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Breastfeeding Summer Camp! Register Now!

We are hitting the road this summer with our Breastfeeding Regional Trainings! Join us to get the latest and greatest news in the breastfeeding world, learn or review the hottest and essential topics, and network with colleagues in your community. Click Here to download our flyer!

Join our trainers, Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, PHN, IBCLC and Sheila Janakos, MPH, IBCLC, RLC for an interactive and dynamic day!

Here are some topics we will cover…

• Breastfeeding Update – including the latest breastfeeding topics: laid back nursing, skin to skin, jaundice, thrush, 10 breastfeeding myths, and latest research
• Avoiding Supplementation – including problem solving in the first few weeks (first days in hospital, colostrum, perceived low milk supply, what moms should expect, how to counsel new moms to avoid unnecessary supplementation), and beyond (maintaining breastfeeding, birth control, illnesses, weaning)
• Working moms continuing to breastfeed – including returning to work, storing and handling breastmilk, pumping issues, overfeeding
• Cultural humility/competency and communication – including cultural sensitivity, how to engage and encourage, and staying mother-centered

*Skills and/or experiential learning with each topic!

We are coming to a city near you!

• Monday, July 15 – UHC Pinedale Training Center, Fresno
• Wednesday, July 17 – Government Center, San Luis Obispo
• Monday, July 22 – Carson Community Center, Carson
• Wednesday, July 24 – American Red Cross, San Diego
• Monday, August 19 – Shasta County Training Center, Redding
• Tuesday, August 27 – South San Francisco Conference Center, Bay Area
• Wednesday, August 28 – CRP WIC Training Center, Sacramento

*Trainings subject to change or cancellation due to low attendance.

Who should attend: training is appropriate for WIC staff and peer counselors, hospital and public health nurses, community clinic staff, public health nutritionists, medical office staff.

Fee: $150 per person (includes training, materials, lunch), 3% discount for groups 3+, 5% discount for groups 5+

CEUs offered: RD, IBCLC, CLE, RN

Registration: Go to http://www.regonline.com/2013bfcamp to register!

Refund Policy: There are no refunds for nonattendance and cancellations within 3 weeks of the training dates. Substitutions are allowed.

Questions: Please contact Meghan Saddler at msaddler@calwic.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Lena Workman at lworkman@calwic.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 530-750-2280.

SWAG Conferences LLC is a co-sponsor of the event. Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number #CEP15480, for up to 7 contact hours.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Karla Shepard Rubinger, Executive Director, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine,
(800 990-4ABM), abm@bfmed.org

Recommendations for Breastfeeding-Friendly Physicians' Offices Are Promoted by the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine

New Rochelle, NY, April 16, 2013—Healthcare providers can greatly influence a mother's decision to begin and continue breastfeeding. Maintaining a "breastfeeding-friendly practice" is one way physicians caring for mothers-to-be and their babies can promote and support breastfeeding. The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) has released a protocol with specific recommendations to encourage and guide physicians in this effort. The ABM Clinical Protocol is published in Breastfeeding Medicine, the Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Amy Grawey and coauthors representing ABM present 19 recommendations intended to improve physician support of breastfeeding initiation and duration. The authors also discuss obstacles to providing breastfeeding care and recommendations for future research in the article "ABM Clinical Protocol #14: Breastfeeding-Friendly Physician's Office: Optimizing Care for Infants and Children, Revised 2013."

In a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, implementation of ABM's breastfeeding-friendly protocol in a pediatric primary care setting was associated with a significant increase in the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among a diverse patient population.

Among the 19 recommendations in the ABM clinical protocol are guidelines for establishing a written breastfeeding-friendly office policy, providing culturally and ethnically competent care related to lactation, introducing the subject of breastfeeding during the first trimester of pregnancy, allowing and encouraging breastfeeding in office waiting rooms, educating clinical physicians and staff on the benefits of breastfeeding, and encourage enforcement and adoption of workplace laws that support breastfeeding.

"Not only are the guidelines for a breastfeeding-friendly doctor's office clear and simple, they have also been demonstrated to be effective in improving breastfeeding rates," says Arthur Eidelman, MD, President of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and thus, “the ABM evidence-based guidelines should serve as the standard of care”.

About the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is a global organization of physicians dedicated to the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding and human lactation through education, research, and advocacy. An independent, self-sustaining, international physician organization and the only organization of its kind, the Academy's mission is to unite members of various medical specialties through physician education, expansion of knowledge in breastfeeding science and human lactation, facilitation of optimal breastfeeding practices, and encouragement of the exchange of information among organizations. It promotes the development and dissemination of clinical practice guidelines. The Academy has prepared clinical protocols for the care of breastfeeding mothers and infants that are available on the Agency for Healthcare Reseach and Quality's (AHRQ) National Guideline Clearinghouse website.

About the Journal
Breastfeeding Medicine, the Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is an authoritative, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal publishes original scientific papers, reviews, and case studies on a broad spectrum of topics in lactation medicine. It presents evidence-based research advances and explores the immediate and long-term outcomes of breastfeeding, including the epidemiologic, physiologic, and psychological benefits of breastfeeding.

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine,
140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
(800) 990.4ABM (914) 740.2115 Fax: (914) 740.2101
abm@bfmed.org

From a collaboration between the New York State Department of Health, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children comes the "Making It Work" Toolkit.” This is a new online resource for breastfeeding mothers returning to work or school. The toolkit provides information and guidelines to breastfeeding mothers as well as tools and information for businesses and families. It is specifically designed to address the needs of low-wage workers in non-traditional work settings.

Breastfeeding Medicine

So, you may be asking, “What is the Weston A. Price Foundation? Why do I care what they say about breastfeeding?” Well, let me give you a quick description about them:

They are a non-profit that advocates “whole foods and traditional cooking techniques using farm fresh, true organic ingredients.” They “…educate the public on the nutrition research of Dr. Weston A. Price and the benefits of buying local foods for their nutritional value.” They promote nutrient dense diets and the use and benefits of raw milk.

This sounds fantastic right? Eating healthy IS super important. We aren’t debating that at all. But if you dig into their information about breastfeeding, it leaves you scratching your head and being very confused.

Breaking News! SB 402 (De Leon) has passed out of Senate Health Committee!

Breaking News! SB 402 (De Leon) has passed out of Senate Health Committee! Thank you to everyone for your support!

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “breastfeeding is fully compatible with flu vaccination.”

A controversial research study in Indonesia about formula milk that was going to use newborns as test subjects has officially been halted following massive protests from the public and pro-breast-feeding activists.

"We are very thankful that the study has been dropped, which means they won't be testing and harming perfectly healthy newborns just for the sake of research," Utami Roesli, chairwoman of the Indonesian Breast-feeding Center, said on Monday.

In a letter sent to the Association of Indonesia Breast-Feeding Mothers (AIMI), the University of Indonesia medical school said that the study, known as the Daffodil Study, would no longer be carried out.

The study, which was supposed to be conducted by a group of researchers from UI's medical school, was aimed at finding which formula milk most closely resembled breast milk. The study planned to use four-month-old babies as test subjects.

In December, pro-breast-feeding groups initiated a movement against the study. An online petition at change.org gathered more than 1,500 signatures by January.

The pro-breast-feeding groups also met with Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi to ask that the study be stopped. The minister said she agreed the study should be stopped unless it met three requirements: that it would only involve babies more than six months old, that the financier of the research be revealed and that the study would not compare breast-milk with formula milk.

Utami said the study would jeopardize Indonesia's efforts to promote breast-feeding.

"After all this time and so much hard work, we're finally seeing a bit of progress, but the study would turn all of this hard work into nothing," she said.

A 2007 study found that only 32 percent of Indonesian mothers breast-fed their babies exclusively for six months. In 2011 the figure rose to 42 percent, but this is still lower than the rate in neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

The main researcher of Daffodil study, Darmawan Budi Setyanto, said halting the study would not benefit Indonesian babies.

"We, the researchers, are not losing anything if the Daffodil study is halted; the loss would be suffered by Indonesian babies. Of course, breast-milk is good, but not all babies are that lucky. Some babies are not fortunate enough to be exclusively breast-fed," he said.

Darmawan said the study was aimed at finding the best formula milk to help babies whose mothers, due to whatever reason, could not breast-feed them.

"But there was so much protest," he said, adding that they complied with the requirements set out by the Health Ministry. However, he didn't respond when asked by the Jakarta Globe who was supposed to finance the study.

"Even though we tried to fulfill all the necessary requirements, we decided it would be best to just drop the study," he said.

  For Immediate Release

PRESS RELEASE

Gala Celebrates Mother-Baby Friendly Workplace Awards

Local Employers Recognized for Support of Breastfeeding Moms

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — December 5, 2012 — The San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition (SDCBC), held their fifth-annual Liquid Gold Gala on Saturday, October 6th at Point Loma’s Southwestern Yacht Club. The evening included cocktails, dinner, entertainment, a silent auction and awards acknowledgements.

The Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Awards ceremony began with opening remarks by County Public Health Officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten who oversees all health programs; she spoke about the benefits of breastfeeding for the health of San Diego.

Awards in four categories were given to San Diego employers that have instituted comprehensive programs in support of breastfeeding mothers returning to work. The winners in each of the categories included: Business — Intuit Inc.; Schools — San Diego Unified School District; Government Agency — Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, Inc. WIC Program; and Non-Government Organization — 2-1-1 San Diego.

Runner-up awards in the Business category went to Sempra Energy and Grossmont Pediatrics and in the Government Agency category, to Health and Human Services Agency, North Central Region – County of San Diego.

"We had the largest number of sponsoring hospitals involved with our event this year," said Heidi Burke-Pevney, IBCLC of the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition. "We hope to have all San Diego County Hospitals as sponsors in the future. Breast pump manufacturers, Medela, Hygeia, and Limerick have always been generous sponsors and donors to the Liquid Gold Gala," she stated. The well-attended event raised over $8,200 for the Coalition.

Thousands of families benefit from the breastfeeding advocacy, education, promotion and support provided through grant and fund-raising dollars. Support also goes to the BREEAST (Breastfeeding Education, Equipment Advocacy & Support Team) Program, to meet the needs of mothers and infants at high risk of breastfeeding failure in a coordinated, cost-effective manner. Multi-user breast pumps are donated to county hospitals, health agencies and Public Health Nurses. At-risk

individuals can access needed breastfeeding equipment and supplies, education, support, and referral. The Coalition publishes a bilingual (English/Spanish) resource guide including information on breastfeeding providers, classes, support groups, helplines, breast pump rentals, and health tips.

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                      

Report Embargoed until 8:00 AM, August 1, 2012

Available to the media via password on *July 30, 2012

  Contact:

Kim Elkins, EdM, IBCLC

President, SDCBC

San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition

858-309-1413

Kim.elkins@sdarc.org

NEW DATA ENCOURAGES HOSPITALS TO PARTNER WITH EACH OTHER TO IMPROVE EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING RATES IN San Diego County

World Breastfeeding Week Kicks Off August 1

What:              “Collaboration Counts – Improving Hospital Breastfeeding Policies” state and county fact sheets illustrate that the exclusive breastfeeding gap is greatest in hospitals serving low-income mothers and babies. By improving policies, including maternity care practices, hospital breastfeeding rates can dramatically increase.

                        Hospitals with low rates of exclusive breastfeeding began forming local, regional, and statewide partnerships throughout California in 2010, to reduce breastfeeding disparities among low-income populations. Hospitals with low exclusive breastfeeding rates in Los Angeles and San Joaquin Counties share resources, strategies to overcome barriers, and breastfeeding policies with the goal of developing best practices to support women in their decision to breastfeed.

The fact sheet for San Diego County outlines breastfeeding rates for each hospital in the county, and compares San Diego County’s breastfeeding and hospital performance with other California counties.

When:             The California WIC Association (CWA) will release the fact sheets at 8:00 AM on August 1, 2012, but reporters can access a policy brief as well as a state fact sheet, ranking high and low performing hospitals, and individual county fact sheets on July 30.

                        August 1^st marks the first day of World Breastfeeding Week with events scheduled across California.  

Who:               “Collaboration Counts – Improving Hospital Breastfeeding Policies” was co-authored by M. Jane Heinig, PhD, IBCLC, director of the U.C. Davis Human Lactation Center http://lactation.ucdavis.edu; and by the California WIC Association www.calwic.org.

Where:           California State Capitol, North Steps (11^th St. and L St.)

                        Released at the Annual Mother-Baby Friendly Workplace wards and State Breastfeeding

Awareness Walk. In addition to the release of the hospital data, employers will be recognized during the event for Worksite Lactation Accommodation. Employers receiving awards include: City of Los Angeles; County of Los Angeles; Sonoma County Indian Health;Reiter Berry Farms, Santa Cruz;Hot Studio, San Francisco; Kaiser Southern California Regional; Associated Students of California State University of Sacramento; Heald College, Rancho Cordova; Cal Works – Sacramento City College; SaveMart Distribution Center, Roseville; Apple Incorporated, Elk Grove; Armani Exchange, Sacramento; Carl’s Jr., Roseville; In N Out Burger, Sacramento

Mothers and infants in attendance.

**Contact Karen Farley at kfarley@calwic.org or 530-400-5842 to obtain the password and access the state and county-specific fact sheets BEFORE they are released to the public. Enter password when prompted on the California WIC Association website (www.calwic.org)

###

The San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition (SDCBC) is a non-profit association whose mission is to protect, promote and support breastfeeding through education, outreach and advocacy in our community. www.breastfeeding.org; 1-800-371-MILK

Established in 1992, the California WIC Association (CWA) is a non-profit organization formed by directors of local WIC agencies. CWA represents all entities interested in the operation of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC.) California is the nation’s largest WIC program with 84 local agencies serving approximately 1.44 million participants at 650 local centers

A Social Media Campaign in Celebration of National Breastfeeding Month 2012

On August 6, 2011, the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) officially declared that August is National Breastfeeding Month. Read the Proclamation here. For National Breastfeeding Month 2012, the USBC invites you to join in the celebratations by participating in a social media campaign: "Everyone Can Help Make Breastfeeding Easier": 20 Actions in 20 Days.

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding (released January 2011) has brought unprecedented attention and renewed energy to efforts to support mothers to reach their personal breastfeeding goals. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin has called on the entire nation to take 20 concrete action steps to support the removal of barriers to breastfeeding. The "20 Actions in 20 Days" campaign will highlight these action steps and implementation strategies for six major sectors of society:

• Mothers and their Families
• Communities
• Health Care
• Employment
• Research and Surveillance
• Public Health Infrastructure

WHO
The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) invites EVERYONE: members, coalitions, partners, advocates, health care providers, employers, policymakers, researchers, mothers, families, the media, and YOU!

WHAT
Engage in conversations across social media platforms throughout the month of August. Sample Facebook posts and Tweets will be posted on the campaign web page the week of July 16.

WHEN
Each weekday from August 6–31 the "20 Actions in 20 Days" campaign will focus on one of the action steps set forth by the Call to Action. View the Campaign Calendar/Schedule.

WHERE
Follow us on Twitter (@usbreastfeeding) and "like" us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/usbreastfeeding). Share posts and links on your own Facebook page. Tweet using the campaign hash tag (#NBM12).

WHY
In celebration of National Breastfeeding Month 2012, to spread the word about how "Everyone can help make breastfeeding easier."

HOW
There are many ways to participate, and therefore no one "right way" to do so. The "HOW" section on the campaign web page shows just a few ideas and suggestions. We also need your help to promote the campaign! Please spread the word with our sample Facebook post, Tweet, and newsletter blurb.

We look forward to hearing from you in August!

United States Breastfeeding Committee
2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800 ♦ Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202/367-1132 ♦ Fax: 202/367-2132
E-mail: office@usbreastfeeding.org

Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law:
Implementation of Breastfeeding Provisions Continues

View web version of this release

Washington, DC—Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (health care reform). The law includes several provisions that support women and their families to reach their personal breastfeeding goals, and this ruling ensures that these (and others) will continue to be fully implemented:

• Break Time for Nursing Mothers: Section 4207 of the Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act, requiring employers to provide reasonable break time in a private, non-bathroom place for breastfeeding mothers to express breast milk during the workday, for one year after the child's birth.
• Women's Preventive Services Required Health Plan Coverage Guidelines: The Act requires health plans to cover preventive services for women with no cost sharing, including breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling. Non-grandfathered plans and issuers are required to provide coverage without cost sharing consistent with these guidelines in the first plan/policy year that begins on or after August 1, 2012.
• Community Transformation Grants: The CDC's Community Transformation Grant program funds community-level efforts to improve health, reduce health disparities, and control health care spending. Under Strategic Direction 2: Active Living and Healthy Eating, many communities are implementing Recommended Evidence and Practice-Based Strategies to 1) increase the number of designated Baby-Friendly hospitals; and 2) increase policies and practices to support breastfeeding in health care, community, workplaces, and learning and childcare settings.

"Our Nation's public health leaders have come together to call for real changes in the policies, systems, and environments that impact breastfeeding families," said USBC Chair Jeanne Blankenship. "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, National Prevention Council Action Plan, and the Institute of Medicine's report, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention, all identify the important role of breastfeeding in prevention and reducing health care spending. The Affordable Care Act helps to ensure that the United States continues to improve the landscape of breastfeeding support so that all mothers have the opportunity to reach their personal breastfeeding goals."

The United States Breastfeeding Committee will continue will continue to work with Congress, the Administration and state governments during the law's implementation. For additional details on the law, visit www.healthcare.gov.

USBC is an organization of organizations. Opinions expressed by USBC are not necessarily the position of all member organizations and opinions expressed by USBC member organization representatives are not necessarily the position of USBC.

The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is an independent nonprofit coalition of more than 40 nationally influential professional, educational, and governmental organizations. Representing over one million concerned professionals and the families they serve, USBC and its member organizations share a common mission to improve the Nation's health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. For more information about USBC, visit www.usbreastfeeding.org.

United States Breastfeeding Committee: Advancing breastfeeding on our Nation's agenda.

• Collaboration
• Leadership
• Advocacy

United States Breastfeeding Committee
2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800 ♦ Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202/367-1132 ♦ Fax: 202/367-2132
E-mail: office@usbreastfeeding.org

CWA Action Alert
June 27, 2012

Tell Congress to Fund WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors &
Oppose Congressional Intervention in WIC Food Packages! 

Last week the House Appropriations Committee passed a FY 2013 Agriculture Appropriations bill, with three very troubling components:

1. Inadequate funding. The bill funds WIC at $6.922 billion which is $119 million short of the President’s budget request. The White House has threatened a veto due in part to this inadequate funding level.
2. Peer Counselors Eliminated. The bill sets aside no funding for breastfeeding peer counselors and related activities, MIS/EBT, or Infrastructure, all of which had been included in the Senate version of the bill. The potential loss of breastfeeding support funds, in particular, could immediately and negatively impact breastfeeding rates and positive health outcomes, not to mention badly needed jobs in hard-hit communities
3.  Spuds Sell-Out. Despite broad objections from WIC and the public health community, as well as Democratic members, the Committee approved an amendment requiring USDA to include white potatoes in the WIC food packages. This attempt to interfere with impartial and evidence-based WIC policymaking marks a troubling new trend towards politicizing WIC decisions due to special interest pressures, such as from the potato industry. 

The House Ag Appropriations bill will go to the floor in a few weeks.
Take Action before July 9!

Tell Congress to fund WIC breastfeeding peer counselors
and to stay out of the science of the WIC food packages!

Sign on here to support NWA’s Joint Statement Urging Support of $60 million for WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors in FY 2013 to distribute to each member of the House. We are asking you to reach out to your state and local partners (State Associations, hospitals, non-profits, health care practices, health groups) and ask them to sign on!

Click here to send your representative a message or call the Capitol switchboard using NWA’s toll-free number 1-855-HELP-WIC (1-855-435-7942) to urge them 1) to include $60 million in breastfeeding peer counselor funding for WIC in FY 2013 that is not restricted by caseload needs, and 2) oppose efforts to interfere in the scientific process of determining WIC food packages!

THANKS for your dedicated work to educate our national decisionmakers.

California WIC Association | 1490 Drew Avenue, Suite 175| Davis, CA 95618|
Phone: 530-750-2280 | Cell: 916-607-4822 | www.calwic.org

United States Breastfeeding Committee
2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800 ♦ Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202/367-1132 ♦ Fax: 202/367-2132
E-mail: office@usbreastfeeding.org

Time Magazine’s “Are you MOM enough?” cover is brilliant marketing. It’s also a terrible disservice to women’s health.

In case you missed it, the magazine cover features a mother with her three-year-old son, standing on a chair, latched on to her breast. The photo had sparked disgust from readers who have expressed outrage at the “sick” and “deviant” behavior of breastfeeding a three-year-old.

In traditional human societies, Katherine Dettwyler has demonstrated that children wean between 2 and 5 years of age. Using data from non-human primates, evidence suggests that the biological age to stop breastfeeding is between 2.5 and 7. From an anthropological standpoint, therefore, nursing a three-year-old is not “sick,” “strange” or “deviant.” It is normal human physiology.

In traditional societies, weaning occurs between 2 and 5 years. (Used with permission from Lawrence and Lawrence, Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, 7th edition, Modified from Dettwyler KA: A time to wean. In Stuart-MacAdam P, Dettwyler KA, editors: Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, New York, 1995, Aldine de Gruyter.)

Furthermore, extended breastfeeding is endorsed by major medical organizations. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently reaffirmed their position recommending “exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months, followed by continued breastfeeding as complementary foods are introduced, with continuation of breastfeeding for 1 year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant.” The World Health Organization recommends continued breastfeeding up to two years or age or beyond. It’s also important for women’s health. Studies show that, compared with women who breastfeed for at least 1 year for each child, women who wean prematurely face increased risks of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attacks.

In Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, Dettwyler makes a plea for thoughtful, considerate debate regarding the right time for weaning for each mother-child dyad. She writes:

The information that 3 or 4 years of breastfeeding, or even longer, is both normal and appropriate for human infants, should be disseminated to health care professionals and parents alike. It is to be hoped that people will stop criticizing mothers and suggesting that they need to wean because the child is “too old.” Above all, it is hoped that people will stop questioning the motives of mothers who nurse their children for several years. It is to be hoped that mothers who follow their own instincts to meet their children’s needs – not only their physiological needs for nutrition and immunological protection, but their cognitive and emotional needs for warmth, touching, social contact, and interaction through breastfeeding as long as the child expresses those needs – will be encouraged and supported, both by health care professionals and by their family and friends.

But rather than supporting mothers to follow their own instincts to meet their children’s needs, Time magazine put an enormous 3-year-old, dressed in very “big kid” clothes, on the cover with his mom dressed in a tank top and skinny jeans. Every aspect of the photo is engineered to evoke sexual undertones, and Time’s tabloid approach has (predictably) brought out a mob of people saying breastfeeding is “sick” and “perverted.”

The cover not only castigates mothers and children who practice extended nursing, but it also lends legitimacy to strangers who assail moms for nursing any infant in public as “nasty” and “indecent.” Recent stories of nursing mothers ejected from big box stores, courtrooms and churches demonstrate that it is not easy to be a breastfeeding mother in America. When you follow medical recommendations, you face public humiliation.

Time’s cover throws fuel on that fire, and it’s a slap in the face for the moms who are trying to do right for their own health and the health of their children. And that’s a very unhappy Mother’s Day present.

Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, is a maternal-fetal medicine physician, breastfeeding researcher, and assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She is a member of the board of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.

BREASTFEEDING IS GREEN!

Nancy E. Wight MD, IBCLC, FABM, FAAP

“The undermining of breastfeeding is the destruction of a natural resource and should therefore be seen in the same light as logging in the rainforests or overfishing our seas and rivers.”

Andrew Radford, 1991, The Ecological Impact of Bottle Feeding[1]

Over the past 20-30 years we have become much more aware of the ecological damage our collective lifestyles are doing to our Earth.  Global warming is upon us and natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate.  Breastfeeding is probably the most overlooked means of contributing to the health of our planet. [2]

Breastmilk is the perfect renewable resource.[3]  It is produced and delivered to the consumer without using other resources, and it creates no pollution.  In contrast, artificial baby milk (ABM) production pollutes our land, air, and water, and uses up scarce natural resources.  Artificial milk also causes many unnecessary deaths and illnesses, draining the resources of every country and region on earth. 

Despite recent concerns about environmental pollutants and contaminants in mothers’ milk, research repeatedly shows that the risks of NOT breastfeeding consistently outweigh the risks of environmental contaminants in the milk.  There are MORE risks of contamination with the use of ABM made from cow’s milk and soy beans (pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, steroids, phytoestrogens, aluminum, lead, bacteria, etc.).  In fact, breastfeeding may help compensate for the toxins in the environment!  The solution is to clean up our environment, not stop breastfeeding!

There are many reasons artificial milk feeding is not eco-friendly:

·         Producing artificial baby milk contributes to inefficient use of land (~2.5 acres/cow), deforestation and soil erosion (wood to heat ABM in developing countries).

·         Manufacture of packaging of ABM uses paper, plastic and tin which are not recycled (tens of thousands of tons).  Dioxins are also a byproduct of paper manufacturing.

o   “For every 3 million bottle-fed babies, 450 million tons of formula are consumed.  The resulting 70,000 tons of metal in the form of discarded tins is not recycled”[4]

·         Manufacturing ABM contaminates water through sewage from dairy cows and fertilizers used to grow feed for cows. In developing countries ABM may be mixed with contaminated water for feeding.

·         Producing artificial milks contributes to air pollution:

o   Methane gas (cow flatulence and excretions) is secondary only to carbon dioxide as a contributor to global warming.

o   Wood burned to heat ABM.

o   Incineration of packaging, plastic bottles.

·         Manufacturing of bottles, nipples and other feeding equipment uses large amounts of plastic, rubber, silicon and glass – which will take 200-450 years to break down in our increasingly scarce landfills.

·         Processing ABM and producing bottles, nipples, etc. consumes energy (electric and other).

·         Transportation of raw materials for ABM, packaging and other components of bottle-feeding consumes ever more scarce and expensive fuel.

·         Artificial milks cost billions of dollars that could be better spent to clean up our land, air and water.

·         Menstruation and fertility are delayed with exclusive breastfeeding, saving vast amounts of paper (and fuel to produce them) for sanitary products and their packaging, and more importantly, lessening overpopulation.

Breastmilk is a living, natural substance that is produced very efficiently by the mother with only a few hundred extra calories and a little extra water.  It is delivered directly, without transportation or expensive packaging.  The lactating mother is an exceptional national resource.  Breastfeeding is not just a lifestyle choice; it is a health, social and environmental issue.  Anyone interested in protecting our children and our environment should actively promote, support and protect breastfeeding.

CN) - The National Board of Medical Examiners may be liable for denying additional break time to a nursing mother taking its licensure exam, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled.
While studying medicine at Harvard in June 2007, Sophie Currier planned to take the board's clinical knowledge exam in Brookline. The 370-question test is administered in one testing session that lasts about nine hours. Test-takers usually get 45 minutes of break time, and they cannot bring personal items into the shared exam room.
The board granted Currier an additional day to complete the test, which she could take in a separate testing room, because of her diagnosed dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Currier was unhappy, however, with the break-time accommodations for Currier to feed her infant daughter.
After Currier filed suit in September 2007, the court the board to afford Currier an additional 60 minutes of break time per test day and provide her with a private room with a power outlet at the testing center so she could express breast milk.
Currier apparently did not pass the exam with these accommodations but was more successful in her second attempt the following year.
Though a Suffolk County judge dismissed Currier's lawsuit, the Supreme Judicial Court said last week that some of the claims should go to trial.
Currier can claim a violation of the equal rights act and public accommodations law, according to the six-justice panel.
"Our decision in the context of the equal rights act and public accommodation statute counts, that lactation is a sex-linked classification, recognizes that there remain barriers that prevent new mothers from being able to breastfeed or express breast milk," Chief Justice Roderick Ireland wrote for the court. "We take this opportunity to extend protection to lactating mothers in the context of lengthy testing required for medical licensure."
A footnote of the 28-page decision notes that the Massachusetts Legislature prohibited restrictions on breastfeeding in public, but the law did not include using a breast pump to express milk for future use.
"The condition of lactation is inextricably linked to pregnancy and thus sex linked," Ireland wrote. "The fact that a women (sic) is no longer pregnant when she is nursing or pumping matters not as lactation is a natural incident of pregnancy. We thus conclude that the protections of the equal rights act extend to lactating mothers."
But the six-justice panel affirmed dismissal of Currier's claim under the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, finding the denial of extra time did not amount to "coercion."
"Here, the NBME did not prohibit Currier from expressing breast milk; rather, the NBME prohibited Currier from expressing breast milk when she wanted to, namely, during two requested additional break times," Ireland wrote.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/04/17/45701.htm

Please enjoy this premiere of the world's first Baby-Friendly Rap music
video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9KptD3t110&feature=youtu.be

Spread the word!

I know -- as a parent first of all, then as a physician, and finally as a public health practitioner -- that "breast is best." Breast milk, absent some very compelling contraindication such as a transmissible infection, is the ideal food for a newborn. Nothing else we've got confers the many unique benefits of breast milk.

These benefits, very well chronicled in the scientific literature, are stunningly comprehensive. They range from the psychological effects of such close bonding between mother and baby, to enhancements to both skeletal and cognitive development, to the transmission of protective maternal antibodies as the newborn immune system and GI tract slowly mature, to an apparently lifelong defense against obesity we don't even fully understand.

While in general we really can't say for sure which specific diet is best for older kids and adults, the first year of life is a clear exception. Breast is unequivocally, unambiguously, and altogether conclusively best.

And so, the promotion of breastfeeding is a World Health Organization priority, and breastfeeding figures among the objectives for Healthy People 2020. Objectives, by the way, we are still a long way from meeting.

None of the above was surprising to me, and I bet nothing so far has been terribly surprising to you. So here's the surprise: One of the reasons we are so far from national objectives for routine reliance on breast milk as the safest, cheapest, healthiest, and just plain best way to feed a newborn is... food marketing. Yep: food marketing to neonates.

I am among those who feel that food marketing to children is a serious problem, in need of substantial reform through voluntary restraint (I advise against holding your breath!) or regulation. Foods marketed most aggressively are unfailingly -- as innumerable studies show -- of fairly poor nutritional quality. The foods kids are coaxed into loving, in other words, are the least likely to love them back -- and will instead accelerate their progress toward obesity, and even diabetes. And the contest between a 6-year-old and a highly-paid advertising executive is unfair by any standard.

But despite my devotion to this topic, I had no idea that even neonates were in the crosshairs of food marketers.

They are. According to Elizabeth Ben-Ishai, Ph.D., the campaign coordinator for Public Citizen's Commercial Alert Project, roughly two-thirds of ALL HOSPITALS nationwide allow food and pharmaceutical companies access to their maternity wards. The companies use this hallowed real estate to hand out "discharge bags" of free infant formula to new moms. The bags are, of course, decorated with company insignia and formula names -- and are accompanied by discount coupons for subsequent purchases of the same formula.

My friend and colleague Karla Shepard Rubinger, executive director of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, had this to say:

Although the formula companies all give lip service to "breast is best," their aggressive advertising and marketing do everything to undermine it. And there is a significant amount of research to show that where formula is provided at no cost, breastfeeding rates are lowest. Our goal is to better educate physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to understand why breastfeeding is so very important: It is universally available, free, evidence-based, supported in all cultures throughout time, shows documented benefits for mother and baby, and is "green" into the bargain.

What she said!

I spoke with Dr. Ben-Ishai, who confirmed that simply distributing formula and coupons substantially reduces breastfeeding rates. She noted that the practice extends at times from the hospital to the offices of both gynecologists and pediatricians.

Public Citizen is sponsoring a petition to end food marketing to neonates. Dr. Ben-Ishai noted, "This is not about setting any limits on mothers' choices; it's about opportunistic marketing by the formula companies, and the ethics of the hospitals that allow this marketing to take place on their turf." A formula industry valued at well over $3.5 billion and an exhausted new mother with a newborn in her arms looking to a ward full of health professionals for guidance seems a very unfair match-up indeed. By distributing their goodies on maternity wards, the formula companies are getting a "halo effect" -- making it seem as if the hospitals and health professionals are recommending formula.

And for that reason, the marketing works -- even when lactation counselors encourage breastfeeding, according to Dr. Ben-Ishai. The counselors do provide a first line of defense, but it's not enough against a marketing campaign valued at many, many millions of dollars.

If we want more children to get the benefits of breastfeeding -- and anyone with any reason to care about any child, should -- we need to un-muddle the message being delivered on the rarefied terrain of the nation's maternity wards. "Breast is best" needs to be uncoupled from "but here's a free bag of formula and some swell coupons!" And the fact that no one gets paid when a mother provides her baby the best nutrition there is? Too bad! We all profit in the ways that matter most if healthier babies abound.

I remain hopeful about curtailing food marketing to kids in general. But for now, let's at least end exploitative food marketing to neonates. Mothers who truly prefer or need formula should get it. Mothers who don't should not be talked into it.

Ideally, formula companies should simply abandon the practice. If they don't, hospitals should defend their turf against it.

The best possible start in life is every baby's birthright. For the vast majority of babies, breastfeeding is an important part of THAT formula. The marketing of other formulas to neonates as an alternative to breast milk... most certainly is not!

-fin

Dr. David L. Katz; www.davidkatzmd.com
www.turnthetidefoundation.org

Sign the Public Citizen petition here:
http://action.citizen.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10062

Learn more about breastfeeding, and formula marketing, here:
http://www.bfmed.org/Default.aspx

http://www.citizen.org/infant-formula

For more by David Katz, M.D., click here.

For more healthy living health news, click here.

Follow David Katz, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDavidKatz

National Press Release:

For Immediate Release:                                              Contact: Dorry Samuels (202) 588-7742  

April 9, 2012                                                                              Angela Bradbery (202) 588-7741           

Public Citizen to Hospitals: Stop Handing Out

Industry-Provided Samples of Infant Formula

Hospitals Should Focus on Public Health, Not Marketing for Drug Companies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hospitals should stop including industry-provided samples of infant formula in new mothers’ discharge bags because the distribution is unethical and violates good public health policy, Public Citizen said in letters, co-signed by more than 100 other organizations, sent to more than 2,600 hospitals across the country. The letters are part of a new, nationwide Public Citizen campaign that is aimed at both hospitals and major formula makers.

Public Citizen also is launching an online petition calling on the three major formula makers – Abbott (maker of Similac), Mead Johnson (maker of Enfamil) and Nestle (maker of Gerber) – to stop marketing their products in healthcare facilities.

Hospital promotion of infant formula in discharge bags contravenes the consensus by all major healthcare provider organizations that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months after a child is born is best for the health of both babies and mothers. Research convincingly shows that mothers who received infant formula samples are less likely to breastfeed exclusively and are more likely to breastfeed for shorter durations. Hospitals that distribute formula samples are in violation of a 1981 World Health Organization (WHO) code that prohibits healthcare facilities from marketing infant formula.

Yet, at least two-thirds of hospitals in the U.S. distribute samples of infant formula, even if mothers have indicated that they plan to breastfeed. Succumbing to infant formula companies’ marketing techniques is costly, both in terms of money spent on formula and the health of mothers and children. Formula feeding costs between $800 and $2,800 per year. Additionally, the formula samples usually are brand-name products, which cost up to 66 percent more than store brands. Families typically continue to use the same expensive brand they receive in samples.

“Hospitals and doctors’ offices shouldn’t be used as marketing vehicles for any product, period,” Public Citizen President Robert Weissman said. “They certainly shouldn’t be pushing products that harm the health and well-being of babies and new moms.”

Added Elizabeth Ben-Ishai, campaign coordinator for Public Citizen’s Commercial Alert project, “When hospitals distribute formula samples, they are engaging in marketing for major pharmaceutical and food companies. Many hospitals are actively trying to promote breastfeeding in their obstetrics units. But by continuing to allow marketing of infant formula in their facilities, they are undermining their own efforts.”

Children that are not breastfed have more medical problems, including severe lower respiratory tract infections, obesity, diabetes, childhood leukemia and more. Women who do not breastfeed have higher rates of diabetes, breast and ovarian cancer, post-partum depression and bladder infections.

“Health care providers weaken their own credibility by allowing themselves to be used as marketing conduits and readily distributing infant formula samples,” said Jeanne Blankenship, chair of the United States Breastfeeding Committee. “This simple action gives the appearance that they sanction and encourage formula use for all mothers.”

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, acknowledging that breastfeeding is one of the most highly effective preventive health measures for mothers and babies, in 2011 issued a Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Among other actions, Benjamin highlighted the need to “ensure that the marketing of infant formula is conducted in a way that minimizes its negative impacts on exclusive breastfeeding.” She called for holding marketers of infant formula accountable to the WHO code and ensuring that health care clinicians do not market formula by providing venues for its advertisement or distributing samples.

Many hospitals across the country have stopped distributing formula samples. A 2009 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 34.2 percent of hospitals nationwide have stopped the practice, and in November 2011, Rhode Island became the first state in which all hospitals with maternity wards stopped distributing formula samples to new mothers. A recent study noted that in states with higher numbers of hospitals eliminating the distribution of formula samples, there are higher rates of breastfeeding.

To read Public Citizen’s letter, view a complete list of hospitals that have received the letter and learn more about the organization’s campaign to stop infant formula marketing in healthcare facilities, visit http://citizen.org/infant-formula. The petition is available at http://action.citizen.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10062.

###
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.citizen.org.

Sample language for emails to your supporters:

Hospitals should be in the business of promoting health, not enriching infant formula makers.

But infant formula manufacturers are using the vast majority of U.S. hospitals to market their products.

Tell the infant formula industry to stop pushing its products on new mothers.

Along with over 100 other groups, [Our group] has signed on to a letter to 2600 hospitals across the country asking that they stop giving new mothers industry-provided samples of formula.*

Now we’re taking the fight directly to the Big Pharma and Big Food formula makers and calling on them to stop using healthcare facilities as marketing vehicles.

Corporate profits shouldn’t trump the health of families.

Join the growing opposition to infant formula marketing in hospitals. Tell formula companies to stop this harmful practice.

Infant formula companies are undermining public health by advertising in healthcare facilities. It’s time for it to stop.

Sample tweets/Facebook posts:

FB:

Should commercial products be marketed in healthcare facilities? Join us in saying no to infant formula marketing in hospitals. Sign the petition  http://pubc.it/dtpInFo 

Infant formula companies are co-opting healthcare facilities to market their products. Tell them to stop putting profits before health. Sign the petition http://pubc.it/dtpInFo 

Keep Big Food and Big Pharma marketing out of healthcare facilities. Tell Abbott, Mead Johnson, and Nestle: no more infant formula marketing in healthcare facilities. Sign the petition http://pubc.it/dtpInFo 

Baby Knows Best: Baby-Led Weaning Promotes Healthy Food Preferences

Breastfeeding Potpourri

Registsration

Registration to the May 8, 2012 Breastfeeding Potpourri at the St. Jude Centers for Rehabilitation and Wellness Auditorium Speakers include: Carol Suchy, Nancy Williams and Chris Betzold. Continuing Education Credit, E-Materials, and Breaskfast Bar Included. Lunch on Your Own.

Children breast-fed longer than six months scored a 3.8-point IQ margin over those who were bottle-fed, according to a seven-year study by researchers at Jagiellonian University Medical College in Poland.

Medical epidemiologist Wieslaw Jedrychowski and colleagues followed 468 babies born to nonsmoking mothers. The children were tested five times at regular intervals from infancy through preschool age. The data showed that cognitive abilities of preschoolers who were breast-fed scored significantly higher than bottle-fed infants, and IQ score was directly proportional to how long the infants had been breast-fed: IQs were 2.1 points higher in children who were breast-fed for three months; 2.6 points higher when babies were breast-fed for four to six months; 3.8 points higher in children breast-fed longer than six months. The results were published in the May 2011 issue of the European Journal of Pediatrics.

This research confirms observations reported 70 years ago by Carolyn Hoefer and Mattie Hardy in JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association, as well as many subsequent studies. This body of research provides the scientific basis for the World Health Organization's recommendation that all infants should be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months of life. But what is the missing ingredient that undermines the cognitive development of bottle-fed babies?

Chemists searching for a specific compound in mother's milk have been overlooking the obvious difference between breast-feeding and bottle-feeding—something that could easily account for the difference in cognitive development, wrote Tonse Raju, a pediatrician and neonatalogist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the current issue of Breastfeeding Medicine, October 2011. (Raju was not involved in the Jedrychowski study.)

"Sometimes even the most obvious facts need to be reiterated," he wrote. "An infant suckling at his or her mother's breast is not simply receiving a meal, but is intensely engaged in a dynamic, bidirectional, biological dialogue." It is the physical and psychological bonding and interaction between infant and mother during breast-feeding that nurtures development of an infant's cognitive abilities.

Jedrychowski strongly agrees with Raju's statement, and adds: "I believe the IQ effect may in part be explained by this dynamic interaction between mother and child in the breast-feeding process."

Brain bulk and white matter in early life
During the first year of life, a baby's brain weight nearly doubles. Much of that increase comes from growth of white matter, the electrical insulation on nerve fibers that speeds transmission of electrical impulses at least 50 times faster than uninsulated fibers. New research provides insight into why formation of this insulation (myelination) takes place after birth—during childhood and adolescence. Early childhood experiences influence myelination and helps the developing brain adapt to its environment, rather than form along strict genetically determined lines.

Martin Teicher, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Laboratory of Developmental Psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital, says that his current research suggests that parental verbal affection is the most important factor affecting IQ early in life. And his previous research has showed that exposure to parental and peer verbal aggression is associated with alterations in white matter tracts. So it is not just brain bulk that increases in the first year of a baby's life; major developmental changes in visual, motor and voice-processing regions of the brain take place. These are the foundations for language acquisition, and all of them are influenced to a considerable extent by what a baby experiences.

Donna Ferriero, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco's Benioff Children's Hospital, agrees that experiences early in life can have a profound influence on children's cognitive development. "Certainly there is substantial preclinical and clinical literature arguing that early life stress negatively impacts brain development and future social and cognitive interactions," she says. "Conversely, there are data showing that environmental enrichment can reverse adverse effects of early brain injury."

Simply put, a bottle is a poor substitute for a breast when it comes to enriching a baby's brain. At such a critical time in an infant's development, the experience of suckling and engaging in a positive sensory exchange with the mother facilitates optimal nurturing of the growing brain.

Breast-feeding biochemistry
It is difficult to separate the nutritional and behavioral benefits of breast-feeding from epidemiologic data alone, Jedrychowski notes. There is a need for further experimental studies on mother–newborn interaction during breast-feeding.

Some of the links between that biochemistry and behavior are already worked out. "How a baby is fed versus what it is fed is an important factor that has been overlooked in many studies," Raju says. "Suckling at the breast results in changes in the mother's brain—increased blood flow and oxytocin release [a hormone promoting bonding between mother and infant], and probably in the baby's brain."

A study led by Terry Pivik at the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center examining brain waves in infants and published last year in the journal Early Human Development supports Raju's conclusion. Electroencephalogram, or EEG, (brain-wave) activity was measured in infants who were either bottle-fed milk-based or soy-based formula or breast-fed to track neurodevelopment at three, six, nine and 12 months of age. The EEG changes reflect significant milestones in brain development, including increased myelination and synapse formation as well as development of connections between the left and right cerebral cortices. The research was motivated by contents in the formula and mother's milk, not the feeding method. The nutritionists were concerned that estrogenlike compounds in soy-based formula might have adverse effects on infant neuro-development, or that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are present in breast milk and absent from milk-based baby formula until recently, could explain why breast-feeding boosts a baby's cognitive development. The results were unexpected: Bottle-feeding, regardless of the formula used, accounted for the differences. Brain-wave development was similar in bottle-fed babies, regardless of whether milk-based or soy-based formula was used, but different in breast-fed infants "Mothers who must bottle-feed for work should use breast milk collected using a breast pump, but they should breast-feed at home at night," Raju advises.

Mothers who cannot breast-feed should not be alarmed; in fact if Raju's analysis is correct, they should be relieved. The missing ingredient may not be in the infant formula itself, but rather in the experience of an infant in a mother's arms feeding at her breast. This natural mode of feeding promotes the closest and most beneficial physical and emotional dialogue between mother and child, but recognizing the importance of this interaction, mothers and fathers of formula-fed infants can take care not to "overlook the obvious," and work to provide the ingredient that is missing in a baby bottle.

Breast-feeding advocates believe that the more famous moms who nurse, the more accepted the practice will become.

By Bonnie Rochman | @brochman | March 14, 2012 | 3

inShare7

Thomas Jackson / Taxi / Getty Images

In case you missed it, in the March 19 issue of TIME, I wrote about why you should care when celebrity moms breast-feed their babies. Why, you ask? Because if you’re a celebrity, people pay attention to what you do. They copy your hairstyle (if you’re Jennifer Aniston), your zany style (if you’re Lady Gaga) and your propensity for breast-feeding in public (if you’re Gwen Stefani or Salma Hayek or, most recently, Beyoncé). Or at least that’s the hope.

So it was that breast-feeding advocates rejoiced when Beyoncé appeared to nurse her 7-week-old daughter, Blue Ivy, at a Manhattan restaurant last month. It was a shot in the arm for public breast-feeding, which has been waging a public-relations war in recent months as mothers have held nurse-ins across the country to normalize the concept of feeding hungry babies in public rather than retreating to bathrooms or other private, out-of-the-way spaces.

MORE: How Beyoncé’s Public Breast-Feeding Changes the Nursing-in-Public Debate

In my recent TIME article (available here to subscribers), I describe an upcoming tea at actress Jenna Elfman’s Los Angeles home, co-sponsored with actress Kelly Preston and former pro boxer Laila Ali, to promote breast-feeding and non-toxic living for babies and children. Elfman detailed her own unique experience with breast-feeding for Best for Babes, a breast-feeding advocacy organization that will be on hand at the April 14 tea.

Best for Babes first found Elfman through Twitter where she was tweeting about nursing her second child. Elfman agreed to do an interview with the group, one in a series the organization has done with celebrity mothers. In the words of Bettina Forbes, a Best for Babes co-founder:

Like so many mothers in America, Jenna had expected to have no problems breast-feeding and got a rude awakening at the lack of support she received in the hospital. Because of the barriers she experienced, she was never able to get her first child, Story, to latch … so she ended up pumping exclusively for 10 months, a herculean task.

Because she was pumping, she was producing a lot of milk (exclusively pumping moms, or EP’ers, as we call them in the breastfeeding community, sometimes fear running out of breast milk more than any other staple), and she ended up donating her extra milk to a baby that was critically ill. She saw first-hand the healing effect of human milk on this drug-addicted baby who promptly recovered.

Elfman described pumping “in the backs of cars, on the way to the set, on the freeway, shopping and then going back to the car.” Oh, and in FAO Schwarz. She stored up so much milk that she was able to feed a baby who had been exposed to methamphetamines in the womb. The baby was being cared for by Elfman’s friends, so she learned first-hand that the infant thrived on her breast milk, gaining weight and overcoming his withdrawal symptoms. “…My friends ended up officially adopting him, and I saw him at a birthday party the other day,” said Elfman. “He is now 3 and doing great.”

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/14/celebrities-breast-feeding-why-it-matters/#ixzz1pP5XtfwZ

2012 Conference Registration Now Open!

Since 2007, GOLD has been offering an annual online lactation conference for health care professionals desiring further education in breastfeeding, lactation, and related issues. Bringing an incredibly high-calibre of speakers from around the world, GOLD is unique in the fact that it is affordable and accessible to everyone with access to a computer. Our numbers of delegates have grown tremendously over the years, due to the ease of use, wide variety of topics, low cost, and no need to travel. We hope you will join us in May 2012 for another fabulous conference!

Keynote Speaker

Please join us in welcoming our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Christina Smillie! The GOLD Team is thrilled to present a Keynote Address on April 24, 2012, by Christina Smillie MD FAAP IBCLC FABM. Dr. Smillie presents a topic titled Keep it Simple: What mothers and babies already know, how they think, and why this matters! An American physician board certified both as a pediatrician since 1983 and as a lactation consultant since 1995, in 1996 Dr. Smillie founded Breastfeeding Resources in Stratford, Connecticut, the first private medical practice in the USA limited to the specialty of breastfeeding medicine. Signup for the Keynote presentation will be available shortly.

Breastfeeding advocates are rejoicing and praising Beyonce after the pop star was spotted breastfeeding her 7-week-old daughter, Blue Ivy, while dining at NYC’s Sant Ambroeus restaurant Saturday with her husband, Jay-Z.

A megastar helps to take away the stigma of nursing in public, experts said. And role models are needed to help young women see the value and the beauty of breastfeeding, said Dr. Ruth Lawrence, professor of pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

“Beyonce appears as a beautiful, loving new mother,” said Lawrence. “She has dressed to carry and feed her baby when needed. She makes a model image.”

Beyonce’s public breastfeeding comes on the heels of a grassroots-organized “nurse-in” at Facebook offices around the world. The social network had flagged or disabled the accounts of some moms who had uploaded breastfeeding pictures, which sparked the February nurse-in where mothers went to Facebook offices around the world to protest.

“I think Beyonce has a huge impact on being able to re-normalize breastfeeding and give women confidence to do the same,” said Emma Kwasnica, a childbirth and breastfeeding educator who helped spearhead the Facebook nurse-in. “Images of pop stars and celebrities giving their babies nourishment will never harm our cause.”

While breastfeeding is natural, the act has been marginalized and stigmatized in American culture, said Dr. Alison Stuebe, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of North Carolina Health Care.

“[And] at the expense of the health and well-being of mothers and babies,” said Stuebe. “By bringing breastfeeding into the mainstream, Beyonce can help break down barriers so that mothers and babies can breastfeed in peace.”

Stuebe said the stigma likely goes back to America’s Puritan roots, along with marketing ploys created to sexualize women’s breasts as toys for men rather than a way to feed their children. She noted that, in 2006, a breastfeeding mother was kicked out of a Victoria’s Secret store because the staff found the act indecent, “in the middle of a commercial display with larger-than-life miracle bra models.”

“I am sure there was much more mammary tissue visible at the other tables in the restaurant [where Beyonce was], as women tend to display plenty of cleavage in public these days,” said Lawrence. “Breastfeeding is not pornography as little or no breast is visible when a woman breastfeeds in public.”

Just released: this excellent toolkit for hospitals, HMOs, and health care providers working to improve hospital breastfeeding policies, improve maternal quality care, and increase breastfeeding rates. This toolkit was a result of successful advocacy efforts to pass SB 22 (Migden) that recommends hospitals in the lowest quartile for breastfeeding rates utilize a training toolkit provided by CDPH.

AAP REAFFIRMS BREASTFEEDING GUIDELINES

Breastfeeding is a natural and beneficial source of nutrition and provides the healthiest start for an infant. In addition to the nutritional benefits, breastfeeding promotes a unique and emotional connection between mother and baby. In the policy statement, “Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk,” published in the March 2012 issue of Pediatrics (published online Feb. 27), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reaffirms its recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for about the first six months of a baby’s life, followed by breastfeeding in combination with the introduction of complementary foods until at least 12 months of age, and continuation of breastfeeding for as long as mutually desired by mother and baby. This recommendation is supported by the health outcomes of exclusively breastfed infants and infants who never or only partially breastfed. Breastfeeding provides a protective effect against respiratory illnesses, ear infections, gastrointestinal diseases, and allergies including asthma, eczema and atopic dermatitis. The rate of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is reduced by over a third in breastfed babies, and there is a 15 percent to 30 percent reduction in adolescent and adult obesity in breastfed vs. non-breastfed infants. Approximately 75 percent of newborn infants initiate breastfeeding. Hospital routines more and more attempt to accommodate the breastfeeding mother. Pediatricians promote the advantages of breastfeeding to mothers and infants, as well as the health risks of not breastfeeding. As such, choosing to breastfeed should be considered an investment in the short- and long-term health of the infant, rather than a lifestyle choice.

[Embargoed until Monday, February 27, 2012, at 12:01 a.m. ET. For an embargoed copy of the policy statement, contact the AAP Department of Communications. For an interview with one of the authors, contact Richard J. Schanler, MD, FAAP, FABM, at schanler@nshs.edu or 718-470-3440 or Arthur I. Eidelman, MD, FAAP, FABM, at Arthur.eidelman@gmail.com or +972-544-819-853 (in Israel).]

Editor’s Note: Updated parent information on breastfeeding will be available Feb. 27 on the AAP parenting website at www.healthychildren.org/breastfeeding. Beginning March 8, www.HealthyChildren.org will be giving away free copies of the AAP book “New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding,” to people who register on the website while supplies last.

Staples co-founder Tom Stemberg is speaking out against a serious threat to economic recovery and job creation: breastfeeding moms.

Stemberg, a longtime supporter of Republican policies and candidates like Mitt Romney, complained recently that President Obama’s health care reform law hurts businesses by requiring them to provide what he dubbed “lactation chambers” for new moms who need to breastfeed at work:

Tom Stemberg, co-founder of mega-office supply chain Staples is questioning an Obamacare provision that discourages job creation by dictating employers funnel their capital into lactation chambers.

“Do you want [farming retailer] Tractor Supply to open stores or would you rather they take their capital and do what Obamacare and its 2,700 pages dictates – which is to open a lactation chamber at every single store that they have?” he asked.

“I’m big on breastfeeding; my wife breastfed,” Stenberg added. “I’m all for that. I don’t think every retail store in America should have to go to lactation chambers, which is what Obamacare foresees.

The WABA Research Task Force (RTF) is pleased to announce the December issue of the RTF e-newsletter is now available on the WABA website. Please click on this link http://www.waba.org.my/whatwedo/research/pdf/rtfnl-dec11.pdf to download the RTF e-newsletter. We welcome any feedback or suggestion for new topics from you and hope that you will enjoy reading this newsletter. Amal Omer-Salim and Khaliq Iqbal are the Co-Cooordinators of the RTF.

If you (or others) wish to subscribe to the newsletter, please complete the form at http://www.waba.org.my/whatwedo/research/rtfnl-form.htm   and we will put you on our distribution list.

Regards,
Pei Ching
Health and Information Officer
WABA

There was a real buzz at the second annual Breastfeeding Summit with ideas and commitment to bring WIC and breastfeeding advocates together with hospitals and medical providers to improve breastfeeding support in our communities. You’ll find summit information and presentations at the California Breastfeeding Coalition.

Reuters) - Febby Kemala Dewi returned to work at a Jakarta accounting firm after three months of maternity leave but struggled, like many new mums, to balance her home and work lives -- especially keeping her infant daughter fed.

Unwilling to stop breastfeeding, unable to pump enough for a whole day in the morning before work and leery of giving her baby anything but the freshest milk, she finally turned to a unique Jakarta service -- a breast milk motorbike courier.

"I have to work, but at the same time I can still feed my baby," said Dewi, the wall by her desk plastered with pictures of her smiling daughter, eight-month-old Ashalina Putri.

Now, the 29-year-old IT consultant pumps breast milk at her office in central Jakarta and a courier comes to pick up the bottles around lunchtime.

Placing them in a padded cooler box whose strap he then slings over his shoulder, the courier rides 45 minutes to an hour on a motorbike through choked Jakarta streets to deliver the milk to Dewi's mother, who cares for the baby.

Dear Breastfeeding Advocates,

Please join us on a conference call on Wednesday, January 18,to prepare for the release of the California Hospital Breastfeeding Report on January 26, at the 2^nd Annual California Hospital Breastfeeding Summit in Sacramento, Catch the Wave! Cutting Edge Practices to Improve Mother-Baby Outcomes.

The report will include a state report on the status of hospital breastfeeding practices and breastfeeding outcomes, and the county fact sheets. New this year is the inclusion in the report of new information on maternity care practices, and a Statewide Fact Sheet on breastfeeding rates and hospital and maternity care practices.

The report will be posted on the California WIC Association website, on a password-protected webpage. Reporters, and advocates working with reporters, will be provided a passcode to access the report and fact sheets in order to write their story. Dr. Heinig will release the report in the opening plenary of the California Hospital Breastfeeding Summit.

In the phone call we will discuss the report, and review talking points for working with the media and interested parties.

Phone Call Info: 866-795-8396

Passcode: 5584473#

Time: 10am-11am

Questions? Contact Karen Farley at kfarley@calwic.org

Karen Farley RD, IBCLC | California WIC Association | 1490 Drew Avenue, Suite 175 | Davis, CA 95618 | Phone:530-750-2280 | Cell: 530-400-5842 | Fax: 530-758-7780 | www.calwic.org

La Leche League, Pacific Horizons Area

and

Children's Hospital of Orange County

sponsor

"Challenges to exclusive breastfeeding:

How to assess and manage for a positive outcome"

Monday, February 27, 2012

9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Children's Hospital of Orange County

Harold Wade Educational Center

West Clinic Building, 2nd floor

455 S. Main Street

Orange, CA 92868

AGENDA:

Breastfeeding friendly jaundice management

Basia Tcheng, MD

Overcoming breastfeeding challenges of infants of diabetic mothers

Susan Wu, MD

Initiating supplementation in the hospital: Who is at risk?

Karen Peters, MBA, RD, IBCLC

Assessing feeding adequacy in newborns: What can be done?

Susan Aldana, IBCLC

Registered Nurses: Children's Hospital of Orange County is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing.

Provider approved by the CA Board of Registered Nurses, Provider # CPE 11530 for 6 contact hours.

IBCLCs: La Leche League,Pacific Horizons Area will submit a CERP application for 5 L CERPs.

Registered Dietitians: Maintain a copy of the agenda and certificate for CPEs for their Professional Development Portfolio.

Researchers at the Child Study Center at Yale University performed functional MRIs (fMRIs) on nine breast-feeding moms and eight formula feeders about a month after their babies were born. Participants listened to clips of their own baby and an unknown child crying, as researchers analyzed which areas of their brains lit up. Breast-feeding mothers registered greater activity in the relevant brain regions than formula-feeding moms, although all mothers' brains reacted more in response to their own infant's cries than to an unknown's.

Although the sample was tiny, researchers say the study was the first to make a connection between brain activity and maternal behavior. Hormones may also play a role. Oxytocin, which is involved in breast-milk letdown, helps foster emotional bonding between infants and mothers; its levels are higher in breast-feeding moms.

Psychological factors can't be discounted either. "Moms who decide to breast-feed might be reflecting a general tendency of mothers to be more empathetic to their infants, or perhaps they were more able to bond easily with their fetus when they were making the decision about wanting to breast-feed," says lead researcher Pilyoung Kim, a developmental psychologist at the National Institutes of Mental Health who worked at Yale when the research was conducted.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2101158_2101155,00.html#ixzz1fziZCauQ

We are pleased to announce that we have awarded the scholarship for the UCSD Extension Certified Lactation Educator/Counselor course to Ms. Janette Wolski, RN, BSN, BHN.  This scholarship is co-sponsored by UCSD Extension and the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition. 

Congratulations, Janette!

More adoptive moms learn to breast-feed their babies

By Kristin Kalning

After years of hoping, planning and waiting, Anne Schaeffer finally held her adopted son in her arms – and breast-fed him.

Courtesy Anne Schaeffer

Anne Schaeffer with her son Robbie, who she adopted, and breast-fed, as an infant.

Once upon a time, adoptive breast-feeding, or induced lactation, was rare. And while it’s still not the norm, a growing number of adoptive mothers are nursing their young babies. They do it for the health benefits of breast milk for babies, but also for the emotional benefits for both mother and child.

“It’s impossible for me to know what our bond would be like if I hadn’t done it, but I could not feel closer to my son,” said Schaeffer, whose son is now 11 months. “He’s got a really wonderful, very secure attachment to me. I don’t know how much (breast-feeding) played into it, but it sure didn’t hurt.”

INTRODUCTION

There is no substance that can come close to human milk. Infant formula, a synthetic human milk substitute, is not a healthy alternative to mother's milk. Formula is missing over 400 ingredients present in human milk, which cannot be duplicated by scientists in a laboratory. Every species produces milk designed specifically for its offspring. In addition to living white blood cells, human milk contains immunoglobulins (antibodies) which protect infants against illness. The protein in human milk is easily digestible, unlike the protein in cow's milk, the base of most infant formulas, which forms tough rubbery curds in a baby's tummy. A mother's milk contains all of the nutrients her baby needs to grow and develop properly, and changes from minute to minute, hour to hour, and month to month to meet a baby's changing needs. Human milk substitutes are static. They do not change in nutritional content to suit a baby's needs at each particular stage in his life, nor do they contain protective antibodies or living white blood cells to help infants fight infectious disease (La Leche League International, 1991).

By Molly M. Ginty

WeNews correspondent

Monday, November 7, 2011

November 7, 2011

Scholarship Opportunity

Lactation Educator Counselor Course

UC San Diego Extension

Department of Healthcare, Behavioral Sciences and Safety

San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition and UC San Diego lactation programs taught by Gini Baker, RN, MPH, IBCLC are pleased to offer a scholarship for the Lactation Educator CounselorCourse.

This scholarship will provide $530 of the registration fee. The student receiving the scholarship will pay $265. The successful candidate may choose either the onsite or the online course.  Applicants must be a member of the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition (www.breastfeeding.org) to apply.

Please go to www.breastfeeding-education.com/classes  for details and registration deadline for the next LEC course.

Please complete application form and submit by December 1, 2011 if registering for next onsite class, which starts January 17, 2012.

Application may be emailed to Kim Elkins at kim.elkins@sdarc.org  or faxed to 858 309-1286 to the attention of Kim Elkins.           

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding

In the United States, most mothers want – and try – to breastfeed. Unfortunately, one mother's interest alone is not always enough to make breastfeeding possible. Rates of breastfeeding in the United States vary widely because of the multiple and complex barriers mothers face when starting and continuing to breastfeed. 

With this Call to Action, the Surgeon General seeks to make it possible for every mother who wishes to breastfeed to be able to do so by shifting how we as a nation think and talk about breastfeeding.

The information below summarizes some of the key findings and action steps from the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.

Governor Brown Acts to Protect Pregnant Women and New Mothers

10-6-2011

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed four bills to protect pregnant women and new mothers. The bills ensure maternity services are covered by health insurers and new mothers can no longer lose their health insurance as a result of taking maternity leave.

“Healthy mothers mean healthy babies. I want the next generation of Californians to get the best possible start in life. The bills I signed today require that insurance companies cover maternity services for pregnant women,” said Governor Brown, “and ensures that mothers who take maternity leave no longer have to fear losing their medical coverage.”

The following bills have been signed by Governor Brown:

SB 222 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and AB 210 by Assemblymember Roger Hernandez (D-Baldwin Park) – Together, these bills require that every individual and group health insurance policy must provide coverage for maternity services.

SB 299 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) – This bill prohibits employers from refusing to maintain and pay for coverage under group health plans for women who take maternity leave.

Governor Brown also signed SB 502 by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), the Hospital Infant Feeding Act. This bill will help hospitals promote breast feeding.

As the nation celebrates Labor Day, the United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA) salutes breastfeeding mothers in the workplace as well as the employers who support them. 

The California Milk Processor Board, the creator and owner of the popular “GOT MILK?” tag line has signed a licensing agreement with La Leche League International.