Tri-County Health Department celebrated World Breastfeeding Month with a special day to honor their 370 clients who have exclusively breastfed their babies within the past year. As a reward, the women received a spa day that included a facial, massage, healthy snacks and prizes donated by local merchants.
"Breastfeeding has numerous health benefits for babies and moms, so encouraging mothers to nurse is a win-win situation from a public health standpoint," states Anne Bennett, Director or Nutrition at Tri-County Health Department. " Exclusively breastfed babies are less likely to have food allergies and related problems such as diarrhea, vomiting, stomach infections and respiratory infections."
"Breastfeeding also helps new moms lose their pregnancy weight. Breastfeeding burns over 500 calories a day for the women who don't supplement with formula. It takes the average woman two hours of aerobic activity, such as moderate walking, to burn 500 calories," Bennett added. "Scientific research also suggests that breastfeeding might reduce the mother's risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis."
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Saturday, September 30, 2006
Breast-feeding ABCs (Exeter News-Letter )
Catrina Lavoie never gave a second thought to her decision to breast-feed when she became pregnant with twins.
She successfully nursed her daughter, so she had no qualms about going the same route with the twin boys. But the young mother often got comments from people, including her pediatrician, who couldn't believe she would attempt to feed two babies at the same time. You'll never make enough milk, her doctor said during one visit, before suggesting Lavoie use formula.
But for Lavoie, the choice to breast-feed felt like the right thing to do for her baby boys, and she did not want to give up, despite her doctor's suggestion. She remembered the Women Infants and Children office had a lactation consultant and gave them a phone call. The woman she spoke with told her it was definitely possible to nurse twins as long as they were healthy, and had Wendy Jordan, the lactation coordinator, call her back.
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She successfully nursed her daughter, so she had no qualms about going the same route with the twin boys. But the young mother often got comments from people, including her pediatrician, who couldn't believe she would attempt to feed two babies at the same time. You'll never make enough milk, her doctor said during one visit, before suggesting Lavoie use formula.
But for Lavoie, the choice to breast-feed felt like the right thing to do for her baby boys, and she did not want to give up, despite her doctor's suggestion. She remembered the Women Infants and Children office had a lactation consultant and gave them a phone call. The woman she spoke with told her it was definitely possible to nurse twins as long as they were healthy, and had Wendy Jordan, the lactation coordinator, call her back.
click to read more...
Forget those labor horror stories, breast-feeding is the scary part (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES)
Our mothers think we're crazy. Though few of them had full-time careers while they were pregnant and raising infants, they did all have lives, they tell us now. They went places. Did things. Drank coffee. Had cocktails. They were not, in other words, breast-feeding their babies every two hours.
And somehow, they kindly point out, those babies survived. Nurtured on powdered formula and instant cereal, we grew into healthy, successful adults.
In response, we just smile our smug, how-little-they-knew-then smiles. Because we'd sooner buy a flammable cradle with its razor-sharp edges coated in lead paint than give our own precious babies food from a can.
Every generation finds its own way to make peace with the bone-grinding hard work that is new motherhood. For the women of the late '60s-early '70s Lamaze era, grueling labor stories were the key to establishing one's status as a martyr. So even if you stashed your little one in a plastic playpen while having a cigarette and a nice, long gossip with your neighbor, you could still claim the moral high ground of motherhood by invoking the 36-hour-long labor you endured with only deep breathing and a reluctantly enlightened husband to dull the pain.
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And somehow, they kindly point out, those babies survived. Nurtured on powdered formula and instant cereal, we grew into healthy, successful adults.
In response, we just smile our smug, how-little-they-knew-then smiles. Because we'd sooner buy a flammable cradle with its razor-sharp edges coated in lead paint than give our own precious babies food from a can.
Every generation finds its own way to make peace with the bone-grinding hard work that is new motherhood. For the women of the late '60s-early '70s Lamaze era, grueling labor stories were the key to establishing one's status as a martyr. So even if you stashed your little one in a plastic playpen while having a cigarette and a nice, long gossip with your neighbor, you could still claim the moral high ground of motherhood by invoking the 36-hour-long labor you endured with only deep breathing and a reluctantly enlightened husband to dull the pain.
click to read more...
Breast-feeding discrimination protested (KVBC Channel 3)
local woman says her rights were violated when she tried to breast-feed in a public place. Nevada law clearly states that a woman can breast-feed and she doesn't have to be covered up.
Two weeks ago a woman was breast-feeding her baby in the lobby of a North Las Vegas recreation center when city employees told her she had to do it in the bathroom. Now she's back to tell them why they're wrong.
Most of us don't know what NRS 201.232 is, but the women who were out protesting Thursday know this section of Nevada law by heart. "The law allows any woman who's breast-feeding her child to nurse her baby anywhere she's legally permitted to be, whether or not her breast shows."
Beth Wishengrad says while she was breast-feeding in the Silver Mesa Recreation Center, one North Las Vegas city employee told her to cover it up. Another suggested a designated breast-feeding area, and a third said she should have been escorted to the bathroom.
click to read more...
Two weeks ago a woman was breast-feeding her baby in the lobby of a North Las Vegas recreation center when city employees told her she had to do it in the bathroom. Now she's back to tell them why they're wrong.
Most of us don't know what NRS 201.232 is, but the women who were out protesting Thursday know this section of Nevada law by heart. "The law allows any woman who's breast-feeding her child to nurse her baby anywhere she's legally permitted to be, whether or not her breast shows."
Beth Wishengrad says while she was breast-feeding in the Silver Mesa Recreation Center, one North Las Vegas city employee told her to cover it up. Another suggested a designated breast-feeding area, and a third said she should have been escorted to the bathroom.
click to read more...
The breast is the best (BrooklynPapers.com)
So, it’s okay for mothers to spend billions of dollars a year at Toys “R” Us, but they’re not allowed to breastfeed on the premises — it’s offensive, too sexual and not appropriate for children.
No wonder hundreds of breastfeeding women and their supporters gathered outside of the Times Square Toys “R” Us for a rally last Thursday in support of Chelsi Meyerson, a breast-feeding mother who was allegedly harassed by store employees for breastfeeding her 7-month old son.
Smartmom wanted to go out and join them: she longed to rip off her shirt, pull down her bra, and nurse right in the middle of Times Square. “Latch On. Latch On,” she’d scream, her fist held high.
Trouble is: she hasn’t lactated since 1999, when the Oh So Feisty One decided she’d had enough at the age of 2.
But Smartmom was there in spirit, recalling the relief and pleasure of giving her children the most nutritious food imaginable.
Smartmom still misses being a nursing mother, one of the most meaningful experiences a mother can have. Which isn’t to say that it was easy, painless, or always enjoyable.
click to read more...
No wonder hundreds of breastfeeding women and their supporters gathered outside of the Times Square Toys “R” Us for a rally last Thursday in support of Chelsi Meyerson, a breast-feeding mother who was allegedly harassed by store employees for breastfeeding her 7-month old son.
Smartmom wanted to go out and join them: she longed to rip off her shirt, pull down her bra, and nurse right in the middle of Times Square. “Latch On. Latch On,” she’d scream, her fist held high.
Trouble is: she hasn’t lactated since 1999, when the Oh So Feisty One decided she’d had enough at the age of 2.
But Smartmom was there in spirit, recalling the relief and pleasure of giving her children the most nutritious food imaginable.
Smartmom still misses being a nursing mother, one of the most meaningful experiences a mother can have. Which isn’t to say that it was easy, painless, or always enjoyable.
click to read more...
City gets baby-friendly award (www.tbsource.com )
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit has set the precedent for 'baby friendly' service across Canada.
Thursday the Health Unit was presented an award for achieving a 'Baby Friendly' designation.
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Thursday the Health Unit was presented an award for achieving a 'Baby Friendly' designation.
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Got breastmilk? (Esquimalt News)
Ready, set, suck.
Mothers and babies across North America are competing this Saturday to try to set a new record for the most babies breastfeeding in one place at one time.
While it's not yet on par with the Grey Cup, the international feeding frenzy is gaining recognition.
Contenders say nursing en masse is more about raising awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding for mothers, infants and communities than it is about competing for top spot.
In Greater Victoria, the 2006 edition of the Breastfeeding Challenge kicks off at 11 a.m., Sept. 30, at Sir James Douglas School (on the corner of Moss Street and Fairfield Road) during the Moss Street Market.
BCNG Portals Page
Mothers and babies across North America are competing this Saturday to try to set a new record for the most babies breastfeeding in one place at one time.
While it's not yet on par with the Grey Cup, the international feeding frenzy is gaining recognition.
Contenders say nursing en masse is more about raising awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding for mothers, infants and communities than it is about competing for top spot.
In Greater Victoria, the 2006 edition of the Breastfeeding Challenge kicks off at 11 a.m., Sept. 30, at Sir James Douglas School (on the corner of Moss Street and Fairfield Road) during the Moss Street Market.
BCNG Portals Page
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Mama-rama: Truth is, breast-feeding is best (the HUB)
Babies were born to be breast-fed. Maybe you've seen the black-and-white billboards, the advertisements or TV commercials proclaiming that message. They're part of an ad campaign created by the Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Ad Council, with the goal of raising breast-feeding rates.
Currently, 70 percent of mothers initiate breast-feeding soon after birth, but only 33 percent are still at it at six months, though the American Academy of Pediatric recommends breast-feeding exclusively for six months and continuing until a year or beyond.
Critics say the messages, some of which focus on the risks of NOT breast-feeding as opposed to the benefits of breast-feeding, are too heavy-handed. For example, some of these critics - including representatives from formula companies - say that instead of saying "formula-fed babies are more likely to develop asthma, ear infections and allergies," the advertisements should state that "breast-fed babies are less likely to develop asthma, ear infections and allergies." Both statements are true, and both say essentially the same thing - right?
click to read more...
Currently, 70 percent of mothers initiate breast-feeding soon after birth, but only 33 percent are still at it at six months, though the American Academy of Pediatric recommends breast-feeding exclusively for six months and continuing until a year or beyond.
Critics say the messages, some of which focus on the risks of NOT breast-feeding as opposed to the benefits of breast-feeding, are too heavy-handed. For example, some of these critics - including representatives from formula companies - say that instead of saying "formula-fed babies are more likely to develop asthma, ear infections and allergies," the advertisements should state that "breast-fed babies are less likely to develop asthma, ear infections and allergies." Both statements are true, and both say essentially the same thing - right?
click to read more...
Breast-feeding key to avoiding obesity, diabetes, says research (Earth Times)
ALEXANDRIA, Va.: Here are important tips for mothers-to-be: breast-feed your baby for the first 12 months, if you want the child to grow up healthy, not obese or diabetic. And if you want to avoid diabetes yourself, make sure you have sufficient fiber in your food. These tips are based on the findings of two recently completed studies that are published in the October issue of the Diabetes Care.
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Monday, September 25, 2006
Milking the System (The Daily Journal)
After giving birth to her daughter, Jabrea, this past January, Jahana Holloway of Kankakee was eager to experience the joys of breast-feeding.
Holloway, who spent years feeding infant formula to her other three children, chose to breast-feed her new baby after learning about its nutritional values and the chance to enhance the bond with her baby.
Unfortunately for Holloway, a full-time teller for Centrue Bank in Kankakee, she also discovered the difficulties that come with nursing a newborn after going back to work.
click to read more...
Holloway, who spent years feeding infant formula to her other three children, chose to breast-feed her new baby after learning about its nutritional values and the chance to enhance the bond with her baby.
Unfortunately for Holloway, a full-time teller for Centrue Bank in Kankakee, she also discovered the difficulties that come with nursing a newborn after going back to work.
click to read more...
Nursing moms donate to milk depot (IndyStar.com)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The first of a series of breast milk collection sites has opened as part of a state plan intended in part to benefit ill or premature infants.
State health commissioner Judy Monroe attended Friday's opening of Indiana's first "breast milk depot" at a Women, Infants and Children office in Bloomington. She said similar depots will open next year at three other WIC offices in Indiana.
Women visiting such depots can donate pumped breast milk that will be given to Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank in Indianapolis, one of 10 such banks in the United States.
click to read more...
State health commissioner Judy Monroe attended Friday's opening of Indiana's first "breast milk depot" at a Women, Infants and Children office in Bloomington. She said similar depots will open next year at three other WIC offices in Indiana.
Women visiting such depots can donate pumped breast milk that will be given to Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank in Indianapolis, one of 10 such banks in the United States.
click to read more...
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Attendant's remarks miff nursing mom (DenverPost.com)
While traveling recently with her 10-month-old daughter on a United Airlines flight, Joany Tarud was reminded that not everyone can stomach breast-feeding in public.
The Denver mother's subsequent complaints about a flight attendant prompted an apology from the airline.
Tarud was traveling with her daughter and mother from Birmingham, Ala., to Denver. Tarud said she and her infant were hunched against a window and covered with a baby blanket. Tarud's mother was sitting in the next seat, further blocking the duo from view. No other passengers were seated next to the family.
Just before the plane took off, Tarud said a flight attendant instructed her to use a blanket provided by the airline to cover herself and the baby more fully.
click to read more...
The Denver mother's subsequent complaints about a flight attendant prompted an apology from the airline.
Tarud was traveling with her daughter and mother from Birmingham, Ala., to Denver. Tarud said she and her infant were hunched against a window and covered with a baby blanket. Tarud's mother was sitting in the next seat, further blocking the duo from view. No other passengers were seated next to the family.
Just before the plane took off, Tarud said a flight attendant instructed her to use a blanket provided by the airline to cover herself and the baby more fully.
click to read more...
Readers speak out about breastfeeding (TheNewsTribune.com)
We asked our readers to share their thoughts about breastfeeding in public. Here are their responses.
I breast-fed both of my children until they self-weaned – around a year old.
When I had my first child, I knew breastfeeding was the best start I could possibly give him, but I never thought I'd have the guts to nurse in public. I soon found out how silly and inconvenient that notion would be. Within weeks I was sitting in the middle of the Lobster Shop’s Thanksgiving buffet, happily eating my dinner as I nursed my son.
I have found Tacoma to be quite receptive to me as a nursing mother.
Never once have I been asked not to nurse my baby, and in fact I’ve often been encouraged by people who’ve seen me discreetly nursing.
Honestly, I wish even more people would take a minute to give a nursing mother some words of encouragement. I believe it’s deserved just as any other working person is given words of encouragement when they do well in the workplace.
click to read more...
I breast-fed both of my children until they self-weaned – around a year old.
When I had my first child, I knew breastfeeding was the best start I could possibly give him, but I never thought I'd have the guts to nurse in public. I soon found out how silly and inconvenient that notion would be. Within weeks I was sitting in the middle of the Lobster Shop’s Thanksgiving buffet, happily eating my dinner as I nursed my son.
I have found Tacoma to be quite receptive to me as a nursing mother.
Never once have I been asked not to nurse my baby, and in fact I’ve often been encouraged by people who’ve seen me discreetly nursing.
Honestly, I wish even more people would take a minute to give a nursing mother some words of encouragement. I believe it’s deserved just as any other working person is given words of encouragement when they do well in the workplace.
click to read more...
Lactation intolerance (TheNewsTribune.com)
For decades experts have told us that when it comes to babies, breast is best. But just try being a nursing mother in public - or at work.
Every woman remembers her first time.
The first time she had to nurse her baby in public, that is.
For Rhiannon Rubadue of Federal Way, the moment of truth happened in a Wal-Mart.
“Suddenly in the middle of our shopping, my son began to cry,” she says. “Although he was only about a week old, I knew exactly what he wanted and needed.”
Rubadue found a deserted aisle – the garbage can section – and latched him on.
click to read more...
Every woman remembers her first time.
The first time she had to nurse her baby in public, that is.
For Rhiannon Rubadue of Federal Way, the moment of truth happened in a Wal-Mart.
“Suddenly in the middle of our shopping, my son began to cry,” she says. “Although he was only about a week old, I knew exactly what he wanted and needed.”
Rubadue found a deserted aisle – the garbage can section – and latched him on.
click to read more...
Saturday, September 23, 2006
State's First Breast Milk Depot Opens (Inside Indiana Business)
The depot at the Monroe County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) office will provide a location for women to donate pumped breast milk to the Indiana Mothers' Milk Bank. Three additional milk depots are planned at WIC offices in Delaware, LaPorte and Tippecanoe counties. State health officials say Indiana could save close to $8 million per year if the number of women breastfeeding in Indiana increased from the current level of 64 percent to 75 percent.
click to read more...
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Food for Thought: Babies Motor Better with Breast Milk (Science News Online)
Physicians have been advocating for years that breast milk is the best food for infants. Not only does it have the nutrition that babies need, but it also provides some antibodies and growth factors that speed maturation of the infant gut, thereby fending off disease. Now, a team of scientists in Britain offers strong evidence of another benefit. Mother's milk boosts early neurological development.
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Friday, September 22, 2006
Breast milk is key weapon in fight to lower Africa's child mortality rate (Independent Online Edition)
The lives of a million babies could be saved every year by the simplest and most natural remedy of them all - breast-feeding.
Field workers running a research project in remote Ghanaian villages have discovered that the surest way to keep a baby alive is for the mother to start breastfeeding within an hour of the baby being born. If the first feed from the mother's breast is delayed for even one day, they found the risk of the child dying within a month more than doubles. Early introduction to animal milk or any other substitute for mother's milk pushed the child's chance of living for a month down to barely one in 10.
In the developing world, four million babies die every year before they have reached the age of one month. The research, funded by the British Government, suggested that nearly a quarter of them, or a million babies a year, could be saved if they were breastfed from the first hour of life.
click to read more...
Field workers running a research project in remote Ghanaian villages have discovered that the surest way to keep a baby alive is for the mother to start breastfeeding within an hour of the baby being born. If the first feed from the mother's breast is delayed for even one day, they found the risk of the child dying within a month more than doubles. Early introduction to animal milk or any other substitute for mother's milk pushed the child's chance of living for a month down to barely one in 10.
In the developing world, four million babies die every year before they have reached the age of one month. The research, funded by the British Government, suggested that nearly a quarter of them, or a million babies a year, could be saved if they were breastfed from the first hour of life.
click to read more...
Take That, Toys R Us: Babies Get Breastfed on Broadway (Gothamist)
Toys R Us cannot live down the tempest in a nursing bra cup. Last week, breastfeeding mother Chelsi Meyerson claimed employees at the Times Square store harassed her to stop nursing her son in the store, urging her to move to a private room.
While the store said that its employees did not harrass her and only offered her "opportunity to breastfeed in a private area designated for this purpose in the Times Square store" (per a letter from the store manager, Mindy Clements), this didn't stop mothers from staging a nurse-in yesterday. While the actual number of mothers and babies are conflicting (the Post counts 40 while the Daily News says 300 showed), it was an opportunity ripe for mothers to yell at the Toys R Us employee who tried to give them water and Cheerios and to tell their own horror stories.
click to read more...
While the store said that its employees did not harrass her and only offered her "opportunity to breastfeed in a private area designated for this purpose in the Times Square store" (per a letter from the store manager, Mindy Clements), this didn't stop mothers from staging a nurse-in yesterday. While the actual number of mothers and babies are conflicting (the Post counts 40 while the Daily News says 300 showed), it was an opportunity ripe for mothers to yell at the Toys R Us employee who tried to give them water and Cheerios and to tell their own horror stories.
click to read more...
Jamaica Gleaner News - LETTER OF THE DAY - Breastfeeding yes, but more maternity leave - Friday | September 22, 2006
The Editor, Sir:
I read with interest the article 'More breast milk, less psychos' published in The Gleaner of Tuesday, September 19. In this article, Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller, director of family health services in the Ministry of Health, states, "mothers who breastfeed their babies for up to six months or more are less likely to raise children who are psychopaths."
While I endorse Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller statements on the importance of breast milk to the emotional, mental and physical development of children, as a mother I am deeply concerned about this correlation with access to maternity leave.
click to read more...
I read with interest the article 'More breast milk, less psychos' published in The Gleaner of Tuesday, September 19. In this article, Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller, director of family health services in the Ministry of Health, states, "mothers who breastfeed their babies for up to six months or more are less likely to raise children who are psychopaths."
While I endorse Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller statements on the importance of breast milk to the emotional, mental and physical development of children, as a mother I am deeply concerned about this correlation with access to maternity leave.
click to read more...
Nursing a grievance (New York Daily News)
With babes at their bosoms, some 300 women staged a "nurse-in" at Toys "R" Us yesterday to protest the treatment of a Brooklyn mom who says she was hassled for breast-feeding at the Times Square store.
Carrying signs that read "We Shall Not Be Moved," some chanted "Apologize! Apologize!" - but very quietly, so as not to upset their nursing infants.
"The store apologized to me, but I want them to publicly acknowledge they were wrong," said Chelsi Meyerson, 29, as she burped her 7-month-old son Mason. "I want better education for their employees."
click to read more...
Carrying signs that read "We Shall Not Be Moved," some chanted "Apologize! Apologize!" - but very quietly, so as not to upset their nursing infants.
"The store apologized to me, but I want them to publicly acknowledge they were wrong," said Chelsi Meyerson, 29, as she burped her 7-month-old son Mason. "I want better education for their employees."
click to read more...
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