In light of Labor Day in the United States, the September Carnival of Breastfeeding centers on breastfeeding and working. Please email me your post on breastfeeding and working by September 21, 2009, for consideration for the blog carnival on September 28, 2009.
p>As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:
– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, …read more

The implication of the Medela Breast Milk Commercial that women will need a breast pump if they plan to breastfeed got me wondering — in the last two months, have you used a pump? Was it electric or manual, or do you prefer to hand express?id you not require a pump or hand expression in the last two months? What is your opinion on whether a breast pump is necessary? As a stay-at-home mother, I used a manual pump with my first child but quickly found that my baby would not take a bottle and I only needed to express …read more

Thanks again to Easy Expression Products for the Easy Expression Hands-Free Pumping Bra giveaway! Many people expressed (pun intended!) positive things about the hands-free pumping bra and it’s fun to be giving away a product that breastfeeding and pumping mothers find so helpful!
It’s especially fun when Random.org happens to pick a winner who can really benefit from the prize — and that winner is commenter #20 Jennifer B, who said:
I am pregnant with my second child, and I would sooo love having one of these. I thought about getting one when I was nursing my 2 year old, but …read more

This contest has ended and the comments are closed.
Now is your chance to win an Easy Expression™ Hands-Free Pumping Bra compliments of Easy Expression Products! In honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month this August, Easy Expression Products is giving one lucky Breastfeeding 1-2-3 reader an Easy Expression Hands-Free Pumping Bra which has a suggested retail value of $34.00!

Since the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 was first introduced in Congress a month ago, three new co-sponsors have committed to the bill (two from New York and one from Guam), bringing the total number of sponsors up to 13 in the House and two in the Senate. Senator Jeff Merkley, the original sponsor in the Senate, offered the Breastfeeding Promotion Act as an amendment to the Senate Health Committee health care reform bill and it was accepted! While it may not make the final cut, this is tremendous progress! The D.C. Breastfeeding Coalition promises to let us know when …read more

Today’s Dear Abby column “New Mom Reluctantly Uses Bathroom as Pumping Station” missed a fabulous opportunity to educate breastfeeding women and their employers about pumping at work. Here’s the response I will be submitting to columnist Abigail Van Buren.
DEAR ABBY:
You are absolutely right to tell “PRIVACY PLEASE” not to be ashamed of pumping at work. I hope you take it one step further and let her and your readers know that California law requires an employer to make reasonable efforts to provide a location other than a toilet stall for the employee to express milk in private (California Labor Code …read more

I watched Jerry O’Connell co-host Live with Regis and Kelly the other day. It was cute to see how excited he is about his newborn twin girls with wife Rebecca Romijn. He could hardly contain his excitement and it was very sweet to see. Apparently he still had the same enthusiasm when he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today. O’Connell said:
I don’t know why I’m getting nervous saying this — I’m not saying anything dirty, it’s natural but [Rebecca] does what we call the double football – which is just incredible, because it’s like three beings attached. It’s like …read more

Photo credit: NataPics

Remember when I interviewed Dr. Jane Morton about breastfeeding education for medical professionals? Remember when I mentioned her free online video on hand expression of breast milk? Well today I learned from About.com Breastfeeding that Dr. Morton has another fascinating free video online, this time about increasing breast milk supply when it is necessary to pump for a baby in the NICU or any baby not nursing well at the breast. It is called “Maximizing Milk Production” and in 9 minutes 35 seconds, it explains how to increase milk supply without medication. Dr. Morton recommends and demonstrates such techniques as …read more

An Australian woman pumping on her lunch break in the Westfield Marion shopping center “parents’ room” was approached by the cleaning lady and later questioned by mall security and police. Sharleen Salmon had recently returned to work and was expressing breast milk for her five-month-old baby Justice. The Guardian Messenger quotes Salmon as saying:
I was in a private area (in the parents room) behind the curtain and this cleaner just walked in on me and watched what I was doing. She told me the parents room was for parents and breastfeeding only – and that I wasn’t allowed to …read more