The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

What I learned at the Motherwear photo shoot.

This morning I had the chance to watch a photo shoot for the Motherwear winter catalog. 

I talked with the models, Heather and Monika, during breaks between outfits.  Heather's baby Sebastian is almost 9 months old, and Monika's baby Kai is about 2 and a half months old.

I have the following to report: 

• The models are indeed all nursing moms, and they really are nursing in those shots.
• It is not easy to nurse a baby and pose for a picture for a catalog.
• We have more in common than I had thought.

Monika talked about how much she appreciates being able to bring her baby to work and nurse there.  Heather talked about life as a single mom and having to pump in the bathroom at her other jobs.  She said that she's a lot more comfortable nursing in a photo shoot than on the train.  They both talked about how important nursing is to them.

All this got me thinking that, whether we're work-at-home mothers, lawyers, teachers, or drive the city bus, we have common experiences as breastfeeding mothers.  I've worked with teenage mothers and college professors, and I can tell you that they ask the same questions. 

So, what do I have in common with a model?  In appearance and lifestyle, not a whole lot.  But when it comes to experience as nursing mothers, we might as well be sisters.

Those formula company diaper bags.

I just got home from the annual Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition Conference.  It was, as I expected, an informative and fun day.  I learned more about breastfeeding twins (and triplets!), communication skills, and new requirements for breastfeeding support at hospitals in the state.

But one of the most interesting presentations was on efforts to get rid of the formula company diaper bags given to new mothers at hospitals.  These are the "freebie" bags that usually contain formula and other goodies emblazoned with formula company logos.  Earlier this year Massachusetts became within a hair of becoming the first state in the nation to prohibit the distribution of these bags at hospitals, and there is a growing national movement to ban the bags, which you can read about here.

I got one of those bags when I left the hospital after having my son.  I can still tell you the exact spot on the exact shelf where that can of formula sat.  And recently, looking through my son's baby book, I found formula logos everywhere, including his crib card from the nursery and his growth chart from our pediatrician.

There is solid research showing that when hospitals give these bags away mothers are more likely to start using formula.  Even when the formula itself is removed from the bag, the bags have an effect.  This is probably why the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many other organizations oppose the distribution of these bags.

I love freebies just as much as anyone, but I really object to the marketing of formula - or really any product - to patients at hospitals.  I trust my doctors and nurses to give me good advice to keep my family healthy, not to advertise products - especially ones which can undermine healthy choices like breastfeeding.

I know that this is a more controversial topic than those in the other posts, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you.  Did you get one of these bags?  What did you think when you got it?  What do you think of the effort to "ban the bags?"

Breastfeeding protects against obesity and diabetes - even for children with a family history.

A new study, to be published in the October edition of the journal Diabetes Care, shows that breastfeeding is a powerful weapon against the development of obesity and diabetes. 

The study found that children who are breastfed are less likely to become obese and develop diabetes - even if their mothers suffer from those conditions.

In an article published online today, the study's lead author noted:

We found a substantial benefit to breastfeeding for all children, regardless of their mother's weight or health status. For children at higher risk for diabetes or obesity because of their family history, breastfeeding may play a critical role in helping to reduce the risk of excessive weight gain. Obviously, other factors are important as well, such as continued good nutrition and regular physical activity. But breastfeeding can get them started down a healthy track in life.

Earlier research has shown the breastfeeding lowers mothers' risk for obesity and Type II diabetes, too.

I've recently worked with several mothers who chose to breastfeed in part because of a family history of obesity and diabetes.  It's great to see new evidence that breastfeeding can break this cycle!

Whew. It's been a big breastfeeding day for me (so to speak).

I ran the hospital breastfeeding clinic, gave a guest lecture at an undergraduate nutrition class at the University of Massachusetts, and attended a talk about the economics of breastfeeding.  Plus the usual errands and 3 year-old care.

This is the second time I've given a this talk at the University, and I leave feeling optimistic each time.  The course these students are taking looks at "nutrition in the life cycle," and I love the idea of breastmilk as the first in a long sequence of nutrition in a person's life.  Have you ever noticed that, when talking about breastfeeding, people call solid food "real food?"  Breastmilk really is food in its own right.

The most exciting part is that these students seem pretty comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding.  The vast majority of them were breastfed themselves, and many knew a whole lot more about breastfeeding than I did before I was pregnant.  I get the feeling that there is a chance that the next generation of mothers will actually think that breastfeeding is normal.

Here are some of the great questions they asked:

• Can women breastfeed if they have breast implants?
• Is it true that cabbage leaves can help with engorgement?
• Can you breastfeed if you have a nipple piercing?
• Why do so many women stop breastfeeding before they want to?
• Can you breastfeed an adopted baby?

The answers to these and many other questions are available on websites featured in the "Breastfeeding Help" section of this blog's sidebar.

So, how about you?  Before you became pregnant did you know much about breastfeeding?  Did it seem like the normal thing to do or something strange - even radical?  If you weren't sure that breastfeeding was for you, what changed your mind?

Early breastfeeding could save a million lives.

On Friday the British newspaper The Independent carried a story about new research showing that early breastfeeding could save nearly a quarter of the 4 million babies in the developing world who now die within the first month of life.

The article reports that the study, the first to examine the effect of early breastfeeding on infant survival, found the following:

Field workers running a research project in remote Ghanaian villages have discovered that the surest way to keep a baby alive is for the mother to start breastfeeding within an hour of the baby being born. If the first feed from the mother's breast is delayed for even one day, they found the risk of the child dying within a month more than doubles.

The death rate was particularly high among new- born babies fed on other fluids or solids, who were found to be about four times as likely to die in the first month as babies who drank nothing but breast milk. Colostrum, the first milk produced after childbirth, is rich in a variety of components that help the gut to grow and build resistance to infection. Any substitute, like animal milk, can disrupt the normal function of the gut.

In remote villages, the substitute is likely to be a home-made feed, possibly made with unclean water, comprised of cereals, animal milk and herbal concoctions or other liquids low in nutrients, which can damage the digestion or expose the baby to disease. A mother holding a child to her breast is also keeping it warm, reducing the risk of hypothermia.

The article notes that this research was carried out in a region of Ghana which has a low rate of HIV.  The World Health Organization advises mothers who are infected not to breastfeed if a safe alternative is available (more here).

One of the things I love about breastfeeding is that it is one of the cheapest and simplest ways of improving public health.  In most cases it doesn't require a lot of money, equipment, or expertise.  Reading this article made me wonder how many more babies would survive with some small and simple changes like promoting and supporting early feeding, and discouraging the use of unsafe supplements.  Your thoughts?

Two worlds of work for breastfeeding mothers.

Some of you may have seen the recent New York Times article on the different experiences of women trying to combine breastfeeding and work outside the home. 

The article profiled the experience of women who work for Starbucks.  Women who work at the company's coporate office have access to a lactation room complete with recliners and curtains, as well as company-provided breastpumps.  They can take breaks during the day to pump.  Women who work at Starbucks cafes have no place to pump but the customers' restrooms, and no time to pump but their short breaks.  The article concludes:

For those with autonomy in their jobs - generally, well-paid professionals - breast-feeding, and the pumping it requires, is a matter of choice.  It is usually an inconvenience, and it may be an embarrassing comedy of manners... But for lower income mothers - including many who work in restaurants, factories, call centers and the military - pumping at work is close to impossible, causing many women to decline to breast-feed at all, and others to quit after a short time.

It is particularly literal case of how well-being tends to beget further well-being, and disadvantage tends to create disadvantage - passed down in a mother's milk, or lack thereof.

To me, the worst part of this is that women in lower paying jobs end up spending more of their money on formula and doctor and pharmacy costs, and are more likely to need to take time off to care for sick children.  All this in spite of evidence that supporting breastfeeding saves employers money in reduced absenteeism and medical and pharmacy costs. 

As a lactation consultant I've worked with many women who struggle to make breastfeeding and working work, and I've certainly met many who reduced breastfeeding or stopped nursing completely (which, with some good planning, often doesn't need to happen) before they wanted to because their workplace couldn't seem to accomodate them. 

So, what do you think?  Did you (or do you) balance breastfeeding and working outside the home?  Was your employer a help or hindrance?  What stories and advice do you have?

My nursing in public story.

Motherwear has been running a survey this month asking about the topics you'd like to see in a breastfeeding blog, and many of you have responded that you're interested in hearing about nursing in public.  So I thought I'd start with my own nursing in public story.  I know you have many of your own, good and bad, and I hope you'll share them in your comments.

One day a few years back I went shopping with my husband and son at Target.  The location of this store is immaterial because, as I recently realized, all Target stores appear to be laid out the same.  Target is the one place in Massachusetts where, in the dead of winter, I can convince myself that I'm still in California. 

Anyway, we were at Target, and my son got fussy.  He seemed hungry so I decided to nurse him, knowing that we were risking a scene either way.  I found a quiet place in the baby section, sat down on the floor, and fed him.

After a minute or two I noticed a woman walking toward me.  As she got closer I could see that she was pointing a finger right at me.  She wasn't smiling.

You might not guess this, seeing as I write about breasts on the Internet, but I'm a pretty shy person.  I hate public confrontations, especially when they are about something as personal as this.  It doesn't feel political when someone attacks something this important to me and my child.  It feels deeply personal, and I'm much more likely to cry than yell.

And at that moment, in a striking example of how knowing a lot about something can sometimes make you look like you know nothing at all, I found myself speechless.  All of the biochemistry of human lactation was swirling around in my head and the only word that seemed to want to come out was "leukocyte."

But another part of me was seething with anger.  I know way too much about the benefits of breastfeeding to let a complete stranger tell me what to do.  There is, after all, a Mama Bear in all of us.

So there we were, her finger pointing menacingly, my mouth agape and my mind frantically trying to summon the words to defend something so important to me.

And then she said, "You...are a very good mother."  She then turned on her heels and walked away.

What a great response!

What a wonderful response to this blog!  We logged over 1,000 views and 35 comments in the first 9 hours - and they keep coming.

Thank you to everyone who read and commented, and thanks for your patience as we figure out the technical side of this endeavor.  I may know my way around a breastpump, but it took me all day to figure out how to stop making yesterday's date show September 5th.  We'll get it all ironed out, and in the meantime I hope you'll enjoy reading and commenting on this blog.

Again, thanks for the warm welcome, and hope you'll check back often!

- Tanya

Welcome to the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog!

Welcome to the inaugural posting of the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog!  I'm Tanya Lieberman, a lactation consultant living and working in Western Massachusetts, where Motherwear is based. 

I'm thrilled to be hosting this blog and to be associated with Motherwear, a company devoted to supporting breastfeeding mothers. 

I love working with new mothers and am also a relatively new one, myself.  I nursed my son, now three and a half, into toddlerhood, returned to work and pumped for a year, and frequently nursed in public, including perched on a gigantic pallet of toilet paper at Costco.

This blog will bring you news and information about breastfeeding, as well as my own thoughts about breastfeeding and working with new mothers.  More importantly, it is a forum for you to share your stories and experience a sense of community with other breastfeeding mothers.

I once asked my mother, who nursed me in the early 1970's, why she had breastfed.  Those years marked the low point for breastfeeding in the U.S., with only 20% of mothers giving it a try.  She said that she did it because her friends had.  She also said that ponchos were popular at the time, allowing new mothers to gather in the park and nurse under their little tents. 

A lot has changed since the days of ponchos in the park, but now just as then, having support from other women is what makes breastfeeding work.  Just like my mother's friends, who supported her choice to breastfeed, I hope that this blog will be a source of support and community for you.

So relax, get settled with your nursing pillow, and enjoy!

- Tanya

A quick note about what this blog is and isn't:

This blog is:

• A source of news and information about breastfeeding
• A place to support other mothers and be supported
• A place to share your experience breastfeeding your baby

This blog is not:

• A source of medical advice.  For breastfeeding help, please see your healthcare provider or a lactation consultant.  There are also some useful links on this page.
• A forum for rude, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate comments directed at anyone.  Please see our Terms of Use for more detail on acceptable comments.