Welcome Blog Action Day and Carnival of Breastfeeding readers! As thousands of bloggers around the world reflect on the topic of poverty, Breastfeeding 1-2-3 and other breastfeeding carnival participants (see links at the end of this post) are discussing poverty as it relates to the topic of breastfeeding.
Myths about Breastfeeding and Poverty
1. Myth: If a breastfeeding woman is malnourished due to poverty, she should be told to wean and be given formula for her baby.

Mother and son in Niger; Photo credit IFRC/John Haskew
La Leche League (LLL) and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) joined together today in celebration of World Health Day 2008. The theme chosen by the World Health Organization for World Health Day 2008 is Protecting Health from Climate Change, and LLL and WABA put together a statement showing how breastfeeding protects both health and the environment. In particular, the statement notes how:
~ Unlike formula-feeding, breastfeeding requires no manufacturing plants
~ No packaging for breast milk is needed
~ Both corn- and soy-based formulas require heavy use of farmland for feeding, grazing and …read more

Well-child visits with the pediatrician almost always begin with taking the baby’s weight, height and head circumference measurements. The health care professional then plots those numbers on a growth chart and shows you where your child is on the chart, how your child’s growth is progressing, and whether the numbers fall in a higher or lower percentile on the growth curve than previous measurements. These measuring sessions either provide parents with reassurance if the child is in a particular percentile or growth curve, or spark a lot of worry if a child is not. How valuable is this tool for …read more