The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Link love.

Time to thank all of you who link to this blog.  Below are blogs and websites that have blogroll links to this blog.  Check them out! 

If I've missed your blog, or you're adding a link now, leave a comment with a link, or email me.

• A Little Blessing
• Adventures in Babywearing
• Adventures in Imperfection
• Adventures of a Breastfeeding Mother
• Another Work in Progress
• Baby GooRoo
• The Baby Gravy Train
• Baby Whys
• Black Breastfeeding Blog
• Blessed Quiver
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3
• Breastfeeding Mums
• The Breastaurant Baby
• Cairo Mama
• Celebrity Baby Blog
• Charity Grace
• Crystal Voice
• Ewokmama
• The Floyd Files
• Hilltown Families
• It's a Wonderful Life
• Keep Abreast
• The Lactivist
• Learning a Little Every Day
• A Little Crunchy
• Mama Knows Breast
• The Milk Memos
• Mocha Milk
• Momma's Angel
• Motherlove Herbal Company
• Motherwear, of course!
• Musings of a Crunchy Domestic Goddess
• My Baby and More
• Next Stop Wonderland
• On School Street
• The Only South Bay Mom without a Bugaboo
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Boats
• Pregnantly Plump
• Radical Catholic Mom
• The Ramblings of a Stressed-out, Scrapbooking, Homeschooling Mommy Saved by the Grace of God
• The True Face of Birth
• Sidetrack'd
• Significant Self
• So Much for the Plan
• Spilled Milk
• The Sombat Family Blog
• Spit up on my Shoulder
• Such Great Heights
• These are the Days
• Veggie Way
• The Whole Family

Nursing around the world: Ellis Island and Subic Bay, Philippines.

Jen at The Lactivist saw my request for pictures of you nursing near landmarks anywhere in the world, and contributed this photo of her nursing baby Emmit at Ellis Island this year.  It's hard to see, but she's wearing one of her "Milk Jugs" shirts.

And to the right is Alexis, who works for UNICEF Philippines.  She writes, "Here is a picture of me nursing my 7-month-old son, Anton, behind what is left of the original east gate of the naval port in Subic Bay, Philippines.  The naval port was established in 1885 when the Philippines was still under Spanish rule. Over 200 years later, this port became part of a United States military base in the Philippines.  I thought it was so cool to nurse at a historical landmark.  I have done it everywhere else!"

(UNICEF Philippines is right in the middle of a closely watched conflict over formula marketing, now in the hands of the Philippines Supreme Court. See her blog for a description of this week's events.)

We're developing a nice collection here.  Add these to pictures of nursing at the Grand Canyon, in Egypt and Jordan, and many other countries.  Do you have one to add?  Email me a photo of you nursing near a landmark anywhere in the world!

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Extra water when it's hot?

IT       IS      TOO      HOT      HERE.

I can handle the New England winters fine.  Just need boots, coat, snow tires, hot chocolate, Netflix.  But this humidity, especially when it's above 90, makes me wilt in the most undistinguished manner.

Someone asked me today if breastfed babies need extra water when it gets this hot, so I thought I'd post this link to a kellymom.com page that explains why breastfed babies who feed on demand don't usually need extra water even when it's hot.  Supplementing with water can reduce your supply, too.  There are always exceptions, and if your baby seems dehydrated you should call your doctor, but this is the general idea.

I'll let Kelly explain the rest because it's too hot for me to think straight.  Here's a post I did last year on how much water you need.  Goodbye.

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A new project: Setting up a breastmilk collection station.

I'm part of a fledgling breastfeeding coalition in my area (Western Massachusetts).  We meet monthly at Motherwear and are trying to get a couple of projects off the ground. 

One of them is a collection point for breastmilk donated to the new Mother's Milk Bank of New England (no website yet), which is expected to open in 12 to 18 months in the Boston area.  It'll serve NICUs all over New England.  This is very exciting because the nearest milk banks to New England are in North Carolina and Ohio!  At the collection point we'd collect milk from mothers in this area who have gone through the screening process, and transport it to Boston. 

So, I'm starting to look around for a location.  We'll need a deep freezer and a location with backup power so that milk doesn't thaw if there's a power outage.  I've heard that some milk banks locate collection stations in fire stations for that reason.  We'll also need to either drive the collected milk in to the Boston area, or try to get shipping donated by a local UPS or FedEx store.  If anyone reading this runs a collection station, or knows someone who does, please email me.

We hosted the director of the new milk bank a few months ago, and learned some really interesting facts about milk banking.  For example:

• The first milk bank in the country was established in Boston in 1911 at the Children's Floating Hospital.
• There are 10 non-profit milk banks in the U.S.  There are more than that in the U.K., despite lower population, and there are hundreds of milk banks in Brazil.
• Many milk banks shut down during the 1980's due to concerns about HIV.
• The incidence and severity of illness among premature babies is decreased when a NICU uses banked breastmilk (as a supplement to a mother's own milk).  Babies fed supplemental donor milk also leave NICUs earlier.
• Even after pasteurization, donor milk retains 100% of many important components of breastmilk that aren't present in formula at all.  Other components not present in formula survive the pasteurization process and are reduced only in part. 
• Pasteurized milk from non-profit milk banks is sold for $3 to $4 per ounce. 
• There has been a huge increase in demand for donor milk in recent years, driven in part by mothers who insist on it, and neonatologists who see the benefits for their patients and "never look back."

Photo credit:  Human Milk Banking Association of North America, posted with permission.  Want to get email updates from the Motherwear Blog?  Subscribe here.  Want an RSS feed?  Click here.

Shifting the debate from marketing to "feeding freedom."

No one ever said that formula companies weren't smart. 

The International Formula Council launched a website called Moms Feeding Freedom recently.  It has a blog, discussion board, and a petition to sign.  On the surface it looks like a mom-inspired site, and it looks supportive of breastfeeding. 

But in reality it's a site devoted to countering the effort to stop hospitals from giving out those free formula diaper bags as you leave the hospital.  That campaign is known to some as "Ban the Bags." 

I do have to recognize the site sponsors for being honest about who is behind the site - formula companies, which are owned by big pharmaceutical companies.  But that's that's about all I find good about this site.      

If you've read an earlier post I wrote about it, you know that I feel strongly about this.  From my perspective, this is what it comes down to:  Hospitals should be marketing health.

Here's what I think is going on:  The formula companies are trying to shift the debate away from the question of marketing - specifically, the ethics of marketing formula on maternity wards - toward the question of "feeding freedom."  The companies are trying to spread the message that moms' choice of how they feed their babies is being threatened. 

For example, the sites try to rename the Ban the Bags effort "Ban the Bottle."  As if not promoting their products = taking away your right to formula feed your baby.  Classic bait and switch.

So, let's review the basics about feeding choices:  Some women choose to breastfeed, some women choose to formula feed, and some women choose to do both.  Feeding choices are exactly that: choices.  The responsibility of health care workers is to provide evidence-based information about feeding options, promote healthy choices, and then support women's choices, whatever they are. 

Now to the questions that the companies don't want you to think about:  Should formula companies have the right to market their products to us right after we give birth, especially when those bags have been shown to reduce exclusive breastfeeding rates?  Should formula companies be allowed to enlist hospitals, nurses, and doctors in an effort to promote their products? 

No one is trying to take choice away from families.  This is about formula companies trying to preserve their ability to market their products to moms on maternity wards, pure and simple.  If you're not convinced that this is the central issue, note that Moms Feeding Freedom urges support for a bill in Massachusetts which would prevent the Public Health Council from banning the formula bags. 

You may have heard these companies' claims that these bags are no big deal - they don't dissuade women from breastfeeding, and they're not an important marketing tool.  But if they're not effective at promoting their products, why are they fighting so hard to keep distributing them? 

The timing of this tactic is interesting, too.  Hospitals around the country, including all NYC public hospitals (thank you, Mayor Bloomberg) are giving the bags the boot.  Doctors, nurses, hospitals, and moms are getting tired of increasing corporate influence in medicine, and the companies know it. 

Yes, these companies are smart, but I think that moms are smarter.

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Want to be a guest blogger?

In August I'm heading to a conference and am looking for a few people to take the reins while I'm gone.  Interested?

You'd write some posts in advance - about your own experience, your thoughts on a breastfeeding topic, etc.  I'd show you how to approve comments, too.  For the full experience you should plan to write while in your pajamas.  You don't have to have your own blog.  If you're interested, shoot me an email. 

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Arthritis, sleep apnea, and...laughter?

There have been a bunch of studies released on breastfeeding recently, and I'm just now catching up. 

First, a study from Sweden showing that breastfeeding for 13 months reduces mothers' risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.  This connection has been made before, in a study showing that breastfeeding for a total of 24 months (this could be spread out among multiple babies), reduced the risk of rheumatoid arthritis by half.

Next, a study from West Virginia University is one of the first to draw a connection between breastfeeding and sleep-related breathing disorders.  The study found that who were breastfed for at least two months as infants "had lower rates and less severe measures of an sleep-related breathing disorder, and that breast feeding beyond two months provided additional benefits for reduced disorder severity."  If you're interested in this topic, check out the website of Brian Palmer, DDS, a dentist and breastfeeding advocate who has been arguing for some time that this connection exists.

And here's the strange one.  I can't imagine how anyone would even come up with this idea to study.  Researchers in Japan found a connection between a mother's laughter prior to a feeding and symptoms of excema:

Some of the mothers were shown either a Charlie Chaplin movie or boring footage about weather, and their breast milk was taken for testing at regular intervals.

Two milk feeds later, the infants were tested for their reaction to dust mites and latex -- and those whose mothers had laughed had "markedly reduced reactions," the British science weekly says.

The key may lie in melatonin, a hormone associated with relaxation, and whose levels are typically low among people with eczema. The laughing mothers had higher levels of melatonin in their breastmilk.

I'm not even sure what to say about this one, except to remind us that you don't have to be happy to breastfeed.  If that were the case, our species would have died out a long time ago.

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Product review: The Utterly Yours breast support pillow.

I always tell mothers-to-be that breast size doesn't matter when it comes to the amount of milk you make.  While this is true, I've learned from them that size does matter when it comes to positioning.

For those of us who are well endowed, supporting the breast is key to getting and maintaining a good latch.  But this sometimes means uncomfortable positions, the inability to drink a glass of water or hold a book while nursing.  I've met a few moms who have gotten carpel tunnel syndrome from supporting their breasts so much. 

I usually recommend putting a rolled up wash cloth underneath the breast for support, but was intruiged by a new product called the Utterly Yours Breast Pillow.  I was curious if this pillow could do the job better.  It's an award winning product invented by a nursing mother of four.  I asked Sarah, pictured below with her son Talan, to give it a try.  Here's what she had to say:

I love the closeness that I have with my 5 month old son when I nurse.  Luckily I have not had any problems with breastfeeding.  I am usually holding him (or patting him) with one hand while I support my breast with the other.  I am fine with this arrangement, but am not able to multi-task as I generally have the use of only one hand.  Tanya asked me to try out the Utterly Yours Breast Pillow.  It's geared toward women who need to support their breast while nursing, but want use of their hands, too.

The product is very simple to use.  You hold it in the palm of your hand, compress it, and position it under your breast.  When you release, it returns to its original shape and supports the breast.  It's very comfortable, and the cover has little non-skid dots (like your baby's socks), so it won't slip like a rolled up diaper or towel.  It comes in 4 sizes, and the company's website helps you figure out which size you need.  It was made for sitting, but I found that it can provide support for nighttime side-lying feedings, too. 

I tried it out and found it lightweight and comfortable.  It nestled right into my bra or nursing camisole and stayed put.  I elevated my breast just enough to meet my son's face.  I also found that it worked well for nursing while carrying my son in a wrap or sling.  I think it's a great product, and I'm surprised that there aren't more products like this available.

For mothers who want to use something like this regularly, I'd suggest starting to use this from the first week.  I had my positioning routine down when I tried out the pillow, and it took a little adjusting to make it work.  I had also become so accustomed to holding onto Talan and my breast that I didn't really know what to do with my free hands!  When I did try to read a book, my son would become so curious as to what I was doing that he kept popping off to see what I was doing (this wouldn't be as much of a problem with a younger baby).

The Utterly Yours pillow is sold individually, so unless you buy two you'll need to switch sides when you switch breasts.  The cover needs to hang dry, so you may want to buy extra covers if you're using it often (though it didn't take long to dry).  It sells for $21.95 plus shipping from the company's website and some retailers.  Extra covers cost $11.95 for two. 

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New 24/7 breastfeeding hotline.

Anyone who has ever breastfed knows that nursing problems have a way of cropping up at 4:00 am, or 10:00 pm on a Saturday night.  Not the best times to track down a live person for help with engorgement or a plugged duct.

That's why it's so encouraging to hear, thanks to Angela at Breastfeeding 123, that La Leche League is now offering free phone breastfeeding help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

The number: 1-877-4 LALECHE (1-877-452-5324).  La Leche League also offers email help, and of course local meetings. 

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Enter the "Why Breastfeed, Why Motherwear" poem contest!

Is there a poet in you just waiting for the opportunity to write about your nursing experience? 

Well, let her loose and you could win a $300 Motherwear gift certificate and have your poem published in the Fall 2007 Motherwear catalog!

Motherwear is looking for poems, 50 words or less, on the topic "Why breastfeed, why Motherwear?"  They're looking for poems themed around the joy and pleasure of knowing that you're giving the best possible start to your baby by choosing to breastfeed, the bond that breastfeeding has built between you and your baby, the benefits that breastfeeding has given you and your baby, and how Motherwear contributed to your breastfeeding relationship with your baby.

Entries are due by July 6, 2007.  Please read all of the contest rules before entering.  Good luck!

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