Last week, Fresh Air on NPR interviewed Florence Williams, the author of Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History. Seriously, listen to this story. It is amazing. It covers everything from breastfeeding, to cancer, to plastic surgery, to male breast cancer, to chemicals in the home. I would love to go into more about it, but I can’t even figure out which topic to focus on. She goes into so many things, each more interesting than the last. If you listened to it, tell me what stood out most to you about this story.
Want to know what the laws in your state are regarding breastfeeding? This website is a great resource, and has current information by state and law-type. I was surprised to find out that the state I live in, Pennsylvania, has no laws supporting women’s need to pump or nurse at work.
Many women are covered under the Affordable Care Act for pumping at work, but this act doesn’t cover salaried workers. Until the federal government extends this law for all women (unlikely, any time soon at least) it is worth knowing what your local laws are, and advocating for more supportive ones.
This is a great resource! The National Library of Medicine is a very trustworthy. Often times pediatricians don’t know a lot about breastfeeding-safe medications. So while I’d definitely recommend confirming safety of anything on this database with your pediatrician, I’d also reach out to a IBCLC certified lactation consultant to be doubly (triply!) sure.
littlebandcompany:
I was perusing the internet in search of answers. I found this website which I hope gives pretty good information about what happens when taking medications.
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT
I cannot verify the veracity of the claims, but it’s at least a starting point. I…
sweetbabybaker replied to your link: Dear breastfeeding moms (who feel like giving up)
Love the photo of Florence Thompson. They always show the other famous photo… but I am more moved by this one.
Agreed! It is such a beautiful photo, and one I’ve never seen before. The emotion in here face just gives me the chills. For others out there, here it is:
Every year the CDC puts out a report card about how we as a nation (and as individual states) are doing to support breastfeeding mothers. As always, I was pretty curious to see what the results were. One of the data points this report card refers to is the percent of births that happen in “Baby Friendly Facilities.” Across the United States, only 4.53% of live births occur in Baby Friendly Facilities. Honestly, I read that and wondered what the heck makes something “baby friendly.”
I know that not all hospitals commit to evidence-based practices that support the health and well-being of babies right after they are born (like kangaroo care, immediate breastfeeding, etc.) But I would (perhaps naively?) think that all hospitals are “baby friendly.” Not knowing how they define this term, I looked it up. It turns out that UNICEF and the WHO have an international initiative focused on making all hospitals “baby friendly.” Here’s what it includes:
The Ten Steps To Successful Breastfeeding
The BFHI promotes, protects, and supports breastfeeding through The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding for Hospitals, as outlined by UNICEF/WHO. The steps for the United States are:
- Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
- Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
- Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
- Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
- Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
- Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
- Practice “rooming in”— allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
- Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
- Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
- Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.
(via BFHI)
In case you are wondering if your hospital or birth center is “baby friendly” they provide a searchable map on their website. I looked up the hospital I delivered at, and despite the strong midwifery presence, it is not considered baby friendly. Am I surprised? Not at all. One of my biggest memories of my hospital stay (outside of the obvious) was a breastfeeding class in which a young woman complained, “How do I tell the nurses not to give my baby formula?” The lactation consultant leading the class looked at her slightly horrified and responded, “The nurses should never give your baby formula without your consent.” While the hospital policy to support breastfeeding was in place, the staff clearly was not educated about it (and assumed, perhaps because the mother was young, or because she was a woman of color, or who knows what other assumption, that she would not want to breastfeed.)
So if you know you want to breastfeed ask your midwife/doctor/hospital how “baby friendly” they are when you are making your decision about where to deliver.
Online and in person I count myself as a big breastfeeding advocate. I had a lot of trouble nursing with my son early on, but had the good fortune of an amazing lactation consultant, great support from my friends, and just some good luck. That said, one of my biggest memories during my early days as a mom was hearing a new mom friend tell of her struggle giving up nursing in order to effectively treat post-partum depression. The shame she felt when making the decision to take care of herself (so she could take care of her baby) wasn’t something anyone should have to go through.
My friend, Laura Moser, faced a similar challenge (though for entirely different reasons) and illustrates the difficulty of this decision so nicely in her latest blog posting on babble. While I know that I am just like the annoying, “lactivist”, more organic-than-thou moms that tortured her, this piece is a compelling reminder that even with the best support breastfeeding does not work out for everyone. No one should be shamed for trying to take care of their child as best they can.
Great list of breastfeeding products and advice on whether you *really* need them. I’ll echo babylunastar: for working moms double electric breast pumps are a MUST!
babylunastar:
I will say: Thank God for the invention of double electric breast pumps!
babygooroo:
Breastfeeding Products-Take ‘Em Or Leave ‘Em?
by Melissa Clark Vickers
Store shelves and baby registries are filled with “must-have” breastfeeding products. But, are they really necessary? We review the top 10 most commonly purchased breastfeeding products.
http://bit.ly/bfproducts
As a “cooking hobbyist” —as my coworkers call me—I loved making my own baby food. That said, I’m also a huge breastfeeding advocate. So, when I read about this alternative approach to starting infants on solids, I was intrigued. It definitely gives me something to think about for kid #2 (whenever that happens.) Has anyone out there tried this? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
