Stephen Colbert on Breastfeeding

March 12, 2010

Thanks to Tanja at The Motherwear Breastfeeding blog for pointing me to this! Stephen Colbert feeds his Grammy!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Stephen Apologizes for Feeding His Grammy Baby Food
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care reform

Baby Slings

March 11, 2010

There's a great piece in the New York Times today about the growing popularity of baby slings. Parents are reportedly ditching their strollers and taking to "wearing" their kids.

For me, the Baby Bjorn didn't work as the kids got heavier, and I could never quite figure the sling thing out. Even though a friend sent me a detailed letter and a photograph of herself wearing a sling, I just couldn't get it. I would have been lost without my stroller. Or strollers.

The sling thing, if I had been able to figure it out, would have been great. But there is a caveat to this. Just this week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that it is issuing a warning about certain types of slings. From the NYT:

But as carriers have grown more popular, their safety has been questioned, with particular alarm about bag-style slings, which have contributed to the suffocation deaths of several infants. On Tuesday, Inez M. Tenenbaum, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, announced a forthcoming warning about slings, saying that “we know now the hazard scenarios for very small babies” carried in them. Many specialty stores, like Metro Minis, do not sell bag-style slings whose safety has been challenged, and instructs buyers to position babies in any sling upright and tight against the caregiver.

In 2007, the Infantino sling was recalled because the straps were breaking and babies were falling out of the slings. Read this.

Farewell to the Blog Breastfeeding 123

March 10, 2010

For nearly 4 years I've gotten to know Angela at Breastfeeding 123. Angela ran an amazing blog that was informative and reassuring for thousands of breastfeeding moms and their partners. She is a tireless blogger, an amazing advocate for moms and kids, and a kind and generous blogging friend.

Unfortunately Angela just found out that the parent company for her blog, B5 Media, is shutting down her blog along with some of its other sites. Angela didn't have a chance to do a good bye post, so I'm giving up my site to her here today. Here's what she has to say:

Last Friday without warning the blog network that owns Breastfeeding 1-2-3 terminated my contract along with that of every other blogger that was under contract. I am sad to have my relationship with the blog and its faithful readers end that way, without even a chance to say goodbye. Thanks to [Andi of Mama Knows Breast / Tanya of the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog] I am getting this chance.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing for Breastfeeding 1-2-3 over the last three-and-a-half years. As my time as a breastfeeding blogger comes to a close and I move on to other endeavors, I just wanted to say goodbye and thank you for the support you have shown me and other breastfeeding mothers! Best wishes, Angela White"

Thanks again,
Angela

Breastfeeding News: "The Office" and a Problem at A Daycare Center

March 04, 2010

There have been a lot of breastfeeding stories popping up in the past few days. Odd how these things seem to come in clusters.

First off, in celebrity news, we have Angela Kinsey of The Office, trying to get the show's writers to include breastfeeding and pumping. I believe the Pam birth episode just aired. So more to come on that in

Also, there's the story of a daycare director who resigned, after she allegedly gave a baby the wrong pumped milk. Here's the video.

More to come in another post. Off to the bus stop right now....

Discussion on Twitter Tonight at 10 pm EST About Breastfeeding

February 25, 2010

Best For Babes is running a discussion about breastfeeding on Twitter tonight. Here's the link.

New York Times Story About Breastfeeding and a Lactation Consultant

February 20, 2010

Thank you to my husband who found this amazing story in the New York Times. It's about breastfeeding and a lactation consultant in Brooklyn, NY named Freda Rosenfeld. Click here to read the whole story. And here's an excerpt that puts it all in context:

About 74 percent of American mothers tried breast-feeding their newborns in 2006, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was up from 58 percent in 1985 and 27 percent in 1970. But many struggle to make it work and give up — by three months, a third of infants were exclusively breast-fed in 2006; by six months, 14 percent...

A century ago virtually all American mothers nursed their babies, but by the 1950s, formula was the norm. Then a group of breast-feeding evangelists formed La Leche League to teach what they saw as a lost art, promoting its health and emotional benefits. Their efforts were helped by the natural childbirth movement of the 1970s.

As more women tried nursing, more women had problems nursing, and La Leche volunteers — many of them mothers who found breast-feeding as natural as breathing — could not always solve them. The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners was formed in 1985; since then, its exam has been translated into 20 languages and administered in 87 countries (more than 4,000 people took it last year).

Theirs is a beleaguered profession, on the one hand dismissed by doctors like Michel Cohen, a celebrated New York pediatrician who mocked the tongue exercises in his 2004 book “The New Basics,” on the other challenged by uncredentialed freelancers seizing on the demand for breast-feeding advice.

“Some people call themselves consultants simply on the basis that they have two breasts and maybe had a baby,” said Felina Rakowski-Gallagher, who owns the nursing supply store Upper Breast Side. “The consulting numbers have tripled in terms of people who just put their shingle out there.”

Unicef Video Update on Haiti and Breastfeeding Moms

February 19, 2010

Updated on February 22nd:
Here's the Unicef Video:

Unicef just published an illuminating account of what's happening in Haiti to help new moms breastfeed. Click on the link below... and if it shows up in French, go to the top tool bar to translate it into English. Also, there's a video...see above.

Facebook and Breastfeeding

February 18, 2010

There seems to be an uproar once again over breastfeeding photos on Facebook. I just stumbled upon a new Facebook group called "If breastfeeding offends you put a blanket over your head." The group has nearly 144,000 members. And it seems to be an offshoot of a group that formed in 2008, "Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene." That group, you might remember, staged a virtual nurse-in when Facebook started taking down photos of moms breastfeeding. Here's a post I wrote about it. And another post as well, after I was on the CBS Early Show discussing this story.

Become a Fan of Mama Knows Breast on Facebook

February 16, 2010

So I wasn't even going to turn my computer on tonight. I was not going to get sucked into the Internet vortex. I bet you can guess how that turned out...

Anyway... while watching the Olympics (Don't you just cringe when the skaters fall?!) I set up a Facebook Fan page. So if you'd like, come become a fan and join the discussion. The page is called Mama Knows Breast.

Update on Haiti and Breastmilk Donations

An update to the question of whether or not to donate breast milk to help victims of the Haiti earthquake...

Last month, Unicef and the World Health Organization discouraged donations of formula. Then several groups, including La Leche League (LLL) and the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) issued an urgent call for breast milk donations. The International Breast Milk Project delivered 500 ounces of milk to the USS Constitution to treat infants on board the ship.

But then there was a backlash. There was a report from MSNBC that the milk on the ship was not being used. Furthermore, TIME magazine reported the WHO and Unicef are discouraging breast milk donations because the mainland of Haiti doesn't have the infrastructure in place to use it.

So where does that leave things? The International Breast Milk Project is not planning another shipment. And the HMBANA and LLL are now saying that breast milk donations are not recommended:

Donor milk, however, is not a solution for the large number of infants and young children affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Members of the public who wish to promote the survival of mothers and babies in Haiti can donate money to the following organizations: UNICEF , Save the Children Alliance, World Vision, and Action Against Hunger. These organizations are using best practice to aid both breastfed and non-breastfed infants. Members of the public can be confident that donations to these organizations will support breastfeeding and help save the lives of babies.

If you want to read more on this subject, visit the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog or Breastfeeding 123.