There's been a flurry of breastfeeding news this week. Here's my summary:
THE GOOD: Oprah featured a set of sextuplets, and the mother who breastfed them. The mother said, "The doctor told me Mother Nature would take care of this all...I was pumping about 50 to 60 bottles a day." Thanks to reader Cindy for this one!
Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross was interviewed about her new twins and talked about the "huge accomplishment" of nursing them at once. Jennifer Garner, in an interview in InStyle magazine, said "That surprised me – how much I loved [nursing] and how effortless it has been to pump anywhere in the world." And Tori Spelling said in an interview, "[Nursing] is hard, but I love it. That's our time together."
Two new studies showed that 1) breastfed children are less likely to be overweight, and that breastfeeding appears to put kids on a "favorable body mass index track;" and 2) breastfeeding protects women from breast cancer even if they give birth after age 25. This is good news considering that "older" mothers breastfeed at higher rates anyway.
THE BAD: In my home state of Massachusetts, I got word that formula companies are trying to recruit nurses to form a coalition to counter the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition. Should we be flattered?
The new show, "Notes from the Underbelly" featured an episode called "I wrecked my boobs," in which a woman insists that nursing "devastated" her breasts. Thanks to Colleen for this one. By the way, breast changes during pregnancy, and good old gravity over time contribute to sagging, not breastfeeding.
THE UGLY: The mother of a 17 month old twin who was recovering from brain surgery at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston, Texas, was told to nurse in a private room. When Texas law was brought to the attention of the management, they threatened to make the family leave. The two sides have reached an agreement which allows the mother to nurse in common areas if she is "discreet." Much more on this story, and ways to weigh in, at The Reluctant Lactivist. Here's hoping that pending Texas legislation becomes law.
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