Pediatrician Dr. Bob Sears makes it his business to stay on top of the latest developments and news regarding vaccinations. He is the author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. He spoke on the topic of vaccines at the La Leche League conference I went to last weekend.
La Leche League conferences are great because children are welcome at the lectures. As I chased my 10-month-old around the back of the room (until she finally fell asleep in the sling as you can see above), I managed to take in a lot of valuable information …read more

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) have issued strong guidance on the importance of breastfeeding for protection against the H1N1 swine flu. The CDC states, “Infants who are not breastfeeding are particularly vulnerable to infection and hospitalization for severe respiratory illness.”
Thus, the CDC urges new mothers to initiate breastfeeding early and to feed frequently. Mothers already breastfeeding should continue to do so, even if they become ill. Formula feeding should be avoided or minimized and breastfeeding maximized. In the Health News Digest, USBC Chair Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, …read more

My baby is sick. Possibly sick from the vaccine intended to protect her from illness. And I am sick at heart. You see, I took her in for her 9-month well baby visit three days ago. At that time, she received two vaccinations: DTaP and Rotavirus. Those of you really savvy about vaccinations might see the problem already. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the rotavirus vaccine is not recommended after the baby reaches the age of 32 weeks (about 8 months).y baby was overdue for her third and final dose of RotaTeq. I had put it off …read more

Test your knowledge of how alcohol affects breast milk with these 8 questions! The trivia was derived from studies compiled on the LactMed database as of April 2009. For information about drinking and breastfeeding, see this article on alcohol and the controversial Milkscreen test. For current information on drugs and lactation, visit the LactMed database.
nswer these 8 questions and compare how you did with the answers below.
1. Nursing after 1 or 2 drinks (including beer) causes the infant to:
a) increase milk intake.
b) decrease milk intake.
c) Milk intake remains unaffected.
2. Nursing or pumping within one hour before ingesting alcohol:
a) does not …read more

As I researched the local agricultural fairs in which my daughters might like to participate, I learned that January is National Oatmeal Month! Somehow for a breastfeeding blogger, everything relates to breastfeeding, and National Oatmeal Month is no exception. It begged the question, does oatmeal increase milk supply? I knew that the answer could be found in the new book The Breastfeeding Mother’s Guide to Making More Milk by Diana West, IBCLC, and Lisa Marasco, M.A., IBCLC. The authors note that oat straw and its grain, oats, have long enjoyed a reputation as a galactagogue. In a section on lactogenic …read more

It was bound to happen eventually. We made it all the way to the third week of school before my first grader and preschooler brought home the first colds of the season. I reminded my preschooler not to kiss or touch the baby (if anything she gives her a little too much love) but I knew we were history when she accidentally sneezed on Nicole.
At 10 weeks, Nicole is weathering the cold just fine. She’s generally as happy as ever, and she quite enjoys the sneezes! *sneeze* *coo*! The only time she gets upset is when she wants to …read more

Just a quick reminder that the latest edition of the drug and lactation guide Medications and Mothers’ Milk is available starting today! According to the publisher:
Some of the new features added to Medications and Mothers’ Milk 2008, thirteenth edition include:
- More than 70 new drugs.
- Rigorous updates to hundreds of drugs and tables.
- Updated tables on radiocontrast agents.
- Updated tables on cold and cough remedies.
Buy Medications and Mothers’ Milk now!

Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning against the use of Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream, marketed by MOM Enterprises, Inc. to nursing mothers for treatment of cracked and sore nipples. The packaging specifically states that it is not necessary to remove the cream before nursing, but two ingredients in the cream may be harmful to nursing infants. The FDA describes the dangers of chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol:
Chlorphenesin relaxes skeletal muscle and can depress the central nervous system and cause respiratory depression (slow or shallow breathing) in infants. Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that is primarily used in cosmetics and …read more

In honor of Mental Health Month, the Health and Wellness Channel focuses on mental health topics today. The good news is that breastfeeding protects maternal mental health. According to a study by Kathleen Kendall-Tackett in the International Breastfeeding Journal:
Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce stress and protect maternal mood. Breastfeeding also reduces stress of babies of depressed mothers and protects them from the harmful effects of maternal depression. Treatment approaches that are anti-inflammatory have efficacy in treating depression. These include EPA and DHA, exercise, cognitive therapy, herbal anti-depressants such as St. John’s wort, and standard antidepressants.
Unfortunately, many breastfeeding mothers will …read more

Welcome to the April Carnival of Breastfeeding, “Thrush and Mastitis and Blebs, oh my!” This month several contributors share their experiences with different breastfeeding challenges and offer links and resources for overcoming those challenges. First I will talk about using gentian violet or grapefruit seed extract as alternative remedies for thrush, but make sure to read on for links to the other contributions at the end!
Oversupply
When my first daughter was born, I struggled with oversupply. In theory oversupply sounds great because it eliminates any worry about having enough milk for the baby. In reality, it can cause a lot of …read more