm
Swedish dad tries to breast-feed
Ragnar Bengtsson, a 26-year-old student at Stockholm University, is regularly breaking out a breast pump to induce lactation. Bengtsson is the father of a 2-year-old child, but he has no plans to nurse his toddler. Rather he wants to breast-feed future children and inspire other dads to offer their breasts as a way to bond with their children at earlier stages of development.
“Anything that doesn’t do any harm is worth trying out. And if it works it could prove very important for men’s ability to get much closer to their children at an early stage,” Bengtsson told The Local, an English newspaper in Sweden.
Bengtsson plans to pump his breasts (watch video below) at three-hour intervals every day until the beginning of December. He’s a full-time economics student, so he won’t always be able to pump in private.
“I’m going to have to pull out the pump during lectures,” he told The Local. “But really it doesn’t bother me if it makes people uncomfortable. If they have issues with it that’s their problem.”
“Women breastfeed after they’ve been bathing in estrogen during a nine month pregnancy, so obviously it takes some time,” Werner, a professor of endocrinology at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, told The Local. “But if he works on it regularly he’ll likely notice a layer of tissue forming beneath the areola and it should be possible to produce enough of the hormone prolactin to cause lactation,” she said.
This story brings up some questions: What if men could easily produce breast-milk? Would men welcome the responsibility of breast-feeding? And would moms even want dads to step in to help with nursing?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=47119&tsp=1
Breastfeeding dads and what to do when you’re not
I would like to go on record at this point to say that I am willing to stand as a second for anyone defending the manliness of being that physiologically devoted to your kids. And further, I argue that any male who wouldn’t be willing to lactate to feed their child, if the need arose, is NOT MAN ENOUGH to be a dad and should not have children. Period.
Man up and grow a pair.
I would also like to point out that this is not a new idea — dads who feed their kids — and that Darwin talked about it. And that it is medically documented where fathers, often after the death of a child’s mother, due to stress and increased prolactin, were able to breastfeed their kids.
I am reminded of the saddest thing I ever saw a dad do, in person. When the Goddess was in the NICU another little baby, a boy, met his dad. Young kid. 20 if he was lucky. And with his son in the baby intensive care ward, where they put your baby if your baby needs INTENSIVE CARE, this kid wouldn’t kiss his son (in,did I mention, the NICU) because it was “gay”.
Really? Kissing your kids is “gay” and feeding them with your own body is a sign of weakness?
Good to know.
http://www.examiner.com/x-2618-Dallas-Fatherhood-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Breastfeeding-dads-and-what-to-do-when-youre-not
PacifiCord Partners with Local Retailer in a Debate on Childhood Vaccines
Dedicated to serving the private cord blood banking needs of Southern California, PacifiCord (www.pacificord.com) announced they are partnering with Milkalicious, an Aliso Viejo-based breastfeeding boutique and education center, in sponsoring “The Great Vaccine Debate.” This debate, presented by the Orange County Breastfeeding Coalition, a non-profit organization whose members are actively engaged in making breastfeeding the cultural norm, will provide information to parents and medical professionals about the pros and cons of pediatric vaccines.
Experts speaking at “The Great Vaccine Debate” include Dr. Jeremy Kaslow, MD, FACP, and a FACAAI specialist in immunology and pediatric allergies, who will be discussing the immunology of breast milk. Dr. Bob Sears, MD, pediatrician and author of The Vaccine Book, will speak on his “Alternative Vaccine Schedule,” and Dr. Harry Pellman, MD, who will discuss the danger of not following the AAP guidelines for vaccines, and the controversy of the vaccine-autism link.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090908005031&newsLang=en
Ogoola calls for special law on breast feeding inmates
THE Principal Judge, Justice James Ogoola, has called for a new law to ensure that women imprisoned with breastfeeding children get special nutritional care.

Ogoola said this would address the welfare of children, who commit no crime but are confined to prison wards because of the current legal system.

“It is a fundamental question that requires Parliament to review. We need a law on how these blameless children fit in crime,” he said, adding that he would start a discussion over the matter.

He noted that the current laws only prohibit the execution of convicted pregnant women, adding that similar treatment, in terms of feeding, should also be extended to women with breastfeeding children.

Ogoola made the remarks while addressing inmates at Arua prison on Friday. One of the mothers said she was finding it difficult to produce enough milk because of the poor and insufficient meals.

The prison in-charge, Patrick Masiga, said there were 597 inmates in custody with six children, who have one meal a day, due to limited resources.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/693928
Breastfeeding from a dad’s point of view
For every mother out there who makes the decision to breast feed, there’s a dad thinking “Woo hoo, no late night feedings for me!”. That’s probably mostly true for fathers of singleton children, but if you’re going to be the father of multiples you’d better think again.

Breastfeeding multiples is not a solo operation, at least not at the newborn or young infant stages. It’s not something you can truly appreciate until you try to pick up two floppy newborn babies with no ability to hold up their own heads and no control over their flailing extremities. If mom wants to feed each baby individually, that means dad’s most likely going to be providing entertainment and soothing for the unruly audience. It takes a certain amount of resourcefulness to convince a newborn that he really doesn’t need to eat until his sister is done.

Dads are the first line of support because they’re usually the ones present for the late night feedings after friends, families, and lactation consultants have gone home to sleep in their own beds.
http://www.examiner.com/x-16113-Nashville-Parenting-Multiples-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Breastfeeding-from-a-dads-point-of-view
Economics of breastfeeding
Powdered formula costs an average of $25 for roughly a 25 oz can. That’s around $0.13 for every fluid ounce (fl. oz.). It might not seem a lot. But a newborn usually consumes at least 1 fl. oz. every 2 hours or $11 a week. According to Babycenter.com, the average 6-month-old can consume around 21 fl. oz. a day, which translates to over $75 in a month. Surebaby.com even recommends budgeting $40 a week for formula, amounting to over $2,000 a year! Moreover, organic, soy-based, lactose-free and hypoallergenic formula are usually a couple of dollars more than milk-based ones.
It is worthy to note that a stay-at-home mother who breastfeeds 100% of the time, hardly has any cost except for nursing pads: around $5 for a reusable pair or at least $6 a month for disposables. Additional costs specific to breast-feeding mothers might include $35 for a nursing pillow, $12 for a manual breast pump (as low as $30 for an electric one: Ameda brand), $5 for a 10-liner storage kit, and $19 for a nursing shawl.
Although breastfeeding mothers might spend a little over $70 in incidental expenses, most of these are one-time purchases. Compared to around $2,000 for formula, the price differential alone warrants at least an attempt at breastfeeding.

http://www.examiner.com/x-18439-Newark-Working-Moms-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Economics-of-breastfeeding
Bounty Parenting Club Launches View on Demand ‘How to Breastfeed’ Video

LONDON, September 7 /PRNewswire/ — Bounty, the UK’s favourite parenting club, today launches a 4 minute ‘How to Breastfeed’ online video clip to help expectant and new mums take a real life, close up peek at how a baby ‘latches on’ to the breast when feeding.
To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/bounty/39761/

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-07-2009/0005089025&EDATE=
‘Milk banking’
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has taken on a new role aside from its traditional central banking activities – “milk banking” or the banking of milk of lactating mothers in the workplace.
BSP Deputy Governor Armando Suratos, who heads the Resource Management Sector, recently approved the construction and maintenance of a “milk bank” for BSP working mothers. The “milk bank” (lactation room) enables nursing mothers to express breast milk during office breaks, deposit them in the facility’s refrigerator and withdraw them at the end of the working day.
Of course, the deposits do not earn any interest. But certainly, they yield high returns in terms of the improved health and general well-being of the mothers, their babies as well as improved employee morale.
The milk bank project, according to Suratos, is a special tribute to the unsung heroes of the workplace: Women who choose to work to help ensure the future of their families and continue to care for their young ones at the same time.
The recent BSP two-day “Breastfeeding Awareness Festival” has helped increase the appreciation of breastfeeding as a way of promoting a healthy life. The event also demonstrated that it is possible for mothers to provide the best nourishment to their children even after their maternity leaves end.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/219394/milk-banking
Stop Telling Me to Breastfeed!
Last week, momlogic brought you the story of one mom-to-be who was sick and tired of people telling her to breastfeed. Whether you agreed or disagreed, everyone seemed to have some more advice to give our blogger.
Please STOP the breastfeeding articles! Enough is enough! There has been article after article and all it ends up doing is causing catfights. Please, move on from this issue. All these articles do is cause the fanatical breastfeeders to come out of the woodwork and cause all the non-breastfeeders to feel like crap and for the non-breastfeeders to be endlessly trying to defend themselves. Both sides end up hurt or angry. STOP THESE ARTICLES!!!! New moms have enough to worry about. Reading the judgmental remarks from commenters is the kind of stuff that kept me up at night in tears of stress when I was pregnant. Enough already Mom Logic!!! — Enough!
Great article! That’s exactly what I have been saying … nobody should ASSUME anything about the way a mom chooses to feed her baby. Breastmilk or formula … who cares!? And seriously, formula doesn’t kill your child!!! – RachelAZ
There is nothing wrong with a doctor pointing out the health benefits of breastfeeding … and there are many. After all, that is his/her job! I know for some mothers, it is difficult or not at all possible. But, I have heard of many moms that couldn’t with the first and had no problems with the second. So, being educated and knowing all the benefits, why not try? What do you have to lose? I work full-time and managed to BF & pump for my child’s first 7 months. It was difficult, annoying, uncomfortable … but on the advice of my trusted medical professional, it was the best thing to do … so I did it for my child. —
http://www.momlogic.com/2009/09/stop_telling_me_to_breastfeed_1.php
Angelina Now a Fertility Goddess; Bronzed Breastfeeding Twins (VIDEO)
Connecticut sculptor Daniel Edwards, who is known for his unusual celebrity creations molded the piece and has been showing off the unfinished clay and bronze statue.
Edwards says the statue, called “Landmark for breastfeeding,” is nearly life-sized and shows a nude Jolie holding two of her children like footballs. (Somehow, it doesn’t seem to be done this way.)
“It was a highly charged issue, and I was kind of stumped because I didn’t realize people were so much against public breastfeeding. I thought, ‘How much more wholesome can you get than breastfeeding,” Edwards said.
His other celebrity statues haven’t be quite as straight forward. Celebutard Paris Hilton is sculpted dead, naked with her legs wide open and her intestines exposed. Pop star Britney Spears on hands and knees giving birth on a bear skin rug.
http://www.theimproper.com/Template_Article.aspx?IssueId=17&ArticleId=3986
Kaiser South, Birth Center designated as “Baby Friendly”
Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center and The Birth Center in Fair Oaks have earned a designation likely to increase their credibility with expectant mothers.
Kaiser is the first hospital in Sacramento County and one of only 83 facilities in the nation to receive the designation. The Birth Center bills itself as “the only freestanding, midwifery-operated birth center” in the Sacramento area. Sutter Health’s hospital in Davis was already on the list.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/08/31/daily93.html
Breastfeeding moms rally to support hassled woman
You knew the demonstration was under way Friday because, all of a sudden, it got very quiet.
A dozen or so babies suckled in silent, unwitting support of a Rogers Park mother hassled last month for breastfeeding in public.
» Click to enlarge image

Dozens of mothers came out to Lincoln Square Plaza Friday in support of a breast-feeding mom who was harassed earlier this week for nursing in public.

(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)

Mothers and infants, and a few dads, gathered in Lincoln Square’s Giddings Plaza–the same spot where mom Lauren Trost says she was accused of being indecent and breaking the law for feeding her seven-month-old son Hank in public.
“Breasts are men’s toys, don’t you know,” said a sarcastic Colette Bernhard, protester and mother of three. “They’re not supposed to be for your baby.”
Last month, Trost, 33, was in Lincoln Square helping her sister open a jewelry store. At some point, Trost sat down in Giddings Plaza and began feeding her baby. That’s when a woman in her 40s–with two young children in tow–approached and asked Trost what she was doing.
“And then she said, ‘Do you have a blanket?’” Trost recalled Friday. “I said, ‘It’s 90 degrees out — of course I don’t have a blanket.’
Trost and her supporters were mostly preaching to the choir Friday. The patio lunch crowd at nearby Cafe Selmarie rarely looked up from their hot panini and home-made quiche.
“In the 1930s, they would unbutton their (dresses) and pull the whole thing aside to nurse their babies, according to my 96-year-old great-aunt,” said Bernhard. “And that was the 1930s. I thought we were more enlightened in the 21st Century.
one passerby–who missed the demonstration–said he disapproves of a women breastfeeding openly.
“I just don’t think it’s proper for women to show their breasts out in public unless they’re on the beach,” said Jeff Hooker, 47, recently unemployed and living in Lincoln Square.
Meanwhile, Trost says she hasn’t seen the woman who heckled her and doesn’t know her name. What would Trost do if she saw her again?
“I think I’d smile at her and breastfeed my baby,” Trost said. “Maybe I’d give her a little knowing wink.”
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1754176,rogers-park-breastfeeding-party-090409.article
Hoboken football mom takes on breastfeeding moms over park space…
In the latest minor tiff, some folks complained in the popular “Hoboken Moms” Yahoo group that kids were playing ball in Church Square Park too close to nursing moms, but others believe that the nursing moms shouldn’t be, well, nursing where kids are supposed to play ball.

And one mom said she felt more threatened by a “friendly squirt.”
http://hudsonreporter.com/pages/full_stories_home/push?article–Hoboken+football+mom+takes+on+breastfeeding+moms+over+park+space-%20&id=3522937–Hoboken+football+mom+takes+on+breastfeeding+moms+over+park+space-&instance=up_to_the_minute_lead_story_left_column
Women Who Orgasm During Breastfeeding
You don’t have to feel ashamed — it’s perfectly natural. An expert tells us.
Dr. Wendy Walsh:
Then one night while I was sleeping, I had one of those fabulous dreams that, if a guy had had it, would have involved moisture. You’ve heard about them. I woke up from the dream to find that my tiny vampire had been doing some nocturnal suckling while I slept. Let me tell you, the experience totally freaked me out. And that was it. I had a co-sleeping bed beside me after that. I needed that bundle an arm’s length away.
http://www.momlogic.com/2009/09/women_who_orgasm_during_breastfeeding.php
Public Scolding Infuriates Breastfeeding Mother
Lauren Trost Is Planning A Public Lincoln Square Nurse-In
Trost says she always nurses her 7-month-old son discreetly in Lincoln Square. That’s why she says she was stunned when a woman recently threatened her by saying:

“‘I’m going to call the police, and then I said, ‘please call the police,'” Trost said. “She said, ‘what you’re doing is indecent, there are children here.’ And I said, ‘I’m just feeding my baby.'”

Nursing a child in public is not against the law in Illinois. Trost says she’s telling her story to reinforce that fact. She also plans to hold a public nurse-in with other mothers to get her point across.
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/breastfeeding.public.mother.2.1160900.html
Working moms need a break from lactation regulations
If you think breast-feeding is a gender-specific ability, then you are so out of step with Ohio’s Supreme Court.
Last week, in a 5-1 ruling, the highest court here ruled that an Ohio law that bans discrimination against pregnant women does not protect them from punishment for taking unauthorized breaks to use a breast pump after they birth those babies.
In 2005, LaNisa Allen was the lactating mother of a 5-month-old son. She was also employed at the Totes/Isotoner Corp. in suburban Cincinnati – the same manufacturer that pitches those handy little umbrellas, gloves and slippers to women.
Allen was fired after her supervisor caught her pumping breast milk during an unscheduled break. Had Allen gotten permission, the court said, she could have asked the justices to decide whether Ohio’s pregnancy law protected lactation. But no, she had to go pump when nature called. She blew it, even though there was no evidence that employees had to check with a boss before taking an unscheduled visit to the bathroom.
As Salon.com’s Kate Harding pointed out, the justices affirmed a lower-court decision that included this little gem:
“Pregnant [women] who give birth and choose not to breastfeed or pump their breasts do not continue to lactate for five months. Thus, Allen’s condition of lactating was not a condition relating to pregnancy but rather a condition related to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding discrimination does not constitute gender discrimination.”
Whoa. Wait a minute. If breast- feeding discrimination has nothing to do with gender, does that mean we’ve got men lactating in Ohio and nobody told me?
Or are we saying it’s a mother’s fault if she gives in to all that pressure from children’s advocates and public health officials who insist that nursing is the No. 1 way to improve infant health?
http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1251880456243420.xml&coll=2
Michelle Duggar pregnant with baby #19
Michelle Duggar recently found out that she is pregnant with her 19th child. The Duggar family does not use traditional birth control methods–they space their children naturally through lactational amenorrhea.
She began to suspect pregnancy when she could not loose weight (she and husband Jim Bob Duggar are on weight watchers) and her baby was fussy while breastfeeding. From her past experience with 18 kids, Michelle Duggar knows that a fussy baby trying to nurse means that you might be breastfeeding while pregnant.
Michelle has successfully delivered 13 of her children by VBAC’s.
http://www.examiner.com/x-6258-Huntsville-Natural-Parenting-Examiner~y2009m9d1-Michelle-Duggar-pregnant-with-baby-19
Breastfeeding on UNL Campus
Lactating spaces billed as Family Friendly
Beginning Sept. 10, dozens of lactation spaces will be available to nursing mothers campuswide.
“The University of Nebraska-Lincoln recognizes the importance of supporting new mothers who want to continue to breastfeed while they work or attend school,” said Chancellor Harvey Perlman.
Two types of lactation rooms are located around campus, so that a person wanting to use a room is always within a 5- to 10-minute walk from a designated room. Several spaces on campus are semi-private lactation rooms. These are located in areas that through the use of screens and other devices, are semi-private but do not require a key or any form of permission for entry. Each space is equipped with a comfortable chair, a table, and an electrical outlet.
Ultimately, there will be 14 semi-private and 38 private rooms available on campus. Lactation room locations and a list of contact individuals for the private rooms will be available online soon. As new buildings are constructed, UNL will identify rooms that can be scheduled for lactation rooms as part of the planning process.
http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2009/09/04/4aa0fb10ab20d

Breastfeeding in the News: July 18 – July 24th, 2009

Hello All,

Sorry for the delay this week.  I just got back from Rhode Island where I made a tour of their three Baby Friendly Hospitals (I’m preparing to do a lecture on Baby Friendly Hospitals in New England).  It was amazing to see how the perseverance of just a handful of women made such a lasting impact not only in their own hospitals but in the state.  Rhode Island now hopes to be the first state in the country to be completely Baby Friendly!

Speaking of Baby Friendly the New York State Senate just passed a “Breastfeeding Mother’s Rights Bill along those same lines.  Washington State just beefed up their breastfeeding in public laws and are now passing out wallet sized cards telling mothers of their rights in order to diffuse any conflict between mothers and businesses.  (The Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition also has “License to Breastfeed” cards.) Too bad the mother in the New York IKEA store didn’t have a card like that.  Not only was she told to feed her baby in the bathroom, when she left the store the security guards insisted on checking her receipts to make sure she hadn’t stolen anything (talk about adding insult to injury).

On a happier note, Consumer Reports has just endorsed breastfeeding as a way to save $2,000 a year.  They also ripped the formula companies for charging higher prices as compared with the discount brands found at bargain outlets.  By the way, one of the Baby Friendly hospitals I visited reported that said that even though the doctors there had protested the idea of buying their own formula, because their breastfeeding rates are so high now they only spend $ 500 a year on formula (that’s $ 3 dollars a case – wholesale). 

There were a few anecdotal reports: a mother was diagnosed with Reynaud’s via photo’s she sent to her doc from her phone’s camera (why he couldn’t figure it out from her list of symptoms I’m not sure), another mother says her two year old was spared the swine flu because of the immunities in her breast milk, and a shy male came to defense of breastfeeding in public in Canada with a unique solution – temporary booths like the kind they set up during tax season.  Bravo to him for this thoughtful idea.  Isn’t this one of our main goals – to get the disinterested single male to care about this issue?  Also in England the demise of newspapers is reportedly being held at bay by (among other things) photos of babies breastfeeding on the front page!

The debate over whether or not the attention to breastfeeding is causing a lack of support for bottle feeding mothers continues to rage in England and is spilling over here (see the NY Times article).  In England breastfeeding activists are getting hit from all sides.  “Dr Michele Crossley, a psychologist at the University of Manchester, has just published a paper entitled Breastfeeding As a Moral Imperative, which concludes that “far from being an ’empowering’ act, breastfeeding may have become more of a ‘normalised’ moral imperative that many women experience as anything but liberational“.” Even worst than the barbs from psychologists is the attack from the English midwives, Sue Battersby, a researcher and lecturer in midwifery, will argue that we need to start supporting women who use formula. “Mothers who formula-feed are treated like second-class citizens,” she says.  Rather than trying to decide who needs more support bottle or breastfeeding mothers, wouldn’t it be better to acknowledge that all mothers need a hell of a lot more support than they are getting?

But don’t depair, I have saved the best news for last.  Here in the U.S. the Joint Commission has just ruled that it will now “requires hospitals to report the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers who intend to breastfeed. The measure does not affect women who do not plan to breastfeed.”  Hospitals will now have to start documenting all supplementation of breastfed babies, which means they actually have to start paying attention to the issue!  Three cheers for the Joint Commission!!!

And one last matter – I just want to point out that the excerpts below are just that – excerpts – to read the full article click  (or paste) the link. 

Kathy Abbott, IBCLC

www.BusyMomsBreastfeed.com 

My Blog:  http://TheCuriousLactivist.wordpress.com/

on Facebook: Breastfeeding in the News 

 

The new law, which takes effect S

Breast-feeding a civil right under new Wash. law

unday, builds on a 2001 law that exempted breast-feeding from public indecency laws. But until now, nothing prevented businesses from asking women to leave or to cover up while breast-feeding

Rep. Tami Green, the Tacoma Democrat who sponsored the bill, said the new law will help “jump start the culture of change.”

“Women should feel as comfortable to sit down and breast-feed their child as they would be pulling a bottle out of the diaper bag,” she said.

Laura Lindstrand, a civil rights specialist with the state’s Human Rights Commission, said the agency plans to make wallet cards with information on the new law that women can carry with them.

If a woman is asked to leave or cover up because she’s breast-feeding, Lindstrand said the expectation is that once a woman shows the card, “we’re hoping that will diffuse the situation at that point.”

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_washington_new_laws.html?source=mypi

IKEA Sends Mother and Infant to Bathroom to Breastfeed

The IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn is the latest retail establishment that needs reminding: Yes, women have the right to breastfeed their infants in public. No, you cannot banish them to the restroom. Yes, people will get angry when word gets out.

• She posted to a local listserv:

On Wednesday I was in IKEA Red Hook in the middle of breastfeeding, fully covered, when I was told I had to stop doing “that” and go to the nearby family bathroom. The IKEA employee and security guards were extremely rude to us. I was hustled off to the bathroom and then had to wait because someone else was using it. I was humiliated, my daughter was upset from being interrupted in the middle of her feed. When eventually I gave up and headed for the car to finish feeding, the security guards who had seen the entire event insisted on checking my receipts. I’m putting together a formal complaint to IKEA. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else?

 

http://consumerist.com/5321585/ikea-sends-mother-and-infant-to-bathroom-to-breastfeed

Doctors Diagnose Nipple Pain with Camera Phone

Taking photographs or video of unusual symptoms on an ordinary camera phone can help doctors diagnose uncommon problems, say researchers in an article published on bmj.com today. For example, doctors in Norway describe the case of a 25 year old pregnant woman who reported frequent episodes of severe nipple pain.

The pain came whenever her fingers, toes or nipples got cold, such as when walking barefoot on a cold floor or taking a shower, and typically lasted between five and 15 minutes and was so painful as to bring her to tears.

She presented three photographs from her camera phone showing the colour changes of a typical episode.

With the help of these photographs, doctors diagnosed Raynaud’s phenomenon of the nipple. The patient was given treatment, her symptoms completely resolved within one week, and she was able to continue breastfeeding with no side effects.

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1/4/32403/doctors-diagnose-nipple-pain-camera-phone.html

In Support of Bottle Feeding :  New York Times

A review of breastfeeding data by researchers at the University of Cambridge concludes that the increased attention to Breastfeeding Moms – more support and time from midwives and pediatricians, more web advice – means a corresponding lack of information and support for Bottle Feeding Moms. And since the majority of infants (even those who are primarily breastfed) will receive some formula during their first year, it makes medical sense to pay some attention — with information on how often and how much to bottle feed, how to sanitize bottles and prepare formula — to the mechanics of bottle feeding.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/in-support-of-bottle-feeding/

Breastfeeding moms need quiet space to do their job

As I am a shy guy, if the mom sees I had an unintentional “peek,”it makes me feel rather low! Usually, this is the point of no return and I sit at the very edge of the opposite side of the bench and look the other way. If I turn and leave, I feel rude. If I stay, I want to make certain that mom will feel secure that I don’t mean to intrude or invade her personal space. My only issue I have is the feeling of extreme embarrassment. I don’t know why. Invasion of her privacy? There have been a few times I would apologize to the mother, and begin to move away, but would feel slightly better after receiving a positive reply.

How difficult would it be to have some office dividers and some comfortable chairs in a few locations throughout the public area?

This would be similar to tax season where you see the temporary offices setup for filing your taxes, but much smaller and containing a minimum of two chairs. This would be very easy to implement, and give a clean and private place to feed. Place a “breastfeeding friendly” sign with a picture of a breastfeeding mom and child with a green circle around it. Just another thing for people to complain about.

Andrew Caras

http://www2.canada.com/richmondnews/news/community/story.html?id=00b824cb-8121-4e64-a974-e8cd93b60e3e

HIV Drugs Provide Breast-Fed Babies With Some Protection

Treating infected mothers, giving meds to infant both beneficial in African study

The researchers found that giving daily antiretroviral syrup to breast-feeding infants or putting their HIV-infected mothers on highly active antiretroviral drugs significantly lowered the child’s chances of contracting the virus that causes AIDS. The chance of a mother with HIV transmitting the virus through breast-feeding is about one in five.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/07/22/hiv-drugs-provide-breast-fed-babies-with-some.html

The breastfeeding debate is not a war between women

Hyping up a “war” between women doesn’t help. The real “enemies” here are not other women (whether midwives, or mothers who do breastfeed), but a society which fails to value and support this skill and the commercial manufacturers of formula who aggressively market a product which even they admit is inferior to the real thing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2009/jul/23/breastfeeding-debate

A British Lesson for American Media: Just Say No to Boring

Indeed, yesterday’s Times of London free-standing features section (Times2) grabbed me by the nipples with a full-page close-up shot of a baby breastfeeding (one can envision dyspeptic U.S. editors holding multiple meetings just on the image), then made a strong case (not entirely new) that women worldwide are conned by the purported benefits of breastfeeding. The supposed ills of formula-feeding (fatter, dumber, more diabetic kids, etc.) is folderol, this argued, with some very solid questions raised about the premises of many breastfeeding studies.

 

“The problem with the studies is that it is very hard to separate the benefits of the mother’s milk from the benefits of the kind of mother who chooses to breastfeed. In the U K, for example, the highest class of women is 60 percent more likely to breastfeed than the lowest, so it is not surprising that research shows that breastfed infants display all the health and educational benefits they were born into.

 

“In other words, breastfeeding studies could simply be showing what it’s like to grow up in a family that makes an effort to be healthy and responsible, as opposed to anything positive in breast milk.”

http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/james_warren/2009/07/a_british_lesson_for_american_media_just_say_no_to_boring.php

Consumer Reports Best Baby Products Book Recommends Parents Breastfeed and Buy Store-Brand Baby Formula

For more than a year now, Consumer Reports has been urging parents to save money on baby formula by purchasing store brands at retailers such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Kroger, CVS, Babies R’ Us, and Walgreens. In a recent blog posting, the publisher announced the availability of the new 10th edition Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, available in its online bookstore* and in bookstores nationwide. The guide offers a number of ways to “save money on baby stuff,” including recommendations to breastfeed and buy store-brand formula:

“Breast-feed if you can. It’ll save you $2,000 a year, the money you’d spend on infant formula.”

Consumer Reports recommends** buying store-brand formulas because they are nutritionally comparable to Enfamil(R) LIPIL(R) and other name-brand formulas:

“We found that the store brand of formula at a local Wal-Mart (Parent’s Choice) cost 50 percent less per ounce than a leading national brand (Enfamil). According to the FDA, all formula marketed in the United States must meet the same nutrient specifications, which are set at levels to fulfill the needs of infants.”

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-21-2009/0005063730&EDATE=

Exposing the myths of breastfeeding

Mothers are constantly urged to breastfeed yet there is little evidence to suggest that it is better than formula milk

Formula-fed babies are fatter, more stupid, more diabetic, they have more asthma, eczema, and chest and ear infections, to name but a few of their misfortunes listed in the NHS leaflets I was given repeatedly when pregnant last year.

Confused, I decided I needed to talk to the person acknowledged as one of the world’s most authoritative sources of breastfeeding research: Michael Kramer, professor of paediatrics at McGill University, Montreal.

So, with my NHS leaflet in hand, I put its list of health benefits to Kramer. Does breastfeeding reduce a child’s risk of obesity? “The evidence is weak”, he says. Allergies? “Weak.” Asthma? “Weak.”

“There is very little evidence that it reduces the risk of leukaemia, lymphoma, bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure . . .”

That was nearly everything crossed off. What about maternal benefits? The NHS told me that it would protect me against breast and ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis. “The breast cancer data is pretty solid, but on ovarian cancer and osteoporosis it is far iffier.”

The WHO pointed me to a review of the research it conducted in 2007. When I looked at this, it concluded that the long-term gains of breastfeeding were mostly “relatively modest”, and also warned that because none of the studies it looked at dealt with the problem of confounding, the results could be explained by the “self-selection of breastfeeding mothers”.

What does it really matter, though, if “breast is best” is a catchier slogan than “breast is probably only a bit better”? If claims are exaggerated, if women aren’t trusted with the truth, what’s the harm? I put this to Wolf.

“People never say ‘don’t take your baby on a car journey’, even though the risk of a car accident is far greater than not breastfeeding. But when it comes to a mother’s time, nothing we can ask is too much.

“Let’s think about what would happen if we asked fathers to do this, if there were somehow evidence that babies who are looked after by their fathers at home for six months do better. We would see a lot more critiquing of the science, a lot more people saying the benefit is marginal, a greater reluctance to offer the advice.”

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article6718276.ece

Swine Flu

Breastfeeding ‘saved my daughter’

A breastfeeding mother who contracted swine flu, together with her husband and their eldest daughter, believes her youngest child was spared the virus because she was breast fed.

Rosemarie Azzopardi said that when she got sick and took antiviral drugs she decided to keep breastfeeding her two-and-a-half year old daughter and, that way, transmitted her immunity to the child.

“People sometimes pass comments because I still breastfeed but, this way, I helped my daughter who falls within the vulnerable group of potential swine flu victims,” she said, taking the opportunity to advocate the importance of breastfeeding.

She was diagnosed on July 5 after catching the flu from her husband who had just returned from Spain with his friends. When she realised her husband had it she was particularly worried about her two young daughters. And when the health authorities confirmed she too had caught it, she locked herself in a room for fear of transmitting the virus to the children.

Her health improved within three days of being administered antivirals. Her eight-year-old also got the flu and is fine today while her youngest was spared thanks to her breast milk, she believes.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090718/local/breastfeeding-saved-my-daughter

Let the breastfeeding rebellion begin

Now academics both here and in the US are starting to ask whether the pressure on women to breastfeed is becoming counterproductive. At a seminar at Aston University later this year, Sue Battersby, a researcher and lecturer in midwifery, will argue that we need to start supporting women who use formula. “Mothers who formula-feed are treated like second-class citizens,” she says

Dr Michele Crossley, a psychologist at the University of Manchester, has just published a paper entitled Breastfeeding As a Moral Imperative, which concludes that “far from being an ’empowering’ act, breastfeeding may have become more of a ‘normalised’ moral imperative that many women experience as anything but liberational”.

Even breastfeeding promoters are concerned. Pam Lacey, chair of the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, says: “We have women phoning up all the time saying, ‘I can’t do this. I’m a terrible mother.’ We don’t want mothers to feel guilty if they don’t do it. It’s the system that has failed them by failing to support them.”

A British academic who is currently researching breastfeeding and maternal identity says: “It has become a war. ‘Did you breastfeed? What kind of person are you?’ It has become an index of your capacity as a mother.” She would only speak anonymously because she is concerned about attacks from the pro-breastfeeding lobby. “Breastfeeding has become so strongly tied to what it means to be a good mother. There is no space to say, ‘It didn’t work for me’.”

Both here and in the US very few mothers are entirely comfortable about their breastfeeding decisions and many admit they wish they didn’t have to do it. Some see the promotion of breastfeeding as part of the problem.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/18/breastfeeding-mothers

New York Senate passes bills to expand health care, new moms’ rights

Provide women with more information and education about the health benefits of breastfeeding. The Breastfeeding Mothers’ Bill of Rights would require that new mothers be informed of breastfeeding options before they deliver, during their hospital stay and after they go home. While in the hospital, they would have 24-access to their baby to breastfeed, and the infant could not be given a bottle without the mother’s consent. The bill would ban companies that make and sell formula from pressuring new mothers in hospitals. 

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2009/07/17/bills-passed-would-expand-health-care-new-moms-rights/

National Hospital Inpatient Quality Measures- Perinatal Care Core Measure Set

UPDATE JULY 2009: In late 2007, The Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners recommended retiring and replacing the Pregnancy and Related Conditions (PR) measure set with an expanded set of evidenced-based measures. A technical advisory panel (TAP) comprising experts in the perinatal care field was convened in February 2009 to select the replacement set of measures from among those endorsed for national use by the National Quality Forum.  This expanded measure set, now referred to as Perinatal Care (PC) comprises the following measures.

This expanded measure set, now referred to as Perinatal Care (PC) comprises the following measures.

• Elective deliveries
• Cesarean sections
• Antenatal steroids
• Health care–associated bloodstream infections in newborns
• Exclusive breast milk feeding

Refinement of measure specifications has begun and will continue through most of 2009.  It is anticipated the PC measure set will be available for implementation by Joint Commission listed vendors by October 1, 2009 to support hospitals’ data collection beginning with April 1, 2010 discharges.  If you have any questions about this measure set, please submit your question online.

http://www.jointcommission.org/PerformanceMeasurement/PerformanceMeasurement/Perinatal+Care+Core+Measure+Set.html

Joint Commission approves breastfeeding measure

The new measure, which is part of the Joint Commission’s new Perinatal Care measure set, requires hospitals to report the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers who intend to breastfeed. The measure does not affect women who do not plan to breastfeed.

The exclusive breastfeeding measure was pioneered as part of a quality improvement effort in California, where public health officials found huge differences in exclusive breastfeeding rates from hospital to hospital. In some cases, nearly all breastfed infants were being supplemented with formula. In the top ranked hospitals, including San Francisco General Hospital, fewer than 10% of breastfed infants received supplements. Public reporting of differences in formula use has led hospitals to review their routines and improve quality of care.

 

http://massbfc.org/index.php/2009/joint-commission-approves-breastfeeding-measure/