Breastfeeding and Cough/Cold Remedies

Here is some very helpful information from Dr. Hale and the Infant Risk Center about which cough and cold OTC remedies are compatible with breastfeeding:

http://www.infantrisk.com/content/cold-remedies-and-breastfeeding

I personally skip all of the medications and go the holistic route. In my personal experience, they work MUCH better than any medication. Of course, check with your doctor about anything you take, including homeopathic remedies.

At the first hint of illness, I take:

- raw manuka honey (1 tbsp every few hours)
- probiotic pills (as directed on the label, usually twice per day)
- Edlerberry syrup (as directed on the label, usually 1 tbsp every few hours)
- pre-natal vitamin
- lots of water

This has literally cured me of illness, and at the very least, has made my illnesses last only a few days instead of a week or more. Everything can be found at your local health food stores.

What do you do?

What is the WHO-CODE?

This is a VERY important topic that every citizen should familiarize themselves with- I am talking about the WHO Code for artificial formula marketing. Trust me- this issue is not just for breastfeeding mothers, this is something that everyone should be very concerned about. Please read and go to the Best for Babes site to learn more.

 

From the Best for Babes website

"What is the WHO-CODE?"

By Bettina Forbes, CLC | Posted on November 8, 2011 | 1 Comment

"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:

1. No advertising of breast milk substitutes to families. (Read: Why formula advertising is different from other types of advertising, making it predatory.)
2. No free samples or supplies in the health care system.
3. No promotion of products through health care facilities, including no free or low-cost formula.
4. No contact between marketing personnel and mothers.
5. No gifts or personal samples to health workers.
6. No words or pictures idealizing artificial feeding, including pictures of infants, on the labels or the product.
7. Information to health workers should be scientific and factual only.
8. All information on artificial feeding, including labels, should explain the benefits of breastfeeding and the costs and hazards associated with artificial feeding.
9. Unsuitable products should not be promoted for babies.
10. All products should be of high quality and take account of the climate and storage conditions of the country where they are used.

Note that several of these stipulations forbid the marketing of infant formula to health care workers.  Tremendous damage to mothers and babies occurs when formula companies market their products directly to parents through hospitals, physicians, health care professionals, and networking, peer support and “education” groups (such as expecting mother “classes”, lunches or events).

  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 considering that intensive care babies need breastmilk the most–with the understanding that formula gift bags are pushed on breastfeeding mothers.  Formula companies sponsor name badges, frappuccinos and breakfast “seminars” for hospital nurses, branded crib cards for the baby’s hospital bassinet, and funding for the hospital’s NICU.

Formula companies are now cross-marketing with maternity chains, huge baby registry sites and retail stores, photography studios like Olan Mills,  and even Disney to undermine breastfeeding moms with coupons and giveaways.   They know we all love coupons and giveaways! Our email addresses are being sold to formula companies and we, who struggle against the breastfeeding booby traps, are being zeroed in on and bombarded by formula marketing.   Parenting, medical websites and well-known bloggers are protecting parents’ “rights” to be educated by advertisements, instead of by unbiased physicians and feeding experts such as IBCLCs.  Formula companies routinely advertise and win the top spots in Working Mothers Magazine’s 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, even though infant formula means more employee absenteeism, sick days, and higher health costs.
Unfortunately, formula marketing hurts not only breastfeeding mothers, but formula-feeding mothers too.   A hefty marketing budget ($2-$3 BILLION globally) artificially drives up the price of formula, making it harder to afford for those who need it, and outcompeting lower-priced generic brands.   It forces the U.S. government, health organizations and non-profits like ours to raise funds to market breastfeeding, educate hospitals and health organizations, physicians, nurses, and health professionals.    The government purchases billions in infant formula for low-income women through the WIC program.  Formula contracts, “new” formulations and advertising drives up this cost. Formula marketing experts are smart; they say that “breast is best” so we are lured into a false sense of security, yet there is no mention, ANYWHERE, of the next best thing to breastfeeding or a mother’s pumped milk, which is screened donor milk. When mothers are being bombarded by inaccurate advertising, are they really making an informed choice?

Formula marketing has cleverly hijacked the conversation about infant feeding, playing “the guilt card” and igniting the mommy wars by pitting mothers against each other, instead of harnessing and focusing our energy to demand better maternity policies, Baby-Friendly Hospitals, employer protocol, and protection of mothers’ rights.  If more mothers were being allowed to achieve their personal breastfeeding goals without being discriminated against, harassed, or humiliated, fewer of the more zealous activists would be misplacing their energy by accosting or judging formula feeding moms–a practice that we strongly condemn. As for guilt, the only people who should feel guilty are those who know about the negative impact of formula marketing and do it anyway.

If you are interested in learning about how formula marketing tactics negatively impact breastfeeding rates, we encourage you to read this summary of Selling Out Mothers and Babies, by Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC, or order the full report.

We have one of the lowest breastfeeding rates of any industrialized country, and one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates of any industrialized country. We can do better!

What can we do to raise awareness of the WHO-Code in the U.S.?   What can we do to demand that laws are put in place to enforce it?

Organizations & Resources:

World Health Organization:  Health Implications of Direct Advertising of Infant Formula

World Health Organization: Frequently Asked Questions on the WHO CODE

Unicef and the WHO-Code

National Alliance of Breastfeeding Advocacy

BabyMilkAction.org

IBFAN: International Baby Food Action Network

Recommended Reading:

A Summary of the WHO Code (including, What, When and How) by Pumpease.com

More breastfeeding could save 900 lives, $13 billion; (news on study by Melissa Bartick, MD)

Disney and Similac Team up to Undermine Breastfeeding Moms

Infant Formula Companies Milk U.S. Food Program

Medscape.com:  Economics in the NICU

PhD in Parenting:  How to Report a Unethical Promotion of [Breastmilk Substitutes], An Open Letter to the Attendees of the Nestle Family Blogger Event,  Similac and Babble Team Up to Dupe Breastfeeding Moms,  IBCLCs and Formula Feeding, oh, heck just search WHO CODE or infant formula on her blog!

There are LOTS of great articles on the WHO-CODE, sorry I couldn’t include them all–please let me know if I’ve missed an important, seminal link!"

(http://www.bestforbabes.org/what-is-the-who-code)

Breastfeeding failure- an Oxymoron!

Check out this beautiful post from Stephanie Casemore on the Best for Babes Website.

“Breastfeeding Failure” is an Oxymoron

By Stephanie Casemore | Posted on November 3, 2011 

 

 

"Lately I’ve been wondering if “breastfeeding failure” is an oxymoron. I mean, to fail at something don’t you need to have a predetermined understanding of what failure is and what success is? Must you not be able to assess and quantify? But breastfeeding is a relationship—not a test—and success looks different for everyone. A teen mom, the mother of a preemie, a woman working outside of the home, a stay at home mom: might breastfeeding not look different for a woman in each of these situations?

So why is it that so many women in our society today feel as though they failed at breastfeeding? Is it possible to even fail? If you breastfed, even for a short time, were you not a breastfeeding mom? How is it then that you can do something, but yet fail at it?

In almost every other human endeavour, we give credit for the attempt; we give credit for the effort; we give credit for the action. I am unsure of exactly what determines “breastfeeding success”—is it the WHO guidelines, the AAP, my mother’s experience, the local La Leche League members? It seems that are there many criteria that we hold ourselves and other women up against when it comes to breastfeeding failure. If you are one of the many women who believes she failed at breastfeeding, my question for you is “Who told you you failed?”

It was only when the breastfeeding relationship with second child was coming to an end—a  relationship that had been a three year odyssey in healing—that I began to think about my first breastfeeding experience and how the emotions surrounding that first breastfeeding effort affected my nursing relationship with my second child. It was at that point that I realized “breastfeeding failure” might very well be an oxymoron.

With my first child, my son, I had every intention of breastfeeding. I floated through my pregnancy thinking everything was going to be rainbows and sunshine! And then at 30 weeks, I got hit hard with pre-eclampsia and my plans began to dissolve.

From the start I pumped, expressing milk every two hours around the clock. My breast pump soon became a permanent fixture in my living room and remained so for the first year of my son’s life. Breastfeeding was more challenging than I could have ever imagined, and even though my son received far more breast milk (albeit by bottle) than most babies in our modern world, I still felt like a failure.

And I know I’m not alone. I’ve heard from many, many women over the past several years who feel that they failed at breastfeeding, and even more heart wrenching, feel they failed their children. Women who have struggled to breastfeed, who have believed the motto of “breast is best”, and who have in many cases gone to extraordinary lengths to try to provide their babies breast milk, are feeling enormous guilt and a burdensome sense of failure.

Breastfeeding is a biologically expected activity, but it must also be socially supported. If we were to follow our biology we would breastfeed our infants until they naturally wean, which Katherine Dettwyler’s research suggests is somewhere between 2.5 and 7 years of age. If this is the criteria we’re to use for “breastfeeding success” then almost every breastfeeding mom and baby are failures!
But in our human experience, breastfeeding is not only biologically led, it is also largely influenced and supported (or not supported) by our society. The division between what is biologically expected and what is socially supported can create a tremendous amount of difficulty for moms. When it comes to breastfeeding—and many other activities in life—moms will look around them to determine what success mean,  and our society presents some questionable determinates of breastfeeding success.
So I’ve come to this conclusion: “breastfeeding failure” is an oxymoron. You either breastfeed or you don’t. You can’t breastfeed—regardless of how long it lasts—and be a breastfeeding failure. How can we fail at something that has no predetermined finish line? You may not be satisfied with your experience; you may not reach your intended goal; but you do not fail when it comes to breastfeeding.  You do not fail your child when you have given everything you could and done everything you could do to breastfeed.

The reality of the situation is that due to the biological nature of breastfeeding and the expected relationship between a mother and her child, when breastfeeding doesn’t work out, there is a loss felt. This loss is sometimes not recognized as a loss and as a result many women carry with them feelings that they identify as guilt and a sense of failure. Just like any other loss we experience in life, it is important to recognize it and grieve it. There are things you can do to work through the loss of a breastfeeding relationship and to refuse the label of “breastfeeding failure”:

• The first step to overcoming the lingering pain of a breastfeeding relationship that was not what you expected, not what you hoped for, is to reframe your understanding of what success and failure looks like. Who or what made the determination that you were a breastfeeding failure? Don’t give your power over to people, companies, media, or other groups that are not willing to recognize the success of your efforts.
• Take back control of your experience. So you didn’t breastfeed as long as you may have planned; plans change. Things don’t always go as expected. Recognize all that you did do to make it work. Give yourself credit for your effort.
• Consider your experience at the time. We have the luxury of looking back on our breastfeeding experience from a position of relative calm, hormonal stability, and rest. My guess though is that after your baby was born and you were struggling with breastfeeding, you were not feeling calm, hormonally stable, or particularly well-rested. It’s important to acknowledge the circumstances at the time and what you accomplished given the challenges. Then figure out how you will overcome those the next time around.
• Grieve your loss. Breastfeeding is a relationship that is biologically expected. So when we don’t get that relationship, we experience a loss. As with any other relationship that ends, you need to grieve it. Just recognizing it as a loss can go a long way in helping you to come to terms with your experience. Talking about it will also assist you to process the emotions you are feeling. If you don’t work through the loss of your first breastfeeding experience, those emotions are likely to surface again with your next baby.
• Learn from the experience and make it something positive. We can either choose to define our “failures” or be defined by them. Choose to define your experience as a learning opportunity and as a period of growth. You might use the experience to help support other women, take it as a lesson of persistence or humility, or use it as a vehicle to rail against the dangers of formula advertising. Whatever you take from the experience, let it be positive, for even in seemingly painful experiences there are opportunities for positive outcomes.

My final plea would be for all women to be kind and fair to each other—and to themselves. Question what success means and who it is that determines the criteria for success. And most importantly, avoid using “breastfeeding” and “failure” in the same sentence; I’m convinced it is an oxymoron.

Stephanie Casemore has experienced breastfeeding as a challenge, a gift, and a healing experience. She exclusively pumped for a year for her first child and nursed her second child for three years. Turning the challenges into a positive as an opportunity to support other mothers, Stephanie shares her experience through her books:  Breastfeeding, Take Two: Successful Breastfeeding the Second Time Around and Exclusively Pumping Breast Milk: A Guide to Providing Expressed Breast Milk for Your Baby."

(http://www.bestforbabes.org/breastfeeding-failure-is-an-oxymoron#comments)

Stem Cells in Breastmilk!

Check out this amazing story about stem cells found in breastmilk. This is amazing, not only for the medical benefits, but also for the many people who are opposed to using embryonic stem cells!


"Serious and fatal diseases such as pancreatic cancer, Parkinson's disease and diabetes may eventually be treated using stem cells from breast milk, researchers from the University of Western Australia have discovered.

UWA PhD student Foteini Hassiotou has potentially broken through the greatest hurdle in stem cell research - the ability to ethically obtain stem cells in a non-invasive manner."

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/uwa-discovers-ethical-embryoniclike-stem-cells-in-breast-milk-20111017-1lt97.html#ixzz1b58OBxDR

Time for Compassion!!

I just came across this article that I LOVE. It talks about using compassion when talking about Mommy/Baby issues on the internet.

It is no secret that I am a big advocate for breastfeeding. I love it and my personal experience with it has changed my life for the better. That being said- I also do not ever in any way want to make formula feeding Moms feel bad! Formula is not evil! Every Mom and Dad does their best. Period.

I hope that it is always clear that I try and only present information about breastfeeding and try and help educate people to help their feeding experience better. I have many, many friends who have fed their babies formula. HECK- my Mom's breastmilk dried up after awhile and I was given formula. My husband was exclusively formula fed. We turned out just fine. AND my boys have never had even an ounce of formula. I even became one of "those women" who breastfed my oldest until he was over 2 years old! I breastfed while I was pregnant! So, I have been on both sides of the issue.

But of course, I am a huge believer that more women would breastfeed (and for longer) if they were given information and support from before they even gave birth. Let's all just get along and stick together! Raising kids is hard enough without attacking each other. 

Check out this great article on the Huffington Post talking about this very topic! 

Baby friendly hospitals

Check out this great resource on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. To become a baby friendly hospital, the facility must meet 10 requirements:

"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:

1 -	Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2 -	Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3 -	Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4 -	Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
5 -	Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
6 -	Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
7 -	Practice “rooming in”-- allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8 -	Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9 -	Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10 -	Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic"

Sadly, there are only 119 hospitals certified in the entire country, and ZERO in Arizona. Should we start advocating for some, or what!!??

Check out this site:
http://www.babyfriendlyusa.org/eng/index.html

More research on Breastmilk and Good Bacteria

Check out this great video about research being done by UC Davis about the chemistry of breastmilk and how it feeds the good bacteria in our stomachs. Cures are being developed for many diseases with this information!

Watch by clicking the link below!

https://www.facebook.com/UCDavis?sk=videos#!/video/video.php?v=10150331607079487

Role of Breastfeeding and Bacteria

Here is an amazing article on how breastmilk introduces good bacteria into the stomachs of newborns, thus developing and shaping their immune systems.

"

Good bacteria, the role of breastmilk in immune system development and that "one" bottle by Lakeshore Medical Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic

 

In a perfect world, a term, healthy newborn comes into the world vaginally.  Again, I want to talk about normal.  I know the process doesn't go normally all the time. (And I've talked about this here.)

The delivery of that baby close to the anus is critical for immune system development.  The healthy, term newborn's gut is sterile (without bacteria) and the bacteria that get into that pristine gut are truly important.  During a vaginal delivery, the largely harmless bacteria around the mother's anus are the bacteria getting into the newborn gut.  They increase in number, compete for food and space and help coordinate efforts to create a healthy gut for that baby.  With the exception of our skin, the gut is the largest immune system organ in our body.

Because breastfeeding is normal, what happens to healthy, term newborns who are breastfed is normal.  The newborn has a delay in their immune response to bacteria.  A delay?  To a bacteria?  Yup.  Normal.  After delivery, that newborn gut has many challenges from invaders that may not be friendly.  Doesn't seem too smart not to fight back.

We all have mechanisms in our body to fight infection.  In the gut it's called Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue (GALT) and it's ready to roll at 19 weeks of gestation.  All of the things that make up the GALT are waiting for a specific series of events to occur after delivery, when, if it proceeds normally, will result in a functioning immune system. 

The sequence of those events is important.  For example, after the good (commensal) bacteria has set up shop in the newborn gut, something called an "isolated lymphoid follicle" in the intestine of that baby develops.  It's activated by substances in colostrum and helps with T cell development and function.

T cells are part of what is called the "innate" system.  They mature in the thymus, an immune system structure found in the neck and chest of newborns.  Human milk activates resting thymus cells, helping to shape the immune function of these cells.  Breastfed kids have a larger thymus than those that are not breastfed; the thymus of the breastfed child is up to twice the size of a child not breastfed.  The innate immune system contains cells that kill bacteria but they do it by also causing inflammation and tissue damage.

The innate immune system is different from the "adaptive" immune system, which is very specific to certain invaders.  (Never being very good at immunology, but being really great at American football, I see the innate system as the offensive line, generally protecting from guys coming at the quarterback.  The adaptive immune system is more like the wide receiver or cornerback- a player with a more specific job)

The cells of the adaptive immune system, antibodies, come in several flavors: Immunoglobulin M (IgM), which is the first type of antibody produced and isn't very specific; IgG which is transferred across the placenta and is the only immunoglobulin that the baby gets from mom and has at birth (the newborn, with only IgG is essentially immuno-compromised); IgE which isn't too relevant here; and IgA which rocks.  IgA is a "sticky" immunoglobulin that protects surface areas from infection.  A special type of IgA, secretory IgA, is found in huge numbers in human milk and protects the airway, gut and other mucous membranes from infection. Secretory IgA is special because the "secretory" part is an addition to the IgA  and importantly,  is resistant to being broken down  by the baby' stomach and GI tract.

So, we have a new baby, exposed immediately to bacteria...why no inflammation?  Well, the activity of the T-cells is delayed for about 10 days (remember, T-cells cause inflammation and tissue damage.) Well... secretory IgA helps.  It's made by mom in response to infections in her environment and passed to the baby through breastfeeding.  Moms and babies should stay together.  This is one good reason: mom can't make antibodies to things that the baby is exposed to if the baby isn't with her.

Human milk also contains special sugars, oligosaccharides, which help feed good bacteria.  In fact, they are necessary for that good bacteria to grow.  Plus, they are a type of prebiotic- something can block bad bacteria before they ever get to the surface of the gut.  They let the probiotics, the good bacteria, stay in the gut.  And because they never let the bad bacteria get to the gut surface, no innate immune system is needed, and we get no inflammation or tissue damage.  Oligosaccharides also work with certain receptors (called Toll Like Receptors).  These receptors work in the first 5 days (when are our kids getting supplemented?) and are controlled tightly, like hour by hour. 

In the time that the immune system is delayed, oligosaccharides, toll like receptors and good bacteria protect against bad bacteria and avoid the need for an inflammatory response.  Any alteration in human milk or addition of formula interferes with toll like receptor function, changes the bacteria that the baby's gut gets exposed to and can then lead to inflammation and tissue damage, the result we were trying so hard to avoid.

Just one bottle.

The lesson?  Let's make sure we know why we are supplementing. 

(I suppose that's another soap box- check out the "3b's"  birth weight, blood sugar and bilirubin)

Jenny Thomas, MD, IBCLC, FAAP, FABM

More info?  A very nice book from Dr. Lars Hanson on Breastfeeding and Human Milk.

http://www.amazon.com/Immunobiology-Human-Milk-Lars-Hanson/dp/0972958304?&camp=212361&creative=383957&linkCode=waf&tag=drj08-20"

(http://www.drjen4kids.com/soap%20box/onebottle.htm)

Breastfeeding Moms More Aggressive?!

Turns out- it is true...

Check out this article to find out what us nursing mamas have in common with mama grizzlies!

"Why you shouldn’t challenge a breast-feeding mom to play Call of Duty"

"When you happen upon a couple of bear cubs in the woods, what's the first thing that comes to mind? If you're answer was "I wanna squeeze 'em," you're wrong. It should be "where's the mom?" And with good reason. Numerous non-human mammals are known to exhibit heightened levels of aggression in defense of their young.

But what about humans? A newly published study has revealed the first behavioral evidence for heightened aggression in nursing women. What's more, these women are not only more likely to display aggressive behavior than their formula-feeding peers, they actually exhibit lower systolic blood pressure in the process. Translation? Breast feeding can help you defend your young and help keep you de-stressed.


The researchers' hypothesis — that human mothers would display accentuated aggressiveness while breast feeding — was based on prior research in non-human mammals that shows that lactation enables heightened defensive aggression by decreasing the animal's fear response. Evolutionarily speaking, the ability to react defensively is enormously beneficial to the fitness of a mother and her offspring.
But the scientists couldn't exactly pit these women against legitimately harmful threats, so how did the researchers screen for aggression? Simple: a videogame tournament.

Well, not videogames, per se. Eighteen nursing mothers, 17 formula-feeding moms, and 20 non-mothers were recruited to participate in a computerized, competitive, reaction-time test (okay, a videogame) against a research assistant posing as an overtly confrontational study participant (try to imagine an unnecessarily hostile, pre-teen XBox Live opponent on Call of Duty).
Here's where things get awesome. If the study participant won a round of the competition, she was allowed to press a button that delivered what the researchers describe as a "punitive sound burst" to their overtly hostile opponent (the trained research assistant). For those of you wondering, the "punitive sound burst" in this instance is roughly the equivalent of "booyah, bitch," and has, in fact, been validated as a measure of physical aggression.


The paper's authors describe their findings:

Breast-feeding mothers inflicted louder and longer punitive sound bursts on unduly aggressive confederates than did formula-feeding mothers or women who had never been pregnant.

In fact, mothers who exclusively breast-fed their infants were found to be almost twice as aggressive as formula-feeding women and non-mothers. (It's worth noting that formula-feeding women did not exhibit more aggressive behavior than non-mothers.)
The researchers believe the tendency for breast-feeding mothers to dish out longer and louder punitive sound bursts is mediated by a lactation-related decrease in the body's response to stress. The researchers explain:

Exclusively breast-feeding mothers had lower [blood pressure] during the aggressive encounters relative to the other groups, and [blood pressure] correlated inversely with aggressive behavior. Together, these findings suggest that in humans, as in many other mammalian species, lactating mothers are more likely to aggress against hostile conspecifics than are non-lactating mothers or [women who have never given birth], at least in part because they experience dampened arousal in response to stressful aggressive encounters.

So what's the take home message?

"Breast-feeding mothers aren't going to go out and get into bar fights," said UCLA's Dr. Jennifer Hahn-Holebrook, lead author of the study. "But if someone is threatening them or their infant, our research suggests they may be more likely to defend themselves in an aggressive manner."

The researchers' paper, "Maternal Defense: Breast Feeding Increases Aggression by Reducing Stress" appears in the September issue of Psychological Science
Thanks to Dr. Hahn-Holebrook for the forwarded copy of the paper"

(http://io9.com/5835975/nursing-moms-more-aggressive-than-formula+feeders)

Wow! Don't mess with my kiddos, haha!

Amazing Breastfeeding Post

I just read the most amazing post and wanted to share it with all of you! Aside from just sounding cute (it is written from the perspective of a newborn...awwww), it has a lot of really important and valuable information. (and a lot of super adorable pictures of nurslings and their mommies!)

Baby Explains- Normal Newborn Behavior- By Diana Cassar-Uhl, IBCLC

Check out this sample from the article, talking about why it is SO important to nurse and nurse OFTEN during the first two weeks and not supplement formula:

"A word about these instincts I feel … I really can’t help it, mommy, that I want to suckle so much.  It’s just how I came out, and there doesn’t seem to be much that I can do about it.  Please believe me, I’m not trying to trick you!  In a few weeks, this need lets up a tiny bit, but for now, suckling is my M.O.  But, do you want to know something really cool?  I’m not the only one who benefits!  When I suckle at your breast in these early days, your body actually activates prolactin receptors!  Isn’t that amazing?  In my first two weeks, the higher I make your prolactin levels go (my suckling triggers a prolactin surge in your body), the more of these receptors get activated in your breasts, and the higher your potential milk production will be for as long as you choose to breastfeed me.  That’s one reason your lactation consultant tells you to wait on introducing that bottle or that binky– this prolactin receptor thing only happens for the first 10-14 days.  After that, the prolatcin surges when I breastfeed are much smaller, so the more receptors there are to gobble up what prolactin is there, the more easily you’ll make all the milk I need."

(http://theleakyboob.com/2011/08/baby-explains-normal-newborn-behavior/)


I do  not know about all of you- but those first few days before your milk comes in are the hardest. Even though I knew what to expect this second time around, I still cried and was so overwhelmed and exhausted. My nipples hurt, I was having such bad uterine contractions and all my son wanted to do was nurse 24 hours a day! But nurse you must!! 

Click HERE to read the entire article and pass it along to every Mom and soon-to-be Mom you know!

How Much Money Can Breastfeeding Save You?

Check out this great article on how much money breastfeeding can save you from Frugal Mama

Check this out-

• Studies have shown you can save $1000-$3000 per year by breastfeeding

• "In fact, there was a study last year, I think, that estimated if 90% of the mothers in the U.S. breastfed for six months, then the U.S. could save approximately 900 lives and about $13 billion in health care costs annually."  (http://www.frugal-mama.com/2011/08/how-much-breastfeeding-can-save-you-an-interview-with-andi-silverman-of-mama-knows-breast/)

WOW! Make your own baby food and skip the jars and rice cereal and save even more!

Hospitals Lack Breastfeeding Support for Moms

According to the CDC- there is a lack of support from hospitals for breastfeeding mothers.

Check out this article that states that less than 4% of hospitals are doing everything they can to help breastfeeding efforts.

I know that at Banner Good Samaritan, I had a good experience. I was allowed to room in with both my sons, I was able to breastfeed within 30 minutes of delivery and I was offered access to lactation consultants. My only complaint? Formula was everywhere! Now, I have no issue with formula in the world- it serves a wonderful purpose. BUT it can seriously derail a Mom's efforts to breastfeed when free cans are just handed out without further education.

What do you think? How was your hospital experience?

Your breastfeeding story in 100 words

A wonderful blogger- Amber McCann, is putting together a great project sharing stories about breastfeeding. Check out what she has to say:

 (Photo courtesy of: http://www.ambermccann.com/blog/100-words/)

"I’m going to spend time over the next few weeks working on my own 100 words.

And because I believe so strongly in our collective story, I want you to join me.  Don’t you find strength in the stories of others?  Our culture has demanded that breastfeeding be hidden, closed behind doors and covered up  but I can be instantly encouraged when I know that I don’t walk this road alone.  So, will you walk with me?  I want to hear your story, your breastfeeding story in 100 words or less.

I want to hear them if they are wonderful.  I want to hear them if they are heartbreaking.  I want to hear them if they don’t make any sense.  I want to hear them if they make you angry or empowered.  I want to hear them.

*  Stories can be submitted for publication to this blog by emailing them to me at amber@ambermccann.com. Please keep them to 100 words or less.  Before publication, stories will be edited only for minor spelling/grammatical errors.  If the stories will be published in any other medium or venue, other than this blog, your permission will be obtained.  Feel free to widely share this post and encourage others to also submit their stories. Deadline for story submissions is September 1."


(http://www.ambermccann.com/blog/100-words/)

Click here to submit your story and read more about her project

A FANTASTIC article for expectant or new parents!

Finally- a mainstream parenting article that gives good advice and help for breastfeeding!! (They are rare).

Please pass this along to any expectant parent or new parents- some very helpful information about breastfeeding and issues that come up!

http://www.parenting.com/article/breastfeeding-problems?page=0%2C0

Breastmilk donation in Arizona

I just wanted to share some great information. If you are in need of breastmilk/colostrum or have a surplus that you would like to donate, consider donating to Eats on Feets. (They have chapters all over the country, including here in Arizona)

"Eats On Feets ~ Central AZ supports commerce-free sharing of breastmilk for babies and children. We provide a space where families can connect with each other to share human milk. All of the milk matches are made by the families, and this space is owned by the babies and children that are served."

A friend of mine from high school just donated some milk and I am just so happy to know that a baby in need will receive this liquid gold! 


Click here to access the Eats on Feets website

Click here to access the Eats on Feets Central Arizona Facebook page, where you can connect with donors and moms in need.

I LOVE this video!!!

A great PSA about breastfeeding...

My favorite line..."It's what your tits are for!"

It's funny because it is true. Share this video!!

Another possible benefit to breastfeeding

New research is showing that breastfeeding lowers the risk for SIDS in babies. The evidence, as presented in Pediatrics (The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics), is strong enough to recommend that the SIDS risk-reduction list be updated to include breastfeeding to help reduce the chances of SIDS. From the article:

"Conclusions: Breastfeeding is protective against SIDS, and this effect is stronger when breastfeeding is exclusive. The recommendation to breastfeed infants should be included with other SIDS risk-reduction messages to both reduce the risk of SIDS and promote breastfeeding for its many other infant and maternal health benefits."

(http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/06/08/peds.2010-3000)





Check out this abstract for the information and research

Milk Sharing

Here is a great blog about a Mom who has personally experienced milk sharing. I know that if I could not breastfeed my children, donated/purchased human breastmilk would be my first choice.

Check out the article and let me know what you think? Do any of you have experiences with donating or using donated breastmilk?




Milk Sharing: Just Because We Can't Breastfeed Doesn't Mean We're Stupid

Getting Dad to Help with Breastfeeding

"MAN'S BREAST FRIEND"

"BEST FOR BABES, A NONPROFIT GIVING BREASTFEEDING A MAKEOVER AND HELPING MOMS BREAK DOWN THE BARRIERS TO BREASTFEEDING SUCCESS, HELPS YOU GET YOUR BOOB MAN TO BECOME A BREASTFEEDING FAN

Many an expecting mama wonders: "How will my
partner adjust to the new baby? And how will I get
him used to the idea that he has to share the
cleavage he's been admiring for the past few months?"
Having your partner's support is one of the most important predictors of your breastfeeding success, so in honor of Father's Day, here are our tips for getting your guy to be the best boob-backer he can be:





1. Take him to a breastfeeding class. Yes, we know there's a limit to how many classes he'll go to, but trust us, this one is at the top of the list. Ask midwives and doulas in your area to recommend a good one, or book a class in the privacy of your home (where you can ask ANY question). It will come in handy for looking at the baby's latch and swallows.

2. Make him a knight in shining armor. You're the one with the ta-tas, but he's the one that can slay hospital booby traps with a single blow, making sure the baby rooms with you for best skin-to-skin bonding, watching to ensure the baby doesn't get formula unless it's medically indicated (by a board-certified lactation consultant, or IBCLC) and gently ushering out any nurses whose bedside manner is lacking. That goes for the one who yanks at your boob (a serious no-no!) and for the one that tells you that the baby is starving and you have to supplement, even though the diapers say otherwise. For more on the booby traps, go to www.bestforbabes.org/what-are-the-booby-traps.

3. Forget the quick fix. Men are programmed to want their offspring to survive (so breastfeeding appeals to their instincts), but they also can't stand to see you suffer or to be in your cross hairs. Tell him in advance that the first few weeks of breastfeeding can be challenging and to think coach and cheering squad, not a quick-fix bottle. Give him a list of IBCLCs, local La Leche League groups and websites to research should you run into trouble. Tell him you don't want him to offer to bail you out with that free formula can.

4. Give him the role of ladies' man. Ask him to charm your mother and mother-in-law. Well-meaning but ill-informed relatives may try to dissuade you from breastfeeding, and a few words from him can go a long way to putting a stop to that. Being a united front on breastfeeding is good practice for parenting (think chores and curfews) later on.

5. Have him do some non-booby bonding. Baby bonding is good for Daddy, too, and skin-to-skin contact is yummy on Daddy's chest, especially if mom had a C-section. Baths, diapers and baby-wearing are all skills he can excel at that will give you a break, and he gets extra points for bringing you food, water and helping with the house. Tell him he's your hero and you'll make it up to him soon. Even if you're nowhere near feeling amorous, a sly wink will let him know he's still the man for you…that just has to wait a few weeks! Breastfeeding or not, a new baby is all-consuming, so enroll him in protecting and taking care of his new family. Isn't that what Father's Day is all about?

The Best for Babes Foundation is the only mainstream nonprofit devoted to helping parents beat the booby traps™—the cultural and institutional barriers that prevent moms from achieving their personal breastfeeding goals, whether that's two days, two months or two years! Co-founders Bettina Forbes and Danielle Rigg, who were themselves booby-trapped, are building the "mother of all causes" to ensure that ALL moms are able to make an informed feeding decision without pressure, judgment or guilt, and that ALL breastfeeding moms are cheered on, coached and celebrated to a successful finish! For more on how to beat the booby traps™ or to get involved, go to www.bestforbabes.org."

(http://www.thefamilygroove.com/jun11_MansBreastFriend.htm)


What did you do to get your husband involved?

Breastfeeding Advice from KORA Organics

I love the KORA Organics Blog for so many reasons. They have wonderful articles on everything healthy. Health recipes, food information, exercise tips and my favorite- natural pregnancy and breastfeeding information.

For the last two weeks, they have posted information on milk supply. This is very important because many women stop breastfeeding because they feel they are not making enough milk, when in reality, there are VERY FEW women who cannot make enough milk. It is well documented that it is very rare that a women cannot make enough milk but there are just so many myths and stories that give women bad information.



Check out these two articles from KORA Organics on milk supply- Article one, article two

Also- for more questions and information on milk supply- check out Kellymom!