Thursday, August 31, 2006

Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition : CafePress.com

Check it out - the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition has a Cafe Press store up and running!



click to visit the store...

Moms breastfeed for baby, but they benefit (United Press International)

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Many women know the benefits of breastfeeding for a baby, but there are also many benefits to the mother, says a U.S. expert.

Dr. James M. Sears, a board-certified pediatrician, breastfeeding adviser and co-author of "The Baby Book," says breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer.



click to read more...

Mothers rate McDonald's as the worst place for breastfeeding (Independent Online Edition)

McDonald's may pride itself on its child-friendly image, but the fast-food chain has been rated the least friendly place in Britain for women to breastfeed.

Staff have told mothers to stop breastfeeding in outlets, or asked them to use a toilet cubicleto feed their babies, a survey by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) has found.



click to read more...

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

First Lady calls for breast feeding rooms in malls, office (ANTARA News)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian First Lady Mme Ani Yudhoyono has called for the provision of special rooms for breast feeding in malls, offices, bus and train stations and other public places in order to help promote the exclusive breast feeding campaign nationally.

"I call for the opening of special counters for women to breast feed their babies in public places," Ani Yudhoyono said at the State Palace, on Monday after receiving a special citation from the United Nations Children`s Fund (UNICEF) as the national ambassador for breast feeding campaign.


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Save Our Clinic Say Protesters (from Oxford Mail)

Mums across Oxfordshire are stepping up their campaign to save a world-renowned breast-feeding clinic at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

They are planning a demonstration at the hospital to protest against the proposed closure of the clinic, which was launched in 1991 and now runs two days a week.



click to read more...

Told to feed baby in the toilet (icCoventry)

BABY Lilly Holmes had her first shopping trip spoiled when her mum couldn't find anywhere to sit and feed her.

Sarah and Steve Holmes, of Dean Street, Stoke, Coventry, took three-week-old Lilly into town last week to choose some new clothes for mum.

But they say the day out was ruined when Lilly's feeding time came and went with the couple unable to find a place for Sarah to sit and breast-feed.

The couple say they searched the city centre for more than 1½ hours with their crying baby, before giving up and going home from their shopping trip empty handed.



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Milk donations going strong in area (Oshkosh Northwestern)

Peggy Toman had stored enough donated breast milk in her boutique to feed a single newborn for two months.


At least 2,000 ounces of breast milk were transported Monday from the local breast milk donation depot, on its way to the Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio for processing and shipment to mothers who have a prescription for it.


Monday's shipment is the largest the depot has sent since it began collecting donated breast milk in November.


The Nurturing Mother's Boutique, 2050 W. Ninth Ave., has since shipped about 3,000 ounces, including Monday's shipment.



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Doctor speaks up for breast-feeding (Pittsburg Post-Gazette)

The many nutritional and developmental benefits of breast-feeding for babies are well known, and word about lifestyle and important health advantages for moms who breast-feed is spreading fast.


Tony Tye, Post-Gazette
Dr. Todd Wolynn, of Pediatric Alliance, holds Theo Rothstein, 1, of Squirrel Hill. Dr. Wolynn and his partners have launched the Breastfeeding Center of Pittsburgh as part of their practice.

So why don't more mothers breast-feed their children?

The question is being taken up by lactation consultants, including a group of Pittsburgh pediatricians, who say mothers are desperate for support and help with breast-feeding problems.

"It's obviously healthier to breast-feed," said Dr. Todd Wolynn. "But the more powerful message is the unspoken truth ... that breast-feeding is easier, safer and more convenient."


click to read more...

Breastfeeding should be a mother's choice - Opinion (Daily Kent Stater)

I wasn't like most teenage mothers.

I did not want to give my daughter formula. I wanted to make sure I provided Jaelah with the best nutrition possible, which just so happened to come from my body.

For me, it was a luxury to not have to get up in the middle of the night to make a bottle; however, I did not breastfeed because of my benefits.

Studies show that breastfed babies are healthier than formula-fed babies. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, infants that are breastfed have lower rates of medical problems such as ear infections, allergies and rashes, compared to infants who are not.

A couple of weeks ago, a local radio station had listeners call in to voice their opinions about breastfeeding in public. KOMO/4 commentator Ken Schram compared breastfeeding to public urination. His network counterpart, Barbara Walters, shared the same view and commented that breastfeeding made her "queasy."

And they're not alone.


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Support in the workplace lauded (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

At Bayer Corp., off the Parkway West in Robinson, mothers who return to work after maternity leave are encouraged to breast-feed longer by using breast pumps in the pleasant surroundings of secure "lactation rooms."

If they use pumps when they are away from their babies, mothers can keep their supply of breast milk sufficient for their children's nourishment. Milk is then refrigerated for the infants to have later.

Diana Kamyk, manager for diversity and work life at Bayer, said there are four lactation rooms across the 16-building campus. She said they are clean, quiet, locked rooms with comfortable chairs and outlets for breast pumps. One women's lounge also has a space set aside, with a partition and a chair.



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Editorial: Got Milk? Wonder drink gets its due in Oshkosh (Oshkosh Northwestern )

Sometimes we like to think we've come a long way in our society, from the latest gadgets to the greatest wonder drugs.


But judging by the pained looks and uncomfortable responses to the subject of mother's milk, you can see how far we've regressed.



click to read more...

Friday, August 25, 2006

Bottles are for dummies (INQ7.net)

CHILDREN of breast-feeding mothers, it has been observed, follow suit by "breastfeeding" their dolls. "Hopefully," writes the NGO, Children for Breastfeeding, "this will instill in their young minds that breastfeeding is the most natural and beautiful way of nurturing, when they become parents themselves."

I don't remember "breast-feeding" dolls when I was a child, but I do remember that brand-new "infant" dolls came with a tiny plastic bottle and nipple enclosed in the shiny packaging. We used to think it a hoot that you could fill the bottle with water and see water seep out of the baby "down there" a few minutes later.

I'm almost sure I was bottle-fed, not just because I am the sixth of nine children, but also because, by then, my parents had decided to relocate to Manila and Mama was well on her way to becoming a "Manila" matron, determined to jettison all traces of the "probinsyana" [provincial lass] she had been. And part of the process of becoming citified was giving birth in a hospital instead of at home, and then adopting the "modern"
practice of bottle-feeding.



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Annual Breastfeeding Tea Party Draws Record Numbers (Putnam County News & Recorder)

Once again, the annual Breastfeeding Tea Party, recently hosted by the staff of the Women's Pavilion for Birthing at HVHC, was a huge success. Despite the sweltering heat on August 2nd, seventy-five women attended with their babies.

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Austin group helps save babies' lives (kvue.com)

Austin is leading the way when it comes to saving the lives of hundreds of infants every year.

KVUE Online Video

KVUE's Olga Campos reports
The life-saving measures are made possible by lactating mothers who are willing to share their breast milk.

"So this is milk that is ready to go out to the hospitals or to the babies homes where they need it," said April Rudge, Outreach and Volunteer Services Director.

Twice a week, 2,600 ounces of milk are processed at the Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin located near St. David's Hospital.

The recipients are newborns facing serious, possibly even fatal medical conditions.

"And so the hospitals will call us usually weekly or every other week and say, 'Hey I need 50 bottles of milk, I need a 100 bottles of milk, I need 200 ounces of milk.' Depending on what their needs are and how many babies were born that require donor's milk," explains Rudge.



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Mom Still Struggles To Find Breast Milk (NBCSanDiego.com)

Lisbeth Ruiz has trouble producing enough milk for her one-month old babies so she's been trying to find new sources.


At first, she bought some from the National Milk Bank at a cost of $1500 every four days. When the price got too steep, she went looking for donor breast milk on the Craig's List website.

Although one mother from Nebraska had 1000 ounces of milk ready for pickup, Ruiz's plan is being nipped in the bud.

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Donated breast milk aids mothers unable to nurse (IndyStar.com)

In a perfect world, say breastfeeding advocates, every woman could and would breastfeed. But the reality is that not every woman can.


That's where the Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank comes in.
Founded last summer, the Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank, one of 10 in the United States, collects excess milk from breastfeeding mothers, pasteurizes it and supplies it to six hospitals throughout the Midwest.


click to read more...

Back to the breast (IndyStar.com)

Studies show breastfeeding benefits infants, but public has been slow to embrace it

When her infant daughter, Isabelle, started fussing in a restaurant one day, Erin Simons knew what she had to do to mollify her: Breastfeed.

After discreetly positioning the child, Simons was shocked when a waiter asked her to leave the dining room because some of the Ohio eatery's other patrons had expressed discomfort.
Only after she finished breastfeeding Isabelle, now 13 months, in the car, did Simons feel a flush of anger replace her first blush of embarrassment.
"There's no reason why you should

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Breastfeeding Clinic At Risk (from Oxford Mail)

Mums across Oxfordshire are mounting a campaign to save a world-renowned breast-feeding clinic at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital. Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust is facing a £33m deficit and is planning to make major cuts, including 600 posts. Two-hundred staff, including two surgeons, will lose their jobs this summer.

The trust wants to shut the Horton's special care baby unit, downgrade maternity services and close the 24-hour children's ward.

Campaigners say the number of deliveries per year could increase from 6,500 to 8,000 at the John Radcliffe's maternity unit if the proposed cuts are made at the Horton, and there will then be an even greater need for the clinic, which was launched in 1991.



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More women in county breastfeed their babies (Daily Democrat Online)

It has long been known that breastfeeding babies can prevent disease later in life. It plays a major role in preventing children from becoming overweight. Hospitals can help make a difference in whether mothers breastfeed their babies.
In a recent study by the California WIC Association and UC Davis, Yolo County ranked 17th in the state for highest exclusive breastfeeding rates. Exclusive breastfeeding means the infant receives only breast milk, and no other food or fluids. Compared to California, 65 percent of new mothers in Yolo County reported higher rates of exclusive breastfeeding when they left the hospital compared to only 40 percent statewide.

Both Sutter Davis and Woodland Healthcare want to make those rates even higher. They are planning to meet the Baby Friendly Hospital guidelines developed by The World Health Organization and UNICEF.



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Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Mother's Milk Saves Lives (CorpWatch)

click to read more...Although experts say that breastfeeding gives children the best start in life, protecting them from life-threatening diseases and providing essential nutrients, barely a third of all infants in developing countries are exclusively breastfed for the first six months.

"Breast milk contains exactly the nutrients that the infant needs, helping the infant's development, with breastfed children performing better on intelligence tests than formula-fed children," Randa Jarudi Saadeh, a scientist at the Nutrition for Health and Development Department of the World Health Organisation, told IPS.

"Furthermore, breastfeeding helps mother and infant bond," she said.

Human milk is the ideal nourishment for infants' survival, growth and development. According to medical studies, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life stimulates babies' immune systems and protects them from life-threatening diseases such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections -- two of the main causes of infant mortality in developing countries.

Got mother's milk? (StarNewsOnline.com)

Sara Arey first committed to breastfeeding 12 years ago, ``a wonderful experience’’ that helped her bond with her newly born daughter, Briannen.

So when baby No. 2 — Maylen, now 7 — entered the picture, ``I couldn’t imagine not doing the same thing for and with another child,’’ said the acupunture assistant who lives in Rome, Ga.

There were complications: Maylen was adopted. And the baby girl, born in China, was 9 months old and up to that point had only been bottle-fed.

Such facts, however, didn’t keep Arey from her maternal responsibilities.

``It can be hard because, as an adoptive parent, it’s easy to feel different — especially if you adopted a child who is physically different from you. That can raise more eyebrows when you’re nursing,’’ Arey said. ``But it gave my daughter a sense of security and belonging she wouldn’t have had otherwise.’’

Welcome to adoptive breastfeeding, also called induced lactation. It enables adopted children and their new moms to bond. The women have to jumpstart milk production by pumping, taking herbs, drugs or using nipple stimulation.

click to read more...

Doctors call for breast feed law (BBC NEWS)

Doctors in Wales are calling on the Welsh Assembly Government to introduce legislation to encourage breastfeeding.
The British Medical Association (BMA) Cymru says more needs to be done to encourage breastfeeding in places like restaurants, cafes and shops.

It says breastfeeding is the best option for mothers and legislation would help change public attitudes.

The assembly government said it gave full support to breastfeeding mothers, and was reviewing the legislation.


click to read more...

Moms defend right to breast-feed (The Leaf Chronicle)

A woman breast-feeding her baby in public is not trying to be titillating. Far from a display of immodesty, breast-feeding is a simple utilitarian process: A mother is feeding her child.

"No matter where I am, I have food ready," says Tammy Patton, the mother of 6-month-old twins Lukas and Alexis.

Newborns need to be fed at least every three or four hours. Breast-feeding mothers would have to spend most of their lives at home to avoid breast-feeding in public.



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'Free' really isn't (McCook Daily Gazette)

Aug. 1-7 was World Breastfeeding Week in the United States. The theme for 2006 was "Code Watch: 25 years of Protecting Breastfeeding."


The "Code" is short for the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. It is a set of recommendations written in 1981 by the World Health Organization, intended to be a standard to regulate marketing by companies that profit when mothers don't breastfeed (primarily infant formula companies).



click to read more...

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Wy I Choose Not To Use a Car Seat

WHY I CHOOSE NOT TO USE A CAR SEAT
Author unknown*

I refuse to feel guilty for making an educated choice to not put my baby in a car seat. There are so many militant car seat users in our society and I am tired of them pushing their beliefs on me. There are lots of reasons I have made this choice.

First of all, I want my husband to be able to drive him around in his car. He can just sit him on his lap when they go for a ride. This will help him bond and be closer with our son.

I don't want to be the only one that drives him around. It makes my husband, mother and friends feel special when they can take him for rides. I will be returning to work in 6 weeks and I don't want a big old car seat in the back of our luxury car. I never put my first son in a car seat and he is just fine.

I was never in a car seat, neither was my mother and we are both as healthy as can be. On the other hand, my sister in law's cousin used a car seat and her child was seriously injured in a car wreck. My aunt tried to use a car seat and wasn't able to. She was never able to latch the baby in the seat properly. In fact, my car is too small for a car seat anyway. What matters most is that my baby is healthy and happy.

When I left the hospital, they told me that I should try to use the car seat, but if it didn't work out that it was all right to not use it. In fact, in the diaper bag that I received from the hospital, it has some information for how to safely ride in the car with my son without a car seat. I tried for 1 week to use a car seat with my first son and it made both of us miserable. I told my pediatrician about it, and he said it would probably be best to not use a car seat anymore. Now he is happy and content sitting on my lap as we drive.

Using a car seat is just so inconvenient! My privacy is also an issue. Do I want everyone to know when they see my car that I have a child??? Besides, my children need to learn how to ride in the car without being in the car seat. I don't want a 3 year old still wanting to get in his seat!

I know that using a car seat has some benefits, but there are a lot of people out there who don't use them and their kids are just fine! There are people out there that cannot use a car seat (can't latch baby in properly, car is too small, doesn't match with the interior). Using a car seat is a personal choice and nobody's business. As a parent I have made the decision for what is best for my child. It works best for us and our child.....and that is all that is important. It's my choice after all, isn't it??


*If anyone knows who authored this piece, please let me know!!!

Three US companies cited as best for nursing moms (Reuters.com)

NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - PNC Financial Services, WhiteWave Foods and Mothering Magazine were cited on Wednesday as the best U.S. companies for nursing mothers to work for, according to WorldWIT, a networking organization for professional women in business.

The three offered the best resources, services and policies for nursing mothers who have returned to work, said Boulder, Colorado-based WorldWIT, which selected the winners.

Research has shown that breast milk offers babies numerous health advantages over formula including heightened immunity and compounds that aid brain development. But many women struggle to continue breastfeeding when they return to work and are separated from their babies for a lengthy part of the day.

click to read more...

Breastfeeding fans still want apology (The Free Press)

BUDA, Texas (STPNS) -- The Kyle Council chambers were packed due to concerned citizens, Kyle swim team members and Word of Life Church supporters at the Kyle City Council meeting Tuesday.

During the citizen comment period, Michelle and Jason Hickey and many others spoke about the breastfeeding incident at Kyle Pool.

“All my wife was doing was breastfeeding her child,” Jason Hickey said. “The people that were involved basically looked for a reason to tell my wife, ‘Oh, you were in the wrong,’ when she was never in the wrong.”

At least five other citizens said they felt Hickey was treated unfairly and deserved an apology.


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Breastfeeding fans still want apology (The Free Press)

BUDA, Texas (STPNS) -- The Kyle Council chambers were packed due to concerned citizens, Kyle swim team members and Word of Life Church supporters at the Kyle City Council meeting Tuesday.

During the citizen comment period, Michelle and Jason Hickey and many others spoke about the breastfeeding incident at Kyle Pool.

“All my wife was doing was breastfeeding her child,” Jason Hickey said. “The people that were involved basically looked for a reason to tell my wife, ‘Oh, you were in the wrong,’ when she was never in the wrong.”

At least five other citizens said they felt Hickey was treated unfairly and deserved an apology.


click to read more...

Giving babies best start in life (St. Helena Star)

Napa Valley Breastfeeding Coalition announces a new project in conjunction with World Breastfeeding Week 2006, which started Aug. 1. The coalition, comprised of health care workers and community members who work with mothers and babies, will ask health care agencies in the community to pledge their support for meeting the goals of Healthy People 2010 in Napa County.


click to read more...

More Support For Breastfeeding Urged, Senay: Too Few Moms Do It Long Enough To Benefit Babies Most (CBS News)

CBS) Experts agree that breast milk is the healthiest food for babies and that breastfeeding is good for moms, as well.

But many mothers in the United States aren't doing it as long as physicians recommend, says The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.

She was told by Dr. Lori Winter, who helped develop the American Academy of Pediatrics' breastfeeding recommendations, that breastfeeding "by itself, without the addition of any foods or other fluids, (should be done) for about the first six months of life, and then followed by the introduction of nutritious, complimentary foods at about six months, and (we urge) continued breastfeeding for at least the first year of life and even thereafter."


click to read more...

Breastfeeding reduces risk of many diseases (The New Nation)

The two-day National Conference on Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding (Infant and young Child feeding) began yesterday at the Institute of Child and Mother Health (ICMC) at Matuail in the city with the call of promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding and complementary feeding.

Inaugurating the conference, Minister for Food and Disaster Management Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf said the government is committed to uphold nutrition through different programmes keeping breastfeeding as the major component.

The Minister said national strategy of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) will be endorsed soon in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for ensuring nutrition to the infants and young children and implement integrated programmes.



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The milk of baby's health: Nutritious, medicinal, it is best for the little ones (North County Times)

It was an indelicate subject that bordered on indecent, according to Victorian mores. Certainly not something to be flaunted publicly.

The subject was breast-feeding.

For most of the 20th century, American society preferred to tuck away references to this act, which after all is as natural as life itself. And that's the stigma associated with just talking about it. Actually nursing a baby in public was a lot more difficult. Unless the nursing mother stayed at home with her infant, she needed to constantly find locations where she could discreetly feed her baby, and many times a day.


Breast-feeding mothers encounter less disapproval today, as medical research has accumulated about its benefits. But it's still sometimes viewed as a "lifestyle choice," said Suzanne Unger of Wildomar. Unger is a leader in La Leche League of Temecula Valley (www.lalecheleague.org). The group is a breast-feeding information and support group of mothers who have breast-fed. Formed in Chicago 50 years ago, the group gets its name from the Spanish word for milk.



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A national policy is being worked on with the aim of encouraging mothers to breast-feed their babies. (Seychelles NATION)

A key component of the policy will involve educating midwives and health care professionals on how to better provide skilled, practical and emotional support to enable mothers to breast-feed.

This came to light during a one-day workshop on the importance of breast-feeding organized on Wednesday as part of activities to mark this year's Breast-feeding Week from August 1 to 8.

The workshop, held at the National Institute of Health and Social Services (NIHSS), was organized by the Ministry of Education and Youth and conducted by Janet Anacoura, midwife tutor at NIHSS.

Its aim was to strengthen the role of midwives in Seychelles and to support and encourage breast-feeding as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), which is to be part of the national policy.



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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Picnic, week promote breast-feeding (Independent Record)

What's a "baby-friendly" hospital? Apparently, there is only one in Montana, and it's in Anaconda. It's reasonable to wonder why this designation is important.

It's important because more than 1 million infants worldwide die every year because they are not breastfed or are given other foods too early. In the United States, thousands of infants suffer the ill effects of infant formula.

Among the many benefits of breast-feeding to infants in the industrialized world are: decreased risk of SIDS, diarrhea, respiratory and ear infections, allergic skin disorders; and higher IQ shown in school-aged children who were breastfed as infants. For breast-feeding mothers, benefits include a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.


click to read more...

Medela supports National Breastfeeding Awareness Month (Kids Today)

In celebration of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, Medela conducted complimentary, educational breastfeeding seminars at all Babies “R” Us stores nationwide as part of the retailers’ August Baby Fest events.

The events were designed to give new moms information about the benefits of breastfeeding and tips on how to breastfeed successfully. Medela provided an educational lactation specialist at each store to conduct seminars and offer new moms the opportunity to ask questions and obtain expert answers.



click to read more...

'Breastfeeding Success Month' is celebrated (Newport News-Times)

The Lincoln County Commissioners have declared August to be Breastfeeding Success Month in Lincoln County. Pat Lewis, a member of he Lincoln County Breastfeeding Coalition, told the commissioners that Oregon is, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number one state in the percentage of women who breastfeed their infants, and Lincoln County is "very high in the Oregon data" for breastfeeding among its 36 counties.



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Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Hathor the Cow Goddess and the Evolution Revolution

Once again, Hathor tells it like it is...

click to view...

Lactation Station offers privacy (IndyStar.com)

Moms appreciate having a comfy spot at fair to breast-feed

Having a meal at the Indiana State Fair, for most visitors, is as easy as walking up to the nearest food vendor.

But for nursing moms, planning mealtime for their youngest family members often means trekking back to the car or trying to get comfortable in a bathroom stall.

Not anymore.

This year for the first time, moms at the fair who are breast-feeding their babies can sink into a comfortable rocking chair and enjoy a breeze generated by oscillating fans inside a tent dubbed the Lactation Station.

Near the entrance to the Pfizer Fun Park, across from the Pathway to Water Quality, the station is free and open to any moms who need to take a break for mealtimes.

"The idea is . . . to encourage and support mothers who breast-feed," said Mary Alexander, of the Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank, the tent sponsor.


click to read more...

Event supports breastfeeding (ContraCostaTimes.com)

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY to bond with a newborn infant, prevent obesity, cut down on diseases such as leukemia and diabetes, pass antibodies and assist in strengthening a baby's eyesight as well as its IQ?

The answer to all these questions is breastfeeding. Recently, Sutter Delta Medical Center took part in World Breastfeeding Week by inviting mothers in the area, along with their nursing children, to its Birthing Center. Observed in 120 nations and given a stamp of approval by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, World Breastfeeding Week was first celebrated in 1992.



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Monday, August 14, 2006

Infant feeding studied (San Bernardino County Sun)

It seems like the most natural thing in the world, and it carries tremendous benefits for mother and baby. Yet just 30.8 percent of San Bernardino County's mothers breast-feed their infants.
The county ranked 40th out of 50 California counties studied in rates of mothers solely breast-feeding, without supplementing it with formula. Experts say if the mother doesn't learn to breast-feed in the hospital, she's unlikely to start at home.

The study by the state Women, Infants and Children program and UC Davis found that although more than 83 percent of women statewide plan to breast-feed their infants, only 40.5 percent do so. Hospital practices contribute heavily to that discrepancy, says the study, released last week.



click to read more...

The debate over public breastfeeding (STLtoday)

About 700 people have voiced complaint over the recent issue of Baby Talk magazine because the cover features – prepare yourself for this as the world may suddenly cease to spin – a nursing infant! It wasn’t even a wardrobe malfunction. Yet there it is, in all of its glory, a nursing infant gazing expressively at its mother. Those 700 people were angry because a profile of a lady part belonging to the chestal region was partially shown.

It’s not like the magazine featured a full-frontal female breast with a pasty on it. I’m not going to try to justify breastfeeding by pointing out the egregious examples of trashy sexuality which continually captivates our ADD culture because it’s totally illogical to do so.

In a world where artists [sic] like the Pussycat Dolls grind on each other like Dollar General hookers in a music video or where soft porn shows daily on prime-time television, breastfeeding is one of the last bastions of innocence.

That’s until some pervy pervs get all grossed out by the act of breastfeeding because they simply CANNOT grasp that breasts serve a purpose other than for foreplay. They throw out words like “decency” and “decorum” and act like a breastfeeding mother is akin to a topless dancer twirling tassels on a Mardi Gras float.


click to read more...

Mother's milk, the workplace and hospital (The Eureka Reporter)

A mother’s milk is best. Hospitals know it, and the local Breastfeeding Task Force is spreading the word.

The next goal: convincing employers to create a workplace setting that supports women who choose to breastfeed for at least the first six months of their baby’s life.

“What happens in the workplace is a lack of information,” said Mary Scott, Perinatal Services coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services. “All employers have to do is ask, ‘What are your plans after you return to work and what can I do to support you?’”


click to read more...

Mother's milk, the workplace and hospital (The Eureka Reporter)

A mother’s milk is best. Hospitals know it, and the local Breastfeeding Task Force is spreading the word.

The next goal: convincing employers to create a workplace setting that supports women who choose to breastfeed for at least the first six months of their baby’s life.

“What happens in the workplace is a lack of information,” said Mary Scott, Perinatal Services coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services. “All employers have to do is ask, ‘What are your plans after you return to work and what can I do to support you?’”


click to read more...

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Breast-feeding helps baby - and mom (DailyBulletin.com)

It seems like the most natural thing in the world, and it carries tremendous benefits for mother and baby.
Yet just 30.8 percent of San Bernardino County's mothers breast feed their infants.

The county ranked 40th of 50 California counties studied in rates of mothers solely breast feeding, without supplementing with formula. Experts say if the mother doesn't learn to breast feed in the hospital, she's unlikely to start at home.

The study, by California's Women Infants and Children's program and UC Davis, found that though more than 83 percent of women plan to breast feed their infants, only 40.5 percent do so statewide. And a lot of that discrepancy can be accounted for by hospital practices, state the study, which was released earlier this week.



click to read more...

Barry Tompkins: Marin keeps abreast of trends (Marin Independent Journal)

I'VE BEEN meaning to talk to you about breasts. Hey, hey, hey, not so fast, this is not the Penthouse Forum. The breasts I'm referring to have made Marin General Hospital number one.
I read in our own Independent Journal this week that Marin General - tune up the trumpets - has been named the most breast-feeding friendly hospital in the state of California. I don't know what that means in the great scheme of things, but the plaque should be interesting.

It seems that 95.4 percent of moms who give birth at MGH breast-feed their little nubbins, and their little nubbins are that much better for it. Ninety-five point four percent! Roll that around in your mind for a while. That's 91Ú2 out of every 10 women who birth at MGH. I don't even want to think about what the other one-half is doing.

And, if you think that's the norm, well, may you be doomed to a life of soy milk.



click to read more...

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Revised milk code helps breastfeeding campaign (dailymirror)

Despite a mere P9.5 million fund of the Department of Health in promoting breastfeeding in the country as against the $21 billion advertisement funds of formula milk companies, the DOH has now the “teeth” to extend the year-long promotion on breast-feeding.


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La Leche League celebrates 50th anniversary

La Leche League in the United States of America observed two special occasions in 2006. World Breastfeeding Week, Aug. 1-7, and the 50th anniversary of La Leche League International was celebrated with hundreds of activities around the country. These festivities included walks, runs, concerts, picnics, auctions, prize drawings, children’s activities, and much more.


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Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Massachusetts Citizens for Breastfeeding Rights

It is a nascent movement, only just begun, but nevertheless:





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Massachusetts Citizens for Breastfeeding Rights.

Breastfeeding-- a natural activity (The Patriot-News)

It is sad that our society is so out of touch with our cultural heritage that the image of a breastfeeding baby in public is controversial. Breasts were made to feed babies, despite what Hollywood would have us believe.

Yes, many folks consider breasts only in a sexual light. We need to change this image. Babytalk's cover showing a baby nursing at the breast is a good first step.



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Medela, Zutano and Mother of 7 Connect with WorldWIT to Support Nursing Moms in the Workplace (Press Release)

Boulder, CO (PRWEB) August 9, 2006 -- WorldWIT™ (www.worldwit.org), the world’s largest community for professional women, announced today its partnership with three industry leaders in women’s and babies healthcare products, education and fashion in honor of National Breast Feeding at Work Week, September 4-8, 2006. The annual week-long holiday was introduced by WorldWIT in 2005. The relationships will unite Medela (www.medela.com), the most trusted breast pump manufacturer in the world, Zutano (www.zutano.com), a leader in children’s innovative fashion and Mother of 7 (www.motherof7.com), one of the foremost breastfeeding advocates in the U.S. with WorldWIT, an award-winning opinion leader for women in business, and will offer exclusive access to first rate content, teleseminars, a complete guide for companies who seek resources and ideas on how to support nursing moms, a pledge for those who seek continued support and the Rumina Award for the top companies who support nursing moms.


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Got milk? Hayward Kaiser does (Inside Bay Area)

HAYWARD — Kaiser Permanente Hayward is the leading Bay Area hospital in promoting exclusive breast-feeding, which recent studies show may reduce obesity, according to a report released Monday by the California Women Infants Children Association and the University of California, Davis.
But what sets the Hayward hospital apart from others in the Bay Area?

"We are a 'Baby Friendly' hospital designated by World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF," said Karen Franchino, maternal and child health education supervisor at Kaiser Permanente Hayward. "There are only 50 in the country, and we are the only one in the Bay Area."

To become "Baby Friendly," hospitals must follow the 10 steps to successful breast-feeding as outlined by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and WHO.

"These steps are practices that hospitals can put in place that encourage breast-feeding," Franchino said. "At Hayward, that means that all nurses have gone through extensive training, and doctors have extra training as well."



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Breast-Feeding Rights Highlighted In China (All Headline News)

Beijing, China (AHN) - Nestle and five other breast milk substitute producers have pledged not to publish commercials on breast-milk substitutes. The have also said they would not take actions that would impact mothers' and babies' rights of breast-feeding.

The decision was part of an event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes by the Ministry of Health-China, World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Experts have long held that breast milk, with its nutrients and antibodies it provides, is known to be the best and safest way to start a human life.

However, commercials promoting substitutes for breast-milk like milk powder and rice powder utilize stereotypically ideal images of babies to send a misleading message to young mothers.



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Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Hathor the Cow Goddess and the Evolution Revolution � Blog Archive � Insane World!

more from Hathor on the Baby Talk fiasco...

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Life made easy for nursing moms (Borneo Bulletin)

The Hua Ho Mall in Manggis yesterday unveiled its new, comfortable breast-feeding area located on the first floor of the establishment.
Present to officially launch the event was Deputy Minister of Health Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Haji Hazair bin Hj Abdullah, who applauded the move made by Hua Ho.

"This is an effort to support and encourage breast- feeding and it is also part of our responsibility to develop a healthy new generation free from diseases," he said.



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Supporting Breastfeeding Mums At Work Important (Scoop)

Supporting Breastfeeding Mums At Work Important In Retaining Staff

The Council of Trade Unions is marking world breastfeeding week with a reminder to employers that providing a supportive working environment is critical in retaining staff.

"Provisions enabling mothers to breastfeed at work are important for family-friendly workplaces," Carol Beaumont, CTU secretary said today.



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Code Watch: what you can do (The Star Online)

THE International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is an important resolution to encourage breastfeeding among mothers worldwide.

But more importantly, what role can you play in protecting the Code? You may be a breastfeeding mother, a single woman, a father, a sister, a brother ... or just a citizen concerned about the community’s health.

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) answers your questions...



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Breast-feeding is natural at Marin General (Marin Independent Journal)

Marin General Hospital is the most breast-feeding friendly hospital in the state, according to a study released today.
A total of 95.4 percent of mothers exclusively breast-fed their babies at the hospital, according to a study of 296 hospitals throughout the state conducted by the University of California at Davis. There were 1,776 births at Marin General in 2004, the period examined.

"We have really strong policies providing moms with a choice," said Chris Costello, a registered nurse and board-certified lactation consultant at Marin General Hospital. "If a mom decides that she wants to breast-feed, we are there 100 percent to support her."



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Campaign promotes breast-feeding benefits for moms (The Arizona Republic)

This is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and here's something you might not know about the health benefits for nursing moms:

Breast-feeding decreases a mother's chances of developing pre- or post-menopausal breast cancer, says pediatrician James Sears, co-author of The Baby Book.


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Breast-feeding fights obesity (Rocky Mountain News)

Babies who nurse longer less likely to be overweight

We've created a nation of fat babies, and it all starts with the first thing put in their mouths.
A Harvard Medical School study of 120,000 kids that spanned 22 years shows that babies and toddlers are more likely to be overweight now than ever before. The study found that the biggest jump came in the number of overweight infants, which increased by 74 percent.

The number of babies at risk of becoming overweight rose by nearly 60 percent. One of the best ways to change the numbers: breast-feeding, says Dr. Matthew Gillman, the study's senior author.



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Ban on formula milk ads begins in 2007 (Mindanao News)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/07 August) -- Breastfeeding is still the best.

The government will start banning promotions and advertisements of formula milk by January 2007, according to the revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Milk Code, Vicenta Borja, coordinator of DOH's National Infant and Young Child feeding Center, said. But the Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association of the Philippines (PHCAP), which opposed the ban, asked the Supreme Court on July 13 to nullify the revised IRR, claiming it endangers the lives of infants by inadvertently misinforming mothers on their children's health. The Supreme Court issued a restraining order and asked the Department of Health to comment on the petition filed by PHCAP.

The banning of advertisements and promotions is intended to advance breastfeeding as an economical and nutritional means for infant and child health, Borja, told reporters after the launching of a local mall's breastfeeding stations Monday. Borja said the move is directed to revert a decreasing trend in breastfeeding in the Philippines.



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Lagos bans adverts of breast milk substitutes (Vanguard)

THE Lagos State government has declared illegal all forms of advertisement of breast milk substitutes, feeding bottles and teats at public and private health facilities in the state. Announcing the step as part of activities to mark this year’s breast feeding week, State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tola Kasali said the State government plans to select in each of the 57 local governments a Breast-feeding Champion who must be a mother of the most well-fed babies as a way of encouraging mothers to see the importance of breast feeding their children.

Appealing for promotion and protection of breast-feeding practices in the state, he called on every maternity home and lactating mother to practice bedding - in rather than rooming - in with a view to encourage breast feeding on demand.



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Health Department observes World Breast-feeding Week (Desoto Sun Herald)

The Women, Infants and Children program at the DeSoto County Health Department marks World Breast-feeding Week this week.

This year's theme, "Code Watch: 25 Years of Protecting Breast-feeding," highlights the importance of protecting breast-feeding in communities throughout the world. It celebrates the 25-year history of the "International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes," which provides guidelines for the appropriate marketing of infant formula and bottle-feeding products, and challenges communities to provide a supportive environment regarding infant feeding issues.

The DeSoto County WIC Program supports breast-feeding and has a variety of resources and qualified staff available to assist new mothers. The WIC program also provides nutritious supplemental foods, nutrition education and referrals for health care. Eligible women and children participating in the WIC program receive WIC food checks to purchase milk, cheese, eggs, peanut butter or dry beans, cereals high in iron, and fruit or vegetable juices high in vitamin C from authorized stores. Fully breast-feeding women may also receive extra WIC foods, including carrots and canned tuna fish.

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Monday, August 07, 2006

Moms have the right, but public still frowns (Chicago Tribune)

Despite health benefits and 34 states' laws, public breast-feeding makes some queasy

JACKSON, Miss. -- The last straw for Evelyn Araujo was when the principal of the school where she was a volunteer walked over as she was breast-feeding her 10-month-old and suggested that she go home to nurse her son and come back when she finished.

Araujo went into a small bathroom at the school and finished nursing. Before the December incident, the 41-year-old mother of three had been like many other nursing mothers who sat on the sidelines and were made to feel ashamed for doing what they consider a normal act of feeding their children.

So when a group of health-care workers and advocates from the Mississippi Breastfeeding Coalition asked her in January to join their movement to lobby the Legislature to allow women to breast-feed at work and in public, she jumped at the opportunity. Araujo is one of thousands of women across the country who have led grass-roots efforts to change attitudes about breast-feeding in public and persuade state legislators to pass laws to protect their rights.



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Science backs age-old wisdom; baby's need milk (The Spectrum)

ST. GEORGE - Thirty-one-year-old Priscilla Jensen looked on as Katie Archibald instructed Jensen and a room full of expectant mothers on breast-feeding techniques.

With her third child on the way, Jensen decided to enroll in the class and give it another try.

"I figured I finally needed some help because I haven't been able to breast-feed my first two and I really want to breast-feed," said Jensen with a glowing grin. Health complications with the first two children impeded her ability to continue to nurse them beyond the first days. Today Jensen's convinced that the lack of breast-feeding led both her children to develop severe milk allergies, requiring her to feed them a specialized formula, Nutramigen - at $27 a container.



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Lenta out to inform about breast-feeding (Desert Dispatch)

BARSTOW -- Marianne Lenta is out to let business-owners know that state laws protect the rights of new moms to nurse their babies at work.

Lenta, a registered nurse, is a lactation consultant at Barstow Community Hospital.

"I see every new mom and baby delivered at the hospital," she said. This adds up to 30 to 35 a month, she said.

In addition, new moms and babies from Ft. Irwin's Weed Hospital come to Barstow to meet with her as do mothers and babies from Apple Valley, Victorville and Hesperia.

The meetings are part of her infant-feeding educational program, designed to encourage every new mom to breast-feed for the health of the child. She recites a whole list of benefits she says mother's milk has over infant formula.



Desert Dispatch newspaper - Barstow, California

Why can't we take breasts seriously? (Leeds Today Evening Post)

FUNNY things, breasts.

We'll pause here to give men time to snigger, titter (no pun intended) and otherwise act like lewd schoolboys playing truant in the changing rooms of La Senza and women to adjust their Wonderbra straps with crushing, blushing complexes of inadequacy and shame.

Okay? All done? Right. Funny things, breasts.

How odd of God to attach them to the front of females to facilitate publication of glossy men's magazines, the third page of certain newspapers, satellite channel broadcast of soft – sometimes not so soft – porn, selection of Big Brother and Jungle inmates and building careers for smutty comics like Benny Hill and Dick Emery.

How ungratefully perverse of women to abuse those appendaged gifts by sticking their breasts into the mouths of hungry infants who, by nature's prescription, are so obviously programmed to accept milk from tins, delivered via sterilised glass bottles and rubber teats. Come on girls, we all know that – when you're breastfeeding you're just being deliberately disgusting!


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Breastfeeding: The 'gold standard' of infant nutrition (Chico Enterprise Record)

"I don't have enough milk."
Mothers who are starting to breastfeed their infants say this all the time.

It's one of many worries lactation specialist Lorna Humphreys is able to put to rest whenever she counsels women at the Breastfeeding Support Center.

Often, all she has to do is take out her string of "belly beads," which show the actual size of infant's stomach when they are one, three and 10 days old.

The stomach grows a lot in that short time, but even after 10 days it's still tiny.



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DOH launches breastfeeding stations (PIA News Releases)

Davao City (8 August) -- Center for Health Development in Davao region Director Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said the Department of Health (DOH) launched Monday the “Breastfeeding Stations” in coordination with the New City Commercial Center (NCCC) at their three malls located at Matina & Magsaysay Street Davao City and at Tagum City.

The launching yesterday was part of the culmination activity of the National Breastfeeding weeklong celebration. The culmination started with a motorcade, ceremonial cutting and a press conference at the NCCC mall, Matina, Davao City.

Guests during the press conference include representatives from the WHO, UNICEF, NCCC mall and DOH.

The event is the start for Mother and Baby Friendly workplaces initiative as an enabling environment for breastfeeding mothers, said Director Rosell-Ubial.



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UCD study encourages mothers to breastfeed (Daily Democrat Online)

California's hospitals aren't doing enough to encourage new mothers to exclusively breastfeed, even though it has been shown to help prevent childhood obesity, according to a report released today by the California WIC Association and the University of California, Davis.
The report drew on 2004 newborn screening data from the state Department of Health Services, in which hospital staff and new mothers were asked whether newborns received only breast milk, only formula, a mix of both or another food source. Hospitals with at least 20 infants of at least three ethnicities were ranked in the report.

Of California's lowest-ranking hospitals in the survey, most were in in Southern California, out of more than 400 hospitals total.

Exclusively breastfeeding an infant in its first 48 hours of life is recommended by most health professionals because it allows the mother to establish a supply of milk for her child, even if she later decided to switch to bottlefeeding.



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Mothers handed protection for breast-feeding (Charlotte Observer)

S.C. hands new mothers protection for breast-feeding

New mothers in South Carolina will now find among their packet of coupons and how-to information a small laminated card that explains the state's new law on breast-feeding in public.The Department of Health and Environmental Control paid for about 50,000 cards and sent them out to the state's hospitals.

The new law, which exempts breast-feeding mothers from indecent exposure laws, was spurred by the experience of a woman who said she was asked to feed her newborn daughter in a public restroom rather than nurse in a dressing room at Victoria's Secret in Mount Pleasant.



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O.C. hospitals rank low on breast feeding (OCRegister)

Three local hospitals rank in the bottom five in California for feeding formula to newborns and not encouraging enough mothers to breast-feed.

A new study of breast-feeding patterns at hospitals statewide found more than 90 percent of babies born at Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, Garden Grove Hospital and Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center receive formula instead of, or in addition to, breast milk while still in the hospital.

Typically, getting babies to breast-feed in the hospital is key to longer-term breast-feeding which, in turn, promotes childhood health.



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Council reconsiders breast-feeding issue (Burlington Free Press.com)

A month after giving a cold shoulder to a proposal that the city endorse breast-feeding, the Burlington City Council is poised to take the cause to its bosom.

A resolution on tonight's council agenda from Tim Ashe, P-Ward 3, affirms that "it is the policy of this City Council that breast-feeding is a beneficial practice."

The resolution adds that breast-feeding "should not be discouraged" on city property and urges city businesses and other organizations to "develop breast-feeding-friendly policies." The resolution, once passed, would be distributed widely, including to the Burlington Police Department.


Burlington Free Press.com | Local/Vermont

Friday, August 04, 2006

Spreading the truth about breast-feeding (St. Petersburg Times)

BROOKSVILLE - When she left the hospital after giving birth to her first child in 1977, Mary Becker was handed a bottle.

Then the nurse told Becker, who now works for the Hernando County Health Department as a certified lactation consultant, that the new mom should get her breast milk tested before feeding it to her baby because it could cause brain damage.

With that experience in mind, Becker now makes it a daily goal to pass along the right information to her clients at the Health Department. During consultations, she constantly tells mothers, or those about to become mothers, of the importance of feeding their children breast milk, especially for the first year of life. She helps families come up with plans to make sure that happens.



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Governor declares breast-feeding week (American News)

Gov. Mike Rounds has proclaimed this week World Breast-feeding Week in South Dakota. The signing recognizes the importance of breast-feeding as a health issue.

This year, World Breast-feeding Week is celebrating the signing of the Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breast-feeding. The theme for 2006 is "Code Watch: 25 years of Protecting Breast-feeding."

The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes was adopted in 1981 by the World Health Assembly. Also known as The Code, it is an international public health recommendation that seeks to give mothers pure facts about breast-feeding, "free of aggressive infant formula marketing influences," so that they can make well-informed feeding decisions, according to a release.



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Manteca moms advocate better baby health via breastfeeding (Manteca Bulletin Online)

Local Headline News







Manteca moms advocate better baby health via breastfeeding


According to the World Health Organization, 1.5 million infants die each year because they are not breastfed.

This startling statistic is why the international non-profit, non-sectarian organization, La Leche League and groups like it have been formed around the world.
La Leche League is a group that offers, “mother to mother support, encouragement and information to women who want to breastfeed their babies”.

The first week of August is National Breastfeeding Month and the Manteca chapter of La Leche League as well as Kaiser Permanente of Manteca are celebrating with events that are open to the public.



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Breastfeeding supporters use week to inform public about health advantages (49abcnews.com)

"I got so many coupons in the mail for formula you wouldn't believe it,” said Mary Miller, first time mom.

But Miller said that's not for her.

"It’s really healthy, it's very natural, and just the bond you feel with your baby, just the idea that you're providing all the nutrition that they need,” she said.

During National Breastfeeding Week, area lactation consultants are on hand to remind families the importance of breastfeeding.

This year’s theme is "Protecting Breastfeeding" and Local Lactation Consultant Aimee Gross feels strongly about educating the community.



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Fair offers healthy diet of breast-feeding information (Battle Creek Enquirer)

As Elizabeth Krzyzanski rocked her 3-month-old daughter, Isabella, she talked about how important breast-feeding is to her as a new mom.

"My mom had eight children, and she breast-fed all of us. Then my sister had a baby nine months ago, and she really pushed me to do it," said Krzyzanski of Battle Creek as she sat at the World Breastfeeding Week fair held Thursday at the Calhoun Area Technology Center in Battle Creek.

Nursing mothers, expectant mothers, some fathers and breast-feeding supporters were on hand during the event to browse the nearly 20 resource tables, sign up for free prizes and attend workshops about misconceptions on breast-feeding, bonding with baby and more.



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Events praise breast-feeding (ContraCostaTimes.com)

RICHMOND: WIC program tries to persuade mothers not to rely on formula

The Richmond office of the Women Infants and Children program on Thursday hosted mothers who have latched on to the benefits of breast milk in a celebration of World Breast-feeding Week.

"What we're trying to do is encourage women to breast-feed exclusively and not resort to formula," said Nancy Hill, breast-feeding coordinator for Contra Costa's WIC program. "More than that, we're trying to show that more moms are breast-feeding. We're trying to convert mothers from formula to breast-feeding because breast milk is so much healthier."

Hill said studies conclude that babies exclusively fed formula become sick more often and later can have more trouble in school and a tendency to be overweight.



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Warwick company makes it easier for workers to breast-feed (Eyewitness News)

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) -- Moms who work at one Warwick company now have an easier time breast-feeding.

Electronic Data Systems has set up a private room for women to pump breast milk. The company provides bags, pumping kits, a reclining massage chair, mood lighting and aroma therapy.



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Families celebrate breastfeeding in GF (Grand Forks Herald)

The running joke told at the La Leche League of Grand Forks's ice cream social Thursday was "tell them it's homemade!"

La Leche means milk in French. The organization dedicated to supporting breastfeeding chose its name in the 1950s to use at a time when it was unacceptable to use the word "breast" in the United States.

The family-friendly event reunited old friends who shared stories about La Leche League and shed light on the modern purpose of the organization.

The oldest alumna at the picnic was Joan Kieley, a mother and grandmother from Lakota, N.D. She belonged to the La Leche League of North St. Paul chapter from 1967-1978 and has watched the organization evolve since her children became members in the mid-1990s.

"We thought we had a crusade going," Kieley said. "We're fighting the same fight now to convince doctors and mothers that babies do need you."



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Area lags in number of moms who breastfeed (Palladium-Item)

LIBERTY, Ind. -- The young, expectant mother wasn't sure Thursday if she'll breastfeed her new baby, but she got lots of encouragement to give it a try from Starla Morgan, a clinic assistant and peer counselor for the Women, Infants and Children's nutrition program.

Some may think of WIC as the place to get free infant formula, but encouraging breastfeeding is a primary goal for the agency, said Marilyn Wilson, a board-certified lactation consultant and registered dietician for WIC, which is celebrating World Breastfeeding Week.

"We want the truth out there that breastfeeding is best. Cow's milk protein isn't the best food for an infant," Wilson said. "The health care costs saved because breastfed infants are healthier are phenomenal."



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Substandard breastmilk substitutes pose threat to child health (The Daily Star Web)

The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2006 began in the country yesterday with a call to control the marketing of alternative baby foods.
The theme of this year's WBW is 'International code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes: 25 years of protecting breastfeeding'.

The inaugural ceremony of WBW was held at Bangladesh Shishu Academy auditorium in the city, organised by Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF).


Speakers at the ceremony said that with dazzling advertisements, many unregistered baby foods distributors and marketers who import and manufacture substandard breastmilk substitutes (BMS) are putting child health and nutrition at risk.



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Using Mother Nature's method (The Frederick News-Post)

BRADDOCK HEIGHTS ----Laryssa Callan says she doesn't consider herself a "lactivist." She simply sees breast-feeding as a natural process that women shouldn't be embarrassed about.
The mother of three is organizing a "nurse-out" this Sunday in Baker Park as part of World Breastfeeding Week, which ends Monday. Ms. Callan said she learned of the idea through the nonprofit organization ProMom, Promotion of Mother's Milk.

Different than a "nurse-in," which is geared toward policy change, a nurse-out is a gathering of nursing mothers without signs or chants of protest. Sunday's nurse-out is one of roughly 25 being held nationally, Ms. Callan said.



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Public health nurse stresses importance of breast-feeding (Penticton Western News)

World Breast-feeding Week Aug. 1-7 is one important opportunity to stress the importance of breast-feeding for mothers and children and recognize those mothers who have chosen to do so, says a local public health nurse.

“The importance is that it gives us an opportunity to get out as much information as possible about the benefits of breast-feeding, so that we can hopefully increase our breast-feeding rates in Canada,” said Elaine Stetsko, a public health nurse who works in the maternity care program at the Penticton Health Centre.

“Also we want to give a lot of acknowledgment to women who have already made the decision that it is the ideal food for babies and we want to support that they are already doing a great thing.”



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Miss OTOP and breast milk - (INQ7.net)

“BREASTFEEDING is a natural process,” writes Dr. Elvira Lichauco Henares-Esguerra, a lactation consultant and one of the founders of Children for Breastfeeding Inc. (By way of explaining her kilometric name, the doctor requests that her mother’s surname be acknowledged as well.)

“All human beings are endowed with a tremendous capacity to nurture, heal and regenerate… But milk companies, with their unethical marketing practices, have led mothers to believe that it is normal to give formula milk to infants. The WHO and the Unicef have maintained that breastfeeding is the norm, not the exception; it is the gold standard against which cow’s milk is judged totally inadequate.”

In the book “Woman: An Intimate Geography,” Natalie Angier writes that “the more we look at breast milk and the more we find within it, the more we are driven to marvel that anybody can survive, much less thrive on its wretched artificial substitute. Yet many have.” A scientist quoted in Angier’s book notes, “As a scientist, I can’t help but notice that millions of babies have never seen human milk, and they apparently have not been harmed. At the same time, I can’t escape the feeling that nature went to enormous lengths to produce a particular food, and that must mean something.”



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South Shore Nurse Out

Hi everyone,

I am participating in the South Shore Massachusetts Nurse Out to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week on Monday August 7th. I hope you can join us! Below is an invitation to the Nurse Out event.

World Breastfeeding Week National Nurse Out! Hanover Mall, MA Monday 8/7 10:30-3:00

Please join the Nurse Out in Hanover Massachusetts in recognition of World Breast Feeding Week. Participants and supporters can join the Nurse Out at any time between 10:30- 3:00. Look for the Nurse Out coordinator, Jessica Greenwood, around the Friendly's restaurant. She will be there with a stroller and balloons to sign in participants and facilitate the Nurse Out. The group is also planning to meet up around the Friendly's to celebrate and eat lunch together from noon-1:00.

The National Nurse Out is organized by ProMoM, Promotion of Mother's Milk, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness and public acceptance of breastfeeding. This is ProMoM's 6th Annual National Nurse Out!

What is a Nurse Out?
In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, ProMom encourages its members and all breastfeeding mothers to go out during the week of August 1-7 and breastfeed in public. We don't mean your regular routine; we mean go out specifically to nurse in public!!

Why participate in the National Nurse Out?
ProMoM hopes that by promoting the image of breastfeeding in this way, more people will accept breastfeeding as a natural everyday occurrence and the normal way to feed infants and young children. We also want to encourage expecting mothers by showing them that it is possible to breastfeed in public without anyone being embarrassed. There is more information on the Nurse Out at: http://www.promom.org/nno/

Please let the coordinator know if you will participate by emailing:
NurseOutSShoreMA-owner@yahoogroups.com. If you are interested, you can also join the yahoo planning group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NurseOutSShoreMA. You can also see: www.promom.org/nno for the listing of all national scheduled Nurse Outs!

Join us any time you can on Monday, send this information to others, and nurse out all week!

Thanks!

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Reluctant Lactivist: On the Selfishness of Mothers Who NIP

Mothers who advocate for their babies' rights to nurse wherever and whenever they are hungry have been accused by some of being selfishly unconcerned with the feelings of others. Who is the selfish one, though, really? The mother who puts the needs of baby for nourishment and comfort ahead of her own personal concerns for modesty or the passersby who put their psychological comfort "needs" ahead of the real, physical needs of a baby? I am so tired of being told that I am being selfish. Since becoming a mother, I have learned a whole lot about setting my needs and wants aside in the service of the needs of my children. Aren't the selfish, self-absorbed people those who believe that their needs are more important than the needs of babies and children?


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Bring a baby and a blanket to breast-feeding event (Yakima Herald Republic Online)

Mothers who breast-feed are invited to bring their blankets and babies to Sarg Hubbard Park this week and show Yakima that they're not afraid to nurse in public.

Sherry Martinez, a local volunteer for Promotion of Mother's Milk, is inviting breast-feeding mothers to join her Friday to celebrate World Breast-feeding Week with a National Nurse Out — an event designed to promote the image of breast-feeding in public.



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HIV Positive Moms Can Breastfeed Too, Says Health Department (allAfrica.com: South Africa)

Mothers with living with HIV can safely breastfeed their babies for the first six months of infancy, says Limpopo health and Social services spokesperson Phuti Seloba.

He said breastfeeding remained best for the healthy growth and development of all babies.

"We need to protect women from malicious advertising that says infant formula is the only option for HIV positive mothers.

"The fact is that it's safe for women living with HIV to breastfeed for up to six months. Thereafter, they can switch to formula."

He said mothers who did not have HIV were advised to breastfeed their babies until they were two years of age.



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American Moms Freak Over Breastsucking Infants (Blogcritics.org)

n this country, we want our breasts to be large, full and barely covered by skin-tight Hooters t-shirts. What we DON'T want, apparently, is to see pictures of babies doing what babies have done since the dawning of mankind: nursing at the nipple of their mother. The outrage over a cover shot on BabyTalk magazine for an article on breastfeeding is hysterically ironic.


For the affront, the magazine received anguished comments such as:

"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine."

"I immediately turned the magazine face down."

And of course the obvious, "Gross."

A society obsessed with erectile dysfunction, desperate housewives, coin slots and camel toes can't seem to handle the basic function of the human milk delivery system. While no one is advocating breasts flopping in the breeze and milk squirting willy nilly a la A Clockwork Orange's Korova Milkbar, this whole shock and awe over nursing infants is beyond ridiculous. What's most appalling about this overreaction is that those who are expressing the most outrage are primarily women and mothers themselves.



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Breast Fed Babies Cope With Stress Better Later In Life (Medical News Today)

A new study indicates that babies who were breast fed are better able to deal with stress later on in life than babies who were bottle fed, say researchers from the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and University College London, United Kingdom.

After looking at data on 8958 children aged 10, the researchers found that those who had been breast fed dealt with stressful periods in life, such as divorce or the separation of their parents, much better than those who had been bottle fed as babies.


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Wednesday, August 02, 2006

What's a (nursing) mother to do? (OregonLive.com)

Her 2-month-old son was fussing that afternoon at the Gateway Fred Meyer near I-205 in Northeast Portland. The way to calm him, Chris Musser knew, was to feed him. So she sat on a bench, lifted her shirt and nursed her boy.

Big deal, right?

After all, this is Portland, the city that Fit Pregnancy magazine deemed the No. 1 place in America to have a baby, with more OB-GYNs, doulas and lactation specialists per infant than many U.S. cities. We're home to a universe of alternatives to conventional maternity practices, from water births to raising your baby diaper-free.



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Nurturing a cause — World Breastfeeding Week begins (Minot Daily News)

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, which began Tuesday and continues through Monday, the North Central Breastfeeding Partnership is surveying Minot businesses to check if they have policies in place for breastfeeding employees.

“We’re asking does the company have a policy towards employees, and does the company have a clean and private place for expressing and storing milk, a place other than the bathroom? You wouldn’t want to eat in the bathroom, so you wouldn’t want to breastfeed or express milk in there, either,” said Laureen Klein, Lactation Educator at Trinity Health.

“If it is a department store with a lot of customers, we’re asking is there a place where a woman can feed her baby if she needs to?” Klein added.


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Local events to mark start of World Breastfeeding Week (Star-Gazette.COM)

Norma Ritter, president of the Twin Tiers Breastfeeding Network, checked in with Two Minutes last week to let us know Elmira wouldn't be left out of the loop for World Breastfeeding Week this week.


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Berkeley loses its breast feeding record (Inside Bay Area)

BERKELEY — Just weeks before her retirement, Ellen Sirbu, the city's breast feeding guru, got some bad news. Filipino mothers in Manila had broken Berkeley's Guinness World Record for the most women breast feeding in a single location.

"I was happy for them, but I was upset that our record was broken," said Sirbu, the head of the breast feeding peer counselor program who helped bring together 1,130 women in 2002 to win the record.

News stories about Manila, which set the record with 3,738 mothers breast feeding at one time, said the event was organized to break Berkeley's record.



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Introducing Baby to Solid Foods Too Early Increases Risk of Allergic Diseases (Newswise)

Newswise — Feeding solid foods to infants before 6 months of age can increase the risk of allergies, while exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months may prevent the onset of allergic symptoms later in life, according to a paper published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. The paper is the first consensus document published in a peer-reviewed journal to recommend allergy-avoiding strategies for introducing solid foods to the infant diet.

“This report reinforces the consensus of organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization, which recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months as optimal for infant and maternal health,” said lead author Alessandro Fiocchi, M.D., University of Milan Medical School, Milan, Italy. Dr. Fiocchi is chair of the Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), which prepared the consensus document.



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Breast-feeding should not be a matter of guilt (Lowell Sun Online)

If you want to start a fight, The New York Times recently opined, write a story about breast-feeding. The paper's recent article "Breast-feed, or else" -- a piece that highlighted a government agency's public service campaign that likened the risks of not breast-feeding to competing in a log-rolling contest or riding a mechanical bull while pregnant -- jockeyed for days on the paper's "most e-mailed stories" list.

A follow-up editorial, while waving a white flag of sorts to formula, stood by assertions that breast-fed babies not only have a health advantage and that it might be hazardous to a baby's health not to nurse, at least in the short term.

The happy fact is that most women these days -- nearly three quarters, estimates La Leche League -- will breast-feed their children for some duration. It's long been known to stave off diabetes, childhood obesity, and ward off things like ear infections and allergies.

But the government's all-or-nothing attitude leaves mothers who can't breast-feed their children out in the cold the same way the consciousness raisings of the 1970s did to women who stayed at home to raise kids.



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Breastfeeding good for mom, baby (The Times and Democrat)

Tuesday through Monday, Aug. 1-7, is World Breastfeeding Week. New mothers and those who influenced their decisions about feeding newborns are encouraged to attend a free breastfeeding program Wednesday, Aug. 2, at First Presbyterian Church, 650 Summers Ave. in Orangeburg.

“Building a Breastfeeding-Friendly Community,” a program organized by the Nutrition Office of the Region 5 South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control in Orangeburg, is designed to promote breastfeeding as a normal process and to increase knowledge about breastfeeding.

“We hope to increase social awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding to make it more socially acceptable and to remove constraints that prevent the exclusive use of breast milk,” says Renee Nelson, breastfeeding coordinator of the DHEC office.


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Nepal observes breast feeding week (People's Daily Online)

Nepal is organizing various programs across the country under coordination of the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) to mark the World Breastfeeding Week, MoHP said in KathmanduTuesday.

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Breastfeeding best for babies (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Today through Monday is World Breastfeeding Week, and experts at Motherhood Maternity want to remind all new mothers that breastfeeding is best for their newborns.

"As the maternity experts, it's important (for us) to continue to encourage the expectant mother to breastfeed, not only for her infant, but also for herself," said Rebecca Matthias, Motherhood Maternity president and creative director. "Nursing your newborn is a beautiful gift only a mother could give."



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HEALTHY HAPPENINGS (Times Leader)

This is World Breast-feeding Week and local breast-feeding advocates remind the public that breast-feeding an infant, even for a short period of time, can result in substantial benefits for child and mother.

Breast-fed infants are on average healthier with fewer colds and infections, the mother’s natural immunity is passed on to the child, there is less risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and breast milk is totally digestible nutrition providing exactly what the child needs nutritionally throughout infancy.



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Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Nature has provided the best possible milk for our babies (Lansing State Journal)

If all babies were fed the milk nature designed for them, there would be better health - something to think about during World Breast-feeding Week, Aug. 1-7.

Among the benefits are fewer doctor visits and ER visits, fewer hospital readmissions due to infections (50 percent fewer according to the July issue of Pediatrics), less childhood diabetes, less childhood obesity, less childhood cancers. Our children would have healthier lives and be smarter, too.

You see, babies are born with immature immune systems, unprepared for life in the outside world. Breast milk is designed to "finish off" that immune system, and then continue to support it through the first year or so of life so that our young are fully protected.



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Bulgaria to Promote Breastfeeding (Sofia News Agency)

Bulgaria has joined a traditional world event to promote the benefits of breastfeeding babies, starting on Tuesday.


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Event will focus on breastfeeding (The Reporter)

"Got Breastmilk?" is the theme of Kaiser Permanente's Vallejo Medical Center Open House Celebration.
Recognizing breast milk as the "gold standard" for infant nutrition, the center is hosting this special open house in conjunction with International Breastfeeding Week to recognize and educate new and expectant mothers on the importance of breastfeeding.

The open house will take place Aug. 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the courtyard near Pharmacy 1. Members of the community are invited to attend.

Breastfeeding is encouraged throughout the Kaiser Permanente system. Studies consistently have shown the practice of breastfeeding, in most cases, is healthier for the infant, providing many benefits not generally found in breast milk substitutes.



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Breastfeeding's healthy return (The Daily Telegraph)

MORE NSW mothers are keeping their babies off the bottle, with statistics showing a 10 per cent increase in breast-feeding rates across the state.

Data released to The Daily Telegraph yesterday showed more mothers are heeding the calls to breastfeed and less are giving their babies breast milk substitutes and solid foods before four and six months of age.

In 2004, 41 per cent of infants received breast milk substitutes before four months, compared with 46 per cent in 2001, while 49 per cent received breast milk substitutes before six months compared with 59 per cent in 2001.

"We know babies don't need solid food until six months of age and that has increased breast-feeding rates," Royal Hospital for Women clinical nurse consultant Joy Heads said.



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Breastfed babies have best survival rates (United Press International)

NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A study, released in New York by the U.N. Children's Fund, indicates breastfeeding protects infants from diseases.

The U.N. agency said a breastfed child in a developing nation is nearly three times more likely to survive infancy than a child who is not breastfed.

The report was released Tuesday, at the start of a weeklong commemoration of the most natural way to nourish babies.

"World Breastfeeding Week gives us an opportunity to advocate for a very simple way to save children's lives," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman. "Though breastfeeding rates are increasing in the developing world, an estimated 63 percent of children under 6 months of age are still not adequately breastfed. As a result, millions of children start their lives at a disadvantage."



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World Breastfeeding Week Starts Aug. 1 in the Americas

Washington, D.C., July 31, 2006 (PAHO)—Countries throughout the Americas are joining together to observe World Breastfeeding Week, which this year celebrates the 25th anniversary of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The week of August 1-7 has the theme, "Code Watch: 25 Years of Protecting Breastfeeding," highlighting the importance of national enforceable Code legislation and providing examples of successful action.

World Breastfeeding Week, observed the first week of August every year by the countries, the Pan American Health Organization, and other agencies, aims to spread information globally about the importance of breastfeeding for maternal and child health. In the Americas, ministries of health, non-governmental organizations, and families are observing the week in a variety of ways, including conferences, parades, art shows, and special events.



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Working Mother Media - Business Backs Breastfeeding

Business Backs Breastfeeding™ – a workplace lactation program to help employers support new mothers continue breastfeeding their babies after returning to work.

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An interesting program - too bad it's funded by ABBOTT LABORATORIES, gag.

what if I want to wean?

Breastfeeding your baby for even a day is the best baby gift you can give. Breastfeeding is almost always the best choice for your baby. If it doesn't seem like the best choice for you right now, these guidelines may help. - Diane Wiessinger


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Sorry, but I HATED breastfeeding (the Daily Mail)

Motherhood is an intensely personal experience, different for every woman, says this writer. She hated breastfeeding and so do countless other mothers - even if the 'milk mafia' have made them too afraid to admit it

The lies about motherhood start at conception. Morning sickness is not confined to the morning, and it doesn't disappear after three months. 'Natural' childbirth is nothing of the sort; it's messy and excruciating, like trying to pull an orange out of your nostril. And breastfeeding is not wonderful and fulfilling, but painful, difficult, boring and humiliating.



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My heart just breaks for this poor woman! It's eleven years later and her emotions are still incredibly raw about her experiences. What saddens me most, though, is it seems pretty clear that she was suffering from PPD and wasn't getting the support and help she needed to care for herself. A lot of people failed this new mother.

WBW Quote of the Day

When we trust the makers of baby formula more than we do our own ability to nourish our babies, we lose a chance to claim an aspect of our power as women. Thinking that baby formula is as good as breast milk is believing that thirty years of technology is superior to three million years of nature's evolution. Countless women have regained trust in their bodies through nursing their children, even if they weren't sure at first that they could do it. It is an act of female power, and I think of it as feminism in its purest form.

- Christine Northrup, M.D.

World Breastfeeding Week

HAPPY WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK, EVERYONE!

World Breastfeeding Week 120 countries Worldwide Annually