The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Join the April Carnival of Breastfeeding: Extended breastfeeding

For the April Carnival of Breastfeeding we're looking for posts on the topic of extended breastfeeding. 

Did you nurse into toddlerhood?  What did you enjoy about it?  What was challenging? 

Submissions are due by April 11th  and the Carnival will be on April 18th. We're using Google Docs to collect submissions, so please fill out this spreadsheet in order to submit your post.

As always, we're looking for posts that are:

- Well-written and grammatically correct
- Thoughtful and directly on point for the carnival subject
- Submitted by blogs that pertain to subjects of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting, etc.)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to edit your post to link back to each of the other participants in the carnival. Examples of past carnivals can be found here.

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"Booby Traps" in your OB or midwife's office

I've been doing a series of posts for Best for Babes on "Booby Traps" you might experience during your pregnancy in your OB of midwife's office.  "Booby Traps" is the term Best for Babes uses to describe cultural and institutional barriers to breastfeeding mothers often encounter. 

This series focuses on obstetricians and midwives because research has shown that they are very influential in mothers' feeding decisions - decisions that are made early in pregnancy.  So these providers have a key role to play in promoting and supporting breastfeeding.

Here are some highlights from that series:

What your OB doesn't know can hurt breastfeeding:  The textbook your OB read in her training may not have mentioned some of the very basic information about breastfeeding that could advise and assist moms.  And one study found that 70% of obstetricians in one state were not taught anything about breastfeeding management in medical school or residency.

What you should hear (and not hear) at your prenatal visits:  I listed a number of things you should hear from your OB or midwife, such as "“Here’s a list of breastfeeding support resources in our area," and "What questions or concerns do you have about breastfeeding?"  

Planning for a breastfeeding-friendly birth:  This post drew heavily on my podcast interview with Linda Smith, the nation's leading expert on the relationship between birth and breastfeeding.  I shared her top three pieces of advice for having a breastfeeding-friendly birth (doulas, non-drug pain relief methods, knowing your provider and hospital's stats).

When a gift from your OB is not a gift at all:  Research shows that mothers who are given formula gift bags at their first prenatal visit to the OB are five times more likely to stop breastfeeding before they leave the hospital.

What your OB should know about breastfeeding and medications.  This is a guest post by Dr. Alison Steube, an OB/GYN who did this podcast interview with me on formula company marketing in hospitals.

Does your OB follow the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine's protocol?  The Academy has a protocol for what should happen at your prenatal visits.

I'll be doing a podcast with the Best for Babes founders, Bettina and Danielle soon!

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Breastfeeding = bigger brains?

I sometimes quiz my son about our particular advantage in the animal kingdom.  Can we fly?  No.  Can we change colors to camoflauge ourselves?  Are we super fast?  No.  What's our advantage in the animal world?  It's our brains! (Yes, opposable thumbs also help.  Can't text without those.)

A new study finds that in humans, as well as other mammals, the longer gestation and duration of breastfeeding, the bigger brain a species has.

To be clear, they aren't suggesting that an individual baby gets a bigger brain as a result of breastfeeding, but that the bigger investment a species makes in in utero development and nursing is reflected in bigger brain size.  Put another way, we are big brained mammals, and developing that big brain requires a long gestation and nursing phase.

The Belfast Telegraph reports:

The anthropologists from Queen’s and Durham’s Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group analysed statistical evidence on brain and body size, maternal investment, and life history variables in mammals, including gorillas, elephants and whales.

They found that brain size relative to body size was most closely linked to maternal investment — the amount of time a mother spends carrying her offspring in pregnancy and how long she continues to breastfeed.

And our milk is reflective of the importance of brain development.  Compared to other mammals, our milk is low in protein and fat, but high in carbohydrates including oligosaccharides - a component which includes sialic acid and galactose, which are essential for brain development.  Dr. Sears describes this function:

Each species' milk has specific qualities that insure the survival of the young in a particular environment. This principle is known as the biological specificity of milk. Mother seals, for example, make a high-fat milk because baby seals need lots of body fat to survive in cold water. Since brain development is crucial to the survival of humans, human milk provides nutrients for rapid brain growth.

This high-carb, low fat/protein diet is also consistent with the idea that we are "carry mammals."  As I posted a while back, this idea is described in Breastfeeding Made Simple:

The carry animals are the most immature at birth, need the warmth of the mother's body, and are carried constantly.  Their milk has low levels of fat and protein, and they are fed often around the clock.  Humans are most definitely carry mammals.  Human milk has the lowest fat and protein of all mammalian milks.  That, and our immaturity at birth, means human infants need to feed often and are meant to be carried and held.

And of course, in addition to being protected in this vulnerable state, babies who are kept close to adults have the opportunity to grow and learn and develop their brains. 

For more on the nursing patterns of different mammals, check out this podcast interview I did with Dia Michels!

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Moms Rising to launch breastfeeding support project: "Stop treating breastfeeding like a political hot potato!"

In response to the trifecta-of-Michelles breastfeeding flap a few weeks ago, Moms Rising initiated a petition entitled “Stop treating breastfeeding like a political hot potato!”

Moms Rising is raising money to expand this project, as follows:

MomsRising will work in unison with other national organizations to leverage and amplify our work to make breastfeeding more accessible and affordable for all. To do this, we'll continue to circulate our national petition calling on Congress and political leaders to “Stop treating breastfeeding like a political hot potato!”  We'll then deliver our petition to political leaders and share it with the media to counter the attacks on breastfeeding access for all. For this program area, MomsRising will also educate employers and employees about the new workplace pumping law, promote paid family leave programs which provide critical time with a newborn to establish breastfeeding, and swiftly counter attacks on breastfeeding through our media reach.

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Holly Robinson Peete and Amy Yasbeck talk about extended breastfeeding

Yes, there was a gasp from the crowd at the idea of nursing a three year old, but it was so refreshing to see any one talking about extended breastfeeding on TV.  And that was a pretty funny joke.  So, overall, I score this one in the win column.

How do you use a breastpump on an orangutan?

I mean, really, how does that work?

Study: Breastfeeding mothers viewed as less competent, less likely to be hired

I've never seen a report like this.

Three separate studies, summarized in the article "Spoiled Milk: An Experimental Examination of Bias Against Mothers who Breastfeed," found significant bias against nursing mothers, including in an employment context.  The studies are summarized in this article. 

In one study, students were given biographical information abou Brooke Shields.  When "breastfeeding" was changed to "bottle feeding," the students rated her as less competent generally and specifically in math.  She was seen as more friendly, however.

In another study students listened to different messages on a woman's answering machine and then asked questions about their perceptions of her.  Students rated the breastfeeding woman less competent, and less likely to be hired.  Students also rated women whose breasts were sexualized in this scenario lower.

Very interested in what you think of this!

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Can you identify these lines?

Can you identify the TV shows in which these lines were said?

I did this once before, and you were lightening quick at identifying them!  Can you do it again?

Tell me in the comments section which TV shows contained these lines:

1)  "If I can make mushed carrots seem better than a boob, I can sell anything."

2)  "I'm pregnant, and Avery is helping me decide what kind of baby megaphone to buy (holding up a breastpump)."

3)  On a pamphlet:  "I still breastfeed...but how old is too old?"*

4)  "What are you doing?"

"May I not feed her from my own breast?"

"Tsk, tsk.  Queens don't do that.  Especially not for a daughter.  Give her back to her wet nurse."

*Thanks to Sarah Rubenstein-Gillis for that one!  If you're interested in breastfeeding portrayals in the movies, check out this podcast interview with Sarah!

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Health organizations ask Congress for $15 million for breastfeeding support initiatives

The leadership of nearly every public health organization working in maternal and child health sent a letter to Congress this month requesting an appropriation of $15 million to fund a number of activities to implement the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.

The letter states:

Given the increasing importance of prevention in the face of spiraling health care costs and the
obesity epidemic, we, the undersigned organizations, urge Congress to direct $15 million to
breastfeeding support initiatives in Fiscal Year 2012, from the Prevention and Public Health
Fund. We also urge Congress to undertake a concerted, multi-faceted effort to promote
breastfeeding through the establishment of an Interagency Work Group on Breastfeeding, as
recommended by the Surgeon General.

We urge that at least $15 million be directed in FY2012 for programs to transform maternity
practices (Action 7) and community outpatient support (Actions 4 & 8). This work allows the
healthier choice to be the easier choice, and increases that the support mothers need to succeed with
breastfeeding. 

If funded, this initiative stands to make a significant difference in the kind of support moms get for breastfeeding, in the hospital and in the community.  Research has shown repeatedly that when evidence-based practices are followed, moms are far more likely to meet their breastfeeding goals.

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New posters: "Utah opens its doors to breastfeeding"

I thought you'd all enjoy these wonderful new posters produced by the Utah Breastfeeding Coalition.  I was pointed to them from a photographer involved in the project who posted on Motherwear's Facebook page.

Karin, the president of the Coalition told me that the posters were created with a grant from the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee for World Breastfeeding Week, in conjunction with one of Utah's breastfeeding cafes.  She said that research has shown that in Utah one of the barriers to breastfeeding after leaving the hospital is concern about nursing in public, so these posters were created to show that breastfeeding in public is welcome and practiced widely.

Our local breastfeeding coalition sells stickers like these, and I'll be posting some pictures of them in my area soon.