Actress Toni Collette, known for her roles in Little Miss Sunshine, Muriel’s Wedding, and The Sixth Sense, gave birth to her first child one year ago. In last weekend’s Parade magazine feature, she was asked how she got back in shape after giving birth.
“I do yoga and Pilates, but the body itself knows what to do,” she said. “When you’re breastfeeding, the body has its own way to shrink.”

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined weight gained during pregnancy and the elimination or retention of that weight postpartum. The authors concluded that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months as recommended can help most women return to their pre-pregnancy weight by six months postpartum. The study also addressed one of the concerns from a previous review of similar studies in that it took into account the pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI) of the women studied. Basically it concluded that women who were heavier before pregnancy were the most likely to continue to struggle with weight …read more

1. Kyrgyz mothers catching HIV from babies: after contracting virus in hospitals infants pass disease by breast-feeding — MSNBC
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)

A celebrity quote I read the other day got me wondering about breastfeeding and weight gain or loss. Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz, who currently stars in the comedy Definitely, Maybe, told The Sun:
‘I feel sexier after having a baby. I think you feel a lot more confident and much more appreciative of your body and what it’s capable of doing. I’ve got a lot more respect for it.’ She added, ‘When I stopped breastfeeding I gained some. It took me more than a year to get back to where I was.’
Source.
I hear both sides from breastfeeding mothers: (1) some …read more

Celebrity mom Jennifer Garner has the right idea about postpartum weight loss–slow and steady wins the race, and breastfeeding can help! Sky Showbiz reports:
The 34 year old said: “(I lost weight) breastfeeding! That and moderate exercise and an eating plan with the help of my personal trainer.
“I wasn’t about to jump on the celebrity mum bandwagon of getting super-skinny, super-quickly.
“I am more concerned about keeping healthy and spending time with Violet than anything else.”
Jennifer, who is married to actor Ben Affleck, gave birth to their daughter last December. Good for her for promoting a healthy attitude about breastfeeding and …read more