MOTHERS who commit the "social sin" of breastfeeding a toddler don't always attract negative comments.
But that's because most of them are doing it in secret.
There is still so much stigma attached to breastfeeding older children that the small number of women who choose it often do so in the privacy of their homes rather than risk inviting a public scene.
And this, say the experts, is a tragedy, because the medical evidence against premature weaning is forming quite a library.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) currently recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child's life and continued breastfeeding with adequate complementary foods up to two years or beyond.
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Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
10 hospitals, health centres certified as 'baby-friendly' - (JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM)
THE Ministry of Health recently certified 10 hospitals and health centres around the island as being baby-friendly, as part of its programme to encourage breastfeeding among new mothers.
They are the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, Spanish Town, Linstead, Princess Margaret, Cornwall Regional, Andrew's Memorial and Doctor's Hospitals, Bustamante Hospital for Children, University Hospital of the West Indies, and the Faith Maternity Centre.
Director of the Nutrition Unit in the ministry Charmaine Edwards said the baby-friendly hospital initiative was jointly launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and intended for implementation in countries worldwide.
She told the government's news agency, JIS News, that the initiative was geared towards "hospitals and health facilities, particularly those offering maternity services, to adopt practices which fully protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding from birth".
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They are the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, Spanish Town, Linstead, Princess Margaret, Cornwall Regional, Andrew's Memorial and Doctor's Hospitals, Bustamante Hospital for Children, University Hospital of the West Indies, and the Faith Maternity Centre.
Director of the Nutrition Unit in the ministry Charmaine Edwards said the baby-friendly hospital initiative was jointly launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and intended for implementation in countries worldwide.
She told the government's news agency, JIS News, that the initiative was geared towards "hospitals and health facilities, particularly those offering maternity services, to adopt practices which fully protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding from birth".
click to read more...
US Breastfeeding Committee Urges Support of Breastfeeding in Aftermath of Hurricanes (Medical News Today)
In the aftermath of one of the nation's worst natural disasters, the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), an organization of more than 40 national health care, professional, and government organizations, has issued the call to support breastfeeding mothers in their decision to give their infant the healthiest start in life possible.
Dr. Audrey Naylor, chair of the USBC, says that breastfeeding is the most important way to protect infants from a host of significant health concerns, and is especially critical in emergency situations where safe and sanitary water is not available, transportation is limited, and disease abounds.
“Research is clear,” says Dr. Naylor, “that even in the best of situations, breastfeeding helps protect infants from illnesses such as ear infections, respiratory infections, and diarrhea. In emergency situations, the safety net that breastfeeding provides babies, who are the most vulnerable in a crisis, is profound.”
The USBC urges all mothers who are currently breastfeeding to continue for as long as possible to protect their infants from infection and disease, and encourages pregnant women to breastfeed once their infant is born. The USBC further encourages health care and emergency relief workers to assist women to continue breastfeeding their infants.
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Dr. Audrey Naylor, chair of the USBC, says that breastfeeding is the most important way to protect infants from a host of significant health concerns, and is especially critical in emergency situations where safe and sanitary water is not available, transportation is limited, and disease abounds.
“Research is clear,” says Dr. Naylor, “that even in the best of situations, breastfeeding helps protect infants from illnesses such as ear infections, respiratory infections, and diarrhea. In emergency situations, the safety net that breastfeeding provides babies, who are the most vulnerable in a crisis, is profound.”
The USBC urges all mothers who are currently breastfeeding to continue for as long as possible to protect their infants from infection and disease, and encourages pregnant women to breastfeed once their infant is born. The USBC further encourages health care and emergency relief workers to assist women to continue breastfeeding their infants.
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Babygro giveaway to highlight breastfeeding benefits (Ireland OnLine)
Over 1,300 babygros will be given out to newborn babies as part of a major campaign launched today to highlight the benefits of breastfeeding.
Sean Power, a Minister of State at the Health Department, said the unusual stunt was part of a campaign to encourage women to choose the healthier option of breastfeeding.
“What we are aiming for is a situation whereby more women choose to breastfeed and it becomes a very normal, natural part of life in Ireland,” Mr Power said.
“Currently the rate of breastfeeding here means that it is not perceived to be the cultural norm, as it is in most other countries worldwide.”
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Sean Power, a Minister of State at the Health Department, said the unusual stunt was part of a campaign to encourage women to choose the healthier option of breastfeeding.
“What we are aiming for is a situation whereby more women choose to breastfeed and it becomes a very normal, natural part of life in Ireland,” Mr Power said.
“Currently the rate of breastfeeding here means that it is not perceived to be the cultural norm, as it is in most other countries worldwide.”
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Govt hoping to foster more tolerance of breast-feeding (Irish Independent)
The Government has said it wants to foster a society where breast-feeding is regarded as normal and healthy.
At present, just 40% of new Irish mothers breast-feed their babies, which is the lowest rate in Europe.
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At present, just 40% of new Irish mothers breast-feed their babies, which is the lowest rate in Europe.
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: Breast best for weight study (Stuff.co.nz)
She is a bonny baby with dimples and chubby thighs now, but seven-month-old Elise Merrylees has a good chance of growing up at a normal weight.
Australian research shows breastfed babies are less likely to become overweight as they grow up.
The findings come from an analysis of the 1950s and 1960s when formula feeding boomed in New Zealand and Australia.
Australian National University researcher Dr Julie Smith found babies who were not substantially breastfed had a 30 to 50 per cent greater risk of becoming obese.
click to read more...
Australian research shows breastfed babies are less likely to become overweight as they grow up.
The findings come from an analysis of the 1950s and 1960s when formula feeding boomed in New Zealand and Australia.
Australian National University researcher Dr Julie Smith found babies who were not substantially breastfed had a 30 to 50 per cent greater risk of becoming obese.
click to read more...
Check it out! (newsobserver.com)
("First off, if you mention this, you've got to protect my real identity. Refer to me as 'Luther from Red Springs' or something, OK?")
Got it, "Luther."
"The woman at the coffee shop who was bothered by the other woman's nursing: Her problem is that she hasn't learned what almost every man knows instinctively: DON'T LOOK. Almost all men believe that a mother nursing a baby is one of nature's most pure and beautiful sights; it's an act of almost mystical beauty.
"The problem is, most men also deeply believe that if it's not your own wife and baby, and you're caught looking, people will assume not that you're an aesthete drawn by the beauty of this holy bond between mother and child, but that you're a dirty creep getting a free peek.
"So the irked coffee lady needs to do what most men do in such a situation: pretend not to notice, don't look over that way any more than you absolutely have to, and go about your business. It's really quite simple once you understand the social niceties at play here."
click to read more...
Got it, "Luther."
"The woman at the coffee shop who was bothered by the other woman's nursing: Her problem is that she hasn't learned what almost every man knows instinctively: DON'T LOOK. Almost all men believe that a mother nursing a baby is one of nature's most pure and beautiful sights; it's an act of almost mystical beauty.
"The problem is, most men also deeply believe that if it's not your own wife and baby, and you're caught looking, people will assume not that you're an aesthete drawn by the beauty of this holy bond between mother and child, but that you're a dirty creep getting a free peek.
"So the irked coffee lady needs to do what most men do in such a situation: pretend not to notice, don't look over that way any more than you absolutely have to, and go about your business. It's really quite simple once you understand the social niceties at play here."
click to read more...
Mothers challenge record (The Powell River Peak)
Mothers and their breast-feeding children will gather at the new offices of Powell River Community Health this weekend to participate in the 2005 Quintessence Breast-feeding Challenge.
Breast-feeding families are invited to participate in the event on Saturday, October 1 at the new offices, located on the third floor of the Powell River General Hospital
"We have participated in this fun event since it started five years ago," says Suzanne McBride, lactation consultant with Vancouver Coastal Health's community and family health program in Powell River. The event is also supported by La Leche League, a mother-to-mother support group, and local businesses.
In addition to new mothers, McBride says, some moms who come to the challenge used to attend the breast-feeding drop-in at the health unit. "We don't see them often now that their children are older," she says. "It's very rewarding to be able to recognize them for continuing to breast-feed."
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Breast-feeding families are invited to participate in the event on Saturday, October 1 at the new offices, located on the third floor of the Powell River General Hospital
"We have participated in this fun event since it started five years ago," says Suzanne McBride, lactation consultant with Vancouver Coastal Health's community and family health program in Powell River. The event is also supported by La Leche League, a mother-to-mother support group, and local businesses.
In addition to new mothers, McBride says, some moms who come to the challenge used to attend the breast-feeding drop-in at the health unit. "We don't see them often now that their children are older," she says. "It's very rewarding to be able to recognize them for continuing to breast-feed."
click to read more...
Class Teaches Moms-to-be How To Breastfeed With Confidence (TheDay.com)
The images from Katrina play like a slide show in our minds, with the frame freezing just a little bit longer than usual when we see a father holding up his infant and saying, “She needs food!”
As the political football gets tossed around about how the response was bungled, this much is true: The dehydrated baby is one sad sight that could have absolutely, positively been prevented. Every breastfeeding mother watching television who saw that child undoubtedly said to herself, “This poor baby would not be starving now if her mom was nursing her.”
Expectant parents hear a litany of “what's best” advice regarding their newborns, but sometimes it takes something as monumental as a natural disaster to bring home what is really important. Not only is breastfeeding a nutritional bonanza for an infant that will have lifelong ramifications, it is the most convenient and healthy way a mother can feed her child no matter what is going on in the world around her.
click to read more...
As the political football gets tossed around about how the response was bungled, this much is true: The dehydrated baby is one sad sight that could have absolutely, positively been prevented. Every breastfeeding mother watching television who saw that child undoubtedly said to herself, “This poor baby would not be starving now if her mom was nursing her.”
Expectant parents hear a litany of “what's best” advice regarding their newborns, but sometimes it takes something as monumental as a natural disaster to bring home what is really important. Not only is breastfeeding a nutritional bonanza for an infant that will have lifelong ramifications, it is the most convenient and healthy way a mother can feed her child no matter what is going on in the world around her.
click to read more...
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Risks Associated With Cesarean Delivery (Medscape)
The risks associated with cesarean delivery can be divided into those that are short term, those that are longer term, and those that present risks to future pregnancies. There are also risks to the newborn that need to be considered....
Failure to Breastfeed. A meta-analysis of 9 studies found that babies delivered by cesarean were less likely to be breastfed compared with those who were delivered vaginally, and this effect seemed to be stronger for those delivered by unplanned cesareans.[28] Another study of more than 580,000 women in California found that mothers who underwent planned or unplanned cesarean deliveries were nearly twice as likely to have breastfeeding difficulties compared with those who delivered vaginally.[35]
click to view article....
Failure to Breastfeed. A meta-analysis of 9 studies found that babies delivered by cesarean were less likely to be breastfed compared with those who were delivered vaginally, and this effect seemed to be stronger for those delivered by unplanned cesareans.[28] Another study of more than 580,000 women in California found that mothers who underwent planned or unplanned cesarean deliveries were nearly twice as likely to have breastfeeding difficulties compared with those who delivered vaginally.[35]
click to view article....
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Babies Were Born to be Breastfed (Voice of America)
For feeding babies, health experts agree that nothing is better than breast milk. It contains anti-bodies that reduce rates of childhood illnesses. Breastfeeding also protects mothers from certain ovarian and breast cancers. While more American women are nursing their babies now than anytime in the last 50 years, the United States still has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the developed world. A national awareness campaign designed to change that.
"Recent studies show that babies who are breastfed are less likely to develop ear infections, respiratory illness and diarrhea. Babies were born to be breastfed!" That's the message of the campaign, which has been disseminated via TV, radio and billboards throughout the country for more than a year.
"The campaign messages are really targeted to women of childbearing age, which ranges from teens all the way through the 30s," Campaign spokeswoman Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter says. The message seems to be getting through. A survey conducted last month revealed that - compared to last year - more men and women agree that breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby. And they are more comfortable about seeing a woman breastfeed in public.
click to read more...
"Recent studies show that babies who are breastfed are less likely to develop ear infections, respiratory illness and diarrhea. Babies were born to be breastfed!" That's the message of the campaign, which has been disseminated via TV, radio and billboards throughout the country for more than a year.
"The campaign messages are really targeted to women of childbearing age, which ranges from teens all the way through the 30s," Campaign spokeswoman Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter says. The message seems to be getting through. A survey conducted last month revealed that - compared to last year - more men and women agree that breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby. And they are more comfortable about seeing a woman breastfeed in public.
click to read more...
Breast-feeding panel divided: No recommendations made; deadline extended (www.newszap.com)
A divided Breast-feeding Task Force left their meeting last week with no recommendations and a lot of frustration.
"I feel like we need to come up with something concrete to give to the City Council," Sommer Bradford said after the meeting. "I don't know if we're going to make both sides happy."
Two recommendations were voted down at the meeting.
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"I feel like we need to come up with something concrete to give to the City Council," Sommer Bradford said after the meeting. "I don't know if we're going to make both sides happy."
Two recommendations were voted down at the meeting.
click to read more...
Group promotes breast-feeding (The Beaufort Gazette)
A small but determined group showed up Monday to hear the Breastfeeding Legislative Action Committee's case for a state law protecting a woman's right to breast-feed in public.
Thirty-seven states have passed legislation that is related to breast-feeding, and the committee has been working closely with state lawmakers to make South Carolina the next one, Chairwoman Lin Cook said.
"South Carolina has no legislation for breast-feeding," said June Kasiak-Gambla, a nurse and breast care coordinator at Naval Hospital Beaufort who helped organize the meeting at the Beaufort Branch of the Beaufort County Public Library. "We're due to give women some help."
Six women started the committee in Charleston in June after an incident in which a mother was asked to leave a Victoria's Secret store and use a public restroom if she wanted to breast-feed her child, Cook said.
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Thirty-seven states have passed legislation that is related to breast-feeding, and the committee has been working closely with state lawmakers to make South Carolina the next one, Chairwoman Lin Cook said.
"South Carolina has no legislation for breast-feeding," said June Kasiak-Gambla, a nurse and breast care coordinator at Naval Hospital Beaufort who helped organize the meeting at the Beaufort Branch of the Beaufort County Public Library. "We're due to give women some help."
Six women started the committee in Charleston in June after an incident in which a mother was asked to leave a Victoria's Secret store and use a public restroom if she wanted to breast-feed her child, Cook said.
click to read more...
Breastfeeding essential for healthy growth (Daily News)
MAUN - Batawana regent Kgosi Kealetile Moremi says traditionally anything to do with breastfeeding and infant feeding in general is the domain of the mother.
Officiating at the Breastfeeding Week held at Maun General Hospital on Friday, she said this year it is different because it has turned to be a topic that has brought together traditional and professional leaders, the health care system and the community at large.
Speaking under the theme: Breastfeeding a family foods, loving and caring, she said for the very best start in live World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and other health agencies worldwide recommended that mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months of life.
She said mothers should continue breastfeeding together with giving other foods and drinks up to two years and beyond or as long as the mother or baby want to.
She said this years theme emphasises the need for a safe and caring transition from breastfeeding to complementary feeding.
click to read more...
Officiating at the Breastfeeding Week held at Maun General Hospital on Friday, she said this year it is different because it has turned to be a topic that has brought together traditional and professional leaders, the health care system and the community at large.
Speaking under the theme: Breastfeeding a family foods, loving and caring, she said for the very best start in live World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and other health agencies worldwide recommended that mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months of life.
She said mothers should continue breastfeeding together with giving other foods and drinks up to two years and beyond or as long as the mother or baby want to.
She said this years theme emphasises the need for a safe and caring transition from breastfeeding to complementary feeding.
click to read more...
Breastfed babes know when enough is enough (Sydney Morning Herald)
Breastfed babies are less likely to become overweight as they grow up, research shows, suggesting that adult obesity may have its origins in an artificially fed infancy.
The findings have been drawn from analysis of the 1950s and 1960s, when bottle feeding boomed among infants.
Concern is rising about a new generation of overweight children, and an Australian National University researcher, Julie Smith, says mothers are receiving too many mixed messages about which food is best for their babies.
Infants' natural self-regulation and human milk's appetite-inhibiting chemistry helped to set a course for their future weight, Dr Smith said.
click to read more...
The findings have been drawn from analysis of the 1950s and 1960s, when bottle feeding boomed among infants.
Concern is rising about a new generation of overweight children, and an Australian National University researcher, Julie Smith, says mothers are receiving too many mixed messages about which food is best for their babies.
Infants' natural self-regulation and human milk's appetite-inhibiting chemistry helped to set a course for their future weight, Dr Smith said.
click to read more...
Monday, September 26, 2005
Breastfeeding Challenge (LTVNEWS.COM)
As part of the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, a unique challenge will be held Saturday October 1st. Mothers and Babies at sites across Canada and the United States will compete to set the record for the most babies breastfeeding at one time.
The winner of the competition will be the region (province, territory or state) with the most babies participating as a percentage of the birth rate. To level the playing field between large and small, each site will be entered into one of four groups determined by birth rate.
click to read more...
The winner of the competition will be the region (province, territory or state) with the most babies participating as a percentage of the birth rate. To level the playing field between large and small, each site will be entered into one of four groups determined by birth rate.
click to read more...
Still the best (JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM)
Human milk and infant formula are different, and there are special benefits from breast milk that formula cannot match. Here are 5 reasons why the breast is still best.
click to read more...
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Breastfeeding for the Working Mother - A Practical Guide (JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM)
There are some things that will always remain the same, and when it comes to infants, the breast is still the best. Doctors and health agencies such as UNICEF and the WHO recommend that mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first 6 months, and then continue breastfeeding together with giving other food and drinks up to 2 years or more, as long as mother and baby want to.
Sounds great, but for many mums, going back to work before those six months have passed is a necessary reality. In fact, recently the Ministry of Health, which last week spearheaded National Breastfeeding Week activities islandwide, revealed the results of a survey which indicated that many mothers initiated baby formula early in order to allow themselves to return to work.
But what many mothers don't know is that breastfeeding and returning to the working world don't have to be mutually exclusive. It is possible - and quite easy - to provide breast milk to the child and to resume regular working activities, with a little forward planning. Here's how:
click to read more...
Sounds great, but for many mums, going back to work before those six months have passed is a necessary reality. In fact, recently the Ministry of Health, which last week spearheaded National Breastfeeding Week activities islandwide, revealed the results of a survey which indicated that many mothers initiated baby formula early in order to allow themselves to return to work.
But what many mothers don't know is that breastfeeding and returning to the working world don't have to be mutually exclusive. It is possible - and quite easy - to provide breast milk to the child and to resume regular working activities, with a little forward planning. Here's how:
click to read more...
ISU alumna assists with state�s first human milk bank (Indiana Statesman)
When Shauna Stock accepted a 10-week internship with Clarian Health Partners, she learned she would be involved in a history-making project - assisting in Indiana's first donor human milk bank.
"I never thought I would have the opportunity to have an internship like this," said Stock, of Frankfort, Ind. "To do something completely new, it's been amazing."
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"I never thought I would have the opportunity to have an internship like this," said Stock, of Frankfort, Ind. "To do something completely new, it's been amazing."
click to read more...
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Healthy starts: Send money, not formula, to Katrina survivors (The Marietta Times)
Please do not donate formula to this hurricane disaster.
Harsh words. Uncaring. Unconcerned. Indifferent. No: Apprehensive.
Concerned. Fearful.
In times of emergency, people generously donate what they can, and some donate more. Infants, the youngest and most vulnerable survivors, are at the top of the list: fragile and weak, needing so much care and compassion. It feels good to give something that will be put to good use, and provide survival. However, donating formula can be a ticket to death.
Relief workers during Hurricane Andrew reported huge piles of unusable formula. Many donations were out of date, and had to be thrown away. Many donations required mixing with clean water, of which there was none. Many donations were exchanged further up the road, for drug money. Formula is one of the largest black-market items in America.
Relief workers in Asia, after the Christmas Tsunami, reported huge donations of out-of-date formula taking up space that would have been better filled by nutritious foods for grown children. Again, they had no clean water to mix formula, and no clean water to sterilize feeding utensils.
Powdered formula is not sterile, and may be contaminated with dangerous bacteria such as E. sakazakii. Combined with a dirty bottle and dirty water, helpless babies will not survive. In the Astrodome, currently housing 25,000 survivors, there are 78 restrooms: how long would someone have to wait to wash a bottle in a sink used by more than 300 people? Formula requires refrigeration within an hour of mixing: how many refrigerators are available and convenient for these people? Formula that sits out for longer than an hour is a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.
click to read more...
Harsh words. Uncaring. Unconcerned. Indifferent. No: Apprehensive.
Concerned. Fearful.
In times of emergency, people generously donate what they can, and some donate more. Infants, the youngest and most vulnerable survivors, are at the top of the list: fragile and weak, needing so much care and compassion. It feels good to give something that will be put to good use, and provide survival. However, donating formula can be a ticket to death.
Relief workers during Hurricane Andrew reported huge piles of unusable formula. Many donations were out of date, and had to be thrown away. Many donations required mixing with clean water, of which there was none. Many donations were exchanged further up the road, for drug money. Formula is one of the largest black-market items in America.
Relief workers in Asia, after the Christmas Tsunami, reported huge donations of out-of-date formula taking up space that would have been better filled by nutritious foods for grown children. Again, they had no clean water to mix formula, and no clean water to sterilize feeding utensils.
Powdered formula is not sterile, and may be contaminated with dangerous bacteria such as E. sakazakii. Combined with a dirty bottle and dirty water, helpless babies will not survive. In the Astrodome, currently housing 25,000 survivors, there are 78 restrooms: how long would someone have to wait to wash a bottle in a sink used by more than 300 people? Formula requires refrigeration within an hour of mixing: how many refrigerators are available and convenient for these people? Formula that sits out for longer than an hour is a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.
click to read more...
An issue best left to courtesy (East Valley Tribune)
have a problem with women who breast-feed in public. I hasten to add that I also have a problem with people who leave shrieking messages on my voice mail. Operators are standing by.
Now that I have jabbed a stick in this particular hornet’s nest, I hope you will hear me out.
It is not that I find breastfeeding either suggestive or repulsive. In fact, it seems to me a very tender, intimate act between mother and child.
So what’s my problem?
I had dinner at a Gilbert restaurant Wednesday night, and as I was leaving I encountered a woman who was breast-feeding a child as she sat in the waiting area near the entrance. Our eyes met.
Uh-oh.
click to read more...
Now that I have jabbed a stick in this particular hornet’s nest, I hope you will hear me out.
It is not that I find breastfeeding either suggestive or repulsive. In fact, it seems to me a very tender, intimate act between mother and child.
So what’s my problem?
I had dinner at a Gilbert restaurant Wednesday night, and as I was leaving I encountered a woman who was breast-feeding a child as she sat in the waiting area near the entrance. Our eyes met.
Uh-oh.
click to read more...
Letter: Breast-feeding should be legal (MetroWest Daily News)
In John Lambert's column, "Changing times and a woman's body," (Sept. 18) he writes, "Nursing a baby in public is now legal in all 50 states."
On the state level, 35 states have clarified that a woman may breastfeed her child in public without being in violation of any criminal statutes (for example, public indecency). Massachusetts is one of 15 states - and the only New England state - that has failed to enact any such legislation...
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On the state level, 35 states have clarified that a woman may breastfeed her child in public without being in violation of any criminal statutes (for example, public indecency). Massachusetts is one of 15 states - and the only New England state - that has failed to enact any such legislation...
click to read more...
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Jill aims to spread the breast feeding message (Royal Gazette)
JILL Virgil Smith recently became the island's first Bermudian La Leche League (LLL) leader, accredited as a font of information on a subject important to all new mothers – breast feeding.
This week, she spoke with Mid-Ocean News reporter HEATHER WOOD and photographer DAVID SKINNER about her organisation's aims and the role it plays here and abroad.
Q: What is the La Leche League organisation all about? How did it start?
A: (It's) an international, not-for-profit organisation that's based out of the United States. It was formed almost 50 years ago, by a group of women who realised that there was no breast-feeding information, education or support out there.
One of them was married to a doctor and he suggested she start something, that maybe she and all her friends who were breast feeding, could help other women. And that's how it started. So it's an organisation that's based on mother-to-mother support. Mothers supporting each other.
Q: How important a role does La Leche League International (LLLI) play in terms of promoting the virtues of breast feeding?
A: It's the foremost authority on breast feeding in the world. It has adviser status with the World Health Organisation (WHO). It also works with UNICEF, helping to advise on the global policy on breast feeding.
click to read more...
This week, she spoke with Mid-Ocean News reporter HEATHER WOOD and photographer DAVID SKINNER about her organisation's aims and the role it plays here and abroad.
Q: What is the La Leche League organisation all about? How did it start?
A: (It's) an international, not-for-profit organisation that's based out of the United States. It was formed almost 50 years ago, by a group of women who realised that there was no breast-feeding information, education or support out there.
One of them was married to a doctor and he suggested she start something, that maybe she and all her friends who were breast feeding, could help other women. And that's how it started. So it's an organisation that's based on mother-to-mother support. Mothers supporting each other.
Q: How important a role does La Leche League International (LLLI) play in terms of promoting the virtues of breast feeding?
A: It's the foremost authority on breast feeding in the world. It has adviser status with the World Health Organisation (WHO). It also works with UNICEF, helping to advise on the global policy on breast feeding.
click to read more...
Special delivery is a first for St. Vincent (Toledo Blade)
In January, Brenda Canada became the first woman in Ohio to donate breast milk to the Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio.
Yesterday she volunteered for another first.
Lugging three coolers, she, her husband, Mike, and her 5-year-old son, Andrew, arrived at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo to pick up milk donated by other mothers and deliver it to the milk bank in Columbus.
The pickup and delivery are the first for St. Vincent, which earlier this month became the only drop-off point in Ohio for donated breast milk other than the milk bank in Columbus.
Ms. Canada of Stryker, Ohio, agreed to make the delivery to Columbus "because they needed help. Whatever they need, I'm prepared to do it."
Human milk banks are rare, though interest in them is growing. Ohio's, based at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, is one of eight in the country.
click to read more...
Yesterday she volunteered for another first.
Lugging three coolers, she, her husband, Mike, and her 5-year-old son, Andrew, arrived at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo to pick up milk donated by other mothers and deliver it to the milk bank in Columbus.
The pickup and delivery are the first for St. Vincent, which earlier this month became the only drop-off point in Ohio for donated breast milk other than the milk bank in Columbus.
Ms. Canada of Stryker, Ohio, agreed to make the delivery to Columbus "because they needed help. Whatever they need, I'm prepared to do it."
Human milk banks are rare, though interest in them is growing. Ohio's, based at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, is one of eight in the country.
click to read more...
Friday, September 23, 2005
Comic Mom, Barred From the Hollywood Laugh Factory for Breastfeeding Her Infant, Performs at the La Leche League Conference in Asheville, N.C. (PRWeb)
Appropriately, Tricia Shore will be doing comedy for the La Leche League of NC's 2005 Annual Breastfeeding and Parenting Conference in North Carolina on Friday, September 30th. Tricia Shore was kicked out of the famous Hollywood Laugh Factory in March for breastfeeding her then three-month-old son. Now ten months old, Jadon is growing into a healthy little boy, no thanks to the Laugh Factory. Instead, Jadon has been performing with his mom throughout Southern California. Now Tricia plans to hit North Carolina with her witty and erudite observations on being a mom. Comedy clubs require a mom to have a babysitter for the evening and lots of money. "And in Los Angeles, you have to worry about valet parking," she says, "Really, it's easier just to stay home and do laundry!" She wants to bring comedy to mothers who barely have a chance to watch anything that's not on PBS Kids: "Moms need to laugh too!"
Regarding Tricia's performing with her baby in a sling on stage: "I have to bring my baby with me," says the Comic Mom, "my husband sucks at breastfeeding!"
click to read more...
Regarding Tricia's performing with her baby in a sling on stage: "I have to bring my baby with me," says the Comic Mom, "my husband sucks at breastfeeding!"
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Panel defeats proposals on breast-feeding (East Valley Tribune)
A stalemate over whether businesses should be forced to accommodate nursing moms will keep a Chandler task force from making its deadline to recommend an ordinance on breast-feeding in public.
Chandler’s breast-feeding task force twice voted 4-3 Thursday against two versions of a proposed ordinance aimed at protecting nursing mothers. Recommendations were to be due at the City Council’s Sept. 29 meeting.
Now, the group plans to meet that day to decide if there’s some middle ground between one proposed law that would forbid businesses from excluding nursing women and a version that states breast-feeding is allowed, unless a business owner says otherwise.
click to read more...
Chandler’s breast-feeding task force twice voted 4-3 Thursday against two versions of a proposed ordinance aimed at protecting nursing mothers. Recommendations were to be due at the City Council’s Sept. 29 meeting.
Now, the group plans to meet that day to decide if there’s some middle ground between one proposed law that would forbid businesses from excluding nursing women and a version that states breast-feeding is allowed, unless a business owner says otherwise.
click to read more...
Moms and babies sought for breastfeeding record (Newswire Canada)
TORONTO, Sept. 23 /CNW/ - Toronto moms and babies will attempt a record for most babies breastfeeding at one time on Saturday, October 1 at the North York Civic Centre. Moms are being recruited by an outreach campaign before the event.
The challenge is part of World Breastfeeding Week, October 1 to 7. Toronto will be competing with cities across North America at this annual event.
click to read more...
The challenge is part of World Breastfeeding Week, October 1 to 7. Toronto will be competing with cities across North America at this annual event.
click to read more...
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Project “Breastfeeding Book Recovery”
Pharmasoft Publishing is joining forces with Crystal Stearns to help the many LCs and LLLs in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina who have lost everything including their breastfeeding references. You can help by purchasing a Katrina Gift Certificate from www.ibreastfeeding.com.
click to read more...
click to read more...
Only 36 per cent of J'can mothers breastfeed exclusively for first three months (JAMAICAOBSERVER.COM)
MONTEGO BAY, ST JAMES - Despite recommendations from the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) that mothers breast feed their babies exclusively for the first six months, only 36 per cent of Jamaican mothers are exclusively breastfeeding their infants up to three months old.
However, Dr Tracy Evans-Gilbert, consultant pediatrician at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, said Trelawny was above the national average with 50 per cent of mothers breastfeeding their babies exclusively for the first three months.
click to read more...
However, Dr Tracy Evans-Gilbert, consultant pediatrician at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, said Trelawny was above the national average with 50 per cent of mothers breastfeeding their babies exclusively for the first three months.
click to read more...
Breast-feeding still best despite environmental chemicals in human milk (EurekAlert.com)
The presence of environmental chemicals in human milk does not necessarily indicate health risks for infants, according to researchers.
"We strongly emphasize that the mere presence of an environmental chemical in human milk does not indicate that a health risk exists for breast-fed infants," said Cheston M. Berlin, Jr., M.D., Penn State University professor of pediatrics and pharmacology. "All information gathered to date supports the positive health value of breast-feeding for infants."
Few, if any, adverse effects have been documented as being associated with consumption of human milk containing background levels of environmental chemicals, and none have been clinically or epidemiologically demonstrated, adds Judy S. LaKind, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of pediatrics, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Children's Hospital at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. LaKind, Berlin and Michael Bates, University of California at Berkeley, published an overview article of findings from The Second Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Biomonitoring for Environmental Chemicals in the United States in the September issue (volume 68, number 20) of Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health-Part A.
click to read more...
"We strongly emphasize that the mere presence of an environmental chemical in human milk does not indicate that a health risk exists for breast-fed infants," said Cheston M. Berlin, Jr., M.D., Penn State University professor of pediatrics and pharmacology. "All information gathered to date supports the positive health value of breast-feeding for infants."
Few, if any, adverse effects have been documented as being associated with consumption of human milk containing background levels of environmental chemicals, and none have been clinically or epidemiologically demonstrated, adds Judy S. LaKind, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of pediatrics, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Children's Hospital at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. LaKind, Berlin and Michael Bates, University of California at Berkeley, published an overview article of findings from The Second Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Biomonitoring for Environmental Chemicals in the United States in the September issue (volume 68, number 20) of Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health-Part A.
click to read more...
Breast-feeding Forum draws dozens to G.I. - (Grand Island Independent)
The invitations to the Breast-feeding Forum Wednesday at College Park required a little ... communication, said Jane Miller, who sent out the queries.
"Businesses look at this and say, 'What does breast-feeding have to do with me?" said Miller, breast-feeding coordinator with the WIC Program in Grand Island. "We know if affects babies healthwise, but what we're trying to tell people is that it affects everyone."
Overcoming barriers, challenges and the "giggle factor" as they pertain to breast-feeding was the goal of the forum, which met at College Park. The forum drew about 40 people and is one of two such forums in the state organized by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Family Health.
Paula Eurek, the administrator for the office, said the goal was to get people of all stripes to assess the barriers that breast-feeding mothers might have, and figure out a plan on local and state levels to deal with it. That goal was pretty much met, as everyone from breast-feeding mothers to administrators in the health field showed up to give their two cents.
click to read more...
"Businesses look at this and say, 'What does breast-feeding have to do with me?" said Miller, breast-feeding coordinator with the WIC Program in Grand Island. "We know if affects babies healthwise, but what we're trying to tell people is that it affects everyone."
Overcoming barriers, challenges and the "giggle factor" as they pertain to breast-feeding was the goal of the forum, which met at College Park. The forum drew about 40 people and is one of two such forums in the state organized by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Family Health.
Paula Eurek, the administrator for the office, said the goal was to get people of all stripes to assess the barriers that breast-feeding mothers might have, and figure out a plan on local and state levels to deal with it. That goal was pretty much met, as everyone from breast-feeding mothers to administrators in the health field showed up to give their two cents.
click to read more...
Tyrone toddler requires ticket (Ireland Online)
A nine-month-old Tyrone fan is in danger of missing out on Sunday's All-Ireland SFC final due to Croke Park's firm stance on its ticket allocation policy....
"If we get her a ticket, then there is no place for me to breastfeed her. They say they don't have the facilities. It's ridiculous.
"Croke Park is meant to be a family-friendly stadium - but not for us it's not." ....
click to read more...
"If we get her a ticket, then there is no place for me to breastfeed her. They say they don't have the facilities. It's ridiculous.
"Croke Park is meant to be a family-friendly stadium - but not for us it's not." ....
click to read more...
Infant Formula Costs Burden Poor Filipinos (VOA News)
Health experts say use of infant formula instead of breastfeeding is impoverishing already poor Filipino families and contributes to the death of 16,000 children a year.
The average income of a poor Filipino family is about 7,000 pesos a month, or $125, and the World Health Organization says one fourth of that is spent on infant formula.
Doctor Jean Marc Olive, WHO country representative for the Philippines, says more than $375 million is spent on infant formula, and the economic impact is staggering. "Breast milk is free," he said. "They could use this money in improving the nutrition status, buying better food for their offspring, paying for education, so this has a very important impact on poverty."
The health impact is even more compelling. According to WHO estimates, about 16,000 infants die each year because of problems related to formula.
click to read more...
The average income of a poor Filipino family is about 7,000 pesos a month, or $125, and the World Health Organization says one fourth of that is spent on infant formula.
Doctor Jean Marc Olive, WHO country representative for the Philippines, says more than $375 million is spent on infant formula, and the economic impact is staggering. "Breast milk is free," he said. "They could use this money in improving the nutrition status, buying better food for their offspring, paying for education, so this has a very important impact on poverty."
The health impact is even more compelling. According to WHO estimates, about 16,000 infants die each year because of problems related to formula.
click to read more...
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
A Lost Baby, and the Pain of Endless Reminders in the Mail - New York Times
My daughter died in my womb at 31 weeks. It was a freak accident. Her umbilical cord twisted around itself too tightly.
"A lightning strike," my doctor said, "to an otherwise perfectly healthy baby." She had kicked to her heart's delight, developed an intuitive dialogue with her ecstatic mother, and then, suddenly, died.
Six weeks later, my husband, Ira, and I were opening our mailboxes in the vestibule of our building. To my surprise, I pulled out a handful of advertisements for baby products. "The mailman must be on vacation," Ira grumbled.
In an effort to protect me from unnecessary stress, Ira had asked our mail carrier to put any baby information addressed to me in a designated mailbox. Ira would then throw out the advertisements and hide the pregnancy magazines, hoping that we might have a happy reason to read them again one day.
But not even Ira and the mail carrier could shield me from the onslaught of baby product promotion that accelerated just before what should have been our daughter's birth date. A couple of days later, I came home to find a large box of baby formula in the vestibule of our building. The "gift" was addressed to me with congratulations on my "Welcome Addition."
click to read more...
"A lightning strike," my doctor said, "to an otherwise perfectly healthy baby." She had kicked to her heart's delight, developed an intuitive dialogue with her ecstatic mother, and then, suddenly, died.
Six weeks later, my husband, Ira, and I were opening our mailboxes in the vestibule of our building. To my surprise, I pulled out a handful of advertisements for baby products. "The mailman must be on vacation," Ira grumbled.
In an effort to protect me from unnecessary stress, Ira had asked our mail carrier to put any baby information addressed to me in a designated mailbox. Ira would then throw out the advertisements and hide the pregnancy magazines, hoping that we might have a happy reason to read them again one day.
But not even Ira and the mail carrier could shield me from the onslaught of baby product promotion that accelerated just before what should have been our daughter's birth date. A couple of days later, I came home to find a large box of baby formula in the vestibule of our building. The "gift" was addressed to me with congratulations on my "Welcome Addition."
click to read more...
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Task force irons issues (www.newszap.com)
Amid the sounds of crying babies and fidgety toddlers, the Breast-feeding Task Force met for a second time last week to come together on a recommendation to take to the City Council.
The sticking points among the seven appointees, and a vocal audience, centered around the city's inability to trump the state's indecent exposure statute and a business owner's right to ask its patrons to leave.
While audience members and some task force members leaned more toward giving a mother the right to breast-feed, city attorney Mike House said that can only come from the state legislature.
"This represents the maximum the city of Chandler could do," Mr. House said, referring to a draft ordinance passed out to the task force members and audience.
The draft ordinance has three sections.
The first one states a mother can breast-feed their baby in any location where the mother and child are authorized to be.
The other two sections try to protect the city from state indecent exposure laws and give private property owners the right to regulate conduct on their premises.
click to read more...
The sticking points among the seven appointees, and a vocal audience, centered around the city's inability to trump the state's indecent exposure statute and a business owner's right to ask its patrons to leave.
While audience members and some task force members leaned more toward giving a mother the right to breast-feed, city attorney Mike House said that can only come from the state legislature.
"This represents the maximum the city of Chandler could do," Mr. House said, referring to a draft ordinance passed out to the task force members and audience.
The draft ordinance has three sections.
The first one states a mother can breast-feed their baby in any location where the mother and child are authorized to be.
The other two sections try to protect the city from state indecent exposure laws and give private property owners the right to regulate conduct on their premises.
click to read more...
Education link to baby care (theage.com.au)
MORE babies are breastfed at the age of three months in Melbourne's inner-east than any other municipality, according to statistics that show significant differences in breastfeeding habits across the city.
In the City of Stonnington, 70 per cent of mothers breastfed their child at three months compared to 35 per cent of mothers in the western municipality of Melton in 2001-02.
Data released yesterday by the State Government shows on average about 52 per cent of Melbourne mothers were fully breastfeeding their child at three months.
Professor Frank Oberklaid, director of the Royal Children's Hospital Centre for Community Child Health, said there were several reasons why breastfeeding rates differed.
"One is that the higher the education, the higher the economic status, the more aware parents are of the benefits of breastfeeding," he said. "It may be that perhaps the parent has to go back to work sooner and that's why they stop breastfeeding."
click to read more...
In the City of Stonnington, 70 per cent of mothers breastfed their child at three months compared to 35 per cent of mothers in the western municipality of Melton in 2001-02.
Data released yesterday by the State Government shows on average about 52 per cent of Melbourne mothers were fully breastfeeding their child at three months.
Professor Frank Oberklaid, director of the Royal Children's Hospital Centre for Community Child Health, said there were several reasons why breastfeeding rates differed.
"One is that the higher the education, the higher the economic status, the more aware parents are of the benefits of breastfeeding," he said. "It may be that perhaps the parent has to go back to work sooner and that's why they stop breastfeeding."
click to read more...
INFACT Canada - Action Alert September 19, 2005.
Anne Veneman recently took over the post of the Executive Director of the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), but has already made some startling changes to the organization. Veneman, who was picked by President Bush for the position, has announced that UNICEF will no longer provide legal assistance for governments in order to enact the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes into national legislation. Since the International Code was passed in 1981, UNICEF has helped 64 countries legislate some form of the Code, and 23 additional countries now have similar laws pending. The withdrawal of UNICEF’s support in this process seriously damages the ability of any further nations to pass the International Code into law.
A lack of strong legal measures controlling the marketing of breastmilk substitutes puts infants and young children at risk and will surely impede the achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal of reducing global infant mortality by two thirds by 2015. This decision by Veneman clearly runs counter to UNICEF’s mandate of protecting the health of infants and young children the world over.
Veneman’s action is all the more disheartening because of her links to major food companies. Before becoming Secretary of Agriculture under George W. Bush, she served on the International Policy Council on Agriculture, Food and Trade, a group funded in part by Nestle, the world’s largest baby food manufacturer and the greatest single violator of the International Code.
While many doubt that Veneman’s experience as a corporate lawyer for major food companies qualified her to head UNICEF, unfortunately she has already been appointed and the international community will have to do its best to cooperate. This is a drastically important issue and urgent action is needed. Please inform Veneman that cutting support for the International Code is an absolutely unacceptable decision that will cost young lives.
click to read more...
A lack of strong legal measures controlling the marketing of breastmilk substitutes puts infants and young children at risk and will surely impede the achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal of reducing global infant mortality by two thirds by 2015. This decision by Veneman clearly runs counter to UNICEF’s mandate of protecting the health of infants and young children the world over.
Veneman’s action is all the more disheartening because of her links to major food companies. Before becoming Secretary of Agriculture under George W. Bush, she served on the International Policy Council on Agriculture, Food and Trade, a group funded in part by Nestle, the world’s largest baby food manufacturer and the greatest single violator of the International Code.
While many doubt that Veneman’s experience as a corporate lawyer for major food companies qualified her to head UNICEF, unfortunately she has already been appointed and the international community will have to do its best to cooperate. This is a drastically important issue and urgent action is needed. Please inform Veneman that cutting support for the International Code is an absolutely unacceptable decision that will cost young lives.
click to read more...
LACTOSE-INTOLERANT (Philadelphia Daily News )
THE OTHER DAY, I was counseling a client on her legal options when, without pausing to ask if I minded, she lifted her blouse and began to breast-feed her infant daughter.
Taken aback and not wanting to interrupt the child's meal, I guided the consultation to a swift conclusion.
There would have been no problem had the client asked if she could excuse herself and take the child to our bathroom or to a vacant office. What irritated me was the assumption that her right to nurse the infant trumped any obligation on her part to be courteous and ask, "Do you mind?"
I would never presume to tell someone what they could do in their bed, in their bathtub or at their dinner table. But what I expect and demand is that people not force their own militant preferences on me in public places.
I actually started this piece at least three times, searching for an inoffensive way to say it.
There was the sensible, statistic-driven approach that emphasized the overwhelming health benefits of breast milk. Too safe, I decided.
There was the acknowledgment that nursing was a unique form of love, representing the eternal bond between mother and child. Too cliched, I thought.
There was even an attempt at humor, as in "I really need to get this off my chest." (Who was it that told me puns were the indication of a deficient mind?)
But the only way to say it is boldly and without apology, girding myself for the onslaught of criticism from the La Leche activists:
Women shouldn't breast-feed wherever they choose.
click to read more....
Ms. Flowers should be ashamed of herself - she goes on to compare breastfeeding to uriniation, and suggests that an appropriate place for infants to eat is in the bathroom. By the way, if you're having trouble accessing this article - visit www.bugmenot.com for login information. ~ Ali/HLI
Taken aback and not wanting to interrupt the child's meal, I guided the consultation to a swift conclusion.
There would have been no problem had the client asked if she could excuse herself and take the child to our bathroom or to a vacant office. What irritated me was the assumption that her right to nurse the infant trumped any obligation on her part to be courteous and ask, "Do you mind?"
I would never presume to tell someone what they could do in their bed, in their bathtub or at their dinner table. But what I expect and demand is that people not force their own militant preferences on me in public places.
I actually started this piece at least three times, searching for an inoffensive way to say it.
There was the sensible, statistic-driven approach that emphasized the overwhelming health benefits of breast milk. Too safe, I decided.
There was the acknowledgment that nursing was a unique form of love, representing the eternal bond between mother and child. Too cliched, I thought.
There was even an attempt at humor, as in "I really need to get this off my chest." (Who was it that told me puns were the indication of a deficient mind?)
But the only way to say it is boldly and without apology, girding myself for the onslaught of criticism from the La Leche activists:
Women shouldn't breast-feed wherever they choose.
click to read more....
Ms. Flowers should be ashamed of herself - she goes on to compare breastfeeding to uriniation, and suggests that an appropriate place for infants to eat is in the bathroom. By the way, if you're having trouble accessing this article - visit www.bugmenot.com for login information. ~ Ali/HLI
Monday, September 19, 2005
Study: Breast feeding still best despite environmental chemicals in human milk (Penn State Live)
University Park, Pa. -- The presence of environmental chemicals in human milk does not necessarily indicate health risks for infants, according to an international panel led by Cheston M. Berlin, Jr., M.D., professor of pediatrics and professor of pharmacology, and Judy S. LaKind, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of pediatrics at Penn State Children's Hospital. Few, if any, adverse effects have been documented as being associated with consumption of human milk containing background levels of environmental chemicals, and none have been clinically or epidemiologically demonstrated.
The Second Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Biomonitoring for Environmental Chemicals in the United States gathered a panel of experts (representing academia, industry, nonprofit organizations and the federal government) in September 2004 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa. The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health published workshop findings this month (September 2005, volume 68, number 20).
"We strongly emphasize that the mere presence of an environmental chemical in human milk does not indicate that a health risk exists for breast-fed infants," Berlin said. "All information gathered to date supports the positive health value of breast-feeding for infants."
click to read more...
The Second Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Biomonitoring for Environmental Chemicals in the United States gathered a panel of experts (representing academia, industry, nonprofit organizations and the federal government) in September 2004 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa. The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health published workshop findings this month (September 2005, volume 68, number 20).
"We strongly emphasize that the mere presence of an environmental chemical in human milk does not indicate that a health risk exists for breast-fed infants," Berlin said. "All information gathered to date supports the positive health value of breast-feeding for infants."
click to read more...
Conference will focus on safe breastfeeding (The Culpeper Star Exponent)
To protect nursing babies, health care providers must consider varying factors before prescribing or recommending medications to breastfeeding mothers.
From delivery to postpartum needs, doctors must think about the age of the baby, other nutritional supplements and alternative remedies for the mother.
The leading expert in the use of medications in breastfeeding women, Dr. Thomas Hale, is speaking at a medical conference in Warrenton on Sept. 24.
Sponsored by the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Nurse Midwives, the Fauquier Hospital and Virginia Commonwealth University, an all-day event will feature Hale at the Highland Center for the Arts.
Certified Nurse Midwife Kathleen McClelland, who is treasurer for the Virginia chapter, said the group hasn’t had a pharmacology component to its annual conference for about five years.
“We thought it was time to do another,” McClelland said. “Anyone who works in any capacity with breastfeeding mothers and babies would be interested in this information.”
click to read more...
From delivery to postpartum needs, doctors must think about the age of the baby, other nutritional supplements and alternative remedies for the mother.
The leading expert in the use of medications in breastfeeding women, Dr. Thomas Hale, is speaking at a medical conference in Warrenton on Sept. 24.
Sponsored by the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Nurse Midwives, the Fauquier Hospital and Virginia Commonwealth University, an all-day event will feature Hale at the Highland Center for the Arts.
Certified Nurse Midwife Kathleen McClelland, who is treasurer for the Virginia chapter, said the group hasn’t had a pharmacology component to its annual conference for about five years.
“We thought it was time to do another,” McClelland said. “Anyone who works in any capacity with breastfeeding mothers and babies would be interested in this information.”
click to read more...
Public breastfeeding, what's the big deal? (OnMilwaukee.com)
Public breastfeeding is legal in Wisconsin.
I had to remind myself this last winter while nursing my son at Bayshore Mall and enduring the disgusted looks of a mall security guard. Although he didn't say anything, his message was loud and clear: feeding my son outside the confines of a bathroom stall was indecent.
I wanted to ask him if he ever eats in public, and if so, why my son shouldn't be allowed the same opportunity?
Breastfeeding is not just for crunchy "Earth Mother" types anymore. Educated women know that human milk is a living, changing fluid that continually adapts to the needs of the developing infant and cannot be duplicated.
"My husband asked me to breastfeed in a bedroom during a family gathering once. I was livid. I needed adult interaction more than anything during the first few months post-partum," says Margaret Luck, the mother of a three-year-old daughter.
click to read more...
I had to remind myself this last winter while nursing my son at Bayshore Mall and enduring the disgusted looks of a mall security guard. Although he didn't say anything, his message was loud and clear: feeding my son outside the confines of a bathroom stall was indecent.
I wanted to ask him if he ever eats in public, and if so, why my son shouldn't be allowed the same opportunity?
Breastfeeding is not just for crunchy "Earth Mother" types anymore. Educated women know that human milk is a living, changing fluid that continually adapts to the needs of the developing infant and cannot be duplicated.
"My husband asked me to breastfeed in a bedroom during a family gathering once. I was livid. I needed adult interaction more than anything during the first few months post-partum," says Margaret Luck, the mother of a three-year-old daughter.
click to read more...
Filipino families spend quarter of income on infant formula: WHO (TODAYonline)
Filipino families typically spend a quarter of their incomes on expensive infant formula substitutes instead of just breastfeeding babies, according to the World Health Organization.
Government data shows that about 16,000 infants and toddlers die every year because they fail to get the proper nutrients in using infant formula, WHO country representative Jean Marc Olive said.
click to read more...
Government data shows that about 16,000 infants and toddlers die every year because they fail to get the proper nutrients in using infant formula, WHO country representative Jean Marc Olive said.
click to read more...
Milk message confuses mothers (Daily Post, via icCheshireOnline)
WOMEN are being given misleading messages about how to feed their babies because of a loophole in advertising law, campaigners said yesterday.
Regulations introduced in the UK in 1995 ban the promotion of infant formula milk for babies, but do not cover follow-on formulas, such as for those over six months old.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef UK) and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) said manufacturers were exploiting the legal loophole and women were confused by the advertising they saw.
The UK's health departments recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life, and the advertising ban on infant formula was introduced in recognition of the importance of a mother's milk to their child....
....The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe - almost a third of women in England and Wales never try to breastfeed, compared with just 2% in Sweden.
click to read more....
Regulations introduced in the UK in 1995 ban the promotion of infant formula milk for babies, but do not cover follow-on formulas, such as for those over six months old.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef UK) and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) said manufacturers were exploiting the legal loophole and women were confused by the advertising they saw.
The UK's health departments recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life, and the advertising ban on infant formula was introduced in recognition of the importance of a mother's milk to their child....
....The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe - almost a third of women in England and Wales never try to breastfeed, compared with just 2% in Sweden.
click to read more....
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Reuters AlertNet - GHANA: Despite new health scheme, newborn babies detained in hospital pending payment
ACCRA, 16 September (IRIN) - Sitting on a wooden bench in Ghana's biggest hospital, 28-year-old Gifty Torto breastfeeds her tiny six-week-old son, hugging the newborn she is not allowed to take home.
The baby is being detained pending payment of her hospital bill, so Torto since her discharge three weeks ago has been visiting the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit at Accra's Korle Bu teaching hospital twice a day to care for him.
The spacious hallway where the mother and baby sit, echoes to the cries of other newborns. Torto is one of 27 women whose infants are being detained in intensive care because of the mothers' inability to pay the high cost of difficult deliveries by Caeserean section.
She owes the hospital close to 3,000,000 cedis (about $340). More than a third of the 74 women in the neo-natal ICU too are unable to pay.
So Torto, who wears a pink ribbon in unkempt hair, turns up mornings and afternoons to breast-feed, bath and change her baby's clothes.
"It makes me feel uncomfortable," she told IRIN. "I feel very sad that l have to leave my baby here and sleep elsewhere. My husband has travelled but when he returns he will pay for me to leave."
Torto, who sells groceries on the street and whose husband is a carpenter, was referred to Ghana's biggest hospital when she developed complications at birth.
Holding babies back until parents pay their bills is not a new debt-collecting technique in this West African country. And it was to address this as well as other problems blocking many Ghanaians' access to quality health care that the government launched the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004.
click to read more....
The baby is being detained pending payment of her hospital bill, so Torto since her discharge three weeks ago has been visiting the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit at Accra's Korle Bu teaching hospital twice a day to care for him.
The spacious hallway where the mother and baby sit, echoes to the cries of other newborns. Torto is one of 27 women whose infants are being detained in intensive care because of the mothers' inability to pay the high cost of difficult deliveries by Caeserean section.
She owes the hospital close to 3,000,000 cedis (about $340). More than a third of the 74 women in the neo-natal ICU too are unable to pay.
So Torto, who wears a pink ribbon in unkempt hair, turns up mornings and afternoons to breast-feed, bath and change her baby's clothes.
"It makes me feel uncomfortable," she told IRIN. "I feel very sad that l have to leave my baby here and sleep elsewhere. My husband has travelled but when he returns he will pay for me to leave."
Torto, who sells groceries on the street and whose husband is a carpenter, was referred to Ghana's biggest hospital when she developed complications at birth.
Holding babies back until parents pay their bills is not a new debt-collecting technique in this West African country. And it was to address this as well as other problems blocking many Ghanaians' access to quality health care that the government launched the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004.
click to read more....
Instructor who let woman breast-feed claims prejudice (BostonHerald.com)
A driver retraining instructor who veered from the rule book to let a student breast-feed her baby claims in a lawsuit that the National Safety Council is punishing him by depriving him of business.
``It just seems unfortunate that there's this kind of unaccommodating attitude about what seems to be a pretty natural and pretty reasonable thing,'' attorney Paul Merry said on behalf of David Seely, 50, of Westminster. Seely's job with the nonprofit organization is to correct the attitudes of bad drivers on their last leg with the law.
Public breast feeding is not a protected right in Massachusetts, though a bill pending in the Legislature would change that.
click to read more....
``It just seems unfortunate that there's this kind of unaccommodating attitude about what seems to be a pretty natural and pretty reasonable thing,'' attorney Paul Merry said on behalf of David Seely, 50, of Westminster. Seely's job with the nonprofit organization is to correct the attitudes of bad drivers on their last leg with the law.
Public breast feeding is not a protected right in Massachusetts, though a bill pending in the Legislature would change that.
click to read more....
Friday, September 16, 2005
Medications & More Newsletter
The new Medications and More Newsletter is up! Topics include breastfeeding help for Hurrican Katrina victims, information on new medications, the science of breastfeeding, and breastfeeding in the news.
click to view....
click to view....
Australian Breastfeeding Association (Tenterfield Star)
The Tenterfield/Granite Belt Group of the Australian Breastfeeding Association has extended a welcome to all mothers in the community and remind both existing members and those who are interested in becoming members, that they conduct twice-monthly coffee mornings in Tenterfield and Stanthorpe.
Every woman is accepted regardless of whether they breastfeed their children.
Even if a mother's "baby" has left the nest, their experiences are precious and still very important.
click to read more....
Every woman is accepted regardless of whether they breastfeed their children.
Even if a mother's "baby" has left the nest, their experiences are precious and still very important.
click to read more....
Today, breast-feeding is a right: Ohio law gives mothers the go-ahead to nurse in public places (Cincinnati Enquirer)
LEBANON - It's been a long eight years for Dana Bronner.
In 1997, Bronner was preparing to nurse her screaming 6-week-old son, Devin, by the women's dressing room in the Lebanon Wal-Mart when she was approached by an employee who asked her to go to the bathroom or leave.
"I asked her 'Would you eat your dinner in the bathroom?'" Bronner said.
It took a lawsuit, legislation and a years of hard work, but as of today, no mother in Ohio should have that problem again, legislators say.
Senate Bill 41 goes into effect today, protecting the right of mothers to breast-feed their babies in public places.
Although some complain breast-feeding is indecent, or that businesses should have the right to make the call, it will now be against the law to tell a nursing mother to leave the premises.
click to read more....
In 1997, Bronner was preparing to nurse her screaming 6-week-old son, Devin, by the women's dressing room in the Lebanon Wal-Mart when she was approached by an employee who asked her to go to the bathroom or leave.
"I asked her 'Would you eat your dinner in the bathroom?'" Bronner said.
It took a lawsuit, legislation and a years of hard work, but as of today, no mother in Ohio should have that problem again, legislators say.
Senate Bill 41 goes into effect today, protecting the right of mothers to breast-feed their babies in public places.
Although some complain breast-feeding is indecent, or that businesses should have the right to make the call, it will now be against the law to tell a nursing mother to leave the premises.
click to read more....
Panel pushes alternate nursing law (East Valley Tribune)
The Chandler City Council will likely have at least two recommendations to choose from when it considers a breastfeeding ordinance later this month.
Members of the city’s breast-feeding task force on Thursday asked for another meeting next week to come up with their own ordinance that will differ from a version written by City Attorney Michael House.
In essence, House’s version allows a mother to breast-feed anywhere she’s already entitled to be. But it also expressly protects business owners’ rights to prohibit particular activities, such as breast-feeding.
House said he believes his version goes as far as a city government can go until the Legislature "creates a right to breast-feed."
"It’s saying as far as we’re concerned, you can do it," but it doesn’t necessarily require a property owner to accommodate breast-feeding, House said.
Right now, he said, neither the Arizona Constitution nor state statutes address breast-feeding.
click to read more....
Members of the city’s breast-feeding task force on Thursday asked for another meeting next week to come up with their own ordinance that will differ from a version written by City Attorney Michael House.
In essence, House’s version allows a mother to breast-feed anywhere she’s already entitled to be. But it also expressly protects business owners’ rights to prohibit particular activities, such as breast-feeding.
House said he believes his version goes as far as a city government can go until the Legislature "creates a right to breast-feed."
"It’s saying as far as we’re concerned, you can do it," but it doesn’t necessarily require a property owner to accommodate breast-feeding, House said.
Right now, he said, neither the Arizona Constitution nor state statutes address breast-feeding.
click to read more....
Peers boost breastfeeding among low-income women (Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low-income women may be more likely to breastfeed their infants if they get a little encouragement from their peers, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that a peer-counseling program boosted rates of exclusive breastfeeding among low-income, predominantly Hispanic women who gave birth at one urban hospital. Compared with new mothers not involved in the program, these women were 15 times more likely to give their infants only breast milk for the first 3 months of life.
About 20 percent of women who received peer counseling exclusively breastfed for 3 months, versus just over 1 percent of other mothers, according to findings published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Breast milk is considered the best nutrition for infants, with studies documenting numerous benefits, including lower risks of diarrhea, ear and respiratory infections, and allergies. Experts generally recommend that babies receive only breast milk for the first 6 months of life.
Even though breastfeeding is on the rise in the U.S., rates remain especially low among low-income families.
click to read more....
Researchers found that a peer-counseling program boosted rates of exclusive breastfeeding among low-income, predominantly Hispanic women who gave birth at one urban hospital. Compared with new mothers not involved in the program, these women were 15 times more likely to give their infants only breast milk for the first 3 months of life.
About 20 percent of women who received peer counseling exclusively breastfed for 3 months, versus just over 1 percent of other mothers, according to findings published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Breast milk is considered the best nutrition for infants, with studies documenting numerous benefits, including lower risks of diarrhea, ear and respiratory infections, and allergies. Experts generally recommend that babies receive only breast milk for the first 6 months of life.
Even though breastfeeding is on the rise in the U.S., rates remain especially low among low-income families.
click to read more....
Nutrition emphasized at WIC clinic (Cibola County Beacon)
...Although Baca and Torrez hold nutrition classes and Baca counsels mothers-to-be and mothers about nutrition, Baca's current efforts are in breast-feeding infants.
"She is truly an advocate for breast feeders," Torrez said of Baca. Torrez has also acted as a Spanish interpreter for their clients.
"We give pumps [to mothers]," Baca said. She was on the Breast-feeding Task Team for WIC this year, which received bids from pump manufacturers. A typical pump costs WIC $500, she said, which is not only nutritionally beneficial to the mother and infant, but it is also a cost savings of nearly $600 for the two government agencies that help administer the program -- the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Mexico Department of Health.....
click to read more....
"She is truly an advocate for breast feeders," Torrez said of Baca. Torrez has also acted as a Spanish interpreter for their clients.
"We give pumps [to mothers]," Baca said. She was on the Breast-feeding Task Team for WIC this year, which received bids from pump manufacturers. A typical pump costs WIC $500, she said, which is not only nutritionally beneficial to the mother and infant, but it is also a cost savings of nearly $600 for the two government agencies that help administer the program -- the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Mexico Department of Health.....
click to read more....
Today, breast feeding is a right (wkyc.com)
COLUMBUS -- A state law goes into effect today that allows mothers to breast feed their babies in public.
It's the result of an eight-year campaign by a Cincinnati-area woman who was told by a Wal-Mart employee in 1997 to feed her baby in the restroom or leave the store.
click to read more...
It's the result of an eight-year campaign by a Cincinnati-area woman who was told by a Wal-Mart employee in 1997 to feed her baby in the restroom or leave the store.
click to read more...
The Breast Benefits (LTVNEWS.COM)
Becoming a parent is an exciting time, but new mothers can have a lot of questions about the choices they have to make.
One of the most important is should I breast or bottle feed my child. For help with this decision women can turn to La Leche League, the local chapter meets the second Monday of every month at the Early Years Center in the Station Mall.
Group leader Dorothy Macnaughton, says the meetings are informal and any Mother and Child or Mother, Father and Child are welcome. She also encourages pregnant women to attend to learn more about the benefits of breastfeeding.
click to read more....
One of the most important is should I breast or bottle feed my child. For help with this decision women can turn to La Leche League, the local chapter meets the second Monday of every month at the Early Years Center in the Station Mall.
Group leader Dorothy Macnaughton, says the meetings are informal and any Mother and Child or Mother, Father and Child are welcome. She also encourages pregnant women to attend to learn more about the benefits of breastfeeding.
click to read more....
Thursday, September 15, 2005
AnotherLook at breastfeeding and HIV/AIDS
Here's an interesting website about breastfeeding and HIV/AIDS, which includes a number of position papers - well worth a look-see. ~ Ali
AnotherLook at breastfeeding and HIV/AIDS
AnotherLook at breastfeeding and HIV/AIDS
Breast-feeding advocates want no rules (East Valley Tribune)
Breast-feeding advocates want Chandler to take the lead in protecting breast-feeding mothers by requiring business owners to accommodate the practice. The move, they say, could help in efforts to pass similar legislation at the state level.
But Rep. Krysten Sinema, D-Phoenix, who has met with advocates recently and is working on a statewide breastfeeding law, said her bill won’t go as far as advocates want.
"You can’t tell private business what to do," she said Wednesday.
Her version would only create an exemption to the indecent exposure statute for women breast-feeding their children.
click to read more....
Now here's the part of the article that particularly caught my eye:
= = But to Bridges-Jones, and other advocates, breastfeeding is a public-health issue that justifies laws similar to the city’s ban on smoking in most public places. Business owners who remove or segregate a mother for breastfeeding her child also harm the mother and child, she said.
House, in an e-mail to Bridges-Jones, disagreed with the public-health argument. "Breastfeeding involves conduct, not status," he wrote. ==
~ Ali
But Rep. Krysten Sinema, D-Phoenix, who has met with advocates recently and is working on a statewide breastfeeding law, said her bill won’t go as far as advocates want.
"You can’t tell private business what to do," she said Wednesday.
Her version would only create an exemption to the indecent exposure statute for women breast-feeding their children.
click to read more....
Now here's the part of the article that particularly caught my eye:
= = But to Bridges-Jones, and other advocates, breastfeeding is a public-health issue that justifies laws similar to the city’s ban on smoking in most public places. Business owners who remove or segregate a mother for breastfeeding her child also harm the mother and child, she said.
House, in an e-mail to Bridges-Jones, disagreed with the public-health argument. "Breastfeeding involves conduct, not status," he wrote. ==
~ Ali
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Peer-counseling program helps nursing women (OnlineAthens: Health)
It took a gentle flip of a finger underneath her 3-week-old baby's tongue to make Vita Johnson-Young see she was a fit mother.
Only when her son, Roman, shed a pound of body weight had she begun to question herself.
He was not getting the food he needed from her sore bosom, which cracked and bled.
Kind of like her heart.
"That's traumatic," said Johnson-Young, who had successfully nursed five sons before Roman. "That makes me feel like I was an unfit mother."
She sought advice, at last turning to a woman trained as a lactation consultant. The woman watched Johnson-Young nurse and spotted the problem right away.
Roman was not latching properly. He needed help getting milk from her breast.
"His lips appeared to me - looking down - that he was nursing, but he wasn't," Johnson-Young said. "The technique was to put my pinkie in his mouth (and lift his tongue)."
Roman gained weight, and his mother's breast healed - along with her heart.
click to read more....
Only when her son, Roman, shed a pound of body weight had she begun to question herself.
He was not getting the food he needed from her sore bosom, which cracked and bled.
Kind of like her heart.
"That's traumatic," said Johnson-Young, who had successfully nursed five sons before Roman. "That makes me feel like I was an unfit mother."
She sought advice, at last turning to a woman trained as a lactation consultant. The woman watched Johnson-Young nurse and spotted the problem right away.
Roman was not latching properly. He needed help getting milk from her breast.
"His lips appeared to me - looking down - that he was nursing, but he wasn't," Johnson-Young said. "The technique was to put my pinkie in his mouth (and lift his tongue)."
Roman gained weight, and his mother's breast healed - along with her heart.
click to read more....
Monday, September 12, 2005
Young mums tend to stay at home (Southern Highland News)
New mothers in the Southern Highlands are tending to stay at home because of a lack of breastfeeding-friendly public areas, according to local health officials.
Midwives at the Bowral Hospital raised concerns about the availability of both adequate parenting rooms and breastfeeding-friendly venues in the local area after it came to their attention that some were proving a deterrent for many breastfeeding mothers.
click to read more....
Midwives at the Bowral Hospital raised concerns about the availability of both adequate parenting rooms and breastfeeding-friendly venues in the local area after it came to their attention that some were proving a deterrent for many breastfeeding mothers.
click to read more....
Breastfeeders happy to go public (The Herald)
NURSING his cafe latte, the middle-aged man looked up and tutted. Nearby, a group of mothers could be seen breastfeeding their children. Was this a sign that the most natural and nourishing way to feed an infant was being frowned upon? Not so – in fact, a fellow customer had just knocked into the man's table, spilling his drink.
It is six months since the Breastfeeding (Scotland) Act – believed to be the first of its kind in Europe – came into being. The legislation makes it a criminal offence to stop deliberately or prevent a child from being breastfed. However, the Crown Office has confirmed that so far there have been no reports of offences under the act.
click to read more....
It is six months since the Breastfeeding (Scotland) Act – believed to be the first of its kind in Europe – came into being. The legislation makes it a criminal offence to stop deliberately or prevent a child from being breastfed. However, the Crown Office has confirmed that so far there have been no reports of offences under the act.
click to read more....
Breast milk protects against Rotavirus (Trinidad and Tobago Express)
Dr Alison Murphy, a general paediatrician in private practice in Woodbrook has stated that breast milk can prevent infection of the potentially fatal Rotavirus.
Speaking at a media presentation entitled "The Burden of the Rotavirus," which took place at the Marriott Courtyard, Invaders Bay, Murphy said that new mothers should also find out the proper way to breast feed long before the baby arrives.
"There is no doubt, she said, "that breast feeding is protective in terms of the age at which you develop Rotavirus infection. Breast milk contains factors which adhere to the gut and prevent infection. If you stop breast feeding after a period of time, yes, you may get infected but it will occur at a later age."
click to read more....
Speaking at a media presentation entitled "The Burden of the Rotavirus," which took place at the Marriott Courtyard, Invaders Bay, Murphy said that new mothers should also find out the proper way to breast feed long before the baby arrives.
"There is no doubt, she said, "that breast feeding is protective in terms of the age at which you develop Rotavirus infection. Breast milk contains factors which adhere to the gut and prevent infection. If you stop breast feeding after a period of time, yes, you may get infected but it will occur at a later age."
click to read more....
Uh, oh. She said 'breastfeeding' (STLtoday)
My first experience with the Le Leche League came when Liam was only a few months old. For those not accustomed to the whole "human dairy" notion, the League is a chicks-only organization whose goal is to encourage breastfeeding, increase awareness, and provide support to breastfeeding moms.
In layman's terms, it's a group where women sit around and casually whip out their boobs with which to feed their kids. I'm modest when it comes to the whipping out of the chestal region and when I first began breastfeeding, I had the nervous skill of a virgin.
click to read more....
In layman's terms, it's a group where women sit around and casually whip out their boobs with which to feed their kids. I'm modest when it comes to the whipping out of the chestal region and when I first began breastfeeding, I had the nervous skill of a virgin.
click to read more....
Look for Breastfeeding Tent at the Brampton and Bolton Fall Fairs (Region of Peel)
Brampton - Looking for a shaded, comfortable place to breastfeed while at an outdoor event? Peel Public Health has got you covered at the Brampton Fall Fair on Sept 16, 17 and 18, and the Bolton Fall Fair on Sept 23, 24 and 25.
The tent is staffed by a Public Health Nurse and a volunteer who are available to provide consultation and information. Mothers will be able to access the tent all day to nurse their babies and stay well hydrated with the complimentary water provided.
click to read more....
The tent is staffed by a Public Health Nurse and a volunteer who are available to provide consultation and information. Mothers will be able to access the tent all day to nurse their babies and stay well hydrated with the complimentary water provided.
click to read more....
Sunday, September 11, 2005
WHO Booklet
"RELACTATION: A review of experience and recommendations for practice"
click to open the .pdf file in a new window...
click to open the .pdf file in a new window...
Chandler, moms at odds on breast-feeding law (East Valley Tribune)
Chandler’s breast-feeding task force appears ready to recommend a city ordinance protecting a mother’s right to breast-feed in public.
But task force members seem to split with city attorneys when it comes to mandating that right over private businesses.
"I don’t think we can have an ordinance that declares a right to breast-feed," said assistant city attorney Glenn Brockman.
Most of the dozen or so mothers who attended the task force’s first meeting Thursday objected to a section of a draft ordinance proposed by city staff that said the new law would not restrict private property owners from controlling and prohibiting conduct by guests or customers.
click to read more....
But task force members seem to split with city attorneys when it comes to mandating that right over private businesses.
"I don’t think we can have an ordinance that declares a right to breast-feed," said assistant city attorney Glenn Brockman.
Most of the dozen or so mothers who attended the task force’s first meeting Thursday objected to a section of a draft ordinance proposed by city staff that said the new law would not restrict private property owners from controlling and prohibiting conduct by guests or customers.
click to read more....
Saturday, September 10, 2005
First daughter speaks out for breastfeeding
BACK TO NATURE: Chen Hsing-yu said her in-laws were dubious at first about her plans to breastfeed her children, but they have been won over by the results
Breastfeeding should be encouraged, President Chen Shui-bian's daughter Chen Hsing-yu told a press conference held by the Breastfeeding Association of Taiwan.
Chen Hsing-yu, a mother of two, discussed her own breastfeeding experience during the press conference held at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
click to read more....
Breastfeeding should be encouraged, President Chen Shui-bian's daughter Chen Hsing-yu told a press conference held by the Breastfeeding Association of Taiwan.
Chen Hsing-yu, a mother of two, discussed her own breastfeeding experience during the press conference held at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
click to read more....
Friday, September 09, 2005
From the Section on Breastfeeding of the AAP and LLLUSA....
An Open Letter to Health Care Providers Attending to Families Affected by Hurricane Katrina: The Role of Human Milk and Breastfeeding
You are caring for children and adults under the most stressful and distressing situations during this post-Katrina period. We all thank you and honor you for this heroic effort. Please consider the value of human milk and breastfeeding as an important component of this care of both young children and their mothers. Human milk is a valuable resource that can not only protect the vulnerable infant from disease, but can also promote psychological health and comfort during stressful times. Human milk reduces pain and promotes more rapid healing afterb injuries and infections. While maternal health is of great importance, it should be recognized that even the malnourished mother will produce milk of good quality for her infant....
click to read the entire letter and open the .pdf file in a new window....
You are caring for children and adults under the most stressful and distressing situations during this post-Katrina period. We all thank you and honor you for this heroic effort. Please consider the value of human milk and breastfeeding as an important component of this care of both young children and their mothers. Human milk is a valuable resource that can not only protect the vulnerable infant from disease, but can also promote psychological health and comfort during stressful times. Human milk reduces pain and promotes more rapid healing afterb injuries and infections. While maternal health is of great importance, it should be recognized that even the malnourished mother will produce milk of good quality for her infant....
click to read the entire letter and open the .pdf file in a new window....
Resources to Help Cope with Natural and Other Disasters
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends these resources to help children, parents and pediatricians.
click to read more....
click to read more....
The Real Breastfeeding Issue Goes Far Beyond Mere Guilt
The less a woman breastfeeds, the greater her risk of breast cancer. So concluded a landmark meta-analysis in The Lancet medical journal, as reported on the front page of The Oregonian ("Study finds key factors to lower risk of breast cancer," July 19).
News like this is often met with concern about inducing guilt in women who don't breastfeed. But in no other area of health are people seen as needing emotional protection from the knowledge of risk. In fact, concealing risk is unethical and violates the principles of informed consent.
Women are told of the risks of alcohol and cigarettes to their unborn children. Smokers are told of tobacco's hazards to them and to those who breathe their second-hand smoke. Yet the known dangers of formula feeding are rarely disclosed to parents in a straightforward manner.
click to read more....
This is an excellent essay by Cynthia Good Mojab, MS - well worth reading. ~ Ali
News like this is often met with concern about inducing guilt in women who don't breastfeed. But in no other area of health are people seen as needing emotional protection from the knowledge of risk. In fact, concealing risk is unethical and violates the principles of informed consent.
Women are told of the risks of alcohol and cigarettes to their unborn children. Smokers are told of tobacco's hazards to them and to those who breathe their second-hand smoke. Yet the known dangers of formula feeding are rarely disclosed to parents in a straightforward manner.
click to read more....
This is an excellent essay by Cynthia Good Mojab, MS - well worth reading. ~ Ali
Helping Breastfeeding Mothers Grieve
Loss is an integral part of life. Grief is the natural, normal and healthy response to loss. Breastfeeding is the biologically normal means of nurturing human babies and young children. Because of its survival value, breastfeeding is necessarily robust. Because breastfeeding is necessarily robust, fluctuations in supply due to loss and other psychosocial stressors can be expected to be temporary.
click to read more....
click to read more....
Breastfeeding Promotion, State of TX, Department of State Health Services
10-Steps for a Breastfeeding Friendly Childcare Center
Adapted from the Chilean National Board of Nursery Schools' 10 Steps for a Breastfeeding Friendly Nursery
Post in a prominent place in your childcare center or give as a handout to workers.
click to read more....
Adapted from the Chilean National Board of Nursery Schools' 10 Steps for a Breastfeeding Friendly Nursery
Post in a prominent place in your childcare center or give as a handout to workers.
click to read more....
"Baby-Friendly" Hospitals Boost Breastfeeding Rates
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Sept 08 - Women who give birth at U.S. hospitals and birthing centers with a "Baby-Friendly" designation are more likely than other women to start breastfeeding, a new study shows.
The findings, published in Pediatrics, are good news for Baby-Friendly centers, which actively encourage women to breastfeed. The centers are part of a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and United Nations that has laid out specific steps for hospitals and birthing centers to take to promote breastfeeding.
In the U.S., centers are deemed Baby-Friendly if they take 10 steps, which include helping all new mothers start breastfeeding within one hour of delivery, allowing mothers and infants to stay in the same room at all times, and giving newborns no food other than breast milk, unless medically necessary.
The new study looked at breastfeeding rates in 2001 at 29 U.S. hospitals and birthing centers that had a Baby-Friendly designation. On average, researchers found, 84% of new mothers at the centers started breastfeeding during their stay -- versus the national rate of 69.5% -- and most centers surpassed the breastfeeding-initiation rates for their local regions.
click to read more....
The findings, published in Pediatrics, are good news for Baby-Friendly centers, which actively encourage women to breastfeed. The centers are part of a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and United Nations that has laid out specific steps for hospitals and birthing centers to take to promote breastfeeding.
In the U.S., centers are deemed Baby-Friendly if they take 10 steps, which include helping all new mothers start breastfeeding within one hour of delivery, allowing mothers and infants to stay in the same room at all times, and giving newborns no food other than breast milk, unless medically necessary.
The new study looked at breastfeeding rates in 2001 at 29 U.S. hospitals and birthing centers that had a Baby-Friendly designation. On average, researchers found, 84% of new mothers at the centers started breastfeeding during their stay -- versus the national rate of 69.5% -- and most centers surpassed the breastfeeding-initiation rates for their local regions.
click to read more....
Kenney-Marshall: The breast vs. bottle debate continues
I had lunch with friends who are at different stages of mother development. I know most of us think about child development when we have kids, but I continue to develop and learn, as do all mothers, right along with our kids. Two of my friends brought along their babies, 10 month old Grace and 13 month old Luke. I remembered when my babies were their age. They depended on me for everything and survived despite it.
We got to talking about important mothering issues, and though the topic of cloth vs. disposable diapers provided some mild entertainment for the three of us who are out of that stage, the real story of the afternoon became one of the breast vs. the bottle debate that apparently has heated up even more than when I had babies.
Pregnant with my first child, I didn't give the idea much thought until the day my male boss asked me if I was going to bottle feed or starve my child. Today we would call that harassment, back then it was a "joke," albeit unfunny to me. This is yet another way the world has changed for the better. No one would dare say that to a woman today.
click to read more....
We got to talking about important mothering issues, and though the topic of cloth vs. disposable diapers provided some mild entertainment for the three of us who are out of that stage, the real story of the afternoon became one of the breast vs. the bottle debate that apparently has heated up even more than when I had babies.
Pregnant with my first child, I didn't give the idea much thought until the day my male boss asked me if I was going to bottle feed or starve my child. Today we would call that harassment, back then it was a "joke," albeit unfunny to me. This is yet another way the world has changed for the better. No one would dare say that to a woman today.
click to read more....
Plan would allow mothers to breast-feed at city sites
CHANDLER - The city appears headed for a new public breast-feeding ordinance that allows the practice on city property but stops short of declaring it a right. It would also give businesses the option to ask nursing mothers to leave their property.
Assistant city attorney Glenn Brockman told the Breast-feeding Task Force on Thursday that going further could conflict with state law and private-property rights.
He and community services Director Rich Dlugas also proposed a resolution that seeks changes in state indecent-exposure laws that would exempt breast-feeding.
click to read more....
Assistant city attorney Glenn Brockman told the Breast-feeding Task Force on Thursday that going further could conflict with state law and private-property rights.
He and community services Director Rich Dlugas also proposed a resolution that seeks changes in state indecent-exposure laws that would exempt breast-feeding.
click to read more....
The need to breast-feed
A new state law that goes into effect next Friday means Ohio mothers won't feel compelled to breast-feed their babies in bathroom stalls at malls, restaurants and other "places of public accommodation."
On June 14, Ohio became the 35th state to enact a law allowing women to breast-feed in public, according to the LaLeche League, an organization that advocates breast-feeding. Kentucky has no such legislation in place.
But many mothers already were nursing their babies wherever they happened to be when the little one got hungry - law, or no law.
click to read more....
On June 14, Ohio became the 35th state to enact a law allowing women to breast-feed in public, according to the LaLeche League, an organization that advocates breast-feeding. Kentucky has no such legislation in place.
But many mothers already were nursing their babies wherever they happened to be when the little one got hungry - law, or no law.
click to read more....
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Breastfeeding prevents mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS (Independentng.com)
Breast milk is an antidote to mother to child transmission of the dreaded Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
Mr. Shona County Chatterjee, a consultant in the Department of Health and Social Science, Concept College, London, who said this, described breastfeeding as an important element in the fight against the disease.
Chatterjee made the disclosure while delivering a lecture on Reproductive Health, and Youth Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS at the third International HIV/AIDS Interactive Session organised by Africalert Foundation at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Lagos.
According to him, baby food cannot in anyway be a substitute for breast milk which research has revealed to be a very strong antidote to mother to child transmission of the HIV/AIDS.
click to read more....
Mr. Shona County Chatterjee, a consultant in the Department of Health and Social Science, Concept College, London, who said this, described breastfeeding as an important element in the fight against the disease.
Chatterjee made the disclosure while delivering a lecture on Reproductive Health, and Youth Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS at the third International HIV/AIDS Interactive Session organised by Africalert Foundation at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Lagos.
According to him, baby food cannot in anyway be a substitute for breast milk which research has revealed to be a very strong antidote to mother to child transmission of the HIV/AIDS.
click to read more....
Chandler task force to help draft policy on breast-feeding (East Valley Tribune)
Chandler’s Breast-Feeding Task Force will get to work this week. The group of mothers, business leaders and city officials are scheduled to meet Thursday to begin drawing up recommendations to the City Council on how public breastfeeding should be addressed in Chandler.
Controversy over an unwritten policy at a city pool led to the task force after a Tempe mother was told to breast-feed her infant son in a public restroom at the pool.
Now that Tempe mom, Amy Milliron, wants both the city or the state to pass laws protecting mothers who breast-feed their children in public.
"I would hope for both, actually," said Milliron, one of four mothers selected for the task force.
click to read more....
Controversy over an unwritten policy at a city pool led to the task force after a Tempe mother was told to breast-feed her infant son in a public restroom at the pool.
Now that Tempe mom, Amy Milliron, wants both the city or the state to pass laws protecting mothers who breast-feed their children in public.
"I would hope for both, actually," said Milliron, one of four mothers selected for the task force.
click to read more....
Gender Gap: Nursing mothers seek support from employers (Market Watch)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Jennifer Lugar knows success in continuing to breastfeed a baby after returning to work can depend on personal creativity and risk tolerance.
Lugar, 37, was working for a male-dominated home-building company three years ago when she decided to pump her breast milk in the bathroom, she said. When her officemate quit two months into her pumping breaks, she hooked herself up in her own space while continuing to take calls and do work.
"If someone asked what the noise was, I said it was yard work going on outside," she said.
Her door was missing a lock and a male co-worker accidentally barged in on her once, leading to a mutually embarrassing situation. Even so, Lugar expressed milk on the job for about a year, and said she couldn't have endured that long without being committed to it.
"It's not fun or easy," she said. "You find your own accommodations if you need to, if you don't have corporate support, and think about what's right for your baby."
click to read more....
Lugar, 37, was working for a male-dominated home-building company three years ago when she decided to pump her breast milk in the bathroom, she said. When her officemate quit two months into her pumping breaks, she hooked herself up in her own space while continuing to take calls and do work.
"If someone asked what the noise was, I said it was yard work going on outside," she said.
Her door was missing a lock and a male co-worker accidentally barged in on her once, leading to a mutually embarrassing situation. Even so, Lugar expressed milk on the job for about a year, and said she couldn't have endured that long without being committed to it.
"It's not fun or easy," she said. "You find your own accommodations if you need to, if you don't have corporate support, and think about what's right for your baby."
click to read more....
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Nevirapine-resistant HIV present in breastmilk of a third of women exposed to single dose (Aidsmap)
A third of women who take single-dose nevirapine (Viramune) to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV have virus resistant to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) present in their breastmilk eight weeks after giving birth, according to a study published in the October 1st edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases (now online). The investigators also found that almost three quarters of women had detectable HIV in their breastmilk and that women with mastitis – breast tissue inflammation – had significantly higher levels of HIV shedding, leading the researchers to recommend that “interventions to reduce mastitis…are warranted, to increase the safety of breast-feeding and prevent breastmilk transmission of HIV.”
It is estimated that over 600,000 infants were infected with HIV via mother-to-child transmission in sub-Saharan Africa in 2003, and that a third of these infections were due to breast-feeding. Mastitis has been associated with increased viral load in breastmilk and a higher risk of mother-to-child transmission.
Although single-dose nevirapine has been shown to substantially reduce mother-to-child transmission, there is a significant risk that HIV resistance to drugs in the NNRTI class will evolve.
click to read more...
It is estimated that over 600,000 infants were infected with HIV via mother-to-child transmission in sub-Saharan Africa in 2003, and that a third of these infections were due to breast-feeding. Mastitis has been associated with increased viral load in breastmilk and a higher risk of mother-to-child transmission.
Although single-dose nevirapine has been shown to substantially reduce mother-to-child transmission, there is a significant risk that HIV resistance to drugs in the NNRTI class will evolve.
click to read more...
Fat Content of Breast Milk Increases with Time (Forbes.com)
The longer a mother breast-feeds, the higher the fat and energy content of her breast milk.
However, experts are not sure what this finding, which appears in the September issue of Pediatrics, signifies.
"This is the first study to analyze the fat and energy content of breast milk of mothers who breast-feed for longer than a year," said study co-author Dr. Ronit Lubetzky, who is with the department of pediatrics at Dana Children's Hospital at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel. "There are more and more women who choose to breast-feed for longer time periods, and not many studies about the nutritional value of their milk during this prolonged lactation."
click to read more....
However, experts are not sure what this finding, which appears in the September issue of Pediatrics, signifies.
"This is the first study to analyze the fat and energy content of breast milk of mothers who breast-feed for longer than a year," said study co-author Dr. Ronit Lubetzky, who is with the department of pediatrics at Dana Children's Hospital at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel. "There are more and more women who choose to breast-feed for longer time periods, and not many studies about the nutritional value of their milk during this prolonged lactation."
click to read more....
Tales from the milk bar (Minnesota Women's Press)
Andy Steiner had no clue that breastfeeding could be tough. As she writes in the introduction to Spilled Milk: Breastfeeding Adventures and Advice from Less-Than-Perfect Moms, according to all the baby books she’d read, the instant her baby got to the nipple, “we’d be transformed into an efficient, loving nursing team.”
That wasn’t the way it worked out. Her baby had trouble latching (getting a proper mouth-hold on the breast). Improper latching can lead to infection, which is what happened to Steiner: she had three mastitis infections in the first three months.
Just as intense as the physical pain was the feeling of being alone, said Steiner. “I started looking for books, trying to find advice. I wanted something to say, ‘You’re not the only person in the world this happens to.’”
Eventually she turned to a lactation consultant at her hospital and got the support and advice she needed, and she and Baby did come to enjoy some efficient, loving nursing moments. But in those early, painful hours, the idea of a book was born.
click to read more....
That wasn’t the way it worked out. Her baby had trouble latching (getting a proper mouth-hold on the breast). Improper latching can lead to infection, which is what happened to Steiner: she had three mastitis infections in the first three months.
Just as intense as the physical pain was the feeling of being alone, said Steiner. “I started looking for books, trying to find advice. I wanted something to say, ‘You’re not the only person in the world this happens to.’”
Eventually she turned to a lactation consultant at her hospital and got the support and advice she needed, and she and Baby did come to enjoy some efficient, loving nursing moments. But in those early, painful hours, the idea of a book was born.
click to read more....
Thoughts on the appropriateness of advocating breastfeeding in the wake of Katrina
In times of crisis, we reach for the familiar. With a disaster this large, people often need to approach it from a specific angle, because it's utterly impossible to get one's arms around the entire scope of things. Piece by piece, we all tackle it, and we rely on our own areas of expertise to guide us through something that is terrifying and consuming. We do what we know, because it is all we know how to do until some semblance of normalcy is attained, and because we feel helpless if we do nothing.
The breastfeeding community's centrical response is not unique in the wake of Katrina. Those concerned with animal welfare are strategizing ways to save the pets left behind by evacuating owners. Those concerned with elder care reform are raging about the people who drowned in nursing homes waiting for rescuers who never came - and so on, on it goes.
We do what we know, because it is all we know how to do. And it is far better than doing nothing.
~ Ali
The breastfeeding community's centrical response is not unique in the wake of Katrina. Those concerned with animal welfare are strategizing ways to save the pets left behind by evacuating owners. Those concerned with elder care reform are raging about the people who drowned in nursing homes waiting for rescuers who never came - and so on, on it goes.
We do what we know, because it is all we know how to do. And it is far better than doing nothing.
~ Ali
Human Milk Banking Association of North America
Our hearts are with the people whose lives have been directly affected by Hurricane Katrina. Please help us spread the word that HMBANA milk banks are available to provide milk to Katrina Hurricane victim babies/children with a medically indicated need for human milk and who do not have their own mother's milk available. This will also require an increase in donor mothers. Help us inform interested lactating mothers, especially those in states with milk banks to call their nearest donor milk bank for further information...www.hmbana.com
Approval as a donor involves a triple screening process beginning with an initial phone screening for medical, dietary and lifestyle factors which might make the donor ineligible, followed by written documentation of their medical history and a signed medical release to be sent to both mom and baby's health care providers, and last would be the willingess to have blood work drawn. Our screening process is similar to those used when one donates blood.
I am most grateful for you assistance in this matter.
Georgia Morrow
Program Director
Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio
Human Milk Banking Association of North America
Approval as a donor involves a triple screening process beginning with an initial phone screening for medical, dietary and lifestyle factors which might make the donor ineligible, followed by written documentation of their medical history and a signed medical release to be sent to both mom and baby's health care providers, and last would be the willingess to have blood work drawn. Our screening process is similar to those used when one donates blood.
I am most grateful for you assistance in this matter.
Georgia Morrow
Program Director
Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio
Human Milk Banking Association of North America
Information on INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD FEEDING IN EMERGENCIES
The United States Breastfeeding Committee has information on infant and young children feeding in emergencies available on its website.
click to read more....
click to read more....
Latchon.org
Hurricane Katrina has left many people homeless, amongst them breastfeeding mothers. A safehouse has been made available for these mothers. Your donation helps house and feed mothers and babies. For more information about this project visit www.latchon.org.
Monday, September 05, 2005
WorldWIT Celebrates ''National Breast Feeding at Work Week'' (BUSINESS WIRE)
BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2005--WorldWIT announces the first annual National Breast Feeding at Work Week. WorldWIT(TM), the world's largest on- and offline community for professional women with chapters in 80 regions around the globe, introduces the week-long holiday, beginning on Labor Day, in response to the dozens of inquiries received from their membership of over 40,000 businesswomen on the topic of breastfeeding while working.
click to read more....
click to read more....
Saturday, September 03, 2005
When an Emergency Strikes Breastfeeding Can Save Lives
La Leche League is working to compile helpful information for breastfeeding mothers who have been affected by recent natural disasters. Here is part 2.
click to read more...
click to read more...
Why do we feel so squeamish on breast-feeding? (Lansing State Journal)
This summer, TV interviewer Barbara Walters complained that she felt uncomfortable when a mother breast-fed her infant on a plane.
This summer, a mother in Grand Rapids was asked to leave the Kent County Clerk's Office because she was nursing her baby.
Why does simply feeding a baby cause such an uproar?
click to read more....
This summer, a mother in Grand Rapids was asked to leave the Kent County Clerk's Office because she was nursing her baby.
Why does simply feeding a baby cause such an uproar?
click to read more....
Thursday, September 01, 2005
from the World Health Organization
From WHO - Infant Feeding in Emergencies: A Guide for Mothers
please note - clicking on the link below will open a .pdf file in a separate window.
click to read more....
please note - clicking on the link below will open a .pdf file in a separate window.
click to read more....
Much Ado About Nipples (Los Angeles CityBeat)
Another day, another Victoria’s Secret catalog in the mail. “New! Body by Victoria IPEX Demi. The world’s most advanced bra just got sexier. Maximum nipple coverage, minimal padding.” Mind boggles. This bra is “sexier,” yet designed to ensure your nips don’t show at all? How is that sexy? Is this some sort of post-Janet Jackson backlash against nipples? Or what?
click to read more....
OK, it's not really a breastfeeding related article - but it made me laugh. Hence I link to it. Because we could all use a laugh every so often. ~ Ali
click to read more....
OK, it's not really a breastfeeding related article - but it made me laugh. Hence I link to it. Because we could all use a laugh every so often. ~ Ali
Is your Breastfed Baby Getting Enough Milk?
Most breastfed babies get enough milk from their mother to nurse exclusively for 6 months or more. Since it is not possible to measure exactly how much breast milk a child takes in, moms often ask how they can be sure that their daughter is getting an adequate amount of milk. So how can a breastfeeding mom be sure that her daughter is drinking enough milk?
click to read more....
click to read more....
Emergency Breastfeeding Resources
La Leche League is working to compile helpful information for breastfeeding mothers who have been affected by recent natural disasters.
click to read more....
click to read more....
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