New Growth Charts Take Breastfeeding as the Norm

If you’ve ever taken a young child for a check up, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the growth curves used to assess your child’s weight, height and other growth measurements. (For example, if your baby is in the 50th percentile for weight, this means that half of all babies weigh more than your baby, and half of all babies weigh less.) But did you know that until recently, these references were based on a sample of babies from white, European immigrant families at a time when breastfeeding was rare, infant formulas were inferior to those today, and solid foods were introduced much earlier than they are now?

The good news is that based on a 1997 study initiated by the World Health Organization, we now have new Child Growth Standards that takes breastfeeding and breastfed children as the biological norm.

Click here to find out why this is so important.

A Risk-Benefit Analysis

We all know that breastfeeding has benefits. But we don’t all know that formula-fed babies are at greater risk for illness. A recent survey revealed that a great majority of respondents agreed with the statement “breastfeeding is healthier for babies than formula feeding,” but a much smaller percentage believed the reverse, that “feeding a baby formula instead of breast milk increases the chances the baby will get sick.”

Think about it. Given that breastfeeding is the biological norm, shouldn't we be using breastfeeding as the basis for comparison? If we say breastfed babies tend to be healthier we are comparing them to whom? To bottle-fed babies, of course. The acccurate statement, formula-fed babies tend to be sicker, regrettably makes many feel uncomfortable.

Click here to read more.

Public Opinion: Does it Matter?

It doesn’t matter where you live – researchers have found that people all over the US believe that employers should provide women with longer maternity leaves and offer more flexible work schedules.

But if you’re enjoying that maternity leave and want to head into town with your baby, you may want to think twice if you live in Alababa, Kentucky, Tennessee, or Mississippi. A recent survey found that adults in these states have the least positive attitudes toward breastfeeding in public, compared to adults in other parts of the country. Nursing moms living in New England, the mountain states, and the west coast, are the most likely to encounter public approval.

Does this mean that nursing moms living in these East South Central states should stay home or cover up? Absolutely not! Just think of nursing in public as doing a public service. Not only are you meeting your child’s needs, but you’re making it that much easier for the next woman to do as well.

Source: Hannan Abeda, BS; Ruowei Li, MD, PhD., Sandra Benton-Davis, RD, and Laurence Grummer-Strawn, Ph.D. 2005. Regional Variation in Public Opinion About Breastfeeding in the United States. Journal of Human Lactation 21(3):284-288.

Gina, a mother in Virginia, discovered that a congregant in her church was uncomfortable seeing her nurse her baby. The more she thought about it, the more backward this seemed. One question led to another. What is the inspirational benefit of one woman nursing in public? she asked. Through exposure to her, how many other women would be inspired to do the same, over, say, a six month or one year period of nursing? What does it cost our society every year medically and economically for the illnesses breastfeeding would help prevent? How much does a woman nursing in public help reduce these costs?” Finally, Gina wondered, how much should women be paid to nurse in public, to act as a positive role model and public health service?

Now that would be a positive use of public tax dollars!

The C-section rate in the U.S. is at a record high – 29.1% in 2004, over a 40% increase in eight years. Two years later, in 2006, it’s likely higher. A 2005 national survey of women’s first childbirth experiences (Listening to Mothers), revealed a cesarean rate of 31.4%, not even counting moms who gave birth to twins or more.

The Myth of Choice

Think this dramatic increase is because women are demanding it? Think again.

Click here to read more and to find out what your health care provider may not be telling you.

Breastfeeding

This fall’s featured breastfeeding website is banthebags.org, part of a national campaign to prevent formula companies from unethically marketing their products in maternity hospitals.

Knowing that studies show when mothers are given free formula samples they are less likely to exclusively breastfeed and more likely to wean earlier, The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recently tried to put an end to formula companies’ aggressive marketing tactics in hospitals. Thanks to the actions of Governor Mitt Romney, though, their efforts were thwarted.

The political brouhaha drew national attention. It is out of this context that the national Ban the Bags campaign was born. As summed up in their slogan, “Hospitals should market health, and nothing else.”

Childbirth

With skyrocketing c-section rates, plummeting VBAC rates, and a general birthing climate in which good, scientific evidence is dismissed if it doesn’t support a certain agenda, it’s vital that we have organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting a wellness model of maternity care.

Believing that childbirth is a natural, healthy process, in which the birthing woman and her family deserve support, respect, sensitivity, access to accurate information, and evidence-based care, CIMS (The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services) brings together individuals and organizations working to advance a style of maternity care that improves birth outcomes, respects mothers and babies, and reduces costs in the process.

Their website, www.motherfriendly.org has a wealth of resources for both consumers and providers who desire “mother and baby friendly” care.

Mothering/Parenting

Speakers include Barbara Harper, Michel Odent, Jan Tritten, and dozens more. Click here for info:

Fifth Annual Mother-Friendly Childbirth Forum and Meeting. Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS). March 8-11, 2007. Atlanta GA. Click here for info:

National Summit to Ensure the Health and Humanity of Pregnant and Birthing Women. Sponsored by the National Advocates for Pregnant Women and numerous co-sponsors. January 18– Sunday, January 21, 2007 Atlanta, GA.

Speakers include Ann Crittenden, Robbie Davis Floyd, and many others. Read about this groundbreaking event here :

Successful Mothering - Second Annual convention“for women who consider mothering a career.” February 24. Salt Lake City, UT. Click here for info:

International Cesarean Awareness Network Silver Anniversary Conference. April 20-22, 2007 Syracuse, NY. Click here for info:

La Leche League’s 50th Anniversary International Conference. July 20-23, 2007. Chicago, IL.

Speakers include Barbara Behrmann, Ina Mae Gaskin, Ruth Lawrence, Peggy O’Mara, Gayle Pryor, and many others. Click here for info:

An excellent gift for pregnant women, nursing mothers, and anyone who works with them.

Official breastfeeding support has never been greater, yet only 14 percent of women exclusively breastfeed at six months, a far cry from the national goal of 50 percent. Why such a discrepancy? And why does breastfeeding remain so controversial? Everything from the brouhaha surrounding breastfeeding and co-sleeping, to the pros and cons of attachment parenting, to the scandalous way publicly nursing mothers are treated, to the question of when is a child too old to nurse, myths and misinformation abound. Yet mothers struggle with these issues every day.

The Breastfeeding Café: Mothers Share the Joys, Challenges, & Secrets of Breastfeeding is a collection of candid stories and anecdotes, in which women from all over the U.S. discuss the joys and rewards, frustrations and challenges, sorrow and anger, pride and satisfaction, and humor and poignancy that characterize the nursing experience in our contemporary, bottle-feeding culture.

This photo of "The Witch Lactation Station," was part of Lauren and David Petrie's Halloween display last year in Brattleboro, Vermont. Like most things involving public displays or depictions of breastfeeding, it drew plenty of controversy, even making it on the CBS news in Boston.

Guess that's one mama who doesn't worry about inverted nipples!