A “thinking person” knows that breast-feeding is natural and helps babies meet their nutritional needs. A “thinking person” also knows that it's best to do what you can to put others around you at ease.
That's the case that editor Thomas P. Farley makes in the book “Town & Country Modern Manners: The Thinking Person's Guide to Social Graces” (Hearst).
click to read more....
Monday, December 26, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
The Twelve Days of Breastfeeding
Twelve Days of Breastfeeding!
by Kelliann Mendez (breastfeeding peer counselor)
On the first day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the second day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the third day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the fourth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the fifth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the sixth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
Zero constipation LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the seventh day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the eighth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the ninth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the tenth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
decreased chance of diabetes, skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the eleventh day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
bonding and loving, decreased chance of diabetes, skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the twelfth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
Higher IQ, bonding and loving, decreased chance of diabetes, skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
by Kelliann Mendez (breastfeeding peer counselor)
On the first day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the second day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the third day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the fourth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the fifth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the sixth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
Zero constipation LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the seventh day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the eighth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the ninth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the tenth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
decreased chance of diabetes, skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the eleventh day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
bonding and loving, decreased chance of diabetes, skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
On the twelfth day of breastfeeding my mommy gave to me:
Higher IQ, bonding and loving, decreased chance of diabetes, skin to skin comfort, reduced risk of breast cancer, teeth and jaw development, zero constipation, LESS ALLERGIES!... fewer Doctor visits, minimized jaundice, two full breasts and colostrum to increase my immunity!
Thursday, December 22, 2005
State Bans Hospital Gift Bags In Move To Promote Breastfeeding (TheBostonChannel.com)
BOSTON -- The widespread practice of giving gift bags filled with baby formula and other freebies to new mothers has been banned at hospitals in Massachusetts in a move by state health officials to promote breast-feeding.
The ban doesn't forbid hospitals from giving out free formula, but it ends a longtime marketing practice that breast-feeding advocates say was designed to turn harried new mothers toward a less healthy alternative, and also implied an endorsement of formula by hospitals.
"There's no free lunch and there's no free gift," said Beth Sargent, a lactation consultant from Needham. "A gift is something given freely without the anticipation of a return. There is absolutely an anticipation of return."
click to read more...
The ban doesn't forbid hospitals from giving out free formula, but it ends a longtime marketing practice that breast-feeding advocates say was designed to turn harried new mothers toward a less healthy alternative, and also implied an endorsement of formula by hospitals.
"There's no free lunch and there's no free gift," said Beth Sargent, a lactation consultant from Needham. "A gift is something given freely without the anticipation of a return. There is absolutely an anticipation of return."
click to read more...
Mass. Bans Hospital Gift Bags for New Moms (Forbes.com)
New moms at hospitals in Massachusetts will no longer get gift diaper bags filled with baby formula and other freebies, thanks to state health officials intent on promoting breast-feeding.
The ban on goodies from formula companies drew mixed reactions from mothers like Sarah Wood, who has a 15-month-old son.
"The pressure to breast-feed is good. The problem is it doesn't work out for everyone," she said, bemoaning the guilt some mothers feel.
The ban doesn't bar hospitals from giving out free formula. But it ends a longtime marketing practice that breast-feeding advocates say was designed to turn harried new mothers toward a less healthy alternative - and implied an endorsement of formula by hospitals.
"There's no free lunch and there's no free gift," said Beth Sargent, an independent lactation consultant from Needham. "A gift is something given freely without the anticipation of a return. There is absolutely an anticipation of return."
click to read more....
The ban on goodies from formula companies drew mixed reactions from mothers like Sarah Wood, who has a 15-month-old son.
"The pressure to breast-feed is good. The problem is it doesn't work out for everyone," she said, bemoaning the guilt some mothers feel.
The ban doesn't bar hospitals from giving out free formula. But it ends a longtime marketing practice that breast-feeding advocates say was designed to turn harried new mothers toward a less healthy alternative - and implied an endorsement of formula by hospitals.
"There's no free lunch and there's no free gift," said Beth Sargent, an independent lactation consultant from Needham. "A gift is something given freely without the anticipation of a return. There is absolutely an anticipation of return."
click to read more....
Abandoned babies get mothers' milk (BBC NEWS)
Amid high HIV infection rates in South Africa, women in Durban are volunteering to provide immune-boosting breast milk to abandoned children, the BBC's Mahlatse Gallens reports.
....Project co-ordinator Penny Reimers says the advantages of breast milk have been proved by a World Health Organisation study.
"The WHO did a study of children in developing countries and they found that children who are not breast fed are six times more likely to die from diarrhoea and pneumonia - it's literally life saying," she says.
"The studies they have done in relation to HIV show that if a child is exclusively breast fed for six months - that means no other formula or water - these babies have a very low chance of contracting the HIV virus."
click to read more...
....Project co-ordinator Penny Reimers says the advantages of breast milk have been proved by a World Health Organisation study.
"The WHO did a study of children in developing countries and they found that children who are not breast fed are six times more likely to die from diarrhoea and pneumonia - it's literally life saying," she says.
"The studies they have done in relation to HIV show that if a child is exclusively breast fed for six months - that means no other formula or water - these babies have a very low chance of contracting the HIV virus."
click to read more...
SUPER-MUMMY DONATED 200 LITRES OF MILK IN 7 MONTHS (Agenzia Giornalistica Italia)
Benedetta D'Arrigo is a nurse in the paediatrics ward of the San Giuseppe hospital in Empoli. She donated 202.25 litres of milk in seven months and 15 days. She collected 170 centilitres of milk at every breast pumping (one litre per day).
click to read more...
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Gift Bags Of Freebie Formula Banned In MA (CBS4 Boston)
(CBS4) BOSTON New moms in Massachusetts will go home with their little bundles of joy, but they will no longer go home with gift bags from formula companies. The state is first in the nation to ban the freebies.
Public health officials say they are doing this to promote breast feeding, but not all mothers we spoke with feel it's a good idea.
Many times a day, Colleen Chave reaches into her diaper bag, getting something for her daughter Sara Grace. Often times, it's the product of the company that provided the bag, Enfamil formula. Chave got the bag as she was leaving the hospital.
“They gave us a lot of supplies for myself and then for the baby they sent home a black bag filled with some formula samples," Chave says.
click to read more....
Public health officials say they are doing this to promote breast feeding, but not all mothers we spoke with feel it's a good idea.
Many times a day, Colleen Chave reaches into her diaper bag, getting something for her daughter Sara Grace. Often times, it's the product of the company that provided the bag, Enfamil formula. Chave got the bag as she was leaving the hospital.
“They gave us a lot of supplies for myself and then for the baby they sent home a black bag filled with some formula samples," Chave says.
click to read more....
Mass. moms cry over spilt milk: Hospitals KOing free infant formula (BostonHerald.com)
Got milk?
If you’re a new mother, you’d better.
Because beginning soon, hospitals will no longer be allowed to give free infant formula to mothers taking new babies home. Regulators want to promote breast-feeding, even if it means making Massachusetts the first state to ban the popular freebie.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” fumed Christine Kingdon of Brookline, mother of a 3-year-old and twin 12-day-old boys. “It’s a personal choice. (Breast feeding) doesn’t work for everyone.”
The free formula was “a big help,” said Camille Byron, a Mattapan mother who got a backpack full of free formula and coupons after giving birth to her son, now 2, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Formula is pretty expensive,” she added.
Nearly every hospital in Massachusetts — and across the country — gives new mothers commercial formula gift bags provided by formula companies. It’s often a diaper bag bearing the company logo and full of formula, formula literature, formula coupons and other items.
click to read more...
If you’re a new mother, you’d better.
Because beginning soon, hospitals will no longer be allowed to give free infant formula to mothers taking new babies home. Regulators want to promote breast-feeding, even if it means making Massachusetts the first state to ban the popular freebie.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” fumed Christine Kingdon of Brookline, mother of a 3-year-old and twin 12-day-old boys. “It’s a personal choice. (Breast feeding) doesn’t work for everyone.”
The free formula was “a big help,” said Camille Byron, a Mattapan mother who got a backpack full of free formula and coupons after giving birth to her son, now 2, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Formula is pretty expensive,” she added.
Nearly every hospital in Massachusetts — and across the country — gives new mothers commercial formula gift bags provided by formula companies. It’s often a diaper bag bearing the company logo and full of formula, formula literature, formula coupons and other items.
click to read more...
To boost nursing, state puts limits on gifts of formula (The Boston Globe)
An intensified campaign by Massachusetts public-health authorities to encourage breast-feeding comes amid a growing international push for the practice, which offers extensive health benefits to mother and child, specialists said yesterday.
Since the late 1980s, the state Department of Public Health has adopted increasingly stringent rules designed to support breast-feeding, and this week the agency moved to further restrict corporate promotions of infant formula in hospital maternity wards.
While free formula will still be available, the new rules will ban formula makers from routinely putting samples in the gift bags that are a customary memento for new mothers. The action this week, which puts Massachusetts at the leading edge of formula restrictions in hospitals, extends limits that had been in place for more than a decade.
click to read more....
Since the late 1980s, the state Department of Public Health has adopted increasingly stringent rules designed to support breast-feeding, and this week the agency moved to further restrict corporate promotions of infant formula in hospital maternity wards.
While free formula will still be available, the new rules will ban formula makers from routinely putting samples in the gift bags that are a customary memento for new mothers. The action this week, which puts Massachusetts at the leading edge of formula restrictions in hospitals, extends limits that had been in place for more than a decade.
click to read more....
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Massachusetts Becomes First State to Prohibit Formula Marketing in Hospitals
Boston, December 20, 2005— In a groundbreaking step for mothers and babies, Massachusetts became the first state to prohibit hospitals from giving out free formula company diaper bags to new parents. Giving out these bags reduces the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding and is considered unethical by many national and international groups, including the World Health Organization. Multiple studies, even from prestigious medical journals such as the Lancet, have shown that the bags interfere with breastfeeding, causing moms to switch to formula sooner, or quit nursing altogether-- even when the bags do not contain formula samples.
For decades, formula companies used hospitals to hand out diaper bags stocked with coupons and free samples. Most parents see these as a “free gift,” but the bags are a marketing technique that implies that the hospital endorses the product, successfully boosting sales of formula at the expense of breastfeeding. “One day, formula marketing in hospitals will go the way of cigarette ads on TV,” said Melissa Bartick, MD, Chair of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition.
The new rules on formula marketing are part of a much larger update of existing perinatal regulations written by the Department of Public Health and today approved by the Public Health Council. Hospitals must follow DPH regulations in order to be allowed to operate in the state. The regulations contain many other mandates that help promote and support breastfeeding and otherwise limit formula marketing.
In banning the distribution of these items, the DPH acknowledges that there is no medical justification for the institutional marketing of formula products to new parents. The vast majority of hospitals in Massachusetts and the US give out free diaper bags containing formula to new moms, and also accept free formula for in-hospital use. This marketing practice deviates from the standards followed by health care providers and hospitals in every other respect. For example, hospitals do not give out coupons for name-brand clothing, name-brand foods outside of maternity. “We’d never tolerate the thought of hospitals giving out coupons for Big Macs on the cardiac unit,” said Dr. Bartick, an internist. Since lack of breastfeeding is clearly associated with multiple adverse health outcomes in children and mothers, distribution of formula marketing materials by hospitals and health care providers has been recognized as unethical since at least 1981, when the World Health Organization approved the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
Members of MBC on the taskforce that drafted the new regulations helped make the case for eliminating the diaper bags. The formula bags may actually cost families money: “Not only is there the expense of formula, but parents and society end up paying for medications and time lost from work to care for a sick child,” says Dr. Kimberly Lee, a neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
As proof of the companies’ influence, Dr. Lee notes that parents almost always continue to use the brand of formula their baby got in the hospital—and those formulas are typically the most expensive.
These new regulations will go far in improving the quality of care to mothers and their newborns.
(source - Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition)
For decades, formula companies used hospitals to hand out diaper bags stocked with coupons and free samples. Most parents see these as a “free gift,” but the bags are a marketing technique that implies that the hospital endorses the product, successfully boosting sales of formula at the expense of breastfeeding. “One day, formula marketing in hospitals will go the way of cigarette ads on TV,” said Melissa Bartick, MD, Chair of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition.
The new rules on formula marketing are part of a much larger update of existing perinatal regulations written by the Department of Public Health and today approved by the Public Health Council. Hospitals must follow DPH regulations in order to be allowed to operate in the state. The regulations contain many other mandates that help promote and support breastfeeding and otherwise limit formula marketing.
In banning the distribution of these items, the DPH acknowledges that there is no medical justification for the institutional marketing of formula products to new parents. The vast majority of hospitals in Massachusetts and the US give out free diaper bags containing formula to new moms, and also accept free formula for in-hospital use. This marketing practice deviates from the standards followed by health care providers and hospitals in every other respect. For example, hospitals do not give out coupons for name-brand clothing, name-brand foods outside of maternity. “We’d never tolerate the thought of hospitals giving out coupons for Big Macs on the cardiac unit,” said Dr. Bartick, an internist. Since lack of breastfeeding is clearly associated with multiple adverse health outcomes in children and mothers, distribution of formula marketing materials by hospitals and health care providers has been recognized as unethical since at least 1981, when the World Health Organization approved the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
Members of MBC on the taskforce that drafted the new regulations helped make the case for eliminating the diaper bags. The formula bags may actually cost families money: “Not only is there the expense of formula, but parents and society end up paying for medications and time lost from work to care for a sick child,” says Dr. Kimberly Lee, a neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
As proof of the companies’ influence, Dr. Lee notes that parents almost always continue to use the brand of formula their baby got in the hospital—and those formulas are typically the most expensive.
These new regulations will go far in improving the quality of care to mothers and their newborns.
(source - Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition)
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Big News in Massachusetts!
The Massachusetts Public Health Council has just approved revisions to the Hospital Licensure Regulations for Maternal and Newborn Services that prohibit the direct marketing of commercial formula materials to mothers, including the distribution of commercial formula discharge bags. The revised regulations also include additional provisions to strengthen breastfeeding education and support in the hospital setting.
YES!!!!!
YES!!!!!
Breast-Feeding Moms Take Action: 'Lactivists' and Lawmakers Push to Allow Public Nursing (ABC News)
Dec. 20, 2005 — It was one of those moments new moms dread. While Lori Rueger was shopping with her infant daughter, the baby "pitched a fit" — she needed to be fed.
"When I started heading back to the car, I saw there was a Victoria's Secret," Rueger said. "Being a past customer of Victoria's Secret, I knew they had really nice dressing rooms. [I thought:] 'I'll see if they let me use it and buy something for their trouble and be on my way.'"
Instead, she said, she was told that breast-feeding in the store was against company policy and was advised to go to a nearby bathroom, which she told the employee she would not do. "I just kind of looked at her and said, 'I wouldn't eat in there. Would you?'"
At a time when "lactivists" boycott noncompliant businesses and hold nurse-ins to promote acceptance of public breast-feeding, laws regarding breast-feeding already are in place in 38 states, 31 of which allow mothers to breast-feed in any public or private location, according to October figures from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Prompted by Rueger's encounter, South Carolina is poised to become the 39th state as legislation is to be introduced next month.
click to read more...
"When I started heading back to the car, I saw there was a Victoria's Secret," Rueger said. "Being a past customer of Victoria's Secret, I knew they had really nice dressing rooms. [I thought:] 'I'll see if they let me use it and buy something for their trouble and be on my way.'"
Instead, she said, she was told that breast-feeding in the store was against company policy and was advised to go to a nearby bathroom, which she told the employee she would not do. "I just kind of looked at her and said, 'I wouldn't eat in there. Would you?'"
At a time when "lactivists" boycott noncompliant businesses and hold nurse-ins to promote acceptance of public breast-feeding, laws regarding breast-feeding already are in place in 38 states, 31 of which allow mothers to breast-feed in any public or private location, according to October figures from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Prompted by Rueger's encounter, South Carolina is poised to become the 39th state as legislation is to be introduced next month.
click to read more...
Lactation center asks local mothers for help (Caller.com: Local News)
State's newest collection site looks for donors
The looks people give her are not flattering when she tells them she's a breast milk donor, said Barbara Scott, 31.
"People give me funny looks," Scott said. "But, it's a lot like donating blood. It's foreign if you're not used to it. There are a lot of people that don't know about it. They think it's strange."
But moms like Scott are not uncommon, said Kim Updegrove, clinical coordinator of the Mother's Milk Bank at Austin. In 2005, there were 327 donors approved to donate their breast milk.
Driscoll Children's Hospital officials are hoping to add more donor moms.
The hospital's lactation center, Mom's Place, became the state's newest breast milk collection site last week, said Laurie Beck, Driscoll's lactation program coordinator. There are nine other sites, including San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth, Updegrove said.
"Donors have an easier time donating their milk, and it takes the burden off the mom," Updegrove said.
Before, donors would have to send their milk overnight on dry ice to Austin; now they can drop it off and have Driscoll pay the postage, Updegrove said.
Donated milk goes to a variety of babies, some who have been adopted, whose mothers have died, can't for medical reasons or find it difficult, Beck said.
Scott said she was encouraged to donate after reading an article about a breast cancer survivor who had a double mastectomy.
click to read more...
The looks people give her are not flattering when she tells them she's a breast milk donor, said Barbara Scott, 31.
"People give me funny looks," Scott said. "But, it's a lot like donating blood. It's foreign if you're not used to it. There are a lot of people that don't know about it. They think it's strange."
But moms like Scott are not uncommon, said Kim Updegrove, clinical coordinator of the Mother's Milk Bank at Austin. In 2005, there were 327 donors approved to donate their breast milk.
Driscoll Children's Hospital officials are hoping to add more donor moms.
The hospital's lactation center, Mom's Place, became the state's newest breast milk collection site last week, said Laurie Beck, Driscoll's lactation program coordinator. There are nine other sites, including San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth, Updegrove said.
"Donors have an easier time donating their milk, and it takes the burden off the mom," Updegrove said.
Before, donors would have to send their milk overnight on dry ice to Austin; now they can drop it off and have Driscoll pay the postage, Updegrove said.
Donated milk goes to a variety of babies, some who have been adopted, whose mothers have died, can't for medical reasons or find it difficult, Beck said.
Scott said she was encouraged to donate after reading an article about a breast cancer survivor who had a double mastectomy.
click to read more...
Monday, December 19, 2005
Baby, we were born to breast-feed? (Salon.com Life | Broadsheet)
While checking out Shakespeare's Sister this weekend, I noticed her entry on a San Diego roadside billboard that reads "Babies were born to be breastfed."
That's a pretty strong statement, and Shakespeare's Sister smartly wonders whether "making women feel guilty for not breastfeeding" is the way to go.
But what I wondered is why the Web address on the billboard didn't lead to the La Leche League but, rather, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
click to read more...
That's a pretty strong statement, and Shakespeare's Sister smartly wonders whether "making women feel guilty for not breastfeeding" is the way to go.
But what I wondered is why the Web address on the billboard didn't lead to the La Leche League but, rather, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
click to read more...
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Do you find breastfeeding offensive? (Independent Online)
Do you find breastfeeding offensive?
If you do, tough. New laws will make breastfeeding in public every mother's right.
The National Gallery has nearly 50 paintings and portraits featuring bare breasts on its walls, including a Tintoretto entitled Origin of the Milky Way.
But when Catherine Gulati settled discreetly into a corner to breastfeed her 11-month-old baby during a visit to the gallery last year, she was ordered by an attendant to stop. Now that the notion of breast is best is accepted wisdom, Parliament is considering changing the law to make it illegal to prevent a mother from feeding her child in public.
Ministers are preparing to follow the example of Scotland, where the law was changed last year, and legislate for the right of women to breastfeed their babies in a public place.
The legal change would cover all public spaces, from parks to shopping malls and even shops. But Parliament - including the House of Commons chamber - would not be covered by the law because it is a Royal Palace.
The rethink by ministers follows an outcry over women who have been prevented from feeding their babies by restaurateurs, policemen and members of the public. Even some doctors' surgeries have banned breastfeeding in their waiting rooms. Pro-breastfeeding groups, including the National Childbirth Trust, say that the anxiety about being stopped in public is putting many mothers off - and encouraging them to bottle-feed instead.
click to read more...
If you do, tough. New laws will make breastfeeding in public every mother's right.
The National Gallery has nearly 50 paintings and portraits featuring bare breasts on its walls, including a Tintoretto entitled Origin of the Milky Way.
But when Catherine Gulati settled discreetly into a corner to breastfeed her 11-month-old baby during a visit to the gallery last year, she was ordered by an attendant to stop. Now that the notion of breast is best is accepted wisdom, Parliament is considering changing the law to make it illegal to prevent a mother from feeding her child in public.
Ministers are preparing to follow the example of Scotland, where the law was changed last year, and legislate for the right of women to breastfeed their babies in a public place.
The legal change would cover all public spaces, from parks to shopping malls and even shops. But Parliament - including the House of Commons chamber - would not be covered by the law because it is a Royal Palace.
The rethink by ministers follows an outcry over women who have been prevented from feeding their babies by restaurateurs, policemen and members of the public. Even some doctors' surgeries have banned breastfeeding in their waiting rooms. Pro-breastfeeding groups, including the National Childbirth Trust, say that the anxiety about being stopped in public is putting many mothers off - and encouraging them to bottle-feed instead.
click to read more...
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Breast-feeding woman alleges run-in with airline employee (The Eureka Reporter)
A local mother flying home after a visit with family last week was allegedly told to stop nursing her baby out of consideration for the other passengers on the plane. The flight attendant defended her request by claiming it was “company policy.”
On Dec. 4 Eureka resident K.K. Tetrault, 31, began nursing her 7-month-old son Ronan during takeoff from the Fresno Yosemite International Airport on a United Express flight operated by SkyWest Inc., headed to San Francisco, a flight which would later connect her to one bound for the Arcata-Eureka Airport.
“I was already a little uncomfortable, but what else was I to do?” Tetrault said. “My baby was tired, hungry and ready to go to sleep.”
According to Tetrault, the flight attendant approached her after the plane stabilized and it was safe to do so.
“‘I am going to have to ask you as a courtesy to others and to those around you to please stop nursing and wait until we land and get to the terminal,’” Tetrault said the flight attendant whispered in her ear.
click to read more...
On Dec. 4 Eureka resident K.K. Tetrault, 31, began nursing her 7-month-old son Ronan during takeoff from the Fresno Yosemite International Airport on a United Express flight operated by SkyWest Inc., headed to San Francisco, a flight which would later connect her to one bound for the Arcata-Eureka Airport.
“I was already a little uncomfortable, but what else was I to do?” Tetrault said. “My baby was tired, hungry and ready to go to sleep.”
According to Tetrault, the flight attendant approached her after the plane stabilized and it was safe to do so.
“‘I am going to have to ask you as a courtesy to others and to those around you to please stop nursing and wait until we land and get to the terminal,’” Tetrault said the flight attendant whispered in her ear.
click to read more...
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Bill would allow public breast-feeding (The State)
Melissa Senf of Lexington has breast-fed her children in a lot of public places — on the Metro and at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., in synagogues, churches and elsewhere.
It’s little wonder she stands firmly behind a bill that would protect a woman’s right to breast-feed a child in public places in South Carolina.
“That’s very important for me,” said Senf, 31, a mother of three. “The emotions of new moms and the powerful message this bill could send would show that (breast-feeding) is protected and valued and, indeed, encouraged.”
A rash of confrontations this year in the Palmetto State — mostly between breast-feeding moms and retailers — has drawn a spotlight to public breast-feeding and eventually sparked proposed legislation.
click to read more....
It’s little wonder she stands firmly behind a bill that would protect a woman’s right to breast-feed a child in public places in South Carolina.
“That’s very important for me,” said Senf, 31, a mother of three. “The emotions of new moms and the powerful message this bill could send would show that (breast-feeding) is protected and valued and, indeed, encouraged.”
A rash of confrontations this year in the Palmetto State — mostly between breast-feeding moms and retailers — has drawn a spotlight to public breast-feeding and eventually sparked proposed legislation.
click to read more....
Monday, December 05, 2005
I'm worried that my tattoo will rule out breastfeeding (The Herald)
Is it healthy for my baby to breastfeed after I have had
a tattoo?
If your tattoo was present before you became pregnant then breastfeeding is safe and to be encouraged. It provides all the nutrition the baby needs in the early weeks and months and passes on antibodies to help it fight and prevent infection.
click to read more...
a tattoo?
If your tattoo was present before you became pregnant then breastfeeding is safe and to be encouraged. It provides all the nutrition the baby needs in the early weeks and months and passes on antibodies to help it fight and prevent infection.
click to read more...
Women in US need more breastfeeding support - Yahoo! News
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A number of factors influence whether a women will give up breastfeeding before the baby can derive any health benefits from it, new research suggests -- but with more encouragement and help many more women might persevere.
Numerous studies have documented the health benefits of breastfeeding for the infant, such as a decreased risk of upper respiratory infections and possibly even a reduced risk of dying. Still, many women forgo breastfeeding altogether or stop it after just a few days or weeks, despite recommendations that a few months of breastfeeding is needed to see a benefit.
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Numerous studies have documented the health benefits of breastfeeding for the infant, such as a decreased risk of upper respiratory infections and possibly even a reduced risk of dying. Still, many women forgo breastfeeding altogether or stop it after just a few days or weeks, despite recommendations that a few months of breastfeeding is needed to see a benefit.
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Saturday, December 03, 2005
NewsTrack - Mom says border agent made her lactate (United Press International)
SAN YSIDRO, Calif., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A young woman says an immigration agent on the border between Mexico and California forced her to lactate to prove that the baby she carried was hers.
Zayra Cano, 18, whose legal residence is in San Ysidro, Calif., was returning from Tijuana with her parents, her fiance and the baby, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
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Zayra Cano, 18, whose legal residence is in San Ysidro, Calif., was returning from Tijuana with her parents, her fiance and the baby, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
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Kate Hudson: Kate Hudson's public breast-feeding
Kate Hudson admits she breastfed her son in front of the director when filming 'The Skeleton Key'.
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