Strollerderby : breast is best

Breastfeeding Kids Scare Prudes

JeanneSager — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:32:00 GMT

OK, let me break it down for you folks, because apparently there are still some folks out there who don't get it.

Breastfeeding is not a sexual act.

So if toddlers are doing it to their dolls, do we REALLY give two hoots (or hooters?). A group of Brits with their granny panties in a bunch apparently do.

Staff at a hospital in Manchester, England hung a poster that shows a little girl "breastfeeding" her doll. It's something I know a lot of moms say their kids have done. Because, well, they saw a Mom (maybe theirs, maybe someone else's) doing it and they want to be just like her. That, they've decided is part of mothering their "baby" doll. It's actually pretty sweet if you think about it.

The staff were trying to make that point exactly - kids copy what they see, so why not give them a positive example? Except a grandmother visiting her grandson called the papers to complain because, she says, "The picture is shocking and it isn't normal. Children copy their parents but I don't think any little girls should be breastfeeding their dolls."

Why is it shocking? Because a little kid is playing mommy? Excuse me, should we send that message out to the hundreds of dolls marketed for giving kids ability to pretend to be "just like mom?" How about the toy strollers and little Mommy and Me outfits?

Of course, if she was holding a bottle to the baby's mouth, we can only assume Gram would be just fine with this picture, and everything would be right with the world. Er, OK, why? Because it didn't involve a boobie? Bingo! Because we're just parading back to the fact that breasts are not to be used for such nonsense as what nature intended.

What really bugs me about this story, however, isn't Gram. She might just be written off as old-fashioned and set in her ways (although at thirty-nine . . . ). But the healthcare worker quoted in the article calling the photo "offensive," is of even greater concern here. Because if someone working IN a hospital setting is freaked out by this picture, it's no wonder moms are still getting poor breastfeeding starts at many hospitals.

So let's get back to the beginning. Breastfeeding does not equal sex. Three-year-old pretending to feed their dolly breastmilk does not equal kinky perversion. Now, want to go tell your son or daughter they're doing something freaky? Didn't think so.

Image:Manchester Evening News

Did This Woman Commit Suicide Because She Couldn't Breastfeed?

Brett Singer — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:37:00 GMT

MomLogic points us to a sad story from the Daily Mail. Katy Isden, a British woman who lived in New York City, committed suicide last year. The police report says that she depressed because she was having difficulty breastfeeding her child.

Before I say anything, this is a terribly sad story. It's awful that Ms. Isden felt so horrible that she ended her life.

The only thing wrong about that last statement is that I really don't know why she killed herself. I realize that the report says it was because she had trouble breastfeeding. By framing the issue this way, doesn't that help to create more pressure for women? Not only is there pressure from "nipple-nazis", but there's pressure to not feel pressured.

Why not call it post-partum depression? I interviewed Lisa Rinna recently about her upcoming book (an interview she was very happy with, by the way -- she even tweeted it) and one of the things she talked about openly was her own battle with PPD. She said that she felt uncomfortable telling anyone she was depressed, because "After having a baby, you're supposed to feel so blissful." By talking about her own experiences, she hopes that other women will be able to seek help if they need it.

MomLogic asks if "there is too much pressure put on moms to breastfeed." I have a different question. Do you think this mother committed suicide because she was having trouble breastfeeding?

Source: Daily Mail via MomLogic

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Mom Uses Breastfeeding as Weapon in Custody Battle

JeanneSager — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:01:00 GMT

The story is full of bad breastfeeding puns (that, honestly cracked me up), but an interesting case came up in the Globe and Mail this weekend. A mom has made her breastfeeding schedule so rigorous that the ex-boyfriend who fathered their child has been essentially totally cut off from spending any time with his daughter.

A judge has decided enough is enough. Either wean your child or start pumping honey, because Daddy's got to have a go.

Jennifer Johne and Carl Cavannah were together only briefly, but their relationship resulted in the birth of a little girl in June 2006. Although the couple was broken up, Cavannah made it clear he wanted to be in their daughter's life, even quitting his job so he could move closer to Johne and the little girl. He volunteered (volunteered!) to pay child support, and bought books on parenting.

But Johne told him he couldn't take the little girl anywhere, because she needed be with mom to be breastfed. The Globe and Mail cites an e-mail from Johne to Cavannah that makes it pretty clear she was about to sway on the issue: "A baby belongs with its mother, and if you had an understanding of the needs of a fully breast-fed baby and truly had [her] interests at heart, you would not be bringing this subject up again."

Now with the baby ~~facing~~ past her second birthday, the date the World Health Organization suggests breastfeeding up to, a judge has said it's over. Johne can breastfeed her toddler if she wants to, but she has to do it via pumped milk, so Cavannah can spend some real time with his daughter.

Frankly, I'm surprised he waited this long to "bring this subject up again." Because as wonderful as breastfeeding is (and this is very definitely not a breastfeeding vs. formula post), it's also pretty darn great for a child to have their biological parent who WANTS to be in the picture and has demonstrated themselves to be a a willing and able participant in their life. If anything, this mother is proving not how important it is to breastfeed but the theories of those women who would say breastfeeding chains them to their child.

Because while there are the bonding elements of breastfeeding, the larger part of the argument has always been that breastmilk itself is healthier than formula. So pumping and handing it over to her ex-boyfriend to feed their daughter would still make this child a "full breast-fed baby," albeit one who had the opportunity to bond with both her mother AND her father during her formative years.

Johne actually works in a daycare (which enabled her to keep her daughter around her so constantly), where she sees perfectly healthy and able children who are not attached to the mother's breast constantly.

What irks me about this story? This is a woman who has put breastfeeding above everything else. She's taken "breast is best" to an extreme that's unhealthy, and makes a bad name for breastfeeders everywhere.

Image: EcoStreet

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What Should A Man Do While A Woman Breastfeeds

Brett Singer — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Scene: a toddler's birthday party. A father is chatting with a woman that he knows from the kids' pre-school. The woman is holding a baby.

The baby stirs. Opens her tiny mouth. Starts... what was the word again?

Oh! Right. Rooting. When they're hungry. That's it.

The woman starts to undo her shirt. Then her bra. She takes out her breast and the baby eagerly starts to eat.

OK dude. Now what?

I'm a fan of breastfeeding in general. I don't think anyone should be pressured into doing it but I believe that it's healthy for the baby, and if the mother is able to do it, that's great. I also believe that women should be able to breastfeed wherever they want. (Maybe not on a Broadway stage while the show is going on, or even in the audience of the theater while the show is going on. But the lower lobby? Sure.) So this isn't about that.

The question is, which is more offensive? Looking? Or looking away?

I don't have an answer, so I'm curious what our readers think. In general it seems rude to head for ze hills as soon as the little one starts her liquid lunch. On the other hand, if I'm standing and the woman is seated, it's difficult to talk to her without seeing her breast. Which in any other situation is considered quite rude. This isn't a sexual thing. I don't think breastfeeding is hot, or inappropriate, or anything of that sort. At the same time I don't know how a woman feels about being on display like that. Or even if they feel on display at all.

So. Help me out here! What's the right thing to do?

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Breastfeeding Debates: Just a Tempest in a Sippy Cup?

JeanneSager — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:23:00 GMT

Here's the thing about the breast is best debate. Do we really care what another mother does with her boobs?

No, really. You might say you care that she gets the best medical advice, that that precious little baby gets the best start to life. But when your kid and her kid sit side by side in kindergarten, holding hands, is it really going to matter who did what on day thirty-six of that baby's life?

Sometime Babble contributor Lynn Harris turned her often irreverant sense of humor to the oh so serious topic of breastfeeding on NPR this week, and though she treats the subject with all due respect (she is, after all, a mother), she pokes her fun where it's due. The breastfeeding debate, she says, is nothing but "a tempest in a sippy cup."

For MOST women, it isn't about whether or not they think breastfeeding is good for babies, or even whether they WANT to do it. Says Harris:

"Because we don't read the Journal of the American Medical Association to decide whether, or how long, to breast-feed. We consider our bodies: Are we physically able to nurse in the first place? Or are we plagued, as I was with my first child, by plugged ducts and serious mastitis? We consider the child: Did we, luck of the draw, get one who just says no to latching? We consider our workplace: How long is our maternity leave? Where can we pump when we go back?"

And that, my friends, is where the debate needs to take a hike. You want to breastfeed? You made it work? Woohoo! Fabulous! Really. I'm not being facetious here. I'm happy for you that you are able to nourish your child with your breastmilk, that you have got the latch down and find the appropriate place to pump if need be.

Not breastfeeding? Didn't want to? OK, well, that's your choice. Did want to, but couldn't? I'm sorry, is there anything we can do? Other than berating you and telling you you're feeding your child pure evil in liquid form and forcing you onto mega doses of Paxil to handle your postpartum depression caused by feelings of inadequacy?

Here's why everyone needs to read Harris' essay: she puts blame where blame is due. On the crappy advice in hospitals. On the crappy employers who don't give moms appropriate time for pumping. On the family medical leave act's lack of depth and the lack of paid leave time available for new mothers. On the public breastfeeding conundrum, especially for women who are shy and uncomfortable out in the public eye.

"Show me a lactation room at the Qwik Mart, and I'll show you a woman more willing to leave the maternity ward without her care package of free formula," Harris says (see, told you she was a bit irreverant).

Come on moms, let's look at who you're really mad at. It's not each other.

Image/Source: NPR

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Nursing Mom Calls for Breastpump Ban

Madeline Holler — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:06:00 GMT

Last week, New York Times columnist Judith Warner weighed in on "The Case Against Breastfeeding," Hanna Rosin's article in the Atlantic, in which she argues that the benefits of breastmilk are wildly overstated. We discussed the article and accompanying podcast here.

Warner agrees with all of the points and conclusions of Rosin's article, especially when Rosin says in the video that she hopes breast pump companies will just disappear.

Then, Warner takes it one stop further: she calls for them to be banned.

From Domestic Disturbances:

In fact, I hope that some day, not too long in the future, books on women’s history will feature photos of breast pumps to illustrate what it was like back in the day when mothers were consistently given the shaft. Future generations of female college students will gaze upon the pumps, aghast.

“Did you actually use one of those?” they’ll ask their mothers, in horror.

And the moms, with a shudder, will proudly say no.

It's not suprising Warner feels this way, since she characterizes pumping breastmilk as this:

... the grotesque ritual carried out behind closed office doors nationwide by beleaguered working mothers who are fully “committed” (as the lactation consultants put it) to the goal of long-term, exclusive breast-feeding.

She also hints that breast-feeding, or maybe just pumping, is undignified.

Listen, I'm not excited when I have to sit down to pump but I would hardly equate the Medela with a corset. Neither, I'm guessing, does this woman. But even if I couldn't stand it -- or thought it was undignified -- it still wouldn't be up to me to take away that option from other families.

Anyway, if it weren't for a breast pump, I really WOULD be tied down to my baby 24/7, which is what Rosin and Warner argue the breast pump winds up doing -- and for no result better than being able to say, "I don't give my kids formula." I know, I know. Their point is that it wouldn't be so bad to use formula. But it kind of is for someone very accustomed to an exclusively nursed baby.

I'd have to figure out which brand and type to buy, monitor the use-by dates and adjust to the different kind of poop in my kid's diaper. It's not worth it to me since I am able to (physically and logistically) nurse exclusively. For me, the trade-off of adding in formula isn't that fabulous and it adds a layer of complication (and if you're tempted to say "it's not that complicated," know that I'm a simple, simple person and yes it is).

Admittedly, I'm a big old breastfeeder and I'm more than happy to support any woman who wants to give it a try. But after years of nursing mine and watching other women feed their babies -- and seeing no obvious, long-run difference between my 8-year-old breastfed babe (now weaned, I swear!) and her formula-fed classmates -- I can totally get behind the decision to feed a baby formula instead or in addition to. (My big beef is when women really, really want to nurse but they get bad information about it or they don't get any support or facts or assistance in doing so.)

What baffles me in this new discussion aimed at getting realistic about the power of breastmilk is how ridiculous the idea of breastfeeding exclusively now is to them. They seem to want to say, "eh, formula ain't so bad. But breastfeeding exclusively definitely is (because it harms the mom! And a harmed mom is a harmed baby!)." Even if Rosin's right -- that it's not the milk that's the added benefit when nursing -- that doesn't mean breastmilk is bad. Or that it isn't really good. (In this scenario, formula can be really good too. Different. But good!)

What I'd like to see is Rosin or Warner saying "damn! I hated pumping! And then make their case for giving their babies a fat juicy bottle of Enfamil before heading off to work.

But I don't want them relegating my Pump in Style to the trash heap of working-motherhood history. Even if American families had a decent maternity/paternity leave law, I'd still have a few more ounces I'd want to squeeze out.

Photo: thesun.co.uk

They Say: Blame Hospitals for Breastfeeding Failures

JeanneSager — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Reading this study, I couldn't help but feel a little vindicated. I've always felt like a big fat failure at breastfeeding - despite all my best efforts, I didn't make it very long. And I put a lot of that blame on the misinformation swirling around the maternity ward where I gave birth to my daughter.

Guess what?

A new study says hospitals are largely to blame for the failure of breastfeeding moms in America. And that includes hospitals where attempts are being made to encourage breastfeeding.

The study by the Boston University School of Public Health looked at data on some fifteen hundred women in the nation who had recently given birth. At least seventy percent of first-time moms said they wanted to breastfeed exclusively. Good news, right? Except by the time the babies were a week old, only HALF of the women were exclusively breastfeeding.

Guilty as charged.

Which is why even this article about the study made me angry. One of the chief problems I've found with many maternity wards (not all, but many) is the lack of breastfeeding education for members of the staff. And the same misinformation peddled in hospitals that hurts breastfeeding rates is being pushed out in articles like this one: ie. "some new mothers really are too exhausted to breast feed right away, or they can't produce enough breast milk for their baby's nutritional needs."

No. No. No. No.

I heard this in the hospital after my daughter was born, and I bought it hook, line and sinker. It's one of the main reasons I exhausted myself in the first two weeks of my daughter's life, attempting to breastfeed every two hours, attempting to pump every other hour to increase my milk production because the nurses at the hospital had me convinced I wasn't producing enough. Yes, that meant I was up every hour on the hour for two solid weeks - I was literally tethered to the breast pump.

The problem? Most women DON'T produce milk in the first few days of their child's life. We produce colostrum, the incredibly rich and incredibly thin liquid that's a sort of pre-milk. And that's all the baby needs. As breastfeeding expert Laura Keegan said in a recent piece I wrote about the most common hurdles for new moms right here on Babble, "If you are pumping, be aware that pumping small amounts is not an indicator of a low milk supply."

Colustrum is in every breastfeeding book out there, so why don't nurses working on maternity wards know about it? Although I don't agree that formula is poison, I will say that convincing a mother she isn't making enough . . . so she needs to supplement . . . is poisoning her mind. Her body CAN'T make more, and she's being told she's a failure. Yet, her body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

What else is wrong with the above statment? The idea that moms are too exhausted immediately following birth to breastfeed. Yes, we're tired. But after that first feed, so is the baby. In fact, while nurses at my hospital practically tanned the hides of my husband and myself for not waking our daughter every two hours to eat, newborn babies are exhausted too. They just went through the same labor Mom went through. And so sleeping for a few hours is one hundred percent normal. Babies will not starve if they suckle only a few times at the very beginning. And Mom, by the way, may be exhausted. I was. But I've yet to see a mother who isn't on drugs from a C-section or already showing severe signs of postpartum depression who isn't itching to get her hands on that baby in the first twenty-four hours.

So sticking a bottle in the baby's mouth to let his mother sleep is wrong; she should have the chance to make that decision. But so is harping on a breastfeeding mother every few moments - pushing her to breastfeed now, when the baby is sleeping and she could be getting the sleep she missed when you woke her in the middle of the night for a feeding.

There is a movement that's gaining speed in American hospitals, sponsored by UNICEF, that can make all the difference. Baby Friendly Hospitals require all staff - be it the nurses, the doctors, whoever - have up-to-date breastfeeding education. They make lactation consultants available to every mother and allow babies to room-in with their mothers, so she can determine when the baby's hungry and when she wants to attempt feedings.

It takes effort to become Baby Friendly, but if breast is best is ever going to really take hold, misinformation has to stop at the beginning - the place where the baby is born. When you're losing the mothers (like me) who walk in the door with the very best of intentions, the women who already know breast is best and WANT to make it work, you have to step back and realize the machine is broken. It's time to fix it.

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Farmers Raise Goats to Produce Human Breastmilk

Madeline Holler — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:02:00 GMT

Udder is best? Doesn't have quite the same ring as "breast is best" but if Russian scientists have their way, they'll basically mean the same thing.

Researchers in Russia and Belarus are working on genetically engineering goats so that they'll produce milk that is identical to that produced by lactating humans.

Sure, but how will it taste crumbled over a spinach salad?

Anyway, they think the goat-produced mama's milk will also help to develop new medicines because of the antibiotic effect of lactoferrin,which is abundant in women's breastmilk.

After mice that had been implanted with human genes produced loads of lactoferrin, they decided to try it on goats.

From the Daily Mail:

Now 90 females sired by GM male goats are being raised on a secret farm outside Moscow.

They believe that from later this year when the goats mature they will obtain larger amounts of lactoferrin than found naturally in human breast milk.

... Igor Goldman, head of the transgenebank at the Russian Academy of Science, said: 'Human lactoferrin is a natural antibiotic, and it provides babies who don't have their own developed immune system.'

He dismissed complaints about genetic engineering. 'In this case, genetically modified milk is a drug, not a food.

He also said the milk could be drunk by adults, not just babies. Well then, bottoms up!

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Breast-is-Best 2.0: Pumping in Public

Madeline Holler — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:31:00 GMT

You know I'm all about the breastfeeding. I like to think I support all things boob and breastmilky. And I do, I really do. But we all have our challenges, our things to get over. Pumping in public is mine.

But not Christen Clifford's. She rather likes to pump in public, or at least has no problem doing it. The nursing soldat in me says "Kudos! Kudos to you and your battery operated Evenflo, Christen!" The more squeamish side of me is blushing and quickly looking away.

Clifford writes that she first pumped in public on the subway after a long meeting. She could no longer endure her engorged breasts, so she popped out her boob and latched on her handheld with one hand, held on to the pole with the other. People stared. Her nipple was visible through the clear plastic shell, the steady spray of milk no doubt audible. This wasn't ideal, she acknowledges. Nonetheless, she was hooked (up).

Next, she tells us she pumped at theatre bar during intermission.

From HuffPo:

It wasn't the ideal place to be squeezing out human milk, but I tried to remember that it was a part of breastfeeding: if I think women should nurse everywhere (and I do) then we should pump everywhere too.

Fair enough. Still. Ew?

Clifford brings up the much discussed New Yorker article about companies' attempts to make the office more breast-pump friendly. The writer, Jill Lepore, lays out arguments that what the workplace should focus on is longer maternity leaves. Many readers (Clifford included) think Lepore is waging a new battle in the mommy wars: breastmilk from the breast vs. breastmilk from a bottle. Lepore even asks "who would want to pump in public." Of course, we know Clifford's answer to that.

As for me, no thanks, but I'll keep an open mind. Go for it, public pumpers. If you need me for a pump-in, I'll charge up the Medela, go sit on a sidewalk and suck it up (and out). But I won't be public-pumping on my own any time soon. Not because I shouldn't, but because I just don't want to. In the high stakes breastfeeding competition, I have been bested (breasted?).

What about you? Is public pumping no worse than blowing your nose in the middle of a crowd or is this mother out of control?

Photo: milkend.com

When Moms Collide: Breastfeeder Kicked Out of Pool

JeanneSager — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:01:00 GMT

When Cinira Longuinh was asked to leave the pool where she sat breastfeeding, body half underwater, it wasn't by an old man with a fear of the boobs-eye-view. It was a mom-to-be with a fear of germs.

I fully admit I've been that "cover the girls" mom in certain situations (when my father-in-law was uncomfortable, I was too). I'm not saying everywhere by any means, so don't jump down my throat here ladies (or gents, for that matter). I am not the boob police.

Which is why I found Ellie Karkouti, owner of the private AquaCenter Swim Pool, so ridiculous. She says she wanted Longuinh to move out of the pool and into a changing room for the safety of the baby. Her exact quote to a Toronto-area newspaper? ""Am I ever going to stick my baby's mouth on a breast that's been in a pool without cleaning it (first)? Never, ever."

Oh to be pregnant again. So full of ideals. So lacking in common sense. Let's start with her logic, why don't we? If Longuinh heads off to the changing room, slips down the shoulder strap of her bathing suit and lets her daughter suck away, isn't she serving up the same "dirty" boobie? Ok, now on to the pool. Isn't the swim center owner warning people her pool is kind of, well, icky kind of bad for business. We have it on good authority that there's "pee" in her "ool"?

With my firm faith in the five-second rule, I've got to ask: is this really the worst thing a mom can do to her baby?

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7 Hidden Secrets of Breastfeeding

Madeline Holler — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:02:00 GMT

Doing our part for World Breastfeeding Week, which starts today, we bring you seven weird facts about breastfeeding that you may not already know.

I'll skip right over the breast is best chants and forget about teasing apart all the contradictory studies on boosted immunities/no effect on immunities, weight loss miracles/still fat after nursing for a year, saggy boobs/saggier boobs, high IQ/it's all in the water for breast- and formula-fed kids.

Instead, I'll disclose a week's worth of breastfeeding's hidden secrets. And do, please, add your own or g'head tell me I'm full of breastfed baby shit -- see #1 -- in comments.

1) Poop from exclusively breastfed babies doesn't smell. Well, fine, it smells, but not that bad. Kinda nutty? I don't know. It's hard to talk about baby poop smells without coming across as a wingnut. Nursing moms? Am I right or am I right? Also, according to this site, the poop and spit-up of breastfed babies doesn't stain so much. Huh.

2) Poop Part II: It is not uncommon for exclusively breastfed babies to poop way less frequently. Apparently, your milk can get pretty calibrated to baby's needs and, well, sometimes the match is so exact that baby uses most of what she eats. Personal story: when my younger daughter was four months old, she went four weeks -- 28 days! -- without pooping. Yes, you can tell me I was a negligent mother for not tanking her up on apple juice or rushing her to the ER (around week 2.5 the doctor wasn't freaking out much, so ...). The thing is, she peed a lot, slept, never complained, and kept right on eating. When the dam finally burst, it wasn't even that bad. Oh, and she never waited that long again, though once every 10 days wasn't all that uncommon until she got on solids.

3) Obnoxiously named breastfeeding products: To nurse, you need a baby and a pair of milky boobs. As a bonus, there are gobs of support products out there to make it more comfortable. What's not comfortable is saying these products by brand name. Coming immediately to mind: the nursing pillow My Breast Friend, the cover-ups Hooter Hiders, Medela's Pump in Style (snap!), and Bosom Buddies compresses. I'm just saying, part of the nursing enterprise entails confronting a lot of bad puns, forced alliterations, hopeful allusions to sass or easy maintenance of a corporate lifestyle, and lots and lots of rhymes with synonyms for breasts.

4) Pre-term milk is specially formulated for premature babies. For the first month after the birth of a premature child, mom's milk maintains a composition similar to colostrum. Who knew? At-term babies get colostrum for just a couple of days and then move on to the white stuff.

5) Breastmilk is a no-risk medication for any number of ailments. Clogged noses? Crusty red eyes? Heat rash? Aim carefully and squirt! (At the suffering baby, not a grown-up. Though, who knows, maybe a little b-milk salve works wonders on adult acne.) If the breastmilk doesn't work, you can always go for the stronger stuff that comes from a tube not a boob (see what I'm saying in #3?).

6) Breastmilk fountains are hours (well, minutes ... OK, a few seconds) of fun. Nothing cheers up a jealous older child like spraying her face with your boob from across the room! (I read that somewhere. I'd never do it myself.)

7) You may walk on eggshells regarding the feeding of your baby until -- and maybe even after -- the little sucker is weaned. Not necessarily a horrendous thing, but still a thing. There's the whole discussion you'll have with yourself over modesty and whether this is an OK place to nurse or over there might be a little better. The discussion with others, invited or not, over when you'll stop. There's also the common undercurrent of tension between nursers and formula-ers that doesn't loosen until everyone's moved on to juice boxes. But all of it breaks you in as a mom. Even being called a "lactivist" or "nipple Nazi" primes the pump, so to speak, for all the other tensions and rules and labels and eggshell-floors you'll encounter even way later on, after the kids are more than half-grown, after nursing your babe is nothing but a memory.

There you have it ... one rich, delicious breastmilk unknown to suck on for every day of World Breastfeeding Week. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action has loads of activities planned for nursers over the next seven days in 120 countries and has this more official stuff to say about breastfeeding.

So lift up*, latch on, let down.

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No Boobs for Baby: Why Love is Thicker than Breastmilk

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:01:00 GMT

Aimee got cancer as a young woman and had both of her breasts removed. As she made ready to start a family she began to grieve the loss of her ability to breastfeed.

But when she looked for support from other mothers around which formulas worked best, she was asked instead to join the "breast is best" chorale.

It's easy to be on Aimee's side on this one. After all, she really had no choice about breastfeeding. But she's not satisfied with her "get out of jail free" card. She's creating an on-line community that will support parents who cannot or choose not to breastfeed their children, in order to provide the support she lacked. It will be called No Boobs for Baby and will be launching soon.

It will help dispel the myth that breastfeeding is the only option for loving parents and prove, once and for all, that love is far more important than breastmilk.

Breast Milk, Schmestmilk: New Study Finds It Ain't All That

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Of course breastfeeding has many health advantages for the little babies. It is proven to drastically reduce likelihood of diarrhea and excema and if one is a breastfeeder (especially an extended breastfeeder such as myself) one is given license to feel superior to most other non-breastfeeding mothers most of the time. And believe me, in the age of competitive mothering, this comes in very handy.

However, this superiority is short-lived. New evidence shows the long-term psychological impacts of breastfeeding are no better than...

formula feeding. The study showed that by age 6 1/2, kids were no more likely to be hyperactive, have poor conduct, or inability to relate well to peers.

In all seriousness, this should provide some relief to those struggling with guilt over inability or lack of desire to breastfeed. If it all comes down to good old fashioned loving bonding, versus how or what you feed, then we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief and leave the judgments at home.

La Leche League Leader Accused of Fraud

Madeline Holler — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:09:00 GMT

Star Randolph, a La Leche League leader, was stripped of official duties after six members of her Portland-area group accused her of fraud.

Her crime? A cabinet full of Enfamil baby formula and about a dozen well-used Dr. Brown's Natural Flow bottles.

The half-dozen weekly attendees of Randolph's La Leche group meeting for nursing moms with newborns (0-6 months) filed a grievance with the LLL head offices after they discovered the formula. They're accusing Randolph of fraud and misrepresentation.

One of the moms at the meeting discovered Randolph's secret stash when she had gone into the kitchen for snacks.

From MedLaw:

"I opened the cabinet and the shelves were lined with cans of the stuff -- all of it. Soy, lacto-free, the stuff with the DH-whatever in it. I couldn't believe it!" Lana Wilson, Portland mother of an 8-week-old, said.

The women say they feel not only betrayed but misguided by Randolph, who they said was "never really that into it."

"I mean, she'd organize these meeting and send out countless reminders -- to where you felt totally obligated to go," said another of the complaintants who asked that her name not be used. "But she really couldn't help me with anything. I had sore nipples, she'd say 'fix the latch,' they'd still hurt, 'fix the latch.' I'm like, YOU fix the latch, Star, you fix it!"

In the deposition, the women claim La Leche League knowingly allowed Randolph to lead group meetings and offer advice, even though she was apparently less than dedicated to the womanly art. "I don't think I ever saw her nursing -- her baby was always 'upstairs napping.'"

Another LLL leader, who joined the nursing moms in the complaint, claimed she overheard Randolph at the statewide LLL meeting tell a convention hall organizer, "Breast is total bullshit."

LLL officials were unavailable for comment.

Admit it, You Love Arguing About Breastfeeding

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:50:00 GMT

Babble readers have opinions, strong ones, about the recent decision by large hospitals around the country to stop providing formula in post-partum take-home bags. They range from the mild: "I think that sending people home with formula *does* jeopardize breastfeeding success," to the wild: "..nature is an illegal alien in the USA: until your friendly neighborhood ob-gyn gets her deported for good, why not just line up for the scheduled c-section?.."

Dina argues that she shouldn't have to "... be dying of cancer to feel like it's ok to formula feed my baby" while Jessica counters "News flash: BREAST IS BEST!!! It's absolutely the best, and formula manufacturers admit it!"

Next time I want to end a cocktail party on an opinionated/raucous dishes-throwing note, I'll remember to proclaim my support of hospitals handing out free formula.

StrollerDerby Playdate: Enough Already with the Breastfeeding, Part 2

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:52:00 GMT

Firestorms often ignite when breasts are the topic. It seems we can neither show them when we're feeding, nor can we rightly withhold them from our children in favor of bottle-feeding without incurring the wrath of the holier-than-thou "breast is best" advocates. Where breasts are concerned there is no neutral zone, except perhaps when they're flashed for sexually related reasons.

Bloggers are contemplating the many facets of breastfeeding this week and have these thoughts to share with you:

Dawn ponders whether the likelihood of breastfeeding success is linked to your family's history
Blissfully Bitchy weighs in on the ludicrousness of the great synchronized-breast-feed-in.
The Lactivist wonders why breastfeeding moms are often treated as if they're the Gestapo

For an interesting discussion of breast v. bottle-feeding that ignited in our reader comments last week, go here.

[photo credit: Audrey Samsara]

Enough Already with the "Breast is Best"!

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:05:00 GMT

Hospitals around the country are removing formula from post-partum swag bags under pressure from breastfeeding ~~nazis~~ adherents who believe including formula in the go-home goodies might encourage a woman struggling with breastfeeding at 2am to succumb to the ease of formula. Considering the speed at which most women find themselves digging for Advil, formula, and ice picks after a few days of new breastfeeding, this conclusion has some merits, especially the second time around when those post-partum "contractions" (as in hacksaw to your midsection) kick in. But that misses the point. The continued patronizing bossy tones used by most breastfeeding campaigns are so cloying and totalitarian as to render the whole enterprise totally ineffective.

We are often told that breastfeeding can be a giddy experience, with infusions of euphoria, moments of peace and calm and quiet, and total connection with one's child. Sometimes it just happens naturally and lasts longer than we intended. I don't doubt some people feel these things. I also do not have any doubt that many women feel incredibly guilt-ridden about not feeling these things while breastfeeding or, worse yet, not breastfeeding at all. "Breast is Best," we're told over and over. And over. And sometimes the elements of truth within the message get lost amongst accusatory, guilt-inducing tones. If "breast is best" and you don't breastfeed what's your slogan "proud to give my child second best"???

Until we get the proper social supports in place (home visits after hospital stays by lactation specialists regardless of insurance status, proper amounts of maternity leave --far exceeding the 6 weeks most people cobble together, quality child care, and proper post-partum care) I say enough! Enough already with the breastfeeding!

And put the damn formula back in those hospital go-home baskets! I'm not suggesting we push Nestle (like they did back in the day in Mexico). I am suggesting that women who are desperate for sleep, whose baby (or babies) won't stop crying, who find themselves at 2am trying to push forth milk from their swollen tired uncooperative breasts, may find this formula to be the golden elixir, the soothing tonic that is just what their baby needs. And really, that is what is best.

Ignoring Breastfeeding Advice in the U.K.

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Mon, 14 May 2007 22:58:00 GMT

Did you know that in Scotland it is illegal to ask a woman to stop breastfeeding in an establishment that serves food? According to this article it is true.

The U.K. government has recommended that women breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of a child's life. This same article suggests that fewer than half of the mothers in the U.K. are still nursing by the time the child is six weeks old. Now, I don't know how accurate that information is, but that number seems kind of small to me. I realize that I live in the U.S. and I also know that my friends are mostly in the same socio-economic demographic as me, but most of the mothers that I know made it past six weeks.

So mothers are ignoring the government's advice. That doesn't seem that shocking to me. People are going to do what they want to do or are able to do anyway. Breastfeeding is such a heated topic. People on both sides get insanely defensive. Most new mothers in developed countries are informed about the benefits of breast milk and (not all, but a lot) many women who choose not to breastfeed have good reasons. In my humble opinion, keeping people educated about nursing is the best we can do.

New Study: Breastfed Babies More Likely To Be Upwardly Mobile

Alisyn — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 02:14:00 GMT

According to a new British study, breastfed babies are more likely to become well educated, upwardly mobile adults than their bottle fed counterparts.

The study, which began in 1937 and tracked 1,414 children from age 7 to late adulthood, followed up with participants about educational and social achievements in 1997 and 1998, when the participants were in their 70s and 80s. The findings were thus: breastfed infants were more likely to complete secondary school (27% of breastfed versus 20% of bottle-fed graduated). Breastfed babies were also more likely to move up in social class, based on occupation (58% percent of breastfed infants moved up, compared with 50% of bottle-fed ones). Fifty percent of bottle-fed infants stayed in the same social class or went downward, while only 42% of the breast-fed infants stayed the same or moved down.

The findings support what we already know about breastfeeding: that it benefits brain development (possibly leading to better test performance and jobs), as well as health (breastfed infants have a lower risk of infection, as well as more protection against obesity, chronic diseases and psychiatric disorders).

However, the study was conducted in pre-war days, and non-breastmilk baby formula being homemade and "inconsistant," and scientists agree that this could've affected the results. Given the standardization of formulas today, it is unknown if a similar study would yield the same results.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wants You to Breastfeed

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 13:51:00 GMT

Breastfeeding is back in style people. Even the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, is on board. It looks like he'll be spending about two million dollars to promote breastfeeding in city run hospitals. That's great! Everyone knows that the colostrum that a baby gets from his or her mother for the first six weeks cannot be replicated. I have heard horror stories about mothers that wanted to breastfeed and couldn't get the support that they needed when their child was first born.

Thomas Frieden, New York's Health Commissioner, thinks that babies should dine on nothing but their mother's milk for six months. Um. Okay. Can you regulate that? I'm pretty sure my kids were both eating solid food before they turned six months old.

Plus, what about the Mom's that have to go back to work? Is the city going to provide them with breast pumps and a bonus freezer? What about the even more elusive nice private place to pump at work? I have another question for Mr. Frieden. What about the people that have quadruplets? Do they get a pass? Can they supplement? What if your body doesn't make enough milk? If there isn't any formula in the nurseries, what happens if the mother dies?

Okay, I'm playing devil's advocate here. I am hugely pro-breastfeeding. I nursed (although not exclusively) my twins for nine months and I would have done it a lot longer if they hadn't weaned themselves. This is a wonderful program for New York and I hope other cities follow suit in promoting (but not forcing) women to breastfeed their babies.

Milkin' It: National Pork Schooled by Bloggers

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 19:02:00 GMT

Lawyers aren't generally accused of having a sense of humor. Case in point: the letter from the National Pork Board to Jennifer Laycock, aka: The Lactivist, who is being threatened with a suit for alleged trademark violations. Her humorous t-shirt, pictured right, is the cause of the kerfuffle.

Excerpt from the National Pork Board letter:

"National Pork Board considers your use of the slogan "The Other White Milk" to be a trademark infringement and also trademark dilution." Moreover, even were this use of the slogan "the Other White Milk" found to be not confusing, which we think is unlikely, this slogan nevertheless damages National Pork Board's rights in the famous mark THE OTHER WHITE MEAT. Because the slogan significantly dilutes the distinctiveness of National Pork Board's mark.

In addition, your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of National Pork Board's mark, in light of your apparent attempt to promote the use of breastmilk beyond merely for infant consumption, such as with the following slogans on your website in close proximity to the slogan "The Other White Milk:"

DAIRY DIVA

NURSING, NATURE'S OWN BREAST ENHANCEMENT

EAT AT MOM'S, FAST; FRESH; FROM THE BREAST

MY MILK IS THE BREAST

[emphasis added]

I have to agree with National Pork here. Obviously these shirts are promoting other uses for breastmilk. And reading these shirts gives me all kinds of ideas. As a breastfeeding mother, I can finally cash in on all this nutrient goodness. I'm opening a stand in my neighborhood today! The sign will read "Mama's Milk Stand: 3 Sucks for a Buck."