The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

All 49 Massachusetts hospitals are now "bag free"

The Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition has announced that, as of July 1st, 2012, all 49 of the state's hospitals have gone "bag free," making it the second and largest state to end their distribution in hospitals. 

The bags in question are the formula company promotional "gift bags" given to new mothers as they leave the hospital.  Rhode Island announced last year that all their hospitals had gotten rid of them.

Not sure why these bags are harmful to breastfeeding?  Check out this podcast with Dr. Alison Steube I posted a few years ago.  I have new one on this topic coming out in August at the Motherlove Blog - an interview with Marsha Walker.

This is great news because the bags have been shown in multiple studies to negatively impact breastfeeding, but also because getting rid of them is one (very challenging step) in the process of becoming a Baby Friendly hospital.

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.

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.

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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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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New podcast: "Extended" breastfeeding

I have a new podcast interview up on the Motherlove Blog on "extended" breastfeeding (and it starts with a discussion of why that term is problematic!).

I intereviewed Ann Sinnott, author of Breastfeeding Older Children, about many aspects of nursing past infancy.

You can listen to it on the Motherlove Blog, or download it from their free iTunes store!

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Breastfeeding in uniform?

This picture from the breastfeeding support group for women in the military, Mom2Mom, has sparked a lot of discussion. 

I did a podcast interview on breastfeeding while serving in the military in which my guest, the author of Breastfeeding in Combat Boots, said that nursing in uniform even while in a pediatric waiting room with a baby is not considered inconsistent with "good order and discipline."

What do you think about the image of moms nursing in uniform?

 

Laila Ali speaks out about breastfeeding

Leila Ali, retired boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali, spoke to Extra about her support of breastfeeding through the Best for Babes Foundation and reducing our kids' exposure to toxins through Healthy Child, Healthy World. 

I loved her answer to the question, "How did you get involved in this?"  Shades of her father, right?

Leila and the Best for Babes founders spoke about the many barriers moms face in meeting their breastfeeding goals.  I've been writing a series on what they call the "Booby Traps," which I encourage you to check out!

Book review and give away: Mommy Feeds Baby

My toddler daughter loves books and nursing (not in that order).  

And while she can't sit through the whole thing yet, she's very interested in Mommy Feeds Baby, by lactation consultant Christina Jo Hendricks.

The book is a series of photos of mothers nursing their babies, listing the many reasons why mothers breastfeed.  The text on each page reads, "Because _____, Mommy feeds baby."

The images include mothers of different ethnicities nursing children of different ages, in different locations and with different family members present.  All of the photos were taken by the author.  It's also available in Spanish.

The best part of the book is the final page, which allows the owner to insert their own picture and write a statement about why they nurse.

This is a sweet, affirming, and beautiful book, and I have the fun of offering one to a lucky reader! 

To enter, leave a comment below by June 1st, 2012. One winner will be chosen using random.org and notified by email.  Winner will also be listed in the comments section.  Winner has three days from notification to reply with mailing addresses; alternate winner will be chosen if no reply is received in three days. U.S. addresses only, one entry per person. *I was given a review sample of this book.

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Study: Newly discovered breastmilk component neutralizes HIV

While mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breastfeeding is a major source of new infections in the developing world, it's always been a mystery why some babies become infected and others don't.

Researchers at Duke University may have identified one reason why:

Antibodies that help to stop the HIV virus have been found in breast milk. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center isolated the antibodies from immune cells called B cells in the breast milk of infected mothers in Malawi, and showed that the B cells in breast milk can generate neutralizing antibodies that may inhibit the virus that causes AIDS.

HIV-1 can be transmitted from mother to child via breastfeeding, posing a challenge for safe infant feeding practices in areas of high HIV-1 prevalence. But only one in 10 HIV-infected nursing mothers is known to pass the virus to their infants.

"That is remarkable, because nursing children are exposed multiple times each day during their first year of life," said senior author Sallie Permar, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at Duke. "We are asking if there is an immune response that protects 90 percent of infants, and could we harness that response to develop immune system prophylaxis (protection) during breastfeeding for mothers infected with HIV-1.

For more on breastfeeding and HIV, see these prior posts:

• WHO announces a big change in breastfeeding recommendation for HIV positive mothers.
• Study shows medications can eliminate 99% of HIV infections through breastfeeding
• I donated milk for this research
• World AIDS Day: Breastfeeding and HIV

 Follow Motherwear on Facebook and Twitter.  Subscribe to the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog with email updates and RSS feeds.  Subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes.