The AAP and its relationship with an infant formula manufacturer

The American Academy of Pediatrics, a well-respected group of physicians, has allowed their logo to be placed on the tag of Mead Johnson's Enfamil-infant formula discharge bag. Because The AAP clearly promotes breastfeeding due to the undeniable health benefits; this collaboration sends an opposing message. The AAP, maternity hospitals, obstetricians, pediatricians, and all allied health services should avoid the practice of dispersing formula or discharge bags. These are not free samples meant to assist new mothers. Distributing formula companies' discharge bags or printed materials is only providing free advertisement for the formula companies. Unfortunately this practice undermines new mothers breastfeeding endeavors. www.BabyFirstLactation.com

IBLCE Calls Upon the American Academy of Pediatrics to Terminate Arrangement with Formula Manufacturer


As a certification body, the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) typically only issues statements directly related to IBCLC® certification matters.

However, due to IBLCE’s strong support of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, IBLCE is compelled to take the somewhat unusual step of calling upon the American Academy of Pediatrics to terminate its recent arrangement with a formula manufacturer which included the printing of the AAP logo on the formula company discharge bags.

This arrangement does not accord with some of AAP’s own policy statements as well as the evidence base regarding the importance, and primacy of, breastfeeding.

Therefore, IBLCE calls upon the AAP to terminate this arrangement and to demonstrate its commitment to optimal health and nutrition by unequivocal support and promotion of breastfeeding.








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Amarillo doc asked to revise drug label info for women | Amarillo Globe-News

Amarillo doc asked to revise drug label info for women | Amarillo Globe-News

'Bye nursery; hello rooming-in!

About Projects Who's Involved Newsroom Resources Contact You are here: Home > Newsroom > Goodbye Nursery, Hello Rooming-in Goodbye Nursery, Hello Rooming-in Hospital goes from 10 percent to 100 percent rooming-in in less than a year April 16, 2013 By Cindy Hutter The traditional hub of maternity floors, the baby nursery, is getting a makeover. The nursery is transitioning from the central place for doctors to evaluate babies and families to ogle at newborns to a specialty care area that rarely is used. The new nursery identity is to support the practice of keeping mothers and babies together 24 hours a day, known as rooming-in. The practice helps mother and babies get acquainted, learn feeding cues and establish breastfeeding patterns. Rooming-in is one of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding External Link, as outlined by the World Health Organization. Birthing facilities who comply with these steps achieve Baby-Friendly External Link status, a designation indicating a commitment to supporting breastfeeding. “It took a lot of teaching to get staff to understand that that we are not doing the mom a favor by taking the baby away from her during the night for her to sleep,” says Marianne Allen, a clinical nurse specialist for Women and Children’s Services at PinnacleHealth System in Pennsylvania. “It’s a change in the mindset of staff that we serve the mother best by teaching her the skills and giving her the confidence she’ll need to take care of her baby in the days to come once she goes home without the safety net of the hospital. The best way to do that is to have them together.” PinnacleHealth is one of 89 hospitals participating in Best Fed Beginnings, a NICHQ-run nationwide project that aims to help hospitals improve maternity care and increase the number of Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in the United States. A significant component to support rooming-in is providing couplet care, meaning the same staff takes care of the baby and the mother. In many hospitals baby nurses take care of the newborns and postpartum nurses take care of the mothers. Having one person take care of both the mother and baby helps promote family-centered care, which is shown to lead to more successful breastfeeding, higher patient satisfaction levels and improved nursing and medical staff communications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We had to change the whole culture of our unit in that all the postpartum nurses had to be trained for infant care. It was a yearlong process,” explains Teri Grubbs, BSN, director of Women’s Health Services at University Health System in Texas, another hospital participating in Best Fed Beginnings. “Also moving the lactation nurses out of the nursery and on to the postpartum unit helped to support rooming-in and boost our exclusive breastfeeding rates.” What’s in a Name? One challenge to rooming-in is changing the expectations of mothers who want to send their babies to nurseries, not realizing it can make breastfeeding more difficult later. How have these Best Fed Beginnings hospitals been able to deter moms from sending their babies to the nursery? It’s all in the name. The University Health Center renamed its nursery the Neonatal Observation Unit. PinnacleHealth will call theirs the Holding Nursery (starting May 1), which will be a place for babies to get intervention, not care. Greenville Health System in South Carolina went a step further. They put a self-proclaimed “scary” sign on the nursery door that reads: “Authorized Personnel Only. This space is reserved for flu isolation, MRSA isolation, urgent evaluation for sick newborns and procedures. Healthy newborns are assigned to rooms on the Family Beginnings unit. Please see your nurse for more information.” “Overnight the nursery became empty. I was astounded,” says Jennifer Hudson, MD, medical director for Newborn Services at Greenville. “Nurses said the sign really helped to define the space differently and made it look like a place people didn’t want to put their babies. It was the most effective intervention we had so far.” Greenville’s rooming-in rate went from 10 percent in July 2012 to 100 percent in February 2013. Chart showing the increase in the rooming-in rate from July 2012 to March 2013 at Greenville Health System. Credit: Greenville Health System. Click image for larger version. Chart showing the increase in the rooming-in rate from July 2012 to March 2013 at Greenville Health System. Credit: Greenville Health System. Mothers’ reactions to rooming-in has reportedly been overwhelming positive at the three hospitals, with some mixed reactions from second-time moms used to the nursery. “It’s very empowering for families,” said Hudson. “It’s really a positive when it comes to security and safety. We emphasize that mothers get to watch everything we do for their babies, including the first bath, exams and screening tests. Hourly rounding by nurses will ensure that they get the help that they need while families learn about and bond with their newborns." Terri Negron, RN, director of Nursing at Greenville Health System, adds, “While some second-time moms are apprehensive, first-time moms don’t know any different and when they come back, rooming-in will be an expectation.” All three hospitals say the transition to rooming-in has been a team effort. It required support from nurses, doctors, unit leadership and executive management. Staff had to understand the evidence-based reasons for change, be committed to the idea and embrace the changes. It didn’t happen overnight for any of them. “You have to have the nucleus of nurses that are supportive and believe in it,” says Grubbs. “You start with them and you train them and have success and then you train more and have more success. You continue to open the door.”

6 minute film on the billion dollar formula industry

Breast is Best

www.bottledupthefilm.com

October 1st, Child Health Day

United States Lactation Consultant Association Press Release

Date: October 2012 Contact: Scott Sherwood For immediate release Tel. 919-861-4543 Email:executivedirector@uslca.org Child Health Day The United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA) joins the nation in celebrating Child Health Day on Monday, October 1. For 90 years, the United States Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has set aside the first Monday in October to focus the nation's attention on children's health. It is sobering to consider that for the first time in history type two diabetes is emerging as a significant chronic disease in children and childhood obesity continues its upward trend. Breastfeeding is the primary way to promote optimal health for children. Breastfeeding offers varying degrees of protection from obesity, diabetes, infections, some childhood cancers, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). An analysis of studies related to breastfeeding and obesity found a 30% decrease in the odds of overweight for a child breastfed for 9 months when compared with a child never breastfed. Additionally, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that the risk of SIDS almost doubles in infants who are not breastfed. School performance is important to children's health and well-being. Several studies have found that breastfed children have higher IQs and do better in school from the early grades through adolescence, even when parents' IQ and education and the child's living conditions are taken into consideration. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2012 Breastfeeding Report Card, breastfeeding initiation is on the rise. This is good news. However the number of babies who are exclusively breastfed for six months as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other major health-related organizations remains low. From the first prenatal appointment, to the mother's return to school or work, and throughout the baby's first year, breastfeeding must be promoted, protected, and supported until it becomes the cultural norm. It is everyone's job to promote breastfeeding, support mothers, and protect families. As Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin says,"The time has come to set forth the important roles and responsibilities of clinicians, employers, communities, researchers, and government leaders and to urge us all to take on a commitment to enable mothers to meet their personal goals for breastfeeding." International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) are health care professionals with the expertise to help families at every step of the way. IBCLCs teach breastfeeding classes, work in hospitals to help get mothers and babies off to a good start, problem-solve in out-patient sites such as physician offices, health centers, WIC sites and home care to help overcome breastfeeding trials, and work with employers to facilitate a successful back-to-work experience. IBCLCs help mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals and can help meet national goals related to child health. For more information or to locate an IBCLC, visit www.uslca.org

The AAP is making progress towards supporting breastfeeding efforts.

AAP passes resolution to limit formula marketing

July 26, 2012
Elk Grove Village, IL– The American Academy of Pediatrics has passed a resolution advising pediatricians “not to provide formula company gift bags, coupons, and industry-authored handouts to the parents of newborns and infants in office and clinic settings.” The resolution, passed last month, was unveiled on the AAP’s breastfeeding website today.
The AAP asserts the breastfeeding is the normal physiologic way to feed newborn infants. It draws on parallels with conflicts of interest with the pharmaceutical industry (which controls most of the infant formula market in the US, too). They note that the practice constitutes marketing, and that research shows that it adversely affects breastfeeding duration and exclusivity.

The AAP resolution joins the growing voices against marketing of infant formula in medical environments, citing support from the Government Accountability Office, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Public Health Association, and previous statements from AAP.

Recently, all 49 Massachusetts maternity facilities banned of formula marketing discharge bags. The AAP resolution gives strength to such practice as an important public health measure.

Crying Babies

American Academy of Pediatrics

All babies cry, and some babies cry a lot. In a short video, Dr. Bob Block, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, offers some advice to parents in this frustrating situation.