Human Milk for Human Babies

I will be deleting my journals tonight and am stepping apart from SixApart.

I'm crossposting this to alicrehanfeeney and my Human Lactation Blog. I'm not going to post to any communities so as to avoid being a complete crossposting whore. If you know of a community, board or email list where it would be appropriate to post this, please do so!

from the Masachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition's website and mailing list:

The Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition wants you to join concerned citizens at the State House on Friday, May 12 at 10 am. We're gathering on Mother's Day weekend to tell the Administration to keep formula marketing out of our state's hospitals.

In the last two months, the MBC has collected more than 3,000 thousand signatures from across the country urging the Governor to implement the Public Health Council's regulations on formula marketing in hospitals. Passed after extensive public hearings last summer, the rule would stop hospitals from marketing infant formula to new mothers. The Romney Administration put the regulation on hold in February, and a decision is expected in late May. On May 12, health advocates plan to gather at the State House and present the petition to Gov. Romney's office.

Hospital-based formula marketing co-opts health care providers, giving their implied endorsement to formula feeding, and to expensive brand-name baby formula. During their hospital stay, our state's families deserve sound medical advice, not commercial sales pitches. This Mother's Day, let's speak in one voice: Hospitals should market health, and nothing else.


We need a headcount!
Please let us know if you are interested in coming and how likely you are to attend: email us at demonstration@massbfc.org. We will send you talking points, and any last minute details.... (visit the website to read all the details.../)


The Peanut and I will be there... join us? :)

A news flash from the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition just hit my inbox - so please, pardon my cross-posting, but time is very short and it is vital that we get the word out about this threat to the new Massachusetts regulations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT: Governor Threatens Formula Marketing Ban

The governor's office is petitioning the Public Health Council to
strike the section banning direct marketing of formula. There will be
a special public meeting of the Public Health Council on Tuesday at
9:30am in Downtown Boston.

It is important that health care providers and mothers attend!

Location: Daley Room, 5th floor, 2 Boylston Street, Div of Healthcare
Finance and Policy, corner of Washington Street and Boylston.

The AP is already aware. The opposing side is stating that it
interferes with women's choice. We need to stay on message that this
policy is about preventing adverse health outcomes, and is backed by
scientific evidence.

There is a great summary of effects of formula marketing in the
recent GAO report on formula marketing and WIC, at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06282.pdf

More updates later. Meanwhile, let's mobilize!
--------------------------------------------------------------

Please help spread the word on this!!!

cross-posted to boob_nazis, breastfeeding, lactivism, and mamasmilk

Effective immediately, I am moving this journal over to blogger. I just think the blog medium is a much better fit for my purposes.

Yuo can now find me at:

http://lactiferous.blogspot.com/

Those of you who have seen the TV show "The View" are certainly aware of their history of bashing breastfeeding. The hosts of the show have made numerous negative comments over the years. The most recent incident has led for members of the breastfeeding activist community to call for a nurse-in.

Where: Monday, June 6th, 2005, at 11 a.m.
Where: ABC Studios, New York City - meet at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 67th Street

Aomg other incidents: Barbara Walters has repeatedly denigrated mothers who nurse their babies in public, and states that millions of babies have been raised on formula and they're just fine, implying that breastfeeding advocates are ill-informed. Elisabeth Hasselbeck claimed to have been harrassed at Disney by sling-wearing La Leche League leaders while pregnant with her child, which led to all the hosts bashing breastfeeding advocates (and which also led to a response from LLL, which was not pleased to have been slandered) as nuts. The final straw? On yesterday's show, the hosts made "a big announcement" - Elisabeth's month old baby has been put onto formula, which was applauded as a huge, wonderful, happy milestone.

"The View" has made it clear that they regard breastfeeding parents with contempt. Spread the word on the nurse-in - let them know that enough is enough.

To the National Breastfeeding Community:

We would like to answer some of your questions about the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign.

The National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign is currently supported by a contract with the Ad Council. All Ad Council sponsored campaigns start with a required 3 year contract, which includes the development of the creative pieces ( TV, Radio, out-of-home, magazine and newspaper ads and internet banners) for the campaign. Our contract with the Ad Council started in 5/1/2002 and ends 9/30/2005, a few months over the 3 years. However, the TV ads will be able to run through December, 2005 and the Radio Ads through April,2006. The billboards can be put up as long as the supply lasts-and OWH will send them to companies who need them after September,2005. Likewise, the magazine and newspaper ads and internet banners can be run as long as there is an interest, and OWH will have the electronic files to send to media outlets after September 30,2005. For your information, most Ad Council campaigns have a shelf life of about 18 months. After that time, a brand new set of creative elements have to be designed.

OWH will continue to update our breastfeeding section on the National Women's Health Information Center's(NWHIC) website (www.4woman.gov) and publish the 5 Easy Guides to Breastfeeding. Our current NWHIC contract ends in December 2005. We plan to have a new contract up and running in January 2006. However, as a result,we can only officially say that the breastfeeding helpline services will be available through December, 2005. The OWH co-sponsored evaluation of the campaign continues over the next 2 years through the FDA's Infant Feeding Practices Survey- which was just launched this month. We have also recently awarded a new contract to a major PR firm, Hager-Sharp, who will be supporting the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign, helpline and website through media, public, and corporate outreach over the next 2 years, through April, 2007. The Outreach Plan for this contract is being developed now.

In support of the campaign, we have also funded up to 18 Community Demonstration Projects to provide breastfeeding services and promote the campaign components in their geographic areas. Many of these great projects end on May 31, 2005, but some will be active beyond that date due to no-cost extensions, and funding from other sources.

So, yes while the Ad Council contract ends in September, our commitment to, breastfeeding will continue through our marketing, education and promotional efforts. In addition, we have made significant changes in knowledge and attitudes- based on the one year post-wave survey- so stay tuned. We plan to use this information to encourage others to join us in promoting this important message.

Please contact your media outlets in June to play the ads during World Breastfeeding Week in August. Babies Were Born to be Breastfed- let the world know it. Thanks

Susan Haynes Ph.D.
Senior Science Advisor and

Valerie Scardino
Acting Director,
Division of Communications
Office on Women's Health
_______________________________________________________________

GENEVA (Reuters) - Powdered infant formula may need to carry clearer instructions on how to prepare it and avoid germs that could cause serious disease and kill high-risk babies, health ministers agreed on Wednesday.

They adopted a resolution on the final day of the World Health Organization's annual assembly of 192 member states amid growing international concern at potential bacterial contamination of powdered milk for feeding babies.

Two low-weight babies died last year in hospital in France and one in New Zealand after receiving formula contaminated by bacteria, according to the United Nations health agency.

The resolution said babies should be breastfed exclusively for six months and called for precautions in preparing formula for those deemed to be high-risk, such as pre-term, low birth-weight or immune-deficient infants.

(click to read more...)

Yesterday was the big chance for David Davis, the bookies' favourite for new Tory leader, to show what he was made of. And he did.

But our attention was engaged by something quite different. In the public gallery, a woman was breastfeeding her baby. This was no protest or demonstration, since she was watched by a female attendant with an indulgent look on her face.

I would hardly bother to mention this, except that I have never seen it before, and because of the fact that women MPs were banned from nursing their own children in the chamber by the then Speaker, Betty Boothroyd. Many of them objected strongly, even those who did not have children of the appropriate age.

(click to read more...)

Being breastfed as a baby has a beneficial impact on blood pressure, a study suggests.

Researchers found it was as good for children's blood pressure as exercise and cutting salt intake is for adults.

And the longer a baby was breastfeed, the more impact it had on the child's blood pressure.

The study, of more than 2,000 children by the University of Bristol, is published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.

(click to read more...)

In a city where barely 20 % of impoverished women breastfeed, changing attitudes toward breastfeeding has become a matter of course for students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Since 1995, Nursing 361 has required students to take part in a community advocacy program of their own design.
This month in the Journal of Human Lactation, the course's instructor offers guidelines for others to conduct such projects, as well as a model to demonstrate how advocacy can change communities.

"Many problems women have with breastfeeding stem from a lack of knowledge and support in their environment," said Diane Spatz, associate professor at the School of Nursing. "Our student programs not only reach out to expectant mothers, but also to those who need to support them whether the audience is comprised of the children, the fathers and the rest of the community."

(click to read more...)

Business is booming at breast-milk banks, but advocates warn new mothers to steer clear of unlicensed providers on the Internet

LOS ANGELES -- Breast milk is the most natural food on Earth and--some would argue--the most essential for a baby's health. Still, it isn't something every woman can produce. For those who can't, the quest to obtain it can become a mission.

They spend hours a day finding donors. They surf the Internet, go to classes where new moms congregate, visit chat rooms and seek referrals from lactation consultants--all to find a nursing mother who is producing too much of a good thing and has some to spare.

Two factors fuel the trend. One, mothers have learned the many health benefits of breast milk, thanks in part to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. And two, new mothers have greater access to breast milk sources through the Internet.

Breast-feeding experts agree that the find-it-yourself movement is growing. But the nature of the Internet and word-of-mouth relationships make it difficult to determine whether hundreds, or thousands, of women are seeking breast milk from unlicensed providers.

(click to read more...)

Women who were born with heavier birth weight or were not breastfed as infants may have a higher risk of developing breast cancer before menopause, according to a study reported this week at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Anaheim, California.

(click to read more...)

WASHINGTON—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today unveiled major legislation to transform our health care system and reduce health care costs by giving Americans access to better preventive care and consumer information to encourage healthier lifestyles. The HeLP America Act of 2005 provides all sectors - child care centers, schools, workplaces, health care providers and communities -with incentives and the tools they need to reach the goal of making America a healthier place.

(click to read more...)

The following sections are relevant to breastfeeding promotion.
* Section 105 – Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
* Section 216 – Task force for the promotion of breastfeeding in the workplace
* Section 217 – Lactation accommodation and breastfeeding promotion at work
* Section 303 – Label and disclosure requirements for infant formulas

THEY are doing it at Mr Espresso and they are doing it at Monkey Nuts - mums just can't stop getting their boobs out in Crouch End.

Cafes and restaurants in the neighbourhood have proved to be bosom friendly in Breastfeeding Awareness Week and have welcomed mums and their hungry babies.

(click to read more...)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A bill allowing women to breast-feed their babies in public is headed to Governor Taft.

The House passed the legislation 92-5 on Wednesday. The measure had already unanimously passed the Senate.

(click to read more...)

A group of young women is about to make history. Last Monday signaled the first phase of a seven-county pilot program to train women to become peer counselors for other women who are currently breastfeeding their babies or who are considering doing so.

This program is the offshoot of a series of federal WIC (Women, Infants and Children) grants received by every state in the country. WIC is a program that provides nutrition education and special foods to pregnant women and breastfeeding women, infants and children to age five. WIC looks at family size and income for eligibility.

The state of Minnesota received three of the WIC grants, and Carlton County and its surrounding six-county area were among the three state recipients. The seven-county consortium is the first of its kind in the entire country to receive this type of grant (others are single-county, high-density areas such as Hennepin and Ramsey counties in the Twin Cities metro area).

(click to read more...)

If you've taken even one prenatal class or read one baby magazine while pregnant, you're well aware that "breast is best.''

Breast-feeding is, by far, the healthiest way to nourish a baby … so say the experts, from the American Academy of Pediatrics to every baby book out there.

But what happens when a breast-feeding mother returns to work? What was once the most natural thing in the world now becomes a challenge.

"Working does not have to mean weaning,'' says Karen McGratty, a Brooklyn mom who should know.

(click to read more...)

A real-life supermom used a bottle of breast milk to douse an amputee yesterday after his wheelchair was set ablaze by punks on a Staten Island bus, cops said.
The nursing mother's fast actions helped save Vietnam vet Francis Abrams, 57, from becoming a human torch, and stopped the fire from engulfing the S-54 bus, police and the victim said.

"It was put out with breast milk," said a police source, who was awed by the bizarre incident that happened just after 11 a.m.

(click to read more...)

Baby Kyra Richardson was with her mum Cheryl yesterday to launch a wristband campaign aimed at getting more women in Gateshead to breastfeed.

The blue bands, which say "Fit for Life" are an initiative being supported by Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Gateshead Primary Care Trust and the town's council to promote the health benefits to new and expectant mums.

They are being given out along with a new booklet called Off to a Good Start which offers information and tips on breastfeeding.

(click to read more...)

Breastfeeding is going through a funny old stage at the moment. Like motherhood and apple pie it is, in itself, so obviously a Good Thing that it is rarely a matter for debate, especially here in the NW-something postcodes.

But, like everything else, you only need a couple of people to go Too Far to ruin it for the rest of us. It started in America, of course, where some mothers seem to see breastfeeding as a kind of competitive sport.

So we've been treated to the pros and cons of breastfeeding children old enough to walk and, in some cases, go to school. It's one way of sorting out school meals, but I can't see it latching on.

(click to read more...)