The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Some recent projects.

Last weekend we headed up to New Hampshire for our cousin's annual maple sugaring party.  It was like stepping back two months into the heart of winter. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground, and we spent much of the time sledding.  At one point we heard my otherwise extremely cautious son say "Hey, look at me!" We turned in time to see him gleefully barrel down a steep hill, heading straight for a snow-covered ledge and some bushes below.  My husband made a diving catch and grabbed him just in time. 

Last week I went to a bag sewing get together, coordinated by a local effort called the Bag Share Project.  Volunteers are sewing hundreds of cloth shopping bags which will be kept at the check-out counters at local businesses.  People who have forgotten to bring bags will be able to take their stuff home in these cloth ones, and return the bags later.  Each bag has a label stating where the bag should be returned.  Even the inmates at the county jail have gotten in on the project.  My friend Alexis, who works in the high-end fabric business in New York, has been giving me samples of beautiful fabric, so I'm making some extras for us, like the one to the right.

Our local breastfeeding coalition still working on setting up a milk collection depot for the Mothers Milk Bank of New England, and our friend Mo recently wrote a really nice article about it for the local independent paper.  It's looking like the initial milk processing will be done by the Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio, with a gradual transition over to the New England milk bank as they get their facility set up.  I agreed to manage the newsletter for the milk bank (you know that you're overcommitted when you try to hide a volunteer job from your husband!).  If you want to be on the mailing list, email me.  I also set up a Cafe Press store for them.

There are other projects which I'll write about soon, but that's all for now!

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Vermont Human Rights Commission finds that airline violated the law when forcing mother off plane.

Most of you probably recall the case of Emily Gillette (shown to the right), the New Mexico mother who was forced off of a Freedom Airlines plane in 2006 because she refused to cover up or stop breastfeeding.  The incident occurred in Vermont, a state which protects nursing mothers' rights to breastfeed in public places.  The case sparked the first nationwide nurse-in at Delta ticket counters.

The Vermont Human Rights Commission ruled this week that Freedom Airlines discriminated against Gillette.  The parties now have six months in which to reach a settlement agreement.  Though the flight Gillette was taking was a code-share between Delta Airlines and Freedom Airlines, the Commission did not charge Delta with discrimination. 

The Burlington Free Press reports:

"We are delighted that the commission found against Freedom," said Beth Boepple, a Manchester-based attorney who represents Gillette. "We're disappointed in the decision regarding Delta, but we understand why the commission arrived at that decision, even though we don't necessarily agree."

Freedom and Gillette have six months to negotiate a settlement. Boepple said Gillette's goal is to see airline policy put into place that protects other women from similar events; a written policy put into place that trains and educates employees; and to receive monetary compensation to at least cover legal and travel costs.

A ruling against Delta obviously would have had more far-reaching implications, but this news is still a positive step and may make other airlines take the issue seriously.

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Overcoming challenges: Becky's story.

I'm happy to share Becky's story today.  She overcame lots of obstacles to make breastfeeding work, including one of the toughest - breast refusal.  If you have a story to share, please email me.

My story is probably more common than I know. 

I had my first baby with a few complications, in spite of the fact that I was 36 and high risk.  The doctor had to use forceps, which I was against, but we were at a dire moment.  The baby would not breastfeed after that.  I am sure that her little head was very sore. 

The pediatrician said not to worry, that she was a big baby, and that everything would be fine.  Not the same story the next day when she still wouldn't latch.  I had the lactation consultant come up the second day and she gave me a lesson without the baby.  When the baby got there and she kept pushing her head onto me to get her to breastfeed.  Needless to say, she wanted none of this. 

I was released on a Wednesday.  By Saturday I was back at the hospital buying a session from the lactation consultant.  We went home, and I cried when she wouldn't eat.  I held out for a day and gave her formula, just to get some food in her.  I called La Leche League.  A woman came to my house within half an hour.  I was frantic.  She tried to help, but I did not see results.  I would try to nurse, give a bottle, then go pump.  It was a 3 hour process. 

My aunt, who works in a hospital in the next city over recommended her lactation consultant.  I went after two weeks.  The baby was accepting the formula, which I hated.  The new lactation consultant gave me nipple shields that fit, and a finger feeder.  She was the one who kept me going.  She gave me some positive feedback and made me feel like I had done the right thing by sticking with breastfeeding.  The next week I went back and had a yeast infection on my nipples.  For any of you who haven't experienced this, it's like glass slicing you when the baby nurses.  I also later found out that they make pump shields in different sizes.  I had the smallest size and need the x-large.  I later struggled to get my baby off of the nipple shield.  In the middle of December, the thing fell off, she didn't miss a beat and kept right on going.  Soon after, we never used those again.

I had the baby in August and went back to work in November.  I am a teacher and the first thing I did when I got back was to ask my administrator if I could pump twice a day and once on my lunch break.  He said it was fine if I arranged it.  So, I went about finding someone to cover my class for 10-15 minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon.  Apparently, people didn't like this, and there was some talking behind my back - all of them women.  One mother/teacher called me to her room and told me that she hadn't been allowed time to pump when when she was nursing, and that I shouldn't be allowed to either.  She then yelled at me in front of students that she was going to go to my supervisor and report me.  This was to my back as I walked out of the room and went straight to our principal. 

I told him that I had been verbally attacked, and he asked if I could cut back on the pumping.  He didn't want to rock the boat with his staff.  Needless to say, I called the teacher's union.  They returned my call and said that from the superintendent's office the word was to acomodate me in any way they could.  The union rep also said that the teacher who had confronted me should be told to mind her own business.  I later found out that this woman did not want to breastfeed and gave up.  After all that I went through to be able to breastfeed, I was not going to give it up.

My daughter is now 19 months old and I'm so glad I stuck with it.  She still nurses 3 times a day.  I am proud to be a breastfeeding advocate and always will be!

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Nursing mother sentenced to night in jail or fine for postponing jury duty.

This story (video here) really surprised me:

A Maryland judge sentenced a breastfeeding mother to a night in jail or a $150 fine, after she asked to postpone her jury duty.

Elizabeth Jett's baby boy Henry was less than 12 weeks old when she was called for jury duty. "I think it’s a case of priorities. Taking care of your children should be your first priority. Jury duty can always come later," Jett said.

Jett asked to postpone and serve during the Summer, when Henry would be older and her mother, a full-time teacher, could take care of him and his five-year-old brother.

The Carroll County judge said Jett was in contempt of court, which Jett thought was unbelievable. "I was just shocked. I couldn’t even put it into words," she said.

Legislation that would allow nursing mothers with children under the age of two to be excused from jury duty was introduced for the second time. When the plan was proposed in 2004, many lawmakers shot it down.

Brian Frosh, Chair for the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said the law would cause more people to try to postpone their duties, "If you start saying, we’re gonna excuse people for breastfeeding, you’ve gotta say ok to kidney dialysis, chemotherapy and all the other maladies that afflict the human condition." [emphasis added]

Frosh said the law already gives judges broad discretion to excuse residents from jury duty, "So what we want is for judges to use their discretion liberally."

I'd note here that had this mother been working, she would have been guaranteed time off from work under the Family Medical Leave Act, and that she simply asked to postpone her service, not be excused from it.  It's not clear to me whether pumping would have been an option, but even that would have required the agreement of the judge, since juries are kept together and breaks are at the discretion of the judge.  And of course not all babies take bottles, and not all women have success with pumping.

When I served on a jury a few months ago, the judge in the case did use her discretion liberally.  She asked each member of the jury pool if there was any reason why serving on the jury would present a significant hardship.  She cited as examples the need to care for children or elderly relatives, medical procedures, and even stated that since we live in an area with lots of colleges students, she would excuse any student who would miss class.

So, there are judges who understand this particular need of the "human condition," and are happy to accommodate it.  But clearly there are others who don't.  I appreciate the argument that specifically naming conditions can make things complicated.  But there also appear to be judges who don't have an adequate understanding of this issue to use their discretion in a manner most of us would find appropriate.  That's why 12 states (California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia) have laws that accommodate nursing mothers called for jury duty.

As for the argument that these laws create opportunities for more people - such as those undergoing chemotherapy or kidney dialysis - to postpone their service, isn't that what we would all want?

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Can you identify these breastfeeding lines?

I keep a little running collection of funny breastfeeding quotes from TV and movies.  Can you identify any of these?  Leave the answers in the comments section!

"These are working breasts!"

"Jack, you have issues. I'm trying to understand why you run around with a rubber boob strapped to your chest. I mean, were you ever breastfed? My guess is no."

"Your chest is going to milktate."

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"Have you ever been to Knuckle Beach?  It's a totally different world.  A world where orange soda is an acceptable substitute for breastmilk."

"Those aren't boobs.  They're lies!"

"If he blows into one, does the other one get bigger?"

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Don't want no fancy funeral...

...just one like this.

Thanks to reader Sarah for this one.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Adoptive nursing in the news.

The Chicago Tribune just published a sweet article on adoptive nursing which profiles two mothers. 

One mother, Jennifer Leverett Dunn, was nursing her 3 year old biological son when she adopted 12 day old Corey.  She pumped to increase her milk supply before the baby was placed in her custody.

After the legal hearing that placed Corey in her custody, "I started nursing right away, next to the judge's chambers. He latched right on. And we were off and running."

The first night, she supplemented with frozen breast milk. "After that, I didn't need it." She exclusively breast-fed until Corey was 6 months. Corey will turn 3 next month, and Dunn is still nursing him when he's upset or at night.

Dunn is convinced of the benefits: "[Corey] has been in day care since he was 15 months and is never sick. He is just so healthy."

Still, she added, "It took quite a while to feel comfortable nursing in public because we are a different race. And I was worried what other people would think. But you get over it. It was more important that I be able to meet his needs."

The last paragraph really caught my eye.  Somehow it never occurred to me how different the dynamic of nursing in public would be when the race of the mother and baby are different.  I'll admit that it would make me look twice.  And then smile.

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Does beer really increase milk supply?

It's the day after St. Patrick's Day and it just occurred to me that it would be a great time to investigate the age-old advice to down a Guinness to increase milk production. 

Here's what Dr. Thomas Hale says in the must-have guide to medications and breastfeeding, Medications and Mothers' Milk:

Beer, but not ethanol, has been reported in a number of studies to stimulate prolactin levels and breastmilk production.  Thus is it presumed that the polysaccharide from barley may be the prolactin-stimulating component of beer.  Non-alcoholic beer is equally effective.

Dr. Hale also cites two studies which suggest that, in the immediate period after mothers consume alcohol, milk production declines significantly and babies take in less milk. 

So it appears that barley, a traditional food for increasing milk supply, makes beer effective at increasing prolactin levels, but that the alcohol in it causes babies to take in less milk. 

Of course, drinking alcohol while breastfeeding can pose risks for your baby if it's not consumed in moderation.  And beer, non-alcoholic or not, would not be the at the top of the list of recommendations for increasing milk supply. 

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Can you guess which state doesn't protect breastfeeding in public?

There have been four incidents in the news recently regarding nursing in public, one each in New York, Florida, Texas, and Massachusetts.  Three of the four states have statutes protecting nursing in public.  See if you can guess which one does not.

In Florida a mother was told to stop breastfeeding at her older child's school.  

Outcome: The school's principal "later looked into Florida law on breast-feeding, and found he was off-base... He has since told staff members that breast-feeding is allowed at school."

In New York, a mother visiting a museum stopped to nurse her baby - under three blankets.  She was told to move to a bathroom or leave.  Area mothers later held a group show of support for the mother.

Outcome:  The museum director stated "the museum has no such policy prohibiting breastfeeding anywhere."  He believes that the person involved was not a museum staff member, and stated “We know that our staff is well aware about rule, regulations, about rights to breast feed anywhere.”

In Texas (video is worth watching), a mother getting her haircut at a salon was told that she couldn't breastfeed her child.  There were no other customers in the salon at the time, and the mother was had tried to nurse under a shawl and the salon's smock.  She left with her hair half-cut.  

Outcome:  The salon chain issued this statement: "We welcome mothers and children.  We do not have a policy against breastfeeding. This employee acted incorrectly."

In Massachusetts, a mother eating with her family at a restaurant was told she couldn't breastfeed in an adjoining empty banquet hall.  She asked if she could have a private space to nurse, and was told no by the manager. 

Outcome:  Restaurant management stated that they never heard her mention breastfeeding.  A waitress stated that the mother was told she could nurse in the banquet hall, but not eat there.

 

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Spring has sprung at Motherwear.

Motherwear's spring collection is now online, and I've posted my favorites here.

You'll find several items with the bold black and white floral pattern that's so popular this year, as well as lots of blue-and-white nautically themed items.  My favorite item is to the lower right - the red embroidered tunic.

I had the chance to meet models Carmen and Jennifer, and their babies Cameron and Zoe back in at the photo shoot in early February.

Motherwear is continuing to offer a number of items made with bamboo and other eco-friendly fabrics.

There are more pictures from photo shoots, and interviews with Motherwear models here.  All Motherwear models are nursing mothers, and many of them have written about their nursing experiences for this blog.

Be sure to order your spring catalog, and sign up to get Motherwear's newsletter.  Signing up for the newsletter automatically enters you into a $100 gift certificate drawing.

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