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It is Thanksgiving Weekend here in Canada and I have my in-laws visiting so it'll be a short news run down this week. Enjoy your weekend and Happy Thanksgiving Canada!
Health Canada Warns Against Morning-Sickness Remedy
Health Canada is advising Canadians, especially pregnant and breastfeeding women, to avoid taking the traditional remedy calabash chalk because of potential health risks from high levels of lead. Testing has shown that calabash chalk also contains arsenic. Calabash chalk - which is generally sold loose and without a particular brand, batch number or best-before date - is not authorized for sale in Canada.
Coverage of the Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge
CTV covered the Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge in Toronto and spoke to renowned breastfeeding proponent, Dr. Jack Newman. Have a look at the comments section following the article – I was particularly pleased by the number of positive comments from both men and women. It appears that Canada’s breastfeeding acceptance is pretty good.
Breast Milk Associated With Greater Mental Development in Preterm Infants, Fewer Re-hospitalizations
The US department of Health and Human Services (yes, the same one that’s been under scrutiny in recent weeks) has released a report this week stating:
“Extremely low birth weight premature infants who received breast milk shortly after birth, while still in intensive care units, had greater mental development scores at 30 months than did infants who were not fed breast milk, reported researchers in an NIH network. Moreover, infants fed breast milk were less likely to have been re-hospitalized after their initial discharge than were the infants not fed breast milk.”
Lay-Midwife Charged $11,000 For Practicing Without a License
Diane Goslin, an Amish midwife in Pennsylvania, has been fined and ordered to cease practicing midwifery because she is not licensed. Goslin, a former premed student, has been a lay-midwife for 25 years and attended 5,000 births but does not have the state’s required nurse certification. Homebirths attended by lay-midwives are common practice among the Amish and Mennonite communities in the area. Apparently the case against Goslin does not rest on questions of her competence and she has many supporters within the community. Not all states require nursing certification to practice midwifery. (I think there are about 10 states that do). Goslin is registered as a direct entry midwife (that is, a midwife who has undergone formal training, apprenticeship and testing but is not a nurse) through the North American Registry of Midwives but her certification is not recognized by Pennsylvania. There are 29 states that legally recognize certified direct entry midwives. Learn more…
What are your thoughts on this? I’d love to hear your comments.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
New Maternity Care Recommendations in the UK
Government advisory body the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has laid out recommendations for how women should give birth in an attempt to standardize the currently varied practices across the country.
It says that women should be given information and support to make an informed decision about where they would like to give birth.
Among the options of the surroundings for labour are a home birth, hospital birth and water birth – with the latter not currently available to all women in labour.
Other Nice recommendations include supportive one-to-one care for women in labour; clinical intervention only being offered if the labour is not progressing well; and informing women about the risks and benefits of choosing epidural analgesia.
NICE indeed! I’m especially pleased about the bits I’ve highlighted. Though, I suppose one issue (of the many that have come up over this, most of which I’m not familiar with because I’m not overly familiar with the medical system in the UK) is that there is a lot of debate about when labour is not progressing well—by who’s timetable??
As is to be expected, reaction in the UK to this announcement has been all over the map. Childbirth groups have welcomed the guidelines and encouraged health organizations to implement them as soon as possible. On the flip side, Prof James Drife, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at Leeds University, says that because midwife-led maternity units are not staffed by consultants trained to deal with life-threatening emergencies during birth thousands of women may need to be rushed to hospital if complications arise, possibly putting the lives of mother and child at risk.
Related articles:
Water birth 'provides the safest form of pain relief'
The Facts about Birth in the UK
More commentary on the case of the homebirth death in Oregon reported last week
Elise Hansen, regional representative of the Oregon Midwifery Council, wrote a letter co-signed by 15 midwives lamenting that home birth makes the news only when there are deadly complications.
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Bill Maher
I don’t watch Bill Maher. I don’t have a tv. But I have noticed the web ripples he’s caused with his latest “New Rules” on breastfeeding in public. Louise Marie Roth, who writes regularly at HuffingtonPost.com wrote this excellent piece in response. I took a class in persuasive writing in University and it makes me incredibly happy to read a well-researched, cool-headed response to small-mindedness and ignorance. It’s easy to get angry and write something scathing or equally small minded; It’s a lot more difficult to have the control to present a well thought-out argument that puts someone in their place without letting your emotions get in the way. Kudos to Ms. Roth.
The Politics of Breastfeeding
This commentary from the Toronto Star examines the recent rise in activism for breastfeeding rights. Here’s a choice quote:
So don't people have a right to not be comfortable with public breastfeeding? Sure, but even the YMCA this week said it's time to start dealing with their discomfort as the problem, and not the breastfeeding mom. Those who are uneasy can leave, or look away, or just get used to it. Or as Gilmore says, think of it this way: "What about the rights of the baby – to eat?"
Vitamin D
The Canadian Pediatric Society urged pregnant and breastfeeding women to increase their daily vitamin D intake to up to 2,000 IU. This goes against Health Canada’s recommendation to take 200 IU a day. Health Canada says that 2,000 IU is the maximum allowable safe intake. However, this is the second time in recent months that a health advocacy group has recommended an increase in Vitamin D without the backing of Health Canada. In June, the Canadian Cancer Society said that adults should increase their daily intake to 1,000 IU. This week, Health Canada continued to assert that no changes to Vitamin D intake should be made until further studies showed evidence of a need to revise recommendations.
Vitamin D is included in most multivitamins, some foods, such as milk, are fortified with it, and it is also found in oily, cold water fish, such as salmon. Vitamin D has been shown to offer protection from multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer, asthma, osteoporosis, dental cavities and inflammatory bowel disease.
Increase spending to support midwifery?
The Green Party’s platform (in Ontario’s provincial election) includes a promise to increase funding of midwifery training by $10 million over four years, increasing the amount of midwives in the province. Cool.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
World mortality rate for children under five hits a historic low
UNICEF has reported that deaths of children under five has fallen below 10 million per year for the first time in modern history. UNICEF says:
much of the progress reflected in the new child mortality figures is the result of widespread adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding, measles immunization, vitamin A supplementation to boost children’s immune systems, and the use of insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria.
Proper treatment of pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases and severe malnutrition, and treatment of paediatric HIV/AIDS, are also important for child survival – as are hygiene promotion and access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Despite the progress, UNICEF’s executive director Ann M. Veneman stressed that there is still a long way to go. “The loss of 9.7 million young lives each year is unacceptable,” she said. “Most of these deaths are preventable and, as recent progress shows, the solutions are tried and tested.”
Legalized Midwifery in Saskatchewan Could be Delayed Again
The Regina Leader-Post reported this week that an unfortunate oversight could delay legislation legalizing midwifery in Saskatchewan even longer. Unlike other provinces, Saskatchewan’s Midwifery Act does not allow midwives to provide professional services to the newborn at birth and for the six weeks afterwards -- just while the woman is pregnant and during labour. The process has already taken eight years but the council trying to establish a Saskatchewan College of Midwives doesn’t want legislation to move ahead without amending the Act.
Response on homebirth issue
The Register-Guard paper of Eugene, OR ran this opinion piece on homebirth that is a fitting response to some of the negative opinions that have run in Canada.com papers across the country following the news of a coroner in Quebec calling for changes to Quebec midwifery in his report into the death of an infant at a homebirth in late 2006. The piece is obviously intended for an American audience, but nevertheless it is well-written and presented.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
A mother of three says she filed a complaint with the human rights commission on Monday after a lifeguard at the Scarborough (Ontario) YMCA asked her to move from the pool deck where she was breastfeeding her baby.
Carolynn Prior, a midwife, said the incident occurred on Sept. 1 when she was nursing her 5-month-old son while watching her older children, ages 7 and 9, take swimming lessons. According to Prior, a lifeguard approached her, suggested she would be more comfortable in the childcare facility and said "this is a family place and it might offend someone."
Steven Heipel, vice-president of communications of the YMCA of Greater Toronto, acknowledged that the incident occurred and called it "an error in judgment" by the lifeguard and the supervisor she consulted.
I see a lot of stories about this kind of thing while trolling the news and I always feel incredibly relieved that I live in Canada. Nine times out of ten, these stories are about the States. In fact, it seems that this comes up almost every day, to the point it’s not really news. I would assume it happens everywhere everyday. We only tend to hear about it when someone decides to publicly stand up for themselves and their babies. (As an aside, I wonder if it happens more often in Canada too but perhaps we aren’t as vocal about it?)
My son just turned two (today, in fact) and we are still nursing. In my experience, I really could breastfeed anytime, anywhere. I never had any problems. Now that my son is older, can talk and understand more and is eating and drinking other foods, I often do ask him to wait until we are at home or at least in a place that’s more convenient, simply because it’s easier. It is getting a bit more interesting now that he’s older and people have opinions about how old is too old to nurse, but I can honestly say that I’ve never been made to feel bad because I was nursing, in public or otherwise. And for this, I am so grateful for not being American.
It’s easy for Canadians to list all of the ways that we are not like our southern neighbours and the rest of the world giggles at us, because in many ways our cultures are homogenous. But thankfully, we are different in some very important ways. In my work on breastfeeding and birth culture, I’m consistently relieved to be Canadian and saddened at the state of affairs in the United States.
I would like to believe that this incident in Ontario is an isolated event but perhaps, the problem is more widespread than I think?
Please share your breastfeeding experiences with us. I’d love to have your comments. In your experience breastfeeding, how supportive was the atmosphere in Canada? Or in America?
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
Toronto Plan Embraces Nursing Moms
The Public Health Department in Toronto has come up with a new plan that, if passed, would request restaurants and city-owned venues to voluntarily display a breastfeeding friendly decal. The decals, adapted from Health Canada's "Breastfeeding Friendly; Anytime, Anywhere" symbol, would let nursing moms know that they're welcome. The plan would go into effect in the spring of 2008 if it is passed this week.
Facebook in hot water over breastfeeding stance
Facebook is embroiled in controversy over the removal of photos showing mothers breastfeeding. The social networking site permanently closed Karen Speed’s account saying that she violated Facebook’s terms prohibiting posting photos that contain “nudity, drug use, or other obscene content.” Response to the move has been overwhelming, with a support group Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! (Official petition to Facebook) has grown to over 18,000 members in just 3 weeks.
Check out the group’s wall posts to see comments from supporters. The Toronto Star also has online comments showing both sides of the debate:
http://www.thestar.com/Speakout/Voices/article/255772
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/255973
It seems to me that sometimes public perception of lactivists is that they are trying to push their choices (and their breasts) in everyone’s faces. Conservatives may see it as infringing on their rights not to see breasts in public and don’t understand the point of public photos of breastfeeding. This seems fair enough. Though, the comments I read about this still smack of sexualization of the issue, as if they believe that the women posting the photos get some perverted enjoyment out of it.
The real issue is not whether or not we have the right to post public photos of breastfeeding. The issue is breastfeeding is the natural way to feed a baby. Breastfeeding is the actual purpose of breasts. Breastfeeding is the healthiest choice for babies. Breastfeeding rates are too low because women are not being supported in their choice to breastfeed. Or to get really outrageous, let’s not even call it a choice—women are not being supported in their duty to breastfeed. Breastfeeding rates are too low because our society is still laden with holdovers from our Puritanical, Victorian history as embodied by people who think that breastfeeding is obscene.
A woman posting on the wall of the Facebook group above made a very valid point along these lines: It’s pretty sad that we need decals to show which areas are breastfeeding friendly. The whole world should be breastfeeding friendly.
For more...
Breastfeeding does not protect against asthma, allergies
A new study published in the online British Medical Journal seems to corroborate the HHS story about science not supporting their proposed ads. The study of over 13,000 children in Belarus showed that contrary to earlier findings, extended breastfeeding does not seem to be associated with lower rates of asthma and allergies, and in fact, was associated with higher rates of certain types of allergies.
As I trolled the news, I found it rather interesting to see the ways the study was reported in various news outlets. Time’s headline was: What Breast-Feeding Can't Do. It’s funny how some headlines focused on the negative aspect as if they were just waiting for evidence that breastfeeding isn’t as good as everyone thinks. Compare this with the more neutral stance of the AFP (Breastfeeding has no impact on asthma risk, says study) and Medical News Today (Breastfeeding Makes No Difference To Risk Of Asthma Or Allergy). Clearly it's all semantics, but it seems like these two headlines are focusing on the fact that the risk of allergies and asthma are more or less the same, whether you breastfeed or not, rather than focusing on breastfeeding as being flawed.
The study’s authors say that it is the first randomized trial of human lactation. It compared a breastfeeding group with a control group that did not receive extra urging to breastfeed. By one year, 20% were still breastfeeding versus 11% in the control group. It does make me curious how this can be considered a study of extended breastfeeding if only 11%-20% actually succeeded in breastfeeding to one year. I wonder if the data would be different if the extended breastfeeding rates were more like 50%-75% instead.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
In the wake of last week’s uproar over formula companies lobbying the government to change health policies, I came across an interesting article discussing the flipside of the breastfeeding issue. The author, Anne Hart, argues that women are intelligent beings who aren’t to be fooled by formula advertising and rather, the low breastfeeding rates have more to do with the United States’ lack of paid maternity leave.
Personally, I think she underestimates both the power of marketing dollars and the political power of lobbyists. See Peggy O’Mara (Mothering Magazine)’s most recent column A Quiet Place: Is Breastfeeding in Trouble? Though to be fair, Hart is concentrating specifically on the practice of giving formula samples out at US hospitals (a practice that has been banned by the WHO and UNICEF).
Despite this, Hart is totally on the mark about maternity leave. In the United States, women are only entitled to 12 weeks off work, and that’s unpaid leave. The National Geographic (August 2007) published a survey of 168 countries to see what maternity benefits were like around the world. The results showed shockingly that things need to change in the States. The United States are among only 5 nations that do not offer any paid leave at all (brown on the map below).
Considering that it can take more than 6 weeks just to get breastfeeding successfully established at all, how is a new mother supposed to also navigate the return to work AND continue breastfeeding, especially without adequate support? Is this why women are turning to wet-nurses?
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
The Daily Mail in the UK ran a story today on the growing trend of wet nursing both in the UK and in California. Occasionally called cross-nursing or shared feeding, reasons for the resurgence of the practice range from medical (a women hurt in a car accident) to convenience (mother’s returning to work too soon but wanting their children to enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding) to vanity (women with breast implants who have difficulties breastfeeding).
The article explains the serious health risk this practice poses, as breast-milk can pass on everything from HIV and syphilis to TB and hepatitis. Furthermore, breastfeeding groups like La Leche League explain that breastmilk changes as the child grows and contains different enzymes and antibodies. Spokeswoman Anna Burbidge says “Your milk will not have the makeup which will necessarily suit another child and it also worries me that it might affect the baby psychologically to be fed so intimately by another woman, or even more than one.”
The article also discusses the idea that many people are outraged by the practice because it is the last mothering taboo, because we think it is too sensual, too intimate. I wondered if this argument was suggesting that those who are worried by the practice are being “prudish”? In fact, my objection to the idea of wet nursing is rooted in something else entirely.
Since when did our culture get so screwed up that it is more important to work than to feed your own child!?! I know the cost of living is outrageous. I know that it’s hard to make ends meet on a single income. I know that mothers want a life and a career too, that we don’t want to stay stuck at home with the chores and the kids, feeling like our identities are entirely wrapped up in our kids. But has anyone looked at the alternative? We’ve become a society that would rather our identities be wrapped up in consuming, in having the big house, the two cars, in climbing the corporate ladder, being successful. We have fallen into this trap where we live a certain way because we think we have to. Could we not make sacrifices so that we can feed our children ourselves??
I am all for women’s rights, for equality, for not being automatically given the role of Susie Homemaker just because I am a woman. I am glad that we got the vote, that we can wear pants, that we are allowed to have any job we are interested in. I am ecstatic that my husband changes diapers, was present at my son’s birth, helps with the housework. I feel fulfilled by my activities that aren’t directly related to my family (my work, my friends, my hobbies).
But in our quest for equality, we’ve somehow decided that all the things women used to do (taking care of home and family) are lesser jobs, menial jobs. I wonder sometimes if those jobs aren’t the more important ones: nurturing our children, feeding our families nutritious food, making the home a happy healthy place to grow. Since when did it become so shameful to want to be a part of that? Since when did it become so important to focus on life outside of family (work, friends, hobbies) that we are willing to pay someone else to feed our babies? That we say we have to live this way, we have no choice?
On the one hand, I’m thrilled that the breastfeeding message is getting out there, that women realize there are benefits to breastfeeding. As the Daily Mail says “Yet a steadily growing minority of mothers now believe that wet-nursing is the answer to the eternal dilemma of women who want to go back to work but also want their babies to enjoy the benefits of breast-milk.” (emphasis added) On the other hand, it worries me that these women can’t be bothered to do it themselves.
I can’t help but feel that there is something seriously wrong with our culture when women are so selfish that they want the implants and the job and the house and the perfect accessory, a baby (who is breastfed), without sacrificing anything? Anything but their relationship with their child, that is.
The Daily Mail article has it right when they say it’s one thing to wet-nurse for health reasons (although even then, there are alternatives like the milk bank) and quite another to do it out of convenience. I really hope that this trend remains in the minority and that the only reason it’s making news is because it’s sensational.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
Nicotine in Breast-milk Shortens Baby’s Naptimes
Hmm…another reason not to start smoking again after your baby is born. A study reported by Forbes showed that babies’ naps were reduced by 37% when mothers smoked cigarettes before breastfeeding. Apparently nicotine shows up in breast-milk after about 30 – 60 minutes and disappears after 3 hours so mothers could time when they smoke, but really, once you’ve stopped why start up again? The article mentions that more research needs to be done if nicotine affects the babies in any other ways.
Rickets on the Rise
The Toronto Star reported in July that cases of rickets, a childhood disease which causes deformations of bones, are on the rise again. Rickets was widespread from its first medical description in 1650 until its eradication from North America in the 1930s. Rickets is caused by Vitamin D deficiency and it seems that the rise in rickets cases comes from over cautious mothers. Vitamin D is added to milk, but families aren’t drinking as much milk as they once were. Vitamin D is absorbed by exposure to sunlight but we are covering our kids in sunscreen and clothing to guard against skin cancer. I’m sure tv and video games have also reduced the time that kids spend outdoors as well. And Vitamin D is not found in breast-milk so exclusively breastfeeding means infants may need a Vitamin D supplement. For a discussion on vitamin D for breastfed babies, check out Today’s Parent (featuring comments from Dr. Jack Newman). See also Breastfeeding and Other Foods or Some Breastfeeding Myths.
As the Star says: “The obesity crisis has brought to light the lack of outdoor activity in both adults and children. Mix this with fears about hormones in milk, skin cancer from sun exposure and mercury in fish such as salmon that contain plenty of vitamin D – and a deficit is created.”
The interesting point about the rise of rickets (for me anyway) is that rickets was a major reason for death in childbirth. Women who had suffered from rickets as children often had deformed pelvises and couldn’t birth their babies. The history of rickets is part of the reason for the still common diagnosis that some women are too small to deliver a large baby (resulting in planned cesarean births). I’m interested to see whether rickets does indeed become widespread again.
In any case, the article recommends living a balanced life: drinking milk, eating fish, spending time outdoors. Everything in moderation, including moderation.
Brace Yourselves
As I suspected last week, the report into the case of the homebirth death in Quebec has started a shit storm of reactions. The latest from today’s Vancouver Province had me so angry that I can’t even begin to formulate a response. I am sure it’s only the beginning too.
I invite everyone to write the Province cool-headed, well-informed letters with sources and suggestions of where to find more info on both the safety of home birth and the insanity of our current maternity system.
We need to find that middle ground where it’s not home OR hospital. What about birth centres? What about home for low risk birth and hospital for high risk birth? What about changing the hospital system so that people actually want to birth there????
My first suggestions, once I calm down, will be to have Ms. Lakritz read Born in the USA: How to Heal a Broken Maternity System by Marsden Wagner and the most recent issue of Mothering Magazine with its pieces on Cesarean Birth and on Homebirth in Holland. Hmm, maybe we should also get her started on Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper and the classic, Immaculate Deception II by Suzanne Arms.
Please post your comments here on what you think of Ms. Lakritz’ commentary.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
Lots of controversy in the news this week so I’ve broken up the news report into several posts:
Check out Breastfeeding Campaign Watered Down in the United States and Midwifery Under Scrutiny in Quebec in separate posts.
Nunavut Midwifery Goes High-tech
This really got me excited: The Ajunnginiq Centre launched a trilingual midwifery website last week, which supporters say will help strengthen the ties among midwives throughout the Inuit regions. The website has information in English, French and Inuktitut. Translation was done with the help of elders who gave advice on traditional birthing terms.
"This will be a very good communication tool for the communities and interested parties," said Natsiq Kango, head of the Midwives Association of Nunavut. "There is a lot of interest, but there aren't a lot of outlets for it. The technology in place today, this is going to provide a real channel for this."
There is a new midwifery program in Iqaluit that took on six new students this year. Nunavut Arctic College also offers classes in maternity care. The site will also be used by midwives, nurses and nutritionists.
This is exciting because in remote northern communities women often have to travel hundreds of miles to give birth in the nearest hospital. This often means being separated from family and community for weeks at a time when it is important for women to be close to family and friends. Encouraging midwifery and traditional practices is a step in the right direction for the North. It’s wonderful to see programs in place that train the local people and that foster respect for the community’s traditional ways.
‘Pushed’ Cries Out for Childbirth options
Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care, a new book by Jennifer Block, former editor at Ms. Magazine, is looking at maternity care and childbirth options. One of Block’s goals was to support women who choose alternative birth options and to spell out the truth about maternity care in the United States, care which often involves a “pushed” birth. Block describes a “pushed” birth as “one that is induced, sped up and/or heavily medicated for no good reason, and all too often concludes with surgery, invasive instruments, an episiotomy or a bad vaginal tear -- outcomes you don't want."
For more info: check out the website, or this review.
BOLD initiative: Birth, the play
All through September, a play about birth is running in Washington State and around the world. Birth, the critically acclaimed play billed as the Vagina Monologues of childbirth, is part of Birth On Labor Day (BOLD), a global movement to make maternity care mother-friendly. The play is the story of eight women, the births they experienced and their right to choose where and how they birth. The play will run in 30 cities worldwide. Unfortunately, the play is only running in one Canadian city (in Ontario). Check out the play’s website for more info about Birth and about BOLD.
Survival Tips for New Moms
Healthy Mum, Happy Baby is part survival manual and part recipe book. The idea for the book, to write a breastfeeding manual, came to Annemarie Tempelman-Kluit in the middle of the night. She researched and compiled all of the info she found and is now running two websites to help new moms. Healthymumhappybaby.com updates the information in her book, and www.yoyomama.ca provides helpful, hip info, tips and guides to local events to smooth over the yo-yo bumps of early motherhood.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
This week the Washington Post ran a story about how federal health officials attempted to put together a gutsy, eye-catching ad campaign in an attempt to raise breastfeeding rates. The formula industry successfully lobbied against the ad campaign and the Health and Human Services Dept (HHS) watered down the ads significantly. US Congress is set to investigate whether or not the Bush administration has been letting political considerations get in the way of public health policies. Here are photos of the original ads, the final ads and a letter from a lobbyist thanking the HHS for changing the ads.
The ensuing battle over these ads (from 2004) is being waged in papers, on tv, by bloggers. The HHS is claiming that they actually changed the ads because science didn’t support the exaggerated claims in the original ads. The opposition (everyone from lactivists to political pundits) is claiming political interference. Women who couldn’t breastfeed are saying the ads were hurtful for insinuating that they were harming their children by not breastfeeding. Even breastfeeding advocates are weighing in to say that we shouldn’t use guilt to force or coerce mothers into breastfeeding if they don’t want to. Yet others are claiming that the ads were insulting because they assume consumers (mothers) need to be given a hardline message similar to anti-drugs and anti-drinking and driving messages in order to do what is best for their children because the simple truth—that breastfeeding is good for babies—isn’t good enough and doesn’t work.
Check out who all is weighing in:
ABC news
Wired
Marketplace (transcript and podcast)
LA Times
How do we get to the bottom of this? How will we ever know what’s true? Maybe these ads were insulting. Maybe mothers should be “smart” enough to breastfeed just because we know it’s good for babies without the scare tactics. But considering that breastfeeding is up against the formula industry with its big bucks advertising, free samples at the hospital and high pressure government lobbying, how do we expect such a soft message to work? Considering that only 11% of American women breastfeed to six months, isn’t it time that we recognize that our current tactics and promotional attempts aren't working? Maybe moms need more support to continue breastfeeding? Maybe we need to be more competitive? Maybe we need to get stricter with the formula companies?
Food for thought: Dr. Jack Newman’s handout on breastfeeding and guilt.
What are your thoughts? Were the ads too much? What about the role of the formula companies? Post your comments.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
A birth of one's own: The battle over freestanding birth centres in Illinois
A proposed bill in Illinois is trying to legalize freestanding birth centres and this article has a great list of the advantages of birth centres, a timeline of birth trends showing the change from home to hospital as birth place, and a good discussion of both the pros and cons and some of the competing forces in the battle for choice of birth place. Birth centres present a wonderful alternative to the often heated argument over home vs. hospital. It’s encouraging to see another state addressing the need to offer women more birth choices.
Fours to be reckoned with
This Globe & Mail piece covered the recent birth of identical quadruplets born to a Calgary couple by caesarean August 12 in Great Falls, Montana. The odds of naturally conceiving quadruplets is about one in every 705,000 births. The article discusses the life-long fame that the girls will likely have to contend with and talks to Canada’s last set of identical quadruplets, the Steeves' girls born in 1982.
The Dutch cherish home births
Of all the places to find an article on home birth, PhysOrg.com (which bills itself as providing “the latest science and technology news”) ran a piece on maternity care in The Netherlands, discussing their practice of treating birth as a normal event, providing women with midwives and healthcare only covering the cost of a hospital birth when it is medically necessary. The Dutch report a 30% home birth rate, the highest in the Western world.
Overweight women less likely to keep breastfeeding
A recent Danish study has found that the heavier a woman is before pregnancy and the heavier she becomes during pregnancy, the more likely she is to abandon breastfeeding. US studies have also found that heavier women were also less likely to initiate breastfeeding at all. Given the world wide rise in incidence of obesity and overweight women, the findings are worrisome. However, with the help of lactation consultants, there is more chance that a woman will succeed at breastfeeding, regardless of her weight. The study’s lead author Dr. Jennifer L. Baker says “Maternal obesity itself is really just an indicator that a woman may need additional assistance in order to successfully breastfeed her infant.”
Breastfeeding still battles status quo after years of variance
This article from a local paper in Pennsylvania gives a great overview of the state of breastfeeding acceptance during the 50 years since La Leche League was formed. Check out a brief history of how 7 women created an international organization providing information and support to breastfeeding mothers. Read articles on the benefits of breastfeeding and more at La Leche League International.
New York Governor Signs Into Law Legislation Protecting Rights Of Nursing Mothers In The Workplace
The legislation requires employers to provide uncompensated time, and make a reasonable effort to provide private space for women to express milk or nurse their children for a period of up to three years following the birth of a child. In addition, it also bars an employer from discriminating against an employee exercising this right.
Hospitals May Overfeed Newly Born Babies With Formula
A study in Manitoba has discovered that newborns who are fed formula had below average weight loss in the first few days of life, indicating that they are being overfed. Babies routinely lose weight during their first week due to factors such as overhydration of newborns, the early loss of meconium, and the small fluid intake in the first few days. The degree of weight loss is critical in the decision to supplement breastfed infants. Acceptable weight loss ranges from 5% - 7%. Formula fed infants exhibited 3.1% less weight loss than exclusively breastfed infants. The significance of these findings is that an earlier study had found that the first week of life was critical for humans, with each 100g increase in absolute weight gain associated with a 28% increase in the odds of becoming an overweight adult.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
In the news this week…
Early cord clamping may harm baby
The BBC ran a story about the benefits of delaying clamping the umbilical cord following birth. A UK expert has warned that clamping the umbilical cord straight after birth does not benefit mother or baby and may actually be harmful. Clamping should be delayed at least three minutes because it increases babies’ iron stores.
Victoria is Canada's caesarean capital
Nearly 4 in 10 women give birth via caesarean section in Victoria, the nation’s title holder for highest caesarean rate for the second straight year. BC, at 30.4%, also has the highest rate in the country. Many factors are cited including advanced maternal age, heavier mothers, falling VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) rates and decreased willingness to endure longer labours. Dr. Jerome Dansereau, chief of obstetrics at the Vancouver Island Health Authority, says that given the upward swing the rate could go to 50%. "There is no one who could have predicted what we see today," he says, "and there is no one who can predict when it will stop." Read the article.
Junk food diet during pregnancy leads to obese babies: study
CBC reported a British study on pregnancy and obesity. The study looked at rats and discovered that babies whose mothers had over-indulged in junk food while pregnant showed a preference for sugary high fat foods and became obese. It appears that helping your child develop good eating habits begins in the womb. More details...
Mount Allison study taking a look at breastfeeding
Two researchers at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick are studying the decision making process behind choosing to breastfeed or bottle feed. They plan to track 50 women during their last trimester through the first six months with baby to try to discover why so many women abandon breastfeeding. They plan to look at “women's interpretation of health promotion messages; their intentions regarding infant feeding; and any changes over time in their physical, psychological, and social experience of breastfeeding.” Find out more...
Breastfeeding moms quitting too soon, officials say
A government survey in the States has discovered that while initiation rates of breastfeeding are at an all-time high of 74%, mothers are quitting too soon, with 30% exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months and only 11% at 6 months. Looks like the Mount Allison study is coming none too soon. More...
Codeine Warning for Breastfeeding Moms
The FDA issued a warning this week for breastfeeding mothers taking codeine for after-pains to watch their babies carefully for signs of life-threatening side effects. Codeine is derivative of morphine and has been used safely for many years. Those at risk are women who are “ultra-rapid metabolizers” of the drug. The genetic condition is uncommon and not tested for. Read the story.
Be a green parent
Metroactive, a Silicon Valley news site, listed green parenting as #46 in their list of 50 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.
46. BE A GREEN PARENT. San Jose's Angelica and Sergio Martinez went deep green after their son Marciello was born. "We started Los Antepasados to share the healthy and sustainable ways of our grand ancestors." They recommend breastfeeding, using cloth diapers like Fuzzi Bunz and making simple baby food from scratch, like smashed bananas or sweet potatoes. Give and get hand-me-downs to clothe young 'uns.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
