Hayek’s daughter, Valentina, turned 1 before the trip and the actress spoke about the importance of breast-feeding, especially in underdeveloped countries such as Sierra Leone. In fact doctors there say that because malnutrition is so rampant they would like to see women in Sierra Leone breast-feed for two years. But such behavior is rare. The reason? Men urge their wives to quickly stop breast-feeding because of cultural mores that forbid sexual intercourse with breast-feeding women.

In the video coverage, Salma Hayek cross-nurses a hungry 7-day-old baby. If you don’t have time to watch the whole 8-minute video, skip to about -3:15 to watch as she breastfeeds the baby and then talks about how it felt to cross-nurse. It’s a powerful piece and you might want to have a hanky ready! Salma Hayek might just be my new favorite actress/humanitarian/lactivist!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

2. Wal-Mart Employee Tells Mom to Stop Breastfeeding — myFOX Milwaukee, Wisconsin (If you visit this article, be sure to vote in the poll about whether or not the employee should have asked the mother to nurse in the bathroom!)

3. YMCA breastfeeding problem is “misunderstanding” — WFAA-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

4. Salma Hayek discusses breastfeeding and weight loss (or rather, the lack of it) — Celebrity Baby Blog (this ties in with the Breastfeeding 1-2-3 reader discussion on the subject)

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3