Birth and Babies

I found this in my inbox last night.  This sounds like an awesome idea!

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My LLL toddler group has been kicking around the idea of writing our
own kid’s book that would contain positive depictions of moms
breastfeeding. There are literally thousands of books on the market
depicting newborns, babies, baby animals, even baby monsters, with
bottles and pacifiers. There are very few books on the market
depicting moms breastfeeding in the normal course of the day. A few
books focus exclusively on the concept of breastfeeding. These are
typically heavy handed with a limited audience. Breastfeeding babies
and toddler adore these books, other families aren’t interested.

We are constantly looking for really good kids books where moms
happen to be breastfeeding in the picture. It just doesn’t exist.
While I haven’t read every single book on the market, it is
startlingly absent. I wrote to a users group of children’s book
illustrators to ask them why so many children’s books depict bottle
feeding of newborns and young babies. I got a huge response from
illustrators, most of whom were super frustrated with their
publishers! They said that the major publishing houses forbid the
depiction of breastfeeding, male nipples as in dads in the swimming
pool, ancient greeks in togas, Native Americans in buckskin… AND
ALSO, NO UDDERS ON COWS. This tipped me over the edge! No UDDERS!

My LLL group, of 96 moms, has put together a project proposal to an
entrepreneurial website called ideablob.com. This is an online
community of entrepreneurs. Anyone in the world can propose any
project or business idea, no matter how small or unusual. Thousands
of people visit the site and vote for different ideas. The idea with
the most votes is awarded $10,000 to implement their idea.

At the moment, our project idea — a book for children containing
positive depictions of breastfeeding — is among the top ranked. We
have one week left to garner the votes needed to earn the $10,000
grant. We’ve sent the idea around the world and are in the top
scorers for the runoff. Would you be willing to vote for my project?
What would be very helpful would be for you to forward this message
to your friends, asking them to vote, as well. You do need to
register for the site but they are very respectful about not
bombarding you with messages…

Here is the web page:
http://www.ideablob.com

Thanks for your help, everyone! We really do have a chance to win,
but everyone’s gotta vote.

Certainly I think by now we all know that for most mothers and babies, breastfeeding is the most complete nutrition and healthiest form of free babyfood anywhere.  It can take some getting used to, it may take a lot of practice and time to get it right - but in the end, its worth it.

What we may not realise, is that we are subjecting our babies to problems if we choose not to breastfeed.  Here is part of an article I hand out in my classes, which shows some of these side effects and how they can effect a non-breastfed child its whole life!

Gastrointestinal Illness   At least 400 infants die annually in the United States from diarrheal disease; an estimated 250-300 of these deaths are attributed to not being breastfed.  Other gastrointestinal disorders such as
Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and celiac  are minimized  in people who were breastfed.

Respiratory Illness. Between 500 and 600 infants die annually in the United States from acute respiratory disease attributed to not being breastfed. The risk of fatal or nonfatal respiratory infections is two- to fivefold higher among
formula fed infants.

Otitis Media occurs more frequently in infants who are not breastfed. Bacteremia and Meningitis  There is a fourfold higher risk of bacteremia and meningitis among babies who are not breast-fed.

Juvenile Diabetes  More than 100 studies indicate that breast-feeding can delay or prevent the onset of diabetes in  children said Dr Cadwell.

Malignant Lymphomas  A six- to eightfold increase in the risk for developing lymphomas among children younger than 15 years has been found in children who were not breastfed for at least 6 months.

Breast Cancer  Having been breastfed as a child  reduces breast cancer risk in women over 40 by more than 25%.

Pediatric News 33(1):37, 1999

Some great articles on health, nutrition and more for pregnant and nursing moms, as well as women in general!  Spend some time on this gem of a site, you’ll be sure to learn a LOT!

Nursing moms need an additional 300 calories from healthy foods, for a total of at least 1500 per day.  Dieting is not recommended during breastfeeding, however, breastfeeding does help with postpartum weight loss on its own!

Try to eat a variety of healthy foods, add in extra protein and three servings of calcium-rich foods each day, plus plenty of fluids. Continue taking your prental vitamins.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this here before, but wanted to throw out a helpful hint for nursing moms who want to stay modest while nursing.

Take an old undershirt and cut out circles where your breasts are.  Wear this shirt under your normal shirt, and when you have to pull up your top shirt to nurse, the undershirt stays down and keeps your tummy and sides covered. 

http://breastcrawl.org/video.htm This video explains benefits of breastfeeding soon after birth, and shows a baby latching on to the breast without help.

Many babies - about 60% of full term and about 80% premature - develop jaundice.  This is the end result of too much bilirubin in the baby’s system and the liver is not able to break it down effectively when they’re born.  The yellowing of the skin is due to the bilirubin being absorbed and the circulatory system carries the excess to all the body tissues.

No on really knows why some babies develop jaundice and others don’t.  It seems to be a pretty common occurance!  Babies tend to have a higher chance of jaundice when there are medicines used during labor such as pitocin and epidurals, infection, hemorrhage, too much acid in the body and Rh incompatibilities.

For most babies, regular feedings and exposure to sunlight is all the treatment a baby will need.  If you are breastfeeding, your pediatrician will likely suggest you feed your baby formula in the early days to help “flush out” the bilirubin.  Avoid formula if at all possible especially during the early days and weeks.  Jaundice babies need to eat often to assist removal of the bilirubin - and breastmilk will digest faster than formula, leaving baby ready for more.  Breastmilk is also the gentlest on your baby’s digestive system, and of course superior nutiriton compaired to formula.  Your baby needs those antibodies and the other live properties of breastmilk that formula lacks.

If your baby develops jaundice within 24 hrs. of birth, it may be pathologic in nature, requiring treatment.  If your baby develops jaundice during the first few weeks of birth, it may be breastmilk jaundice from a substance in mothers milk that interfers with bilirubin metabolism.  It is still safe to breastfeed in most cases!  This will usually dissapear in a week or two.

Physiologic jaundice (as mentioned above from an immature liver) and breastmilk jaundice usually require no actual treatment other than frequent feedings and exposure to sunlight.

Babies may have daily blood draws to measure the bilirubin level to make sure it doesn’t get too high.  If your baby does require treatment, typically babies undergo phototherapy, which is exposure to flourescent lights.  Some hospitals have fiberoptic phototherapy blankets which enable the baby to be held and fed while still undergoing treatment. These blankets can even be taken home so your baby doesn’t have to stay at the hospital (under certain circumstances).  In severe cases, newborns may need a blood transfusion.

http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/ is a wonderful site providing information about breastmilk donation.

If you are a mom who cannot produce enough and would like to consider accepting donor milk, or a mom who would like to donate to the cause, check this site out.  If you ask around, you might be able to find a local, trusthworthy donor so you don’t have to worry about shipping costs.  I have expressed breastmilk for a local baby and plan to express milk when my next baby is born.  If there is a local baby who needs it, wonderful, otherwise I will donate it!

Sometimes a mom is encouraged to pump her breastmilk to see how much she is producing.  Some formula companies encourage mothers to do this, to make sure their baby is getting enough (and then suggest they supplement with formula if they can’t pump a large enough amount).

First of all, pumping breastmilk is ineffective as a way to measure your total production, simply because a breastpump does not work the breast the same way your baby does while nursing (and different grades of pumps will work better than others, for instance a mom who needs to pump large amounts on a regular basis and keep her supply would have better luck using a hospital grade pump rather than a storebought manual or electric) .  Your baby, provided the latch and positioning are correct, will be able to express MORE milk than a pump.

Many moms try to pump because they are worried their baby is not getting enough, only to pump maybe an ounce.  This leads them to jump to supplement with formula because they are afraid their baby is only getting an ounce of milk at each feeding.

There are more effective ways of determining if your baby is getting enough nourishment and it has nothing to do with measuring your breastmilk.  Instead - is your baby happy and content?  Gaining weight?  Having enough wet/dirty diapers? 

If you are concerned, consult a board certified lactation consultant - not anyone else.  No one else has the training that a lactation consultant has when it comes to issues like weight gain.  In most cases, a pediatrician will suggest you start supplementing with formula if your baby is not gaining enough, when there are other options that can keep your breastfeeding relationship intact.

For locals in Monroe, Mercy Memorial Hospital has a wonderful IBCLC, Julie Lee.  Contact her with your questions if you feel there is a problem. 

Breastfeeding naturally reduces the chances of most women getting pregnant again soon after delivery, so long as three rules are followed:

• The baby being breastfed is 6 months old or less
• The baby is still nursing both day and night, without extended periods of time between feedings and without any regular supplementation.
• Your menstrual cycle has not yet returned.

Multiple studies done on this method of birth “control” found it is 98-99.5% effective at preventing pregnancy providing the above rules are followed.  There are other methods of birth control that can be used in conjuction with breastfeeding also.