The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Breastfeeding in paradise

When I posted about getting together some Asian/Pacific American breastfeeding supporters I heard from Amber, a photographer in Hawaii.

She shared this story and photo.  I'm a bit biased because I have lots of family connections to Hawaii, but isn't it just beautiful?

I am a member of our local LLL group here in Hawaii.  A couple of years ago, we were looking for art for posters for World Breastfeeding Week to help promote breastfeeding to local moms. We noticed that most posters and artwork depict Caucasian women and babies.

I offered that local moms are proud of their heritage and that we should do something relating to Pacific Islander culture. One mother knew a hula dancer who was breastfeeding and I happen to be a professional photographer.  I contacted the mom and we met at the beach and shot this beautiful photo. It has since been sent to and featured in our local WIC offices and clinics.

Guest post: Ann on develping a wardrobe for returning to work

I'm very pleased to share a guest post today from Ann, a nursing and working mama of two. She blogs about sewing, fashion and thrifty shopping.  

You may remember Ann's prior posts:  How to become a nursing fashionista, and The essential summer packing list for nursing fashionistas, and The nursing mother's guide to escaping fashion purgatory.

This time Ann has put together some great ideas on how to put together a nursing wardrobe for work.  Enjoy!

Working moms, we know going back to work without your baby (and having to pump) is as much an emotional as a physical challenge.  You'll be going to work with spit up on your clothes, so you should carry some wet wipes in your purse.

Then, build on a nursing and easy to pump wardrobe by investing in two nursing dresses. These can be further dressed up by wearing a suit jacket over the top, or a cardigan, with a belt. Use your workday to wear all the fancy jewelry your baby will break (and bring a small bag to take it off and remove it before picking your baby up from day care.) A great pair of shoes and a roomy bag adds style. Change up the accessories and you can get away with the same dress twice in a week. Or try a leather jacket, in an edgy style, and pair with a nursing dress, and short boots with bright tights. It's a modern look that goes great to an evening event.

Extending your nursing wardrobe with a few nursing tops or button front blouses with nursing camisoles paired with suit separates also works. Casual workplaces call for polished suit jacket or cardigan, nursing tee, dark denim jeans with scarf and jewelry.

Invest in a few pairs of dressy suit pants in your 'new size’ (if you're still between sizes, shop a consignment boutique for the larger size till you lose the weight). Pre-pregnancy jackets and cardigans can probably still be worn, left open. Wear these with a nursing top, scarf and jewelry to work. A wardrobe of 2-4 tops and 1-2 dresses can get you through a week of work. As you lose the postpartum weight you can add back your pre pregnancy wardrobe. If some things never fit again, give yourself a pat on the back - you created an entire human being in that body! And you're feeding him too! And then treat yourself to new things in your new size.

I found a clutch purse to be very handy for work - when I dropped off my children at day care, I'd take my clutch out of the diaper bag and voila, I was mama, solo. An oversized clutch can carry a smartphone, wallet, and lipstick as well as even have room for a MP3 player (for when you're pumping).

We hope you have a place to pump discreetly at your workplace, if not see these resources for how to make the business case for workplace lactation support.

Pretty mamas are happy mamas, and it's important to acknowledge the need for purchasing a few things so you feel more polished at work, or even pretend you got more than three hours of sleep last night!

Donor Milk: The Documentary

I wrote about this film a while back when it was still in development, but it's now here!

For those of you who live in the Portland, Oregon area, see this site for information on an upcoming screening.

My milk cells

I provided a sample of my milk to the UMass Breastmilk Lab last week so they could test out some methods of preserving cells in the milk they receive. 

They take shipments from around the country by overnight mail, and the time between pumping and analysis takes a toll on the number of cells they can examine.

Here's a picture of the cells in my milk - all cells, not just the ductal epithelial cells they study.  This was after the milk was combined with a preservative and set out on the counter for about five days.  Looks like the Milky Way, right?

Will the Supreme Court decision eliminate the workplace pumping law?

The Supreme Court is expected to rule as early as today on the federal Affordable Care Act - apparently not today.

The Court might leave the law alone, might eliminate the insurance mandate only, or might invalidate the whole thing.  If it chooses the latter, the workplace pumping law is will go away.  Not something that makes the news, but it would be a pretty big reversal for working/pumping moms.

Video: Milk banking in South Africa

I really enjoyed this student-made video on the first milk bank in South Africa, and think you will too!

Any Asian/Pacific Americans breastfeeding supporters interested in organizing?

Are you interested in issues relating to Asian/Pacific American mothers and breastfeeding?

I've been wanting to do a little bit of organizing of Asian/Pacific American breastfeeding supporters for a while. 

Why?  Because I think that there is a need for better understanding of Asian/Pacific American mothers' perspectives and support needs when it comes to breastfeeding.  We* have a high breastfeeding initiation rate compared to other ethnic groups, but I do hear uninformed comments from breastfeeding support people about Asian mothers and breastfeeding.  African American moms and support people are starting to organize and advocate, I think there's a need for Asian/Pacific Americans to do the same.

I was thinking of a very simple project to start:  A website which has 1) links to breastfeeding materials in Asian/Pacific lanuages, 2) compiles the available research on Asian/Pacific American mothers and breastfeeding, and 3) provides contact information to some people who can speak knowledgeably about Asian/Pacific American moms and breastfeeding.  It would demonstrate how diverse our communities are, and provide a little historical context.  I'd also like it to form a connection between Asian/Pacific Americans involved in breastfeeding support.

So, if you're an Asian/Pacific American mother, breastfeeding support person (i.e. lactation consultant, La Leche League leader, WIC peer counselor, health care provider), or just interested, please email me!   I'm looking forward to getting started on this project.

*I'm Japanese American, though you can't tell from my name!

WIC's breastpump program

I'm so happy that many WIC programs are now offering breastpumps as one of their benefits.  Programs in my area now offer loans and in some cases free pumps to moms who are separated from their babies for work or medical reasons.  

This short video provides a bit of an explanation, but if you think you may qualify you should check with your local WIC office!

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International Breastfeeding Symbol: Toddler version

This has been my life recently.  Can you relate?

Tell Congress to preserve the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors program

Many of you know how vital WIC breastfeeding peer counselors are to supporting breastfeeding for many, many mothers.  This support is extra special because it comes from mothers who have participated in WIC and are members of the same community as the moms they help.  And this model has proven to be effective at keeping moms breastfeeding. 

That's why its worrying to hear that a House Appropriations Subcommittee has defunded the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselors program in its proposed budget.  This budget still has many steps to go, but once something is defunded in at least one version of the budget it takes a fight to get it reinstated.

So the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee is urging us all to tell Congress to reinstate funding for the program.  You can do so using their online form, which will get your commens to your representative.

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