Here are some highlights for May, just in case you missed them:
1. Get the scoop on breastfeeding, anti-depressants, and alternative treatments for depression.
2. A new study shows breastfeeding may cut rheumatoid arthritis risk in half.
3. Check out the poll results on where mothers are giving birth (more than you might think are giving birth at birth centers or at home!) Don’t forget to vote in the new poll on co-sleeping!
4. The crafty among you might enjoy a free pattern for knitting your own nursing tank top.
5. Find out about the latest study to weigh in on the debate over breastfeeding …read more

Breastfed babies are less likely to have certain cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adulthood than their bottle-fed counterparts, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2007.
“Breastfeeding babies offers them long-term heart-health benefits,” American Heart Association news, November 5, 2007.

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

Is intelligence determined by nature or nurture? The latest breastfeeding study reveals that nature (genetic makeup) and nurture (breastfeeding) work together to develop a child’s IQ. In children with a particular variant of the FADS2 gene (as 90% of children have), breastfeeding increases intelligence. Breastfed children with the gene variant score an average of seven points higher on intelligence tests than their formula-fed counterparts. For a geneticist’s take on this news, read the clear explanation offered by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei at Eye on DNA.

Think hand expression is unnecessary or too difficult? Dr. Jane Morton offers a free video that demonstrates how to teach mothers (or how to learn for oneself) the technique for hand expression of breast milk. When I interviewed Dr. Morton last March, she mentioned new research that suggests that hand expression used in conjunction with pumping in the first three days is much more effective in promoting subsequent milk production than pumping alone. She said if women were taught to hand express in the first three days after giving birth, their milk production could be boosted significantly and fewer women …read more

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports today that there is no link between breastfeeding and early childhood tooth decay. A new study examined data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for children aged two to five. Several factors were considered, including oral health and infant feeding. The study “Association Between Infant Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Caries in the United States” found no tie between dental caries and breastfeeding, including prolonged breastfeeding. What was found to increase the risk of dental caries? Maternal smoking. That’s one more piece of information to add to the growing list of facts …read more

Welcome to September’s Carnival of Breastfeeding (see this month’s entries below)! As a parent I understand how hard the parenting job is. That is why I have a general philosophy of “I’ll do what works for my family and you do what works for yours.” There are just two issues I feel very strongly about: (1) (not) spanking, and (2) whether or not to let a child “cry-it-out” (”CIO”). While there are different methods, names, and sleep trainers out there (Ferber, Ezzo, controlled crying, crying-it-out, just to name a few), CIO is the general practice of leaving a baby to …read more

A preliminary study determined that the administration of recombinant human prolactin (r-hPRL) to non-lactating women triggered the production of breast milk. Noting that other drugs used to augment lactation can have intolerable side effects, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School studied the use of r-hPRL in a sample of nine women for one week and determined that it warrants further clinical trials for its use as an agent to augment milk production (see Short-term prolactin administration causes expressible galactorrhea but does not affect bone turnover: pilot data for a new lactation agent. International Breastfeeding Journal, July 24, …read more

New scientific research reveals that choosing organic dairy and meat products over conventional products improves the fatty acid content in breast milk. A recent study (PDF) published in the British Journal of Nutrition examined the diets of 312 breastfeeding women from the Netherlands and collected breast milk samples at one month postpartum. Women who reported that they chose organic dairy and meat products over conventional products at least 90% of the time showed a measurable increase in beneficial fatty acids in their breast milk. The study specifically examined the conjugated linoleic acid isomers (CLA) and trans-vaccenic acid (TVA). The Free …read more

Recent studies showed that exclusive breastfeeding for six months reduced the risk of HIV transmission from mother to infant down to four percent, whereas supplementation with artificial milk or solid foods posed three or four times that risk of transmission. In developed countries with access to safe water supplies and artificial baby milk, one might wonder why a mother would risk even a four percent chance of transmission. It’s a vital issue though for mothers in undeveloped countries where there are barriers to safe water and affordable artificial milk and where infants are at significant risk of death from diarrhea …read more