MINNEAPOLIS - When it comes to feeding newborns, experts agree, there's nothing like mother's milk. But now, a Minneapolis hospital has teamed up with a California biotech company to try to improve on Mother Nature.
The University of Minnesota Medical Center is collecting the "raw material" - breast milk - from nursing mothers who are willing to donate what they don't need.
Then it's shipped to Prolacta Bioscience of Monrovia, Calif., where it's modified and sold back to hospitals for $26 to $43 an ounce.
click to read more...
Monday, October 30, 2006
Now's your chance to sound off on WIC changes (Daily Herald)
Proposed changes to food packages for the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children would increase the variety of available foods while encouraging breast-feeding and reducing sugar, cholesterol and fat.
It's about time, according to the National WIC Association, which has been lobbying for the changes to the 32-year-old program for more than 10 years. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking for input. A public comment period is running through Nov. 6 to give people a chance to weigh in on the proposal, which will affect 8 million women and children from birth to age 5 , including 14,000 in Utah County.
The alterations, if approved, include the addition of fruits and vegetables, baby food, dairy alternatives and beans, while reducing infant formula for breast-fed infants, and eggs, milk and juice for women and children. The proposal also would eliminate juice for all infants and whole milk for participants age 2 years and older.
"The changes are really based on what we know about nutrition science," said Tae Chong, public policy nutritionist for the National WIC Association.
click to read more...
It's about time, according to the National WIC Association, which has been lobbying for the changes to the 32-year-old program for more than 10 years. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking for input. A public comment period is running through Nov. 6 to give people a chance to weigh in on the proposal, which will affect 8 million women and children from birth to age 5 , including 14,000 in Utah County.
The alterations, if approved, include the addition of fruits and vegetables, baby food, dairy alternatives and beans, while reducing infant formula for breast-fed infants, and eggs, milk and juice for women and children. The proposal also would eliminate juice for all infants and whole milk for participants age 2 years and older.
"The changes are really based on what we know about nutrition science," said Tae Chong, public policy nutritionist for the National WIC Association.
click to read more...
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Breast-feeding and the workplace (The Oregonian)
Oregon moms say time and space is often lacking despite recognition of the benefits to their babies
For two years, federal health officials have tried to cajole more moms to breast-feed their infants, launching a nationwide ad campaign that likened the risks of formula feeding, in one TV spot, to riding a mechanical bull while pregnant.
But the campaign has done little to help moms overcome one of the biggest barriers to breast-feeding -- the workplace.
Federal and state lawmakers have declined in recent years to force companies to guarantee female employees a time and place to nurse or express milk at work, with business lobbyists successfully arguing that a one-size-fits-all approach isn't effective in the workplace.
click to read more...
For two years, federal health officials have tried to cajole more moms to breast-feed their infants, launching a nationwide ad campaign that likened the risks of formula feeding, in one TV spot, to riding a mechanical bull while pregnant.
But the campaign has done little to help moms overcome one of the biggest barriers to breast-feeding -- the workplace.
Federal and state lawmakers have declined in recent years to force companies to guarantee female employees a time and place to nurse or express milk at work, with business lobbyists successfully arguing that a one-size-fits-all approach isn't effective in the workplace.
click to read more...
Breast-feeding: Getting employers to latch on (Oregon Live)
Perhaps you read The Sunday Oregonian's Business Section package about breast-feeding accommodations in the workplace. Two Oregon moms, Rosetta Thuresson and Cathy Kemmerer, shared how they tried to balance breast-feeding and work. Rosetta was unsuccessful and actually quit her job to start her own home-based business. Cathy still works and pumps breastmilk, but she'd never say it's easy.
When I interviewed them, I was struck by how articulately they recounted their struggles and successes. Both kindly agreed to let me post edited versions of our interviews so you could read about their experiences in their own words. Just click on the attachment below.
click to read more...
When I interviewed them, I was struck by how articulately they recounted their struggles and successes. Both kindly agreed to let me post edited versions of our interviews so you could read about their experiences in their own words. Just click on the attachment below.
click to read more...
Cow's milk allergy prevalent among children but often misdiagnosed (Singapore News)
SINGAPORE: Cow's milk allergy is one of the most common childhood allergies but it is often misdiagnosed, say doctors.
It is believed that 3.5% of all children who have severe reactions to food are allergic to cow's milk.
Angry rashes plagued Charlotte Lum from the time she was just five weeks old.
Doctors she went to told her parents it was eczema.
The girl continued to suffer till she was three.
Her mother, Stella Lum, said: "We didn't think it was an allergy. We thought it was an eczema problem, that was the diagnosis from the paediatricians from the very beginning. So, we made sure that everything was clean and we gave her the appropriate cream for her bath and daily use. In terms of food allergy, it didn't occur to us, until it was highlighted by her teacher and also when I shared this information with my friend who has been treating skin problem. She said that maybe we should do a test on the food."
Looking back, her parents realised the allergy started at the same time they began supplementing Charlotte's diet of breast milk with formula milk.
click to read more...
It is believed that 3.5% of all children who have severe reactions to food are allergic to cow's milk.
Angry rashes plagued Charlotte Lum from the time she was just five weeks old.
Doctors she went to told her parents it was eczema.
The girl continued to suffer till she was three.
Her mother, Stella Lum, said: "We didn't think it was an allergy. We thought it was an eczema problem, that was the diagnosis from the paediatricians from the very beginning. So, we made sure that everything was clean and we gave her the appropriate cream for her bath and daily use. In terms of food allergy, it didn't occur to us, until it was highlighted by her teacher and also when I shared this information with my friend who has been treating skin problem. She said that maybe we should do a test on the food."
Looking back, her parents realised the allergy started at the same time they began supplementing Charlotte's diet of breast milk with formula milk.
click to read more...
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Separation of detained mothers from breastfed babies to stop (Guardian Unlimited)
Immigration officials are to be ordered to stop separating breastfeeding mothers from their babies in the drive to deport failed asylum seekers after the government was told that the practice flouts UN conventions.
In August, Guardian Unlimited revealed that in at least two cases earlier this year mothers had been detained in immigration and removal centres away from their pre-weaned children.
The cases involved Mrs N, a Vietnamese asylum seeker, and her six-month-old baby, and Mrs P, a Turkish asylum seeker, and her 15-month-old infant who she was still breastfeeding on medical advice.
Ministers were warned that the cases, which campaigners fear are not the only ones, "fly in the face of a number of UN resolutions and conventions".
click to read more...
In August, Guardian Unlimited revealed that in at least two cases earlier this year mothers had been detained in immigration and removal centres away from their pre-weaned children.
The cases involved Mrs N, a Vietnamese asylum seeker, and her six-month-old baby, and Mrs P, a Turkish asylum seeker, and her 15-month-old infant who she was still breastfeeding on medical advice.
Ministers were warned that the cases, which campaigners fear are not the only ones, "fly in the face of a number of UN resolutions and conventions".
click to read more...
Promoting Breastfeeding, Promoting Guilt? (Scoop)
Biocultural anthropologist and author, winner of the American Anthropological Society Margaret Mead award in 1995, Katherine A. Dettwyler, will be presenting at the Le Leche League Conference at the Auckland Conference Centre on Tuesday, 24 October.
Dr Dettwyler has conducted research on child health and growth for more than 25 years.
“Health care professionals say they don't want to give mothers complete and accurate information about the risks of artificial infant formula because they are worried about making mothers feel guilty about not breastfeeding,” she says. “Guilt is often used to promote healthy behaviors in health advertising.”
click to read more...
Dr Dettwyler has conducted research on child health and growth for more than 25 years.
“Health care professionals say they don't want to give mothers complete and accurate information about the risks of artificial infant formula because they are worried about making mothers feel guilty about not breastfeeding,” she says. “Guilt is often used to promote healthy behaviors in health advertising.”
click to read more...
Breastfeeding lowers mental health risks (The Australian)
BABIES that are breastfed for longer than six months are less likely to develop mental health problems in childhood, new research shows.
But the number of Australian mothers who feed their infants on breastmilk beyond the six-month mark falls far short of recommended national standards.
The findings are the latest to come from a ground-breaking study which tracked more than 2500 Western Australian children over the past 16 years.
Babies breastfed for less than six months had a 52 per cent increased risk of mental health problems at two years of age than those children breastfed for longer.
This risk increased to 55 per cent by the age of six and 61 per cent two years later, but had dropped to 37 per cent by age 10.
click to read more...
But the number of Australian mothers who feed their infants on breastmilk beyond the six-month mark falls far short of recommended national standards.
The findings are the latest to come from a ground-breaking study which tracked more than 2500 Western Australian children over the past 16 years.
Babies breastfed for less than six months had a 52 per cent increased risk of mental health problems at two years of age than those children breastfed for longer.
This risk increased to 55 per cent by the age of six and 61 per cent two years later, but had dropped to 37 per cent by age 10.
click to read more...
Monday, October 23, 2006
Paris: Protesting nursing mothers breastfeed in public (Nigerian Tribune)
ONE hundred young mothers gathered to breastfeed their babies in central Paris on Sunday afternoon to campaign against the taboo on nursing in public in France.
“There are lots of prejudices against breastfeeding, especially in professional environments,” said Marie-France Astoin, co-ordinator for the Big Breastfeed demonstration outside Paris’s Sainte Eustache church, one of several taking place simultaneously in France’s major cities.
Astoin decried France’s level of breastfeeding, which at around 50%, is the lowest in Europe. During the World Health Organisation’s International Breastfeeding Week, the UN body and partner organisations are trying to promote mother’s milk as a newborn’s best defence against diarrhoea and respiratory infection.
“It’s not at all a new feminist fight,” said Monica, mother of Raphael. “Nothing beats a mother’s milk, it’s natural, so why give something artificial in its place?” Nearby, a young father ambled past wearing a placard marked “breast is best”.
click to read more...
“There are lots of prejudices against breastfeeding, especially in professional environments,” said Marie-France Astoin, co-ordinator for the Big Breastfeed demonstration outside Paris’s Sainte Eustache church, one of several taking place simultaneously in France’s major cities.
Astoin decried France’s level of breastfeeding, which at around 50%, is the lowest in Europe. During the World Health Organisation’s International Breastfeeding Week, the UN body and partner organisations are trying to promote mother’s milk as a newborn’s best defence against diarrhoea and respiratory infection.
“It’s not at all a new feminist fight,” said Monica, mother of Raphael. “Nothing beats a mother’s milk, it’s natural, so why give something artificial in its place?” Nearby, a young father ambled past wearing a placard marked “breast is best”.
click to read more...
Sunday, October 22, 2006
A Short History Of Donor Milk (Star Tribune)
• 2250 B.C.: Code of Hammurabi describes attributes for good "wet nurses" -- women who breast-fed other mothers' babies.
click to read more...
click to read more...
Got (extra) milk? At the U, it's a warm commodity (Star Tribune)
Some Minnesota moms' breast milk is going to a for-profit California company, which modifies it and sells it to hospitals. But skeptics wonder if the company's high-tech treatment of the milk --and its high prices -- are necessary.
When it comes to feeding newborns, experts agree, there's nothing like mother's milk. But now, a Minneapolis hospital has teamed up with a California biotech company to try to improve on Mother Nature.
The University of Minnesota Medical Center is collecting the "raw material" -- breast milk -- from nursing mothers who are willing to donate what they don't need.
Then it's shipped to Prolacta Bioscience of Monrovia, Calif., where it's modified and sold back to hospitals for $26 to $43 an ounce.
click to read more...
When it comes to feeding newborns, experts agree, there's nothing like mother's milk. But now, a Minneapolis hospital has teamed up with a California biotech company to try to improve on Mother Nature.
The University of Minnesota Medical Center is collecting the "raw material" -- breast milk -- from nursing mothers who are willing to donate what they don't need.
Then it's shipped to Prolacta Bioscience of Monrovia, Calif., where it's modified and sold back to hospitals for $26 to $43 an ounce.
click to read more...
Friday, October 20, 2006
Lactnet empowers the frontlines of breastfeeding education, one email at a time
London, UK (October 20, 2006) – Lactnet – a unique Internet community providing up-to-the-minute information and ongoing support to breastfeeding educators worldwide – has won the grand prize in L-Soft's 2005-2006 LISTSERV® Choice Awards program, the only global recognition program for email list excellence.
Lactnet is a forum for cutting-edge information, discussion and support focusing on best practices, emerging thoughts and current research. It is designed for lactation consultants and others – such as lay breastfeeding counselors, nurses, doctors, midwives, public health advocates, pharmacologists, marketing experts, writers, journalists, scientists, dieticians and doulas – involved in providing support to mothers in breastfeeding their infants and young children.
click to read more...
Lactnet is a forum for cutting-edge information, discussion and support focusing on best practices, emerging thoughts and current research. It is designed for lactation consultants and others – such as lay breastfeeding counselors, nurses, doctors, midwives, public health advocates, pharmacologists, marketing experts, writers, journalists, scientists, dieticians and doulas – involved in providing support to mothers in breastfeeding their infants and young children.
click to read more...
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Tiffany trial was an error (NorthJersey.com)
Rosa Almond of Wayne merely wanted to breast-feed her baby.
No problem, right?
Our world respects nursing moms. Our enlightened Garden State even has a law allowing women to breast-feed "in any location of a place of public accommodation, resort or amusement wherein the mother is otherwise permitted."
Basically anywhere.
So how did a baby's need to feed become a civil rights case?
click to read more...
No problem, right?
Our world respects nursing moms. Our enlightened Garden State even has a law allowing women to breast-feed "in any location of a place of public accommodation, resort or amusement wherein the mother is otherwise permitted."
Basically anywhere.
So how did a baby's need to feed become a civil rights case?
click to read more...
Monday, October 16, 2006
The MomME Blog - A Breast by Any Other Name......
...I find it no less than absolutely outrageous that the God-given reason for breasts is a source of embarassment and outright mortification for most Americans. Bottles? Adorable. Fork and knife? Wonderful. Human milk? Disgusting. Score one for Hugh Hefner. And the moms of this land of freedom are just S.O.L. But only if they so choose. There are no state laws against breastfeeding in public, although authorities will often try to apply public indecency statutes to send nursing moms back behind closed doors. There are an increasingly large number of laws nationwide that specifically protect breastfeeding in public, including here in Maine...
click to read more...
click to read more...
Low breastfeeding rate due to fear (Irish Health.com)
Fear and embarrassment have been cited as the main reasons why Ireland has such a low breastfeeding rate, according to the latest irishhealth.com viewers' poll.
We asked our registered readers why they thought Ireland has such a low breastfeeding rate.
Twenty-four per cent said this is due to a lack of practical support, for example, from hospitals; while 42% said it is due to fear or embarrassment.
click to read more...
We asked our registered readers why they thought Ireland has such a low breastfeeding rate.
Twenty-four per cent said this is due to a lack of practical support, for example, from hospitals; while 42% said it is due to fear or embarrassment.
click to read more...
Library is welcome to breastfeeding (The Daily Evergreen)
Iwas very surprised to read in The Daily Evergreen last Tuesday that the Neill Public Library, which I direct, was being attacked for a policy it did not have.
The column suggests that we had not “gotten the memo” about breastfeeding in public. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are a patron of the library you know that one of the strengths of the library is to welcome and support caregivers and children. We spend a good deal of your tax dollars and our energy enhancing education about child rearing – which of course includes breastfeeding. Such a life-affirming act, which by the way is one of the most important contributors to infant health, is welcome in the library and is routine, in accordance with Revised Code of Washington 43.70.640. Perhaps this had not been noticed by some newer library staff or some members of the public who may not be aware how often this occurs at the library.
So what really happened?...
click to read more...
The column suggests that we had not “gotten the memo” about breastfeeding in public. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are a patron of the library you know that one of the strengths of the library is to welcome and support caregivers and children. We spend a good deal of your tax dollars and our energy enhancing education about child rearing – which of course includes breastfeeding. Such a life-affirming act, which by the way is one of the most important contributors to infant health, is welcome in the library and is routine, in accordance with Revised Code of Washington 43.70.640. Perhaps this had not been noticed by some newer library staff or some members of the public who may not be aware how often this occurs at the library.
So what really happened?...
click to read more...
JoAnne W. Scott, 62; Advocate of Breast-Feeding
JoAnne W. Scott, an advocate of breast-feeding who helped advance the professional qualifications of lactation consultants around the world, died Sept. 18 of breast cancer at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. She was 62.
Rarely heard of a generation ago, lactation consultants are now on the staffs of hospitals, maternity and pediatric centers and private medical practices in dozens of countries. Largely through Scott's efforts, the field has become a licensed profession with rigorous requirements for certification.
click to read more...
Rarely heard of a generation ago, lactation consultants are now on the staffs of hospitals, maternity and pediatric centers and private medical practices in dozens of countries. Largely through Scott's efforts, the field has become a licensed profession with rigorous requirements for certification.
click to read more...
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Woman Loses Breast Feeding Lawsuit Against Tiffany (WNBC.com)
PATERSON, N.J. -- A New Jersey woman has lost a lawsuit alleging she was discriminated against by Tiffany & Co. for breast-feeding her baby in public.
A Superior Court jury rendered its decision Thursday in the case of Rosa Almond, a Passaic County woman who was nursing her 4-month-old daughter at the Tiffany store in the Short Hills Mall in December 2002.
click to read more...
A Superior Court jury rendered its decision Thursday in the case of Rosa Almond, a Passaic County woman who was nursing her 4-month-old daughter at the Tiffany store in the Short Hills Mall in December 2002.
click to read more...
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Nursing My Daughter, and Some Grievances (New York Times)
...I took off my shoes, put my bags into the bin, and dumped the ice that was keeping my newly pumped milk cool. Then the security agent said that I couldn’t take any milk onto the plane unless I had a baby with me. I told him that I wouldn’t have milk in a bag if I had my baby with me.
We started arguing. I feared I was going to miss my flight. I knew it was fruitless to try to explain how much this milk meant to me, that it was, at this point, my only primal connection to my baby back home. It was mother’s milk — was I really going to have to throw it in the trash? Yes. I tossed it into the gray can.
Sadness shot through me, then anger. “How many women have you made throw away breast milk today?”
“Six,” he said....
click to read more...
We started arguing. I feared I was going to miss my flight. I knew it was fruitless to try to explain how much this milk meant to me, that it was, at this point, my only primal connection to my baby back home. It was mother’s milk — was I really going to have to throw it in the trash? Yes. I tossed it into the gray can.
Sadness shot through me, then anger. “How many women have you made throw away breast milk today?”
“Six,” he said....
click to read more...
Friday, October 13, 2006
Breast-feeding mom tells jury of humiliation (NorthJersey.com)
A Wayne woman suing Tiffany & Co. for sex discrimination testified in state court Wednesday that an employee who saw her breast-feeding in the store angrily told her to go into the bathroom to do it.
"I was crying. I was very upset," said Rosa Almond, who testified that she went to the Short Hills Tiffany & Co. store in December 2002 with her two children and a friend to do Christmas shopping. She is seeking monetary damages for emotional distress.
A lawyer for Tiffany maintained that the incident was merely a "flawed interaction" between an employee and a customer in a cramped store hallway during the hectic holiday shopping season.
Defense lawyer Kelly Bird, in an opening statement before jurors in Paterson, also raised questions of gender discrimination and whether they apply. "Not all women choose to breast-feed. It's a choice, not a requirement," she said.
click to read more...
"I was crying. I was very upset," said Rosa Almond, who testified that she went to the Short Hills Tiffany & Co. store in December 2002 with her two children and a friend to do Christmas shopping. She is seeking monetary damages for emotional distress.
A lawyer for Tiffany maintained that the incident was merely a "flawed interaction" between an employee and a customer in a cramped store hallway during the hectic holiday shopping season.
Defense lawyer Kelly Bird, in an opening statement before jurors in Paterson, also raised questions of gender discrimination and whether they apply. "Not all women choose to breast-feed. It's a choice, not a requirement," she said.
click to read more...
Mums win right to breastfeed in public (AdelaideNow)
WOMEN will be able to breastfeed in restaurants or anywhere in public under new equal opportunity laws to be introduced to Parliament later this month.
They will also prevent discrimination against a person for wearing items such as a crucifix or headscarfs. The changes will be the first to the state's equal opportunity laws for 20 years and will adopt many of the recommendations made by Brian Martin, who is now Northern Territory Chief Justice, in a 1994 report.
The new laws will also prevent discrimination on the basis of potential pregnancy against women seeking employment.
While many restaurants and public institutions now provide areas where women can breastfeed, they can still be asked to leave if other patrons complain.
click to read more...
They will also prevent discrimination against a person for wearing items such as a crucifix or headscarfs. The changes will be the first to the state's equal opportunity laws for 20 years and will adopt many of the recommendations made by Brian Martin, who is now Northern Territory Chief Justice, in a 1994 report.
The new laws will also prevent discrimination on the basis of potential pregnancy against women seeking employment.
While many restaurants and public institutions now provide areas where women can breastfeed, they can still be asked to leave if other patrons complain.
click to read more...
Gym settles breastfeeding dispute (ABC News Online)
Two women who were told to stop breastfeeding their babies at a women's-only gym in Canberra have had a victory at the Discrimination Tribunal.
click to read more...
click to read more...
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The stigma of breastfeeding (The Daily Evergreen)
Many in the public don’t recognize the legality and necessity of the act
It seems that some people will never be at ease with the sight of a woman’s breast. Last week, a woman at Pullman’s Neill Public Library was engaged in the sort of activity most people do in such places: reading a book, that is. The problem was she also had the outrageous gall to breastfeed her baby at the same time – at least that is what must have been on the mind of the employee, and the patron who complained to her, when she approached the mother to scold her for nursing her baby in public.
“You have to stop that,” the employee said. “It is against the law of the state of Washington to breastfeed in public.” Luckily for everyone involved, especially the robust baby in the woman’s arm, this breastfeeding fanatic knew her rights and told the misguided and misinformed librarian to go fly a kite.
Quick question: What do Barbara Walters and a Neill librarian have in common?
Answer: Equating public nursing with public indecency.
click to read more...
It seems that some people will never be at ease with the sight of a woman’s breast. Last week, a woman at Pullman’s Neill Public Library was engaged in the sort of activity most people do in such places: reading a book, that is. The problem was she also had the outrageous gall to breastfeed her baby at the same time – at least that is what must have been on the mind of the employee, and the patron who complained to her, when she approached the mother to scold her for nursing her baby in public.
“You have to stop that,” the employee said. “It is against the law of the state of Washington to breastfeed in public.” Luckily for everyone involved, especially the robust baby in the woman’s arm, this breastfeeding fanatic knew her rights and told the misguided and misinformed librarian to go fly a kite.
Quick question: What do Barbara Walters and a Neill librarian have in common?
Answer: Equating public nursing with public indecency.
click to read more...
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Important Action Alert
Dear Friend of Breastfeeding,
You may have heard that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently proposed exciting and significant changes for the food package provided by the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program--based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine--including the addition of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lower fat dairy products, and dairy alternatives such as soy beverages and tofu!
The proposed food packages also include some welcome and very important changes related to breastfeeding promotion in the WIC program, such as:
Breastfeeding infants will not receive formula in the first month of life
Limits are set for the amount of formula that can be provided to partially breastfeeding infants after the first month
Food packages for fully breastfeeding mother/infant pairs are greatly enhanced, including the provision of infant fruits, vegetables and meats
Implementation of these proposed regulations will enhance the existing breastfeeding promotion and support available to WIC mothers and will significantly strengthen WIC's efforts to increase breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity and duration.
To help make these changes a reality, we need your support! Please go to the National WIC Association’s website at http://www.nwica.org to send an automated email of support, including any of your own personal comments, to USDA by the deadline of Monday, November 6, 2006. It only takes a couple seconds, and USDA will be counting up the numbers and types of comments, so make your voice heard! If you can send this email to other members of your organization (MLCA, LLL, NMC/BACE, etc) or other interested folks, please do! At the website, you may also access a copy of the proposed rule and learn more about the WIC community’s position on the changes.
As someone who cares about the health and well-being of women, infants and children, you are an important supporter of the WIC Program, and your input on the food package revisions is critical in making these changes a reality. Thank you!!
Read on for Additional Information…
The new proposed rule is based on the published recommendations (April 2005) of the Institute of Medicine. These recommendations were based on extensive scientific review of dietary intakes and the nutritional needs of women, infants and children (http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3788/18047/26667/28119.aspx). They are the first major changes to the WIC food package in 30 years, bringing the WIC food package in line with current nutrition knowledge and dietary guidance by introducing new foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, offering lower fat dairy products, and offering items such as soy beverages and tofu as alternatives to dairy products to address the cultural needs and preferences of our diverse WIC population. The changes are a significant step towards improving the overall health of our population through reduction in obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases. The attached PDF has more information about the proposed changes related to breastfeeding.
It is very important for all stakeholders to comment on these new regulations. The total number and types of comments that USDA receives on these proposed regulations will influence what is included in the final regulations. Thus, it is critical for all WIC partners and supporters to weigh in and let USDA know of the widespread support for changes to the WIC foods. We urge you to support the new rule and comment on ALL of the items that you support, and offer any suggestions you have for further improvements.
Please go to the National WIC Association’s website at http://www.nwica.org to send an automated email of support, including any of your own personal comments, to USDA by the deadline of Monday, November 6, 2006.
Thank you for your time on this important matter!
You may have heard that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently proposed exciting and significant changes for the food package provided by the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program--based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine--including the addition of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lower fat dairy products, and dairy alternatives such as soy beverages and tofu!
The proposed food packages also include some welcome and very important changes related to breastfeeding promotion in the WIC program, such as:
Breastfeeding infants will not receive formula in the first month of life
Limits are set for the amount of formula that can be provided to partially breastfeeding infants after the first month
Food packages for fully breastfeeding mother/infant pairs are greatly enhanced, including the provision of infant fruits, vegetables and meats
Implementation of these proposed regulations will enhance the existing breastfeeding promotion and support available to WIC mothers and will significantly strengthen WIC's efforts to increase breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity and duration.
To help make these changes a reality, we need your support! Please go to the National WIC Association’s website at http://www.nwica.org to send an automated email of support, including any of your own personal comments, to USDA by the deadline of Monday, November 6, 2006. It only takes a couple seconds, and USDA will be counting up the numbers and types of comments, so make your voice heard! If you can send this email to other members of your organization (MLCA, LLL, NMC/BACE, etc) or other interested folks, please do! At the website, you may also access a copy of the proposed rule and learn more about the WIC community’s position on the changes.
As someone who cares about the health and well-being of women, infants and children, you are an important supporter of the WIC Program, and your input on the food package revisions is critical in making these changes a reality. Thank you!!
Read on for Additional Information…
The new proposed rule is based on the published recommendations (April 2005) of the Institute of Medicine. These recommendations were based on extensive scientific review of dietary intakes and the nutritional needs of women, infants and children (http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3788/18047/26667/28119.aspx). They are the first major changes to the WIC food package in 30 years, bringing the WIC food package in line with current nutrition knowledge and dietary guidance by introducing new foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, offering lower fat dairy products, and offering items such as soy beverages and tofu as alternatives to dairy products to address the cultural needs and preferences of our diverse WIC population. The changes are a significant step towards improving the overall health of our population through reduction in obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases. The attached PDF has more information about the proposed changes related to breastfeeding.
It is very important for all stakeholders to comment on these new regulations. The total number and types of comments that USDA receives on these proposed regulations will influence what is included in the final regulations. Thus, it is critical for all WIC partners and supporters to weigh in and let USDA know of the widespread support for changes to the WIC foods. We urge you to support the new rule and comment on ALL of the items that you support, and offer any suggestions you have for further improvements.
Please go to the National WIC Association’s website at http://www.nwica.org to send an automated email of support, including any of your own personal comments, to USDA by the deadline of Monday, November 6, 2006.
Thank you for your time on this important matter!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Breast milk donation heals wounds (Clumbia Daily Tribune)
In wake of tragedy, mothers help others
New Florence resident Christi Lobb found herself on an emotional roller coaster from the day her son, Thomas Allen Lobb Jr., was born with multiple congenital anomalies until the day he died from them three weeks later.
"All we know is the nerves to his legs didn’t develop. He was paralyzed from the waist down. The same thing made his brain stem too small," said Lobb, 19. "They gave us hope, but we knew there wasn’t anything we could do."
On April 23, the day before Thomas died, Columbia Regional Hospital Medical Social Worker Dasi Schlup told Lobb about a donation program that offered an opportunity for some good to come out of Thomas’s death.
Lobb could donate her breast milk to HIV/AIDS orphans in Durban, South Africa, through the International Breast Milk Project, Schlup told her.
"I automatically said yeah, because, you know, I couldn’t use that for my baby, but I could use it to help somebody else, especially those babies that don’t have nobody," she said.
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New Florence resident Christi Lobb found herself on an emotional roller coaster from the day her son, Thomas Allen Lobb Jr., was born with multiple congenital anomalies until the day he died from them three weeks later.
"All we know is the nerves to his legs didn’t develop. He was paralyzed from the waist down. The same thing made his brain stem too small," said Lobb, 19. "They gave us hope, but we knew there wasn’t anything we could do."
On April 23, the day before Thomas died, Columbia Regional Hospital Medical Social Worker Dasi Schlup told Lobb about a donation program that offered an opportunity for some good to come out of Thomas’s death.
Lobb could donate her breast milk to HIV/AIDS orphans in Durban, South Africa, through the International Breast Milk Project, Schlup told her.
"I automatically said yeah, because, you know, I couldn’t use that for my baby, but I could use it to help somebody else, especially those babies that don’t have nobody," she said.
click to read more...
Breast v bottle is a no-brainer (The Sunday Times)
Ever since 1929, scientists have been searching for just one, single example of a breast-fed person who was as thick as three short planks. Now, at last, they must have found one, because Glasgow’s Medical Research Council feels confident enough to announce that there is no link between breast-feeding and cleverness. It’s official — being breast-fed doesn’t necessarily make you bright; what really matters is how you’re brought up.
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Moms donate breast milk for AIDS babies (UPI)
DURBAN, South Africa, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- New mothers in the United States have been donating breast milk for babies in South Africa orphaned by AIDS.
The Ithemba Leptu Home in Durban has received 180 liters (about 190 quarts) since the first shipment in April, the Durban Independent reported.
"That's enough milk to feed 10 babies five times a day for a month," said Jill Youse, executive director and founder of International Breast Milk Project.
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The Ithemba Leptu Home in Durban has received 180 liters (about 190 quarts) since the first shipment in April, the Durban Independent reported.
"That's enough milk to feed 10 babies five times a day for a month," said Jill Youse, executive director and founder of International Breast Milk Project.
click to read more...
The great New York breast-feeding test (New York Daily News)
Mostly milk of human kindness on bus, at Met & Le Cirque
When a Brooklyn mom claimed she was harassed for breast-feeding her baby at the Toys "R" Us store in Times Square, her story brought forth complaints from other mothers with similar tales of woe.
A state law, enacted in 2002, says that any mother can breast-feed a child in any place, public or privately owned, where she is otherwise authorized to be.
But to hear some mothers tell it, there are still stores and restaurants hostile to women who nurse in public - or NIP, the shorthand used on breast-feeding Web sites.
The Daily News put the issue to a test by dispatching reporter Tracy Connor and her 3-month-old daughter, Charlie, to nurse at humble and posh locations around town. Here's her account of who is hip to NIP and, perhaps surprisingly, who is not.
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When a Brooklyn mom claimed she was harassed for breast-feeding her baby at the Toys "R" Us store in Times Square, her story brought forth complaints from other mothers with similar tales of woe.
A state law, enacted in 2002, says that any mother can breast-feed a child in any place, public or privately owned, where she is otherwise authorized to be.
But to hear some mothers tell it, there are still stores and restaurants hostile to women who nurse in public - or NIP, the shorthand used on breast-feeding Web sites.
The Daily News put the issue to a test by dispatching reporter Tracy Connor and her 3-month-old daughter, Charlie, to nurse at humble and posh locations around town. Here's her account of who is hip to NIP and, perhaps surprisingly, who is not.
click to read more...
Friday, October 06, 2006
Breast-Feeding, Intelligence Link Probed (Fox News)
LONDON — Breast-fed children are more intelligent than their bottle-fed counterparts, but this has nothing to do with the content of the milk they receive, a study published in the British Medical Journal said.
For decades scientists have been looking for a correlation between feeding and intelligence, but the report says genetic and environmental factors affect a child's intellect.
Researchers, who analyzed data from more than 5,000 children and 3,000 mothers in the United States, found that mothers who breast-feed tend to be more intelligent, according to a study published Wednesday on the journal's Web site.
"When this fact was taken into account, most of the relationship between breast-feeding and the child's intelligence disappeared,"said Jeff Dar, one of the report's authors.
"This research shows that intelligence is determined by factors other than breast-feeding,"
click to read more...
For decades scientists have been looking for a correlation between feeding and intelligence, but the report says genetic and environmental factors affect a child's intellect.
Researchers, who analyzed data from more than 5,000 children and 3,000 mothers in the United States, found that mothers who breast-feed tend to be more intelligent, according to a study published Wednesday on the journal's Web site.
"When this fact was taken into account, most of the relationship between breast-feeding and the child's intelligence disappeared,"said Jeff Dar, one of the report's authors.
"This research shows that intelligence is determined by factors other than breast-feeding,"
click to read more...
DOH warns mothers vs bottle feeding (Phillipine Information Agency)
BUTUAN CITY (October 5) -- The Department of Health (DOH), Caraga Region thru Dr. Grace Lim, Maternal and Child Health Coordinator warns mothers on the ill effects of cows milk or milk formulas to infants and babies during the Milk Code Orientation here, recently.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that some 16,000 infant deaths occurred annually due to bottle-feeding. Bottle feeding is also associated by WHO to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, respiratory tract infection like pneumonia, stroke, meningitis, kidney problems, leukemia and other forms of cancer.
Bottle feeding, according to experts, increases the child's risk to asthma, allergy, acute respiratory disease, infection from contaminated formula, childhood cancers, chronic diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, gastrointestinal infections, mortality, otitis media and ear infections and side effects of environmental contaminants.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that some 16,000 infant deaths occurred annually due to bottle-feeding. Bottle feeding is also associated by WHO to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, respiratory tract infection like pneumonia, stroke, meningitis, kidney problems, leukemia and other forms of cancer.
Bottle feeding, according to experts, increases the child's risk to asthma, allergy, acute respiratory disease, infection from contaminated formula, childhood cancers, chronic diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, gastrointestinal infections, mortality, otitis media and ear infections and side effects of environmental contaminants.
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Nibbling Nursers - What to do when baby bites (The Times News)
Most mothers picture nursing as a serene experience, and it usually is. But when Baby gets a few teeth, biting often becomes a concern. Then what? Here are some tips!
A playful nip?
Breastfeeding Melanie Walenciak, mother of two in Tulsa, Oklahoma recalls the first time her baby bit while nursing.
"He had that glint in his eye but he was only playing," she says. "I screamed so loud I scared us both. He would occasionally glint at me after that day but I would say no, no, no and he would giggle. It became almost a ritual. I am glad to say that my son and I had a great nursing experience. He weaned himself at almost three when I was five months pregnant with baby number two."
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A playful nip?
Breastfeeding Melanie Walenciak, mother of two in Tulsa, Oklahoma recalls the first time her baby bit while nursing.
"He had that glint in his eye but he was only playing," she says. "I screamed so loud I scared us both. He would occasionally glint at me after that day but I would say no, no, no and he would giggle. It became almost a ritual. I am glad to say that my son and I had a great nursing experience. He weaned himself at almost three when I was five months pregnant with baby number two."
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Focus: Breastfeeding - Let’s invest in the best (The Malta Independent)
On occasion of Breastfeeding Week, which will be celebrated during the week starting on Monday, the Association of Breastfeeding Counsellors (ABC) pledges its support to help women breastfeed successfully.
Pregnant women and mothers of young children need relevant and appropriate information to help them make right choices when deciding how to feed their baby. Women need consistent advice from a reliable source, prior to delivery and especially in the first days after delivery and that’s where ABC can offer them help and support.
The association offers antenatal breastfeeding courses for expectant and new parents to prepare for the vital days, weeks and months after the baby’s birth.
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Pregnant women and mothers of young children need relevant and appropriate information to help them make right choices when deciding how to feed their baby. Women need consistent advice from a reliable source, prior to delivery and especially in the first days after delivery and that’s where ABC can offer them help and support.
The association offers antenatal breastfeeding courses for expectant and new parents to prepare for the vital days, weeks and months after the baby’s birth.
click to read more...
Readers speak out about breastfeeding (The News Tribune)
The News Tribune of Washington state invited comment from readers about breastfeeding. Having just heard about The View's latest attack on breastfeeding mothers, I found these letters the perfect antidote.
click to read...
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Law is clear: Mothers can breastfeed in public (The Ithaca Journal)
OK, Ithaca, once more, slowly. Section 79-e of New York State's Civil Rights Code 6403 states:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breast feed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether or not the nipple of the mother's breast is covered during or incidental to the breast feeding.”
No exceptions for other people's discomfort. Nothing about health precautions. Women have the right to breastfeed anywhere they have a legal right to stand or sit or swim or eat or teach.
Only ignorance says a mother shouldn't nurse in or near a pool. The squeamish can remind themselves that pools are chemically treated precisely because every person in them — HIV positive or negative, sick or healthy — leaks fluids. We can't stop those fluids, and the pool is safe anyway. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and OSHA agree that human milk is not a body fluid requiring special handling. Breast milk, like spit, happens. Get over it.
It is ignorance, not store policy, that sends a breastfeeding mother to the back room. Stores might as well ask her to move because she is black or female or nearsighted. New York State stores do not have — and may not have — policies against breastfeeding.
click to read more...
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breast feed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether or not the nipple of the mother's breast is covered during or incidental to the breast feeding.”
No exceptions for other people's discomfort. Nothing about health precautions. Women have the right to breastfeed anywhere they have a legal right to stand or sit or swim or eat or teach.
Only ignorance says a mother shouldn't nurse in or near a pool. The squeamish can remind themselves that pools are chemically treated precisely because every person in them — HIV positive or negative, sick or healthy — leaks fluids. We can't stop those fluids, and the pool is safe anyway. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and OSHA agree that human milk is not a body fluid requiring special handling. Breast milk, like spit, happens. Get over it.
It is ignorance, not store policy, that sends a breastfeeding mother to the back room. Stores might as well ask her to move because she is black or female or nearsighted. New York State stores do not have — and may not have — policies against breastfeeding.
click to read more...
Breast is best for forward planning obesity fight (The Australian)
BREAST-FEEDING may be another weapon in the war against childhood obesity. New research in the journal Diabetes Care shows that children who are breast-fed as infants are less likely to become obese as they get older, regardless of whether their mothers are overweight or diabetic. The study included 15,253 boys and girls aged 9 to 14. Children and their mothers were surveyed to determine current height and weight, as well as the method of feeding used in the first six months of life.
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Thursday, October 05, 2006
Building a bond: Nursing moms want a place to breast-feed infants, acceptance by community (Altoona Mirror)
When debates ensue, there are usually two sides, both with the notion they are right. But for Michelle Baughman, there can also be com-
promise.
The 33-year-old Tyrone mother of four has breast-fed her children in public. She doesn’t have to think hard to recall the stares of people and even the comments. Some believe mothers should breast-feed only at home or out of the public’s gaze.
Baughman isn’t one of them. While she is an advocate for breast-feeding in public, she is also trying to appease those who don’t want to see public breast-feeding by working toward creating legislation that not only would support a woman’s choice to breast-feed in public, but would also require public places to have some sort of separate area for mothers to breast-feed away from the public.
click to read more...
promise.
The 33-year-old Tyrone mother of four has breast-fed her children in public. She doesn’t have to think hard to recall the stares of people and even the comments. Some believe mothers should breast-feed only at home or out of the public’s gaze.
Baughman isn’t one of them. While she is an advocate for breast-feeding in public, she is also trying to appease those who don’t want to see public breast-feeding by working toward creating legislation that not only would support a woman’s choice to breast-feed in public, but would also require public places to have some sort of separate area for mothers to breast-feed away from the public.
click to read more...
Advocates for breast-feeding question formula giveaways (Daytona Beach News-Journal Online)
By the time 9-pound Campbell Bundza debuted at Halifax Medical Center on Monday, her parents had received mountains of information about how feeding from her mother's breast is best -- along with a stockpile of free infant formula.
Janet Bundza said boxes of complimentary infant formula came to her Port Orange home after she signed up for Publix Supermarkets' Baby Club. She collected more free formula samples when she went to Lamaze classes at the hospital.
"From the research I've read, breast-feeding has benefits for her and for me, so I thought it'd be the way to go," said Bundza, 31, as her first child slept cradled in her arms.
But she also read that breast-feeding doesn't work for everyone.
"I had a question in my mind," Bundza said. "So I thought I'd take it (the formula) as a just-in-case kind of thing."
Sending new mothers home with free infant formula -- practiced to some degree at all of the area's birthing hospitals -- has become more controversial as the benefits of breast-feeding have become more incontrovertible.
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Janet Bundza said boxes of complimentary infant formula came to her Port Orange home after she signed up for Publix Supermarkets' Baby Club. She collected more free formula samples when she went to Lamaze classes at the hospital.
"From the research I've read, breast-feeding has benefits for her and for me, so I thought it'd be the way to go," said Bundza, 31, as her first child slept cradled in her arms.
But she also read that breast-feeding doesn't work for everyone.
"I had a question in my mind," Bundza said. "So I thought I'd take it (the formula) as a just-in-case kind of thing."
Sending new mothers home with free infant formula -- practiced to some degree at all of the area's birthing hospitals -- has become more controversial as the benefits of breast-feeding have become more incontrovertible.
click to read more...
BREAST-FEED MA CAN (New York Post)
October 5, 2006 -- A New Jersey mother who says she was ordered not to give her infant daughter breakfast at Tiffany's - by breast-feeding her - has gotten the go-ahead to sue the legendary jewelry store for discrimination.
Rosa Almond, 32, of Wayne claims she was feeding her 4-month-old in the Tiffany branch in Short Hills when a male employee stopped her and publicly chastised her.
The staffer told her "in a loud and annoyed tone, 'You can't do this. You can't be here . . . You can go to the bathroom and do that.' He then 'stormed off,' " according to a Superior Court summary of Almond's complaint.
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Rosa Almond, 32, of Wayne claims she was feeding her 4-month-old in the Tiffany branch in Short Hills when a male employee stopped her and publicly chastised her.
The staffer told her "in a loud and annoyed tone, 'You can't do this. You can't be here . . . You can go to the bathroom and do that.' He then 'stormed off,' " according to a Superior Court summary of Almond's complaint.
click to read more...
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Breast-feeding best for diabetic moms (US News)
For most moms, experts say, breast-feeding's the healthier choice. It protects babies against diarrhea and respiratory infections, as well as other illnesses. But mothers who are obese or diabetic might have been given the opposite advice: Because some research has suggested that milk from diabetic or overweight mothers is more fattening, doctors have worried that babies who drank this milk might be at an unusually high risk of developing lifelong weight problems. (These babies already have an increased risk for becoming diabetic or obese, since their mothers are.)
It appears those concerns can now be set to rest. A new study of more than 15,000 children, published in the October issue of the journal Diabetes Care, shows that breast-feeding does a better job of preventing obesity in kids even when their mother is overweight or diabetic. "For these moms, breast-feeding is the first thing they can do to reduce their child's chances of developing these conditions," says lead study author Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, a professor and associate chair in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
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It appears those concerns can now be set to rest. A new study of more than 15,000 children, published in the October issue of the journal Diabetes Care, shows that breast-feeding does a better job of preventing obesity in kids even when their mother is overweight or diabetic. "For these moms, breast-feeding is the first thing they can do to reduce their child's chances of developing these conditions," says lead study author Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, a professor and associate chair in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
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Breastfeeding needs boost (London Free Press)
Half of new moms who breastfeed give up within months.
While 88 per cent of women giving birth in the London area start out breastfeeding, by six months half of them have stopped.
The majority of those quit within the first three months.
These are statistics the Middlesex-London Health Unit wants to improve because they fall far short of the recommendation that a woman breastfeed her child for two years.
The first week of October is World Breastfeeding Week and the local health unit is trying to spread the word on the importance of breastfeeding and to encourage mothers to keep going.
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While 88 per cent of women giving birth in the London area start out breastfeeding, by six months half of them have stopped.
The majority of those quit within the first three months.
These are statistics the Middlesex-London Health Unit wants to improve because they fall far short of the recommendation that a woman breastfeed her child for two years.
The first week of October is World Breastfeeding Week and the local health unit is trying to spread the word on the importance of breastfeeding and to encourage mothers to keep going.
click to read more...
Breast-feeding mother can sue (NorthJersey.com)
A Wayne woman claiming that an employee for Tiffany & Co. told her not to breast-feed in the store has legal basis to sue under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, a state judge ruled Tuesday.
Attorneys for the exclusive retailer had filed a summary judgment motion trying to block Rosa Almond's civil suit, arguing, among other things, that state law does not address breast-feeding per se. Superior Court Judge Burrell Ives Humphreys in Paterson ruled, however, that the law can be "liberally construed" in combination with other New Jersey statutes that do protect breast-feeding in places of "public accommodation."
Quoting past case law, the judge also noted that the law's overriding purpose is "nothing less than the eradication of the cancer of discrimination."
The judge did agree with Tiffany's other arguments that the woman's claim does not meet the legal criteria to sue for emotional pain and suffering. Attorneys for the plaintiff said they can still sue for other compensatory damages under the law. It was not immediately clear what the nature of those damages would be.
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Attorneys for the exclusive retailer had filed a summary judgment motion trying to block Rosa Almond's civil suit, arguing, among other things, that state law does not address breast-feeding per se. Superior Court Judge Burrell Ives Humphreys in Paterson ruled, however, that the law can be "liberally construed" in combination with other New Jersey statutes that do protect breast-feeding in places of "public accommodation."
Quoting past case law, the judge also noted that the law's overriding purpose is "nothing less than the eradication of the cancer of discrimination."
The judge did agree with Tiffany's other arguments that the woman's claim does not meet the legal criteria to sue for emotional pain and suffering. Attorneys for the plaintiff said they can still sue for other compensatory damages under the law. It was not immediately clear what the nature of those damages would be.
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Breastfeeding Does Not Make Baby More Intelligent (Medical News Today)
Breastfed babies are more intelligent because a higher percentage of highly educated mothers tend to breastfeed, say researchers from the Medical Research Council (UK) and the University of Edinburgh. A higher percentage of breastfed babies are brought up in a mentally stimulating environment.
You can read about this study in the British Medical Journal.
The researchers looked at data on 5,475 children and 3,161 mothers from the United States.
A link between breastfeeding and higher IQ was first spotted in 1929, and has been a controversial subject ever since, says Geoff Der, lead researcher. He said that not only do breastfed children generally perform better on intelligence tests, but they also tend to come from more advantaged backgrounds.
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You can read about this study in the British Medical Journal.
The researchers looked at data on 5,475 children and 3,161 mothers from the United States.
A link between breastfeeding and higher IQ was first spotted in 1929, and has been a controversial subject ever since, says Geoff Der, lead researcher. He said that not only do breastfed children generally perform better on intelligence tests, but they also tend to come from more advantaged backgrounds.
click to read more...
Breast-Fed Babies Aren't Smarter (CBS News)
Despite Study, Researchers Still List Lots Of Reasons For Breastfeeding
(WebMD) Do breast-fed babies become brainier kids? Some studies say yes, but new research shows no direct link between breastfeeding and intelligence later in life.
In the largest study ever to address the issue, researchers found a positive impact for breastfeeding on intelligence only when other potential contributors — such as the mother's IQ and the parents' educational and economic status — were not taken into consideration.
When these variables were considered, breastfeeding was found to have little impact on a child's IQ.
The study included 5,475 children and mothers in the United States who participated in an ongoing youth development survey. The findings were published today in BMJ Online First.
click to read more...
(WebMD) Do breast-fed babies become brainier kids? Some studies say yes, but new research shows no direct link between breastfeeding and intelligence later in life.
In the largest study ever to address the issue, researchers found a positive impact for breastfeeding on intelligence only when other potential contributors — such as the mother's IQ and the parents' educational and economic status — were not taken into consideration.
When these variables were considered, breastfeeding was found to have little impact on a child's IQ.
The study included 5,475 children and mothers in the United States who participated in an ongoing youth development survey. The findings were published today in BMJ Online First.
click to read more...
Children Inherit Higher IQ from Mom's Brains, Not Her Milk (Med Page Today)
GLASGOW, Scotland, Oct. 4 -- If smarter women are more likely to breast feed their babies, it only stands to reason that their children would inherit higher IQs, reported researchers here. It's nature, not nurture. Action Points
The study, which is five times larger than any previous study on the issue, used data from the U.S. national longitudinal survey of youth that began in 1979, reported Geoff Der, M.A., M.Sc., of the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit here, and colleagues, online in BMJ.
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The study, which is five times larger than any previous study on the issue, used data from the U.S. national longitudinal survey of youth that began in 1979, reported Geoff Der, M.A., M.Sc., of the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit here, and colleagues, online in BMJ.
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Prolacta Bioscience Closes on over $5 Million in Private Funding (Genetic Engineering News)
Prolacta Bioscience, a privately held company that provides specialty formulations of human milk for the immunological and nutritional needs of premature and critically ill infants, announced today that it has raised over $5 million in private venture funding for its series B prime financing round from a combination of existing investors, new investors, and several high profile angel investors.
New investors included Arcturus Capital, DFJ Mercury, Philip Capital, Funk Ventures Capital, and the Gideon Hixon Fund. Existing investors include DFJ Frontier, Draper Richards, and Draper Associates.
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New investors included Arcturus Capital, DFJ Mercury, Philip Capital, Funk Ventures Capital, and the Gideon Hixon Fund. Existing investors include DFJ Frontier, Draper Richards, and Draper Associates.
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Take up the breastfeeding challenge (Merritt Herald)
Saturday morning really sucked for five Merritt mothers.
Luckily that was the whole idea, as they were taking part in the annual Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge. Every year World Breastfeeding Week is held in for the first week of October. To jump start the week the challenge is held on Sept. 30 to increase awareness of the advantages of breast feeding. At 11 a.m., mothers around the world “latch on” to set the record for the most children breastfeeding at one time.
Amy Woods is one of the mothers who took part in the challenge at the Family Place in Merritt. She says there are so many reasons to breastfeed that she didn’t consider not doing it.
“I did it to make sure he is happy and healthy,” she says. “It’s got all the nutrients he needs, and it is much more convenient. No bottles in the middle of the night – I love it.”
click to read more...
Luckily that was the whole idea, as they were taking part in the annual Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge. Every year World Breastfeeding Week is held in for the first week of October. To jump start the week the challenge is held on Sept. 30 to increase awareness of the advantages of breast feeding. At 11 a.m., mothers around the world “latch on” to set the record for the most children breastfeeding at one time.
Amy Woods is one of the mothers who took part in the challenge at the Family Place in Merritt. She says there are so many reasons to breastfeed that she didn’t consider not doing it.
“I did it to make sure he is happy and healthy,” she says. “It’s got all the nutrients he needs, and it is much more convenient. No bottles in the middle of the night – I love it.”
click to read more...
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
ALL REALLY CARED ABOUT WAS FEEDING MY BABY (The Daily Record)
At just 36 and pregnant, Ruth Cave was diagnosed with breast cancer - but dying wasn't her biggest fear
MUM Ruth Cave was eight months pregnant when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2004.
On hearing the bombshell the then 36-year-old just wanted to know one thing - would she be able to breastfeed her baby?
She said: "It was a huge shock to be told I had cancer, especially as I was a heavily pregnant 36-year-old woman.
"But I never thought at that point that I might die, it was just so important to me that I would be able to feed my baby."
Ruth had noticed a lump in her breast about halfway through her pregnancy, but put it down to hormones.
click to read more...
MUM Ruth Cave was eight months pregnant when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2004.
On hearing the bombshell the then 36-year-old just wanted to know one thing - would she be able to breastfeed her baby?
She said: "It was a huge shock to be told I had cancer, especially as I was a heavily pregnant 36-year-old woman.
"But I never thought at that point that I might die, it was just so important to me that I would be able to feed my baby."
Ruth had noticed a lump in her breast about halfway through her pregnancy, but put it down to hormones.
click to read more...
Mothers share breastfeeding tales (The Daily News)
HEALTH - Shauna O'Brien of Upper Tantallon and five other mothers hope what they know will help others raise healthy children.
They'll take part in The Lived Experience of Breastfeeding Mothers, a discussion put on by Capital Health this morning at the Cobequid Multi-Service Centre in Lower Sackville as part of World Breastfeeding Week in Canada.
The women will talk with health-care providers about why they chose to breastfeed, the lessons they learned while nursing and what resources were available to them.
click to read more...
They'll take part in The Lived Experience of Breastfeeding Mothers, a discussion put on by Capital Health this morning at the Cobequid Multi-Service Centre in Lower Sackville as part of World Breastfeeding Week in Canada.
The women will talk with health-care providers about why they chose to breastfeed, the lessons they learned while nursing and what resources were available to them.
click to read more...
Bottle or breast for babies? (Times Online)
Sir, Breast-feeding (times 2, Sept 29) is honed by evolution to be the healthiest way to nurture the human baby, and it is now more than three years since the Department of Health’s policy followed World Health Organisation research, showing that babies are healthiest fed on milk alone for the first six months of life.
The lack of breast-feeding in the face of a barrage of formula advertising is causing the deaths of 1.5 million babies worldwide.
A woman is no more likely to be physically unable to breast-feed than she is to be physically unable to see or hear. Society, however, can make her unable to breast-feed. This is done by undermining her confidence with misleading information, and treating breast-feeding as permissible only in private.
click to read more...
The lack of breast-feeding in the face of a barrage of formula advertising is causing the deaths of 1.5 million babies worldwide.
A woman is no more likely to be physically unable to breast-feed than she is to be physically unable to see or hear. Society, however, can make her unable to breast-feed. This is done by undermining her confidence with misleading information, and treating breast-feeding as permissible only in private.
click to read more...
Monday, October 02, 2006
Medical 'reps' ban begins (MercuryNews.com)
NEW STANFORD PLAN SAYS 'NO' TO INDUSTRY GIFTS, GRATUITIES
The halls of Stanford University Hospital and Clinics will be just a little bit quieter today, the first day of a new ban on drug and device sales people bearing gifts, gratuities and unsolicited advice.
Stanford's tough policy, similar to one adopted by Kaiser Medical Group in late 2004, is designed to ease pressure on doctors to prescribe certain medicines or implant certain prostheses.
Gone are free pens, pencils, coffee mugs and bags decorated with company logos, donated by visiting drug reps. Stanford no longer welcomes lunches, dinners and refreshments that are funded by drug or device companies.
There are new expectations of doctors, as well. Industry-sponsored vacations are off-limits. And whether writing a journal article or buying supplies, doctors have to disclose any financial ties that they may have to a related company.
``We need to be aboveboard,'' said Dr. Lawrence Shuer, chief of staff at Stanford Medical Hospital and Clinics. As a teaching hospital, ``we have the ability to influence the future physicians of America.''
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The halls of Stanford University Hospital and Clinics will be just a little bit quieter today, the first day of a new ban on drug and device sales people bearing gifts, gratuities and unsolicited advice.
Stanford's tough policy, similar to one adopted by Kaiser Medical Group in late 2004, is designed to ease pressure on doctors to prescribe certain medicines or implant certain prostheses.
Gone are free pens, pencils, coffee mugs and bags decorated with company logos, donated by visiting drug reps. Stanford no longer welcomes lunches, dinners and refreshments that are funded by drug or device companies.
There are new expectations of doctors, as well. Industry-sponsored vacations are off-limits. And whether writing a journal article or buying supplies, doctors have to disclose any financial ties that they may have to a related company.
``We need to be aboveboard,'' said Dr. Lawrence Shuer, chief of staff at Stanford Medical Hospital and Clinics. As a teaching hospital, ``we have the ability to influence the future physicians of America.''
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Everyone wins when breastfeeding is promoted (The Charleston Gazette)
I WAS quite surprised this summer after reading a New York Times editorial of July 2, “About Breast-Feeding...”. I thought I might be in a time warp, recalling the April Fools Day prank by the Harvard Lampoon in 1968, when in isolated parts of the country the front page of the Times was replaced by an exquisite reproduction. If memory serves me, one of the most prominent articles on that page reported the finding of a talking walrus in the Central Park Zoo.
The recent editorial was written in response to a hard-hitting June article in the Times on a new government-sponsored advertising initiative advocating breastfeeding. Although the tone of the article created considerable controversy, the content was factual and attempted to articulate clearly the risks of exclusive formula feeding and the sad statistic that the United States has the lowest prevalence of breastfeeding in the industrialized world. West Virginia, not surprisingly, ranks near the bottom of all states.
The premise of the July piece was to look for middle ground amidst the increasing emotionalism and contentiousness of this debate. Now, I have always been a proponent of the “middle ground.” Unfortunately, although much of the editorial seemed reasoned and helpful in dealing with a complex issue, there were some comments and oversights that struck me as uncharacteristically out of touch for this media giant.
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The recent editorial was written in response to a hard-hitting June article in the Times on a new government-sponsored advertising initiative advocating breastfeeding. Although the tone of the article created considerable controversy, the content was factual and attempted to articulate clearly the risks of exclusive formula feeding and the sad statistic that the United States has the lowest prevalence of breastfeeding in the industrialized world. West Virginia, not surprisingly, ranks near the bottom of all states.
The premise of the July piece was to look for middle ground amidst the increasing emotionalism and contentiousness of this debate. Now, I have always been a proponent of the “middle ground.” Unfortunately, although much of the editorial seemed reasoned and helpful in dealing with a complex issue, there were some comments and oversights that struck me as uncharacteristically out of touch for this media giant.
click to read more...
Unequal opprtunities for new moms (Star-Gazette.COM)
It's time to give new mothers a break.
About breastfeeding, that is.
It is well-known that breast milk provides newborn babies with better nutrition and better long-term health benefits than formula. Without a doubt, this information needs to be supplied to pregnant women and reinforced by their doctors.
However, the increased pressure -- especially by the federal government -- for women to breastfeed has become unfair and pejorative.
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About breastfeeding, that is.
It is well-known that breast milk provides newborn babies with better nutrition and better long-term health benefits than formula. Without a doubt, this information needs to be supplied to pregnant women and reinforced by their doctors.
However, the increased pressure -- especially by the federal government -- for women to breastfeed has become unfair and pejorative.
click to read more...
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Breastfeeding bravely at WEM (Edmonton News)
Dozens of women bravely breast-fed their babies in the middle of the country’s largest mall Saturday in a bid to show other moms they don’t have to hide at home if they want to feed their children.
As part of the Breastfeeding Challenge 2006 campaign, there were similar displays throughout Canada.
“Breastfeeding is very natural, but we don’t actually provide a lot of support for moms who do it,” said Kirsten Goa, as she held four-week old twins Patrick and Nikolas.
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As part of the Breastfeeding Challenge 2006 campaign, there were similar displays throughout Canada.
“Breastfeeding is very natural, but we don’t actually provide a lot of support for moms who do it,” said Kirsten Goa, as she held four-week old twins Patrick and Nikolas.
click to read more...
This really sucks (winnipegsun.com)
Lactating moms lined up at the Legislature to try to make Manitoba the breast, er, best region in yesterday's 2006 Breastfeeding Challenge.
Provinces, territories and U.S. states were competing to see who could set the record for the most babies being breastfed at one time.
Ultimately, the goal of the event is to promote breastfeeding as a healthy option and an acceptable practice in public.
click to read more...
Provinces, territories and U.S. states were competing to see who could set the record for the most babies being breastfed at one time.
Ultimately, the goal of the event is to promote breastfeeding as a healthy option and an acceptable practice in public.
click to read more...
Breastfeeding babes (TorontoSun.com)
Ready, set, breastfeed!
As the clock struck 11 a.m. yesterday, 100 moms at the North York Civic Centre attached 103 little mouths to their nipples to raise awareness of the health and wellness benefits of breastfeeding.
"It's terrific ... especially as a newborn, in terms of the emotional bonding between mother and child and brain development," said Olga Jovkovic, manager of reproductive and infant health for Toronto Public Health.
The event, in its second year in Toronto, featured speakers extolling the benefits of breastfeeding. The event marked World Breastfeeding Week, with gatherings slated for several locations across the continent.
click to read more...
As the clock struck 11 a.m. yesterday, 100 moms at the North York Civic Centre attached 103 little mouths to their nipples to raise awareness of the health and wellness benefits of breastfeeding.
"It's terrific ... especially as a newborn, in terms of the emotional bonding between mother and child and brain development," said Olga Jovkovic, manager of reproductive and infant health for Toronto Public Health.
The event, in its second year in Toronto, featured speakers extolling the benefits of breastfeeding. The event marked World Breastfeeding Week, with gatherings slated for several locations across the continent.
click to read more...
Best thing for baby (The Daily News)
Judy Dubois has her work cut out for her. For the mother of four-month-old twins Sadie and Nate, breastfeeding is literally a balancing act.
"Yes, I feed them both at once," said the mother of four from Bedford. "If I didn't, it would take too long and they'd be feeding all day."
Dubois was one of 42 mothers who breastfed on the grass at Sullivans Pond in Dartmouth yesterday to show support for the practice at the fifth annual Quintessence Challenge in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.
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"Yes, I feed them both at once," said the mother of four from Bedford. "If I didn't, it would take too long and they'd be feeding all day."
Dubois was one of 42 mothers who breastfed on the grass at Sullivans Pond in Dartmouth yesterday to show support for the practice at the fifth annual Quintessence Challenge in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.
click to read more...
New bid to boost breastfeeding (Irish Examiner)
Family members were today urged to help create a supportive environment to aid breastfeeding mothers.
As part of National Breastfeeding Week, both fathers and grandparents were given more information on breastfeeding as part of a campaign to encourage women to choose the option.
Maureen Fallon, National Breastfeeding Co-ordinator in the Department of Health, said breastfeeding was what nature had intended for newborn babies but the numbers breastfeeding among Irish mothers was low.
Ireland’s breastfeeding rate of 43% at discharge from maternity care is one of the lowest in Europe – compared with 99% in Norway.
click to read more...
As part of National Breastfeeding Week, both fathers and grandparents were given more information on breastfeeding as part of a campaign to encourage women to choose the option.
Maureen Fallon, National Breastfeeding Co-ordinator in the Department of Health, said breastfeeding was what nature had intended for newborn babies but the numbers breastfeeding among Irish mothers was low.
Ireland’s breastfeeding rate of 43% at discharge from maternity care is one of the lowest in Europe – compared with 99% in Norway.
click to read more...
Power in numbers as 800 moms join breast-in (The Gazette)
The triplets taking turns on their mother's breast seemed blissfully unaware of the thousand other babies and boobies surrounding them at Complexe Desjardins yesterday.
But the meaning, the joy and the power of yesterday's nurse-in at the mall was not lost on the other participants, who at the stroke of 11 a.m. began feeding their babies to launch world breastfeeding week.
"It's important to encourage other women to do so," said Genevieve Farah-Lajoie, mother of the happy 2-month old triplets as she performed her juggling act.
"Everyone tried to discourage me. They said I should go with formula. But breastfeeding is the best way to keep them healthy and strong."
click to read more...
But the meaning, the joy and the power of yesterday's nurse-in at the mall was not lost on the other participants, who at the stroke of 11 a.m. began feeding their babies to launch world breastfeeding week.
"It's important to encourage other women to do so," said Genevieve Farah-Lajoie, mother of the happy 2-month old triplets as she performed her juggling act.
"Everyone tried to discourage me. They said I should go with formula. But breastfeeding is the best way to keep them healthy and strong."
click to read more...
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