We Are All Moms

I won't go into all of the information on why the article on Not Breastfeeeding by Rosin in The Atlantic is inaccurate. You can go here to the Motherwear blog for more information on the inaccuracies. However, there ARE babies who cannot be breastfed and their mothers should not feel self-conscious wielding a bottle in public.

While I feel Ms. Rosin's article comes across as very selfish (she did not HAVE to have children and, if she was already overwhelmed, why not stop at 2?), I do know that women tend to be hardest on EACH OTHER whether it is at WORK or at HOME. Does the other sex have feuds about Working Dads versus Stay at Home Dads? They could care less.

So next time we see a Mom BREASTFEEDING in public OR BOTTLE FEEDING in public we should salute her as a fellow MOM - part of the group of non-stop working, caring, worrying, SUPERHEROS that MOM is! None of us are perfect. (If I was perfect, my kids would eat salad instead of chicken nuggets.) But we all love our kids.

Thanks to Izzy for the pic!

High Needs Babies

COLIC? Or is it a high needs baby?

From this post in the Portland Parenting Examiner, it sounds like I have a Medium Needs baby (now toddler). I thought she was high needs as she only wants mommy, wants to breastfeed constantly, and did NOT sleep very well without mommy until she was beyond 1 yr old. You are not crazy OR a bad parent if your child only wants you. You do not NEED to let your child "cry it out". As a mother, I firmly believe I know my children and what they need better than anyone else. When I feel I am being too defensive or "difficult", I remember that my children cannot defend themselves. It is my job to defend them from everything from bad diagnoses from doctors, to well meaning relatives, to less-than-stellar teachers. That is in my job description.

Thanks, Sunshine Simmons at the Portland Parenting Examiner.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2032-Portland-Parenting-Examiner~y2009m3d11-Explaining-the-High-Needs-Baby

Thanks to Melissa and Baby Finn for our illustrative picture.

Voldemort

It's been forever since I posted, I will try to be better about that. Over the past few months, I have been hearing more and more about the fact that the RISKS associated with formula are not called out in studies assessing them. Here is a quote from an abstract of an Austrailian study conducted on this:

Our systematic analysis of information content of titles and abstracts of 78 studies which had reported poorer health among formula infants showed that their titles and abstracts avoid mentioning formula. Initiatives to increase breastfeeding have described the importance of accurate language, and well informed health professional support. This study showed a surprising "Voldemort effect" in the studies examined; formula feeding was rarely named as an exposure increasing health risk in publication titles or abstracts. If widespread, this skew in communication of research findings may reduce health professionals’ knowledge and support for breastfeeding.

To read the whole study:
http://www.acerh.edu.au/publications/ACERH_WP4.pdf

Thanks to the BeautyofBreastfeeding.com for my new favorite picture!

Wait on Elective C-Sections

This information has been circulating on the web, but you can read more in the article below on why you should wait on elective C-sections.

Looking at 24,000 full-term babies, researchers found that those born at 37 weeks to mothers who had elective repeat C-sections were two times as likely as babies born at 39 weeks to have complications, including breathing problems and bloodstream infections, reports The Washington Post.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/health/2009/jan/It-s-Better-to-Wait-on-Elective-C-Sections--Study-Says.html

Breastfeeding Tips from Israel

One of the things I have noticed in my job is that the challenges and misconceptions concerning breastfeeding seem to be the same all over the world from Malaysia to Canada and many countries in between. As a global trend, much of the world skipped a generation of breastfeeding and is, today, in a breastfeeding knowledge deficit. Today, I have a great example from an Israeli blog about the top 10 misconceptions of breastfeeding.
http://greenprophet.com/2009/01/06/5657/breastfeeding-misunderstanding/

Improving Breastfeeding Support in the Workplace

Good article on how support in the workplace for breastfeeding increases when workers know a mom who has breastfed.

Employees who know a co-worker who has breastfed or used a breast pump at work are more likely than others to favor workplace policies supporting breastfeeding, says a study published recently in the International Breastfeeding Journal. Among 407 employees surveyed at a large U.S. company, most favored giving women space and time off to pump milk during the workday.
http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2009/01/07/how-nursing-friendly-is-your-workplace/

Benefits of Leave on Breastfeeding and Reduced C-Sections

Great article on the benefits of ante and post natal maternity leave for breastfeeding and reduced C-sections. To sum up:

"The findings suggest that if a woman postpones her return to work, she'll increase her chances of breastfeeding success, especially if she's got a job where she's on the clock and has less discretion with her time," said Guendelman. "Also, women who are in jobs where they have more authority may feel more empowered with how they use their time."

No-duh line:
The study authors noted that just having maternity leave benefits offered by an employer was not helpful in breastfeeding establishment unless the leave was actually used, indicating the importance of encouraging the use of maternity leave and making it economically feasible to take it.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoc--slm122308.php