Study results just released yesterday indicate that the breastfeeding rate in the United States has risen to three out of every four mother-baby pairs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported the breastfeeding initiation rate at 77% for babies born in 2005-2006. Key points of the report include:
~ The percentage of infants who were ever breastfed increased from 60% among infants who were born in 1993-1994 to 77% among infants who were born in 2005-2006.
~ Breastfeeding rates increased significantly among non-Hispanic black women from 36% in 1993-1994 to 65% in …read more

Olympic sprinter Marion Jones is due to report to federal prison by March 11. Many of you shared your opinions about her prison sentence and the impact on her breastfed infant. Breastfeeding may be taken into account as a factor in federal sentencing proceedings, and I was disappointed that it seemed not to weigh into the judge’s decision in that case.
A news story out of Australia made me think more about taking breastfeeding into account in prison sentencing. A woman stabbed her mother three times during an argument and was originally sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail to be …read more

Fascinating news out of Perth, Australia, as researchers report that human breast milk contains stem cells that potentially could be harvested to treat all manner of injuries and diseases. ScienceAlert quotes molecular biologist Dr. Mark Cregan:
We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions.
Journalist Catherine Madden sums up Dr. Cregan’s theory on the “developmental guidance” that he believes breast milk provides:
He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure …read more

Was anyone else saddened to read about the prison sentence for Olympic athlete and breastfeeding mother Marion Jones? I certainly do not condone doping, lying, or the breaking of any law, and I don’t think she should escape punishment in some form. But I cried, thinking of the nursling, as I read this article in the LA Times:
“I absolutely realize the gravity of the offenses I’ve committed, and I am deeply sorry,” [Jones] said. She began to cry as she pleaded with the judge to not separate her from her 4-year-old son and 7-month-old baby, whom she is still nursing.
The …read more

The Lubbock nurse-in led tonight’s local NBC evening news cast. The KCBD video broadcast reported that over 30 breastfeeding women showed up at the First Friday Art Trail at the Buddy Holly Center to applaud the city’s decision to overturn its ban of artwork depicting a breastfeeding mother and a nude pregnant woman. Both the artist Lahib Jaddo and the model Annie Harrison were present. The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says the City of Lubbock supported the breastfeeding women in attendance by providing chairs and breastfeeding-friendly food. The City of Lubbock is working toward an agreement …read more

The artwork shown at left was one of two pieces banned from an art show at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas. According to the artist Lahib Jaddo, city official Scott Snider rejected the work over the telephone without ever having seen the actual sketch. The local television news reports that the city has since apologized and promised to review its policies, but the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Birth Without Boundaries plan to go ahead with a nurse-in scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, January 4, 2008.
Lubbock, Texas Nurse-In
Date: Friday, January 4, 2008
Time: 5:45 pm
Place: Buddy …read more

Last April, Ruth Ellen Cummings nursed her 2-week-old baby in a Napanee, Ontario, Canada truck stop restaurant until the assistant manager asked her to cover up. Cummings didn’t have anything to cover the baby, and refused to use the napkin the manager offered. In an interview in the Bellevue Intelligencer, Cummings explained:
I was so upset because I was all alone and I felt everybody was looking at me. When my husband came back I told him ‘we have to go.’ … He thought I was kidding and I started crying hysterically.
After doing a little research on-line, Cummings decided to file …read more

What’s with the airline industry and its poor treatment of breastfeeding mothers and babies? An Australian woman booked a business class ticket to San Francisco on Qantas Airlines. For some reason, the airline’s booking agent advised the woman to put her baby on the ticket of her companion who was traveling in economy class. The agent assured the woman that the baby could visit business class whenever the baby needed to breastfeed, and the pair had no problems on the initial flight. On the return flight, however, flight attendants refused to allow baby Alexandra to visit business class to breastfeed, …read more

~ The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program encourages breastfeeding through the offer of pumping supplies, support from breastfeeding peer counselors, and incentives to breastfeed (breastfeeding mothers who do not require infant formula are given extra allotments of food). Tanya at the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog reports that WIC is in danger of having to cut over half a million families due to a potential lack of funding.
~ Author Sean Taylor refused to accept the prize money for the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize 2007 after he learned about Nestlé’s unethical marketing practices. Thanks to Bliss-Breastfeeding for the heads-up on that …read more

Approximately 38,000 Boppy Slipcovers are being recalled due to zipper pulls that can break and pose a choking hazard. The zippers also pose a danger due to excessive levels of lead in the paint. Here are the full details from the voluntary recall issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Boppy Company of Boulder, Colorado:
This recall involves velvet and boa slipcovers intended for use with the Boppy® Bare Naked nursing and support pillow.
Slipcovers recalled due to a choking hazard were sold in three color combinations and have the following UPC and date codes found on the …read more