www.surgeongeneral.gov
On January 20, 2011, Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin released The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding in the Jack Morton...
Professional breastfeeding education and support. Breastfeeding, childbirth and baby care issues.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Recommend breastfeeding in the first hour after birth
| Welcome to The Magical Hour |
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The breathtaking award-winning DVD for prospective parents.
Dr. Kajsa Brimdyr, ethnographer and international expert in implementing skin to skin in first hour, guides you through the beauty and magic of the first hour after birth. Combining stunning videography of babies during this amazing time with the humorous and practical insights of real parents and the grounded research of international experts Ann-Marie Widström and Lars Åke Hanson, this DVD is both heartwarming and informative. It has been well documented that holding a baby skin to skin in the first hour after birth is crucial for improving health, establishing breastfeeding and creating a priceless bond between mother and newborn baby. Every baby goes through nine amazing stages when skin to skin with their mother during the first hour. Each of these stages are beautifully illustrated and discussed. This 30 minute DVD asks parents who have experienced skin to skin to share their thoughts and feelings about what this magical first hour after birth meant for them and their child. International in scope, it will give parents a realistic view of what it means to spend that first hour in direct uninterrupted contact with the new life they have been given. | ||||||||
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Monday, August 27, 2012
Working and Breastfeeding Moms have federal support
Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also
known as Health Care Reform), amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), or
federal wage and hour law. The amendment requires employers to provide
reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom place for nursing mothers to
express breast milk during the workday, for one year after the child’s birth.
The new requirements became effective when the Affordable Care Act was signed
into law on March 23, 2010. Download the text of Section 4207 only.
News and Resources:Resources from Department of Labor
Resources from USBC
Resources for Federal Workers
Resources for Employers and Managers
Resources for Employees
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Monday, August 20, 2012
What is the WHO Code?
What is the WHO-CODE?
| By Bettina Forbes, CLC | Posted on November 8, 2011 | 23 Comments | |  |
The primary purpose of the “WHO-CODE” is to protect mothers and babies from the highly effective, aggressive and predatory marketing of substitutes for breastfeeding (i.e. infant formula, bottles, artificial nipples) at the most vulnerable period of their lives, the birth of a new baby.
Health workers helping vulnerable new moms and babies, day after day, have discovered an alarming trend: in areas where formula and bottles are marketed heavily, breastfeeding rates go down, and infection, disease and mortality go up. This happens in countries around the globe, independent of a country’s economic status. In fact, it is estimated that globally, at least 1.5 million babies’ lives could be saved every year from improved breastfeeding & complementary feeding; in the U.S., it is estimated that 900 babies’ lives could be saved every year from improved breastfeeding rates, and $13 billion could be saved in health care and associated costs for ten pediatric diseases alone.
Some people don’t believe that formula marketing affects a mother’s decision to try breastfeeding or her ability to continue. It’s understandable: it is human nature not to want to believe that we can be so easily duped out of protecting and advancing our own and our babies’ health! So, before you read further, we urge you to please read this article on the 10 Most Successful Ad Campaigns of All Time. Read about what ad campaign helped Miller go from selling 7 million to 31 million barrels of beer, which ad increased Clairol’s sales 800%, and how Nike’s market share jumped from 18% to 43%. Now consider that in 2004, just as the U.S. government was rolling out its largest effort, the three-year, $40 million “Babies Were Born to Be Breastfed” awareness campaign, formula advertising almost doubled to $50 million annually. More importantly, the government’s campaign was diluted and rendered ineffective under the influence of industry lobbyists. Further, under lobbying pressure, a valuable, national meta-study conclusively showing the association of breastfeeding and lower rates of disease was suppressed. No surprise: Breastfeeding rates went down. Breastfeeding was outmarketed, and this is precisely why examples of successful formula marketing make it into marketing textbooks. Try to remain objective while watching this extremely sophisticated formula commercial, and then consider it in the context of research showing that breastfeeding protects against SIDS and is critical in the NICU.
In recognition of the devastating effect of formula and bottle marketing, the World Health Organization and Unicef adopted the “WHO-CODE” in 1981. The “WHO-CODE” is short for the World Health Organization’s International Code of the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. Scores of countries have enacted legislation implementing all or many of the provisions of the Code, but the U.S. has not. Because “The Code” is a voluntary pledge, it is easy for countries to say they uphold the code even when they don’t enforce the following stipulations:
We love to claim we are savvier at looking past the claims of a print ad or commercial–even when studies show us that rates of breastfeeding decline when formula advertising increases–but it is undeniable that we are easily influenced and persuaded by our trusted doctors, family members, and peers. Formula companies are turning respected authorities, i.e. health professionals and organizations, into marketing arms for their product, a practice which is extremely unethical, and is especially hard for the public to see through. Marsha Walker of NABA has collected examples of formula companies sponsoring pediatrician conferences, donating to nursing professional associations, and providing “information” and gift bags to Ob/Gyns for their patients.
We’ve learned that formula companies donate to hospital NICUs–a terribly mixed message
Formula-fed babies are at greater risk for Necrotizing Enterocolitis, a painful, often fatal, and expensive to treat disease.
Health workers helping vulnerable new moms and babies, day after day, have discovered an alarming trend: in areas where formula and bottles are marketed heavily, breastfeeding rates go down, and infection, disease and mortality go up. This happens in countries around the globe, independent of a country’s economic status. In fact, it is estimated that globally, at least 1.5 million babies’ lives could be saved every year from improved breastfeeding & complementary feeding; in the U.S., it is estimated that 900 babies’ lives could be saved every year from improved breastfeeding rates, and $13 billion could be saved in health care and associated costs for ten pediatric diseases alone.
Some people don’t believe that formula marketing affects a mother’s decision to try breastfeeding or her ability to continue. It’s understandable: it is human nature not to want to believe that we can be so easily duped out of protecting and advancing our own and our babies’ health! So, before you read further, we urge you to please read this article on the 10 Most Successful Ad Campaigns of All Time. Read about what ad campaign helped Miller go from selling 7 million to 31 million barrels of beer, which ad increased Clairol’s sales 800%, and how Nike’s market share jumped from 18% to 43%. Now consider that in 2004, just as the U.S. government was rolling out its largest effort, the three-year, $40 million “Babies Were Born to Be Breastfed” awareness campaign, formula advertising almost doubled to $50 million annually. More importantly, the government’s campaign was diluted and rendered ineffective under the influence of industry lobbyists. Further, under lobbying pressure, a valuable, national meta-study conclusively showing the association of breastfeeding and lower rates of disease was suppressed. No surprise: Breastfeeding rates went down. Breastfeeding was outmarketed, and this is precisely why examples of successful formula marketing make it into marketing textbooks. Try to remain objective while watching this extremely sophisticated formula commercial, and then consider it in the context of research showing that breastfeeding protects against SIDS and is critical in the NICU.
In recognition of the devastating effect of formula and bottle marketing, the World Health Organization and Unicef adopted the “WHO-CODE” in 1981. The “WHO-CODE” is short for the World Health Organization’s International Code of the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. Scores of countries have enacted legislation implementing all or many of the provisions of the Code, but the U.S. has not. Because “The Code” is a voluntary pledge, it is easy for countries to say they uphold the code even when they don’t enforce the following stipulations:
- No advertising of breast milk substitutes to families. (Read: Why formula advertising is different from other types of advertising, making it predatory.)
- No free samples or supplies in the health care system.
- No promotion of products through health care facilities, including no free or low-cost formula.
- No contact between marketing personnel and mothers.
- No gifts or personal samples to health workers.
- No words or pictures idealizing artificial feeding, including pictures of infants, on the labels or the product.
- Information to health workers should be scientific and factual only.
- All information on artificial feeding, including labels, should explain the benefits of breastfeeding and the costs and hazards associated with artificial feeding.
- Unsuitable products should not be promoted for babies.
- All products should be of high quality and take account of the climate and storage conditions of the country where they are used.
We love to claim we are savvier at looking past the claims of a print ad or commercial–even when studies show us that rates of breastfeeding decline when formula advertising increases–but it is undeniable that we are easily influenced and persuaded by our trusted doctors, family members, and peers. Formula companies are turning respected authorities, i.e. health professionals and organizations, into marketing arms for their product, a practice which is extremely unethical, and is especially hard for the public to see through. Marsha Walker of NABA has collected examples of formula companies sponsoring pediatrician conferences, donating to nursing professional associations, and providing “information” and gift bags to Ob/Gyns for their patients.We’ve learned that formula companies donate to hospital NICUs–a terribly mixed message
Friday, August 17, 2012
Dad's Support makes a Difference
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Dad's Role in Breastfeeding
by Tom Johnston
If you are reading this column, you and your wife are probably expecting a beautiful baby, to which I say congratulations! You are already well on your way down the path of parenthood. Make no mistake you become a parent long before your baby is born, just as your child knows both mom and dad long before he or she is born.
The road that you are on will be tough; it will lead you through countless trials and conquests, ups and downs, and twists and turns. I am very fond of saying that parenting is a contact sport, but the rewards are tremendous. Each new skill, each new word, every new step you experience as your child grows is an exciting and miraculous journey down the road of life.
Enjoy the journey, the hard times and the easy times. Nothing in life compares.
There is so much to say about your role in breastfeeding that I just can't squeeze it in to the space limitations of one article, so we will look at the role of the father in two parts. The first part will explore the roles of each member of the breastfeeding team (Mom, Dad, and Baby). The second part will actually get down into the mechanics of breastfeeding. You will learn to assess what a "good latch" looks like and help you develop the skills you will need to help your family breastfeed.
As a midwife, a lactation consultant and a father of seven beautiful breastfed babies I'm often asked to share my perspectives with new parents. First, let me say, I have found through personal and professional practice that almost everything is hard the first few days or weeks with a new baby and breastfeeding is no different. You will do yourself a favor if you prepare for the challenges ahead by learning all you can before your progeny is born.
I encourage you to talk to your health care provider, your lactation consultant, and especially friends who have successfully breastfed for more than six months. Learning from successful and experienced breastfeeding friends is a good way to get honest accurate information and avoid the myths that make breastfeeding so very challenging.
I warn you to ignore the advice of couples who failed at breastfeeding, as their perspectives, while honest, may not always be accurate. Nothing teaches better than success.
Before we can talk about your role in breastfeeding, we have to answer the most fundamental question in the breastfeeding, why would anyone want to breastfeed? In the old days we used to talk about the benefits of breastfeeding, and you will still hear some people mention it, but not me. Believe it or not, breastfeeding doesn't make your baby bigger, stronger, faster, or smarter. Breastfeeding doesn't make him super human, it just makes him human.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) breastfeeding is the "physiologic norm" and rather than talking about the benefits of breastfeeding, they refer to "the risks of not breastfeeding." That is to say that not breastfeeding has significant health risks for the infant.
The problem is that infant formula is incomplete nutrition, it is missing several essential nutrients that a growing baby needs. Many people become offended at the notion that formula feeding is substandard nutrition, you will hear them defend their formula feeding history, but there is no hiding the fact, incomplete nutrition will always affect your long term health.
There are indeed risks to formula feeding, just like there are risks to eating fast food every day. If you eat fast food three meals a day for two years you would be weaker and slower, too. There is no doubt about it, inadequate nutrition is inadequate growth.
Breastfeeding is perfect nutrition and as a human mammal your child is designed to drink human milk made especially for him, by his mother. If you don't believe me, there are more than 4000 well designed clinical trials, and hundreds of other sources to prove my point. Honestly, if you don't think that formula is substandard nutrition you have been purposely hiding from the truth and nothing I say here will help change your mind.
If you are reading this column, you and your wife are probably expecting a beautiful baby, to which I say congratulations! You are already well on your way down the path of parenthood. Make no mistake you become a parent long before your baby is born, just as your child knows both mom and dad long before he or she is born. The road that you are on will be tough; it will lead you through countless trials and conquests, ups and downs, and twists and turns. I am very fond of saying that parenting is a contact sport, but the rewards are tremendous. Each new skill, each new word, every new step you experience as your child grows is an exciting and miraculous journey down the road of life.
Enjoy the journey, the hard times and the easy times. Nothing in life compares.
There is so much to say about your role in breastfeeding that I just can't squeeze it in to the space limitations of one article, so we will look at the role of the father in two parts. The first part will explore the roles of each member of the breastfeeding team (Mom, Dad, and Baby). The second part will actually get down into the mechanics of breastfeeding. You will learn to assess what a "good latch" looks like and help you develop the skills you will need to help your family breastfeed.
As a midwife, a lactation consultant and a father of seven beautiful breastfed babies I'm often asked to share my perspectives with new parents. First, let me say, I have found through personal and professional practice that almost everything is hard the first few days or weeks with a new baby and breastfeeding is no different. You will do yourself a favor if you prepare for the challenges ahead by learning all you can before your progeny is born.
I encourage you to talk to your health care provider, your lactation consultant, and especially friends who have successfully breastfed for more than six months. Learning from successful and experienced breastfeeding friends is a good way to get honest accurate information and avoid the myths that make breastfeeding so very challenging.
I warn you to ignore the advice of couples who failed at breastfeeding, as their perspectives, while honest, may not always be accurate. Nothing teaches better than success.
Before we can talk about your role in breastfeeding, we have to answer the most fundamental question in the breastfeeding, why would anyone want to breastfeed? In the old days we used to talk about the benefits of breastfeeding, and you will still hear some people mention it, but not me. Believe it or not, breastfeeding doesn't make your baby bigger, stronger, faster, or smarter. Breastfeeding doesn't make him super human, it just makes him human.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) breastfeeding is the "physiologic norm" and rather than talking about the benefits of breastfeeding, they refer to "the risks of not breastfeeding." That is to say that not breastfeeding has significant health risks for the infant.
The problem is that infant formula is incomplete nutrition, it is missing several essential nutrients that a growing baby needs. Many people become offended at the notion that formula feeding is substandard nutrition, you will hear them defend their formula feeding history, but there is no hiding the fact, incomplete nutrition will always affect your long term health.
There are indeed risks to formula feeding, just like there are risks to eating fast food every day. If you eat fast food three meals a day for two years you would be weaker and slower, too. There is no doubt about it, inadequate nutrition is inadequate growth.
Breastfeeding is perfect nutrition and as a human mammal your child is designed to drink human milk made especially for him, by his mother. If you don't believe me, there are more than 4000 well designed clinical trials, and hundreds of other sources to prove my point. Honestly, if you don't think that formula is substandard nutrition you have been purposely hiding from the truth and nothing I say here will help change your mind.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
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