Here's my summary of breastfeeding news from 2008. In case you're feeling nostalgic, here are the year-end summaries for 2007 and 2006. Happy new year, everyone!
Goodbye to two revolutionaries who wore pearls. Edwina Froelich and Betty Wagner Spandikow, two of the seven founding members of La Leche League, passed away in 2008. They leave behind a legacy of thousands of La Leche League groups around the globe, and a culture in the U.S. which is far more accepting of breastfeeding. Generations of women and babies owe them a great debt of graditude. Want to learn more about the founders? Check out this video and this book.
Facebook hears it from nursing moms. Membership in the "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!" Facebook group grew to 70,000 after mothers decided to launch an online protest over Facebook's policy of removing some breastfeeding photos. Thousands of pictures were posted on December 27th, and as of this writing there is still a lot of press on this issue.
Breastfeeding is in. Breastfeeding initiation rates hit a 20 year high of 77%, according to the CDC, with particular gains among African American moms. Duration and exclusivity are another story, but all in all it's news to celebrate.
Unfortunately, so is the melamine. Melamine found in Chinese infant formula sickened thousands and resulted in a few fatalities. It also demonstrated a trend away from breastfeeding in China that mirrors what happened in the U.S. in the 19th century. Trace amounts of melamine were also found in U.S. formula, prompting calls for improved regulation and the establishment of safety standards.
BPA is on its way out. Major retailers like Walmart began pulling bottles with BPA after the Canadian government banned them and the National Institutes of Health expressed "some concern" over the component of some plastics. Bottle manufacturers finally began following suit, replacing their bottles with BPA-free alternatives.
New laws protect nursing moms. Mothers in Vermont, Indiana, Colorado, and the Navajo Nation got workplace pumping laws, Rhode Island moms got a nursing in public law, and Massachusetts is on the verge of (finally) of adopting one, too. The Vermont Human Rights Commission found that Freedom Airlines violated state law when forcing Emily Gillette off of a plane in 2006. The first fine assessed for a violation of a pumping law was made in June in California. In a strange case, a woman was sentenced to a night in jail for refusing to serve jury duty while breastfeeding.
Research continues to show how breastfeeding protects mothers and babies. More studies released this year demonstrate the power of breastfeeding to prevent cancer, asthma, metabolic syndrome, infections, and many other serious conditions. Read more about this year's research here.
But our health care system still doesn't get it. This year brought some discouraging news about our health care system: hospitals are not doing basic things to support breastfeeding, pediatricians are less supportive of breastfeeding than they were ten years ago, only 8% of women deliver in hospitals that have policies proven to increase breastfeeding success, pharmacists give bad medication advice to nursing women, and OB textbooks contain outdated information. Not a lot to celebrate here.
Disasters in China and Burma highlight the importance of breastfeeding in emergencies. The China and Burma tragedies underscored the importance of breastfeeding during emergencies, when water can become contaminated and conditions are unsanitary. A new heroine was born from the rubble of the major earthquakes that hit China this year - a policewoman who kept nine babies alive by nursing them.
More celebrities breastfeed. The most famous, of course, was Angelina Jolie, whose cover image nursing one of her twins got the most attention. But there were many others who talked about breastfeeding their famous babies, including Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba, Christina Aguilera, and many others. Read more about them in Kelly's round-up.
There's more, of course - PETA's silly suggestion, and the Vatican urging more images of a nursing Madonna. Do you have any other stories to nominate?
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