Breastfeeding 1-2-3 » poll

Pumping, Expression, Breastfeeding: A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:02:30 +0000

The implication of the Medela Breast Milk Commercial that women will need a breast pump if they plan to breastfeed got me wondering — in the last two months, have you used a pump? Was it electric or manual, or do you prefer to hand express?

Medela Swing Breast Pump

Did you not require a pump or hand expression in the last two months? What is your opinion on whether a breast pump is necessary? As a stay-at-home mother, I used a manual pump with my first child but quickly found that my baby would not take a bottle and I only needed to express milk to relieve engorgement or get rid of a plugged duct. I preferred hand-expression for those tasks.

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Have You Ever Tandem Nursed: A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:25:41 +0000

Finally the poll feature is functioning again here at Breastfeeding 1-2-3! This time let’s talk about your thoughts on tandem nursing!

Must-have guide if you're tandem nursing or considering it

Have you ever nursed more than one nursling at a time? Answer the poll and leave a comment to share your experience or your opinion! If you tandem nursed, how did you feel about it? Did you nurse your children at the same time (one at each breast) or nurse one and then the other? I will share that just after I had my second baby, I nursed my toddler and newborn at the same time so there was little or no jealousy on the part of my toddler. Soon though I gently encouraged her to wait until her little sister was done nursing as that was more comfortable for me. I think if I had had twins I would have worked hard to handle nursing them both at the same time if at all possible, but with an older child it felt far more comfortable for me to nurse them separately and we happily continued that tandem nursing relationship for many months! You can read more of my tandem nursing story here. But back to the poll — I want to hear from you!

Please leave a comment as well!

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Poll Results: Food Allergies and the Breastfed Baby

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:07:28 +0000

The results of the poll on allergies and breastfeeding were quite telling and the comments were helpful and insightful, especially for all those dealing with allergies in the breastfed baby. Frankly I was surprised at the number of nurslings with known or suspected allergies and the number of mothers coping with an elimination diet. An even 1/3 of respondents said that yes, their nurslings have food allergies. These pyramids (in honor of the USDA food pyramid LOL) illustrate the distribution of the 148 votes.

Let’s be clear though — breastfeeding is wonderful for babies with food allergies. Do not interpret these results to mean that breastfed babies are more likely to have food allergies, because in fact the opposite is true! To learn more about the protective effects of breastfeeding, read “‘A’ is for Food Allergy Prevention and Reduction.”

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Breastfeeding Photos: A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:39:28 +0000

In light of the controversies about breastfeeding photos on Facebook, MySpace and LiveJournal, I am wondering how you feel about the appropriateness of having breastfeeding pictures taken of you and your nursling. Do you have them taken?

Leave a comment!

If you have had breastfeeding photos taken, what do you do with them? Have you shared them with friends, posted them on a blog, or used them for avatars on web sites? Is there an age of the nursling after which breastfeeding photos are no longer appropriate? What about this news story (via Blacktating) that tells how a family’s children were taken away by child protective services when the photo development service saw pictures of the baby nursing?

Poll removed; please leave a comment!

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Poll Results: Baby Sleep Positions

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:31:23 +0000

According to the Chicago Tribune, before the “Back to Sleep” campaign began in 1994, only 14% of babies in the United States were placed on their backs to sleep. After the campaign started, the number skyrocketed to 73%. While the recommendation remains for babies to sleep on their backs, there are signs that more and more parents are choosing to place their babies to sleep on their sides or tummies. A 2005 article from the Detroit News reported that in a Babycenter.com poll of 24,000 respondents, a nearly equal number of parents (42%) put their babies down to sleep on their stomachs as on their backs (43%) in spite of the worry about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

In our own Breastfeeding 1-2-3 survey of 116 respondents, 60% of parents put their babies to sleep on their backs, while the other 40% rest their babies on the side or tummy.

Please take a moment to vote in the new poll in the side bar!

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Poll Results: Sex Life Survey

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:00:38 +0000

When I asked how breastfeeding affected nursing mothers’ sex lives, the results were quite mixed. The good news is that 34% of respondents said that breastfeeding enhanced their sex lives at some point, and an additional 18% said breastfeeding neither enhanced nor hampered their sex lives. The bad news is that 36% said that breastfeeding hampered their sex lives at some point. An additional 30% answered “What sex life?!” (I suspect that has more to do with new parenthood and sleep deprivation than breastfeeding alone.)

Here are my musings, for what they are worth (leave a comment if you agree or disagree!) New motherhood can leave any mother feeling physically worn out and tired and consequently less interested in sex. Fatherhood throws a man into a new view of his wife, their relationship, and their roles. If he’s doing it “right,” fatherhood just might leave him worn out and tired too! Arguments over the division of household labor and parenting can also strain a relationship.

Breastfeeding can help by improving maternal mood and promoting bonding as a family. It can also help a mother feel good about her body (what an amazing thing to be able to do, to nourish a life with one’s breasts!), and in some cases helping her return to her pre-pregnancy figure. If, however, breastfeeding presents a stumbling block in an intimate relationship, hopefully that can be addressed through further communication. First by identifying what the problem is exactly — a partner’s sense that breasts are purely sexual, and/or that breastfeeding takes away that part of intimacy? A reduced physical sense of enjoyment on the part of the mother, or simply feeling “touched out” by breastfeeding?

Then the second question becomes what to do to resolve the problem. It’s easy enough to say that “this too shall pass” and to recognize that babyhood and breastfeeding are just the blink of an eye in the span of a relationship. But I am hopeful that there are things that can be done to address any ways in which breastfeeding is having a negative effect. For example, having the partner learn to use a sling and “wear” the baby in the evening to give the nursing mother some more hands-free time. Exploring ways to foster intimacy and enjoyment other than through the breasts. Learning to laugh at the occasional spray of milk during lovemaking! Maybe even making breastfeeding part of the sexual relationship with an adult nursing relationship? I don’t have any particular feelings on that subject except my initial thought that if it works for a husband and wife, doesn’t interfere with the baby’s nursing relationship, and makes breastfeeding a positive thing in the family, then all the better. (And my second thought, that if mom or baby develops a yeast infection (thrush), that all the members of the family will need to be treated whether or not they are exhibiting symptoms. That’s often the case with stubborn cases of thrush!)

The results certainly made me think. Do you have any thoughts on the subject? Any tips on balancing being a mother and a wife? Here is the final survey breakdown:

Please vote in the new poll in the side bar! As you can see I always appreciate reader input and particularly enjoy analyzing the votes that come in.

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Back to Sleep Campaign: A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:30:12 +0000

Breastfeeding your baby is one key way to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also called crib death or cot death. In fact, a 2008 meta-analysis of 27 studies showed that babies who were breastfed, even partially breastfed, were one-third less likely to die of SIDS than babies who were never breastfed.

Back to Sleep

Over 13 years ago the American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first policy statement on reducing the risk of SIDS and recommended that all healthy babies be placed to sleep on their backs. Soon thereafter the “Back to Sleep Campaign” began. In the time since, the SIDS rate has fallen over 50 percent.

The following poll lets you vote anonymously so we can get an idea of whether parents are following the recommendation to put their babies “back to sleep.” A few thoughts: (1) answer for your latest baby (for example, if you placed your first child on her tummy to sleep, but placed your latest newborn on his back, answer “back”); (2) answer for when your baby was a newborn (for purposes of this poll, define that as 0-6 months) and if at any time during that first six months you switched to placing on baby’s “side” or “tummy” then answer “side” or “tummy” respectively; (3) answer for how you placed your baby (so, answer “back” if you put your baby down on his back, even if he rolled onto his tummy). Feel free to leave a comment to explain your vote.

{democracy:49}

Use of a Fan

There are lots of other things that can reduce the risk of SIDS, but I want to highlight one relatively new discovery. A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine showed that use of a fan to ventilate the room where baby sleeps can reduce the risk of SIDS by 72%! The risk reduction associated with fan use was greater for infants placed in the prone (face-down, tummy position) or side position versus the supine (back) position (which I take to mean, it’s still a good idea to place your baby on his back, but if you are going to place him on his side or tummy, it’s even more helpful to use a fan).

Comments

How do you place your baby to sleep? What do you do to reduce your baby’s risk of SIDS?

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How Has Breastfeeding Affected Your Sex Life? A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:52:45 +0000

The reaction to this “Bond with your baby. Bond with your man” poster was strong and the comments section developed an interesting discussion. I would like to open the question up to everyone — how has breastfeeding affected your sex life? Does your partner enjoy your new bustline, and/or has breastfeeding left you “touched out” at the end of the day? Do you feel the breastfeeding hormones have affected you in any way? Or are you simply too tired as a new parent to make this anything but a moot question?

{democracy:48}

Feel free to leave a comment to explain your answer.

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Poll Results: Tasting Breast Milk

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:38:49 +0000

I had no idea how the latest poll would turn out. When I asked “Have you ever tasted breast milk as an adult?” the answers consistently ran 2-to-1 in favor of having tasted breast milk at some point. The final results after 211 votes:

Please vote in the new poll in the side bar!

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Have You Ever Tasted Breast Milk? A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:26:03 +0000

Many of us tasted breast milk as infants of course, but have you ever tasted it as an adult? Maybe you were curious like Friends on television, illustrating a point like this professor, using it to treat cancer, or you have a breast milk fetish.

It’s the easiest poll ever!

{democracy:47}

To see all past poll results, click here.

Feel free to leave a comment! Have you tried breast milk, why, and what did you think (keep it clean or I won’t approve your comment)?

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