The incident wherein a breastfeeding mother would be put off a flight is symptomatic of our society’s lack of respect for women and even more so, lack of respect for their role as mothers. Our future as a nation, and as individuals, is highly dependent on how we raise our next generation.

Source Mother/Child Dyad: Infant and Young Child Feeding.

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The following article by JoNel Aleccia appeared in the Spokesman-Review, a Spokane, Washington, newspaper.

“In a hotel room far from her baby boy, Spokane mother Justine Maebius did the unthinkable: She pumped milk from her breasts, and then she poured it down the sink. The 37-year-old genetic counselor would have liked to preserve the precious fluid to feed 4  ½ month-old Colter, but she knew that new airline security rules wouldn’t let her carry breastmilk on the plane without her baby.

“I just wound up not saving it,” she said. “For those who are pumping, it’s just awful. It is a terrible…

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When Jill Youse, a 29-year old breastfeeding mother found that she had more breastmilk than her daughter, Stella, could drink, she searched for a place to send her milk. Jill located an orphange in Durban, South Africa where orphans with HIV and AIDS are cared for. Knowing the potential impact of human milk on the immune system of babies with AIDS, Jill decided to use a $1000 gift from her Grandmother, to establish the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP).

Since January 2006, Jill has delivered nearly 1000 bottles of breastmilk ans plans to expand her project with the establishment of two…

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A young mother named Kim recently shared with me her Grandmother’s secret for how to handle biting at the breast.

“When the baby bites, smother him with love.”

The natural reaction when a baby bites is to remove him from the breast. But according to Grandma Michael, if you pull the baby close to the breast, he will automatically open his mouth to breathe and let go of the breast. It only takes repeating this action a couple of times for most babies to learn that biting is not acceptable.

If you have other suggestions for how to handle biting please share them.…

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I have two grown sons and I marvel at how the recommendations have changed regarding the introduction of solid foods. When I was born, my mother, a nurse, was told to introduce solid foods around 2 weeks of age.

Even when my sons were born 28 and 30 years ago, doctors recommended that solid foods be introduced around 4-6 weeks of age. Times have certainly changed. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life and that solid foods be introduced gradually starting at 6 months of age.

Greater caution is recommended…

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Mary Brune is a wonderful example of how fear and frustration can be a catalyst for action. Mary was breastfeeding her newborn daughter and watching the news when she heard a story about breastmilk being contaminated by a chemical found in rocket fuel. “I didn’t have any idea what perchlorate was but I was really scared. Then I was outraged.”

So Mary and three friends (all breastfeeding mothers) founded Making Our Milk Safe or MOMS. MOMS currently has 300 members in 28 states. “There is nothing more basic than a mother’s right to provide clean and healthy breastmilk for her child,” says…

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Kudos to Michael Bloomberg for funding a $125 million initiative to reduce tobacco use. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco is the world leading killer, causing more than 5 million deaths each year. If smoking patterns continue, by the year 2020, tobacco will kill about 10 million people a year. It’s important for parents to know that smoking has been implicated in Sudden Infant Death.
In addition to the CDC Foundation, grant recipients include the World Health Organization (WHO), the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the World Lung Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of…

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Mothering magazine recently announced the winner of it’s International Breastfeeding Symbol contest!

Matt Daigle, a father from Sioux Falls, South Dakota submitted the winning symbol. Matt is a stay-at-home dad, freelance graphic designer, and cartoonist.

According to the staff at Mothering magazine, “the purpose of an international symbol for breastfeeding is to increase public awareness of breastfeeding, to provide an alternative to the use of a baby bottle image to designate baby friendly areas in public, and to mark breastfeeding friendly facilities.”

“Of course, breastfeeding does not require a special place and is appropriate—as the Canadian government’s slogan says—anytime, anywhere. The purpose…

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Is there something in breastmilk that causes breastfed babies to have higher IQ scores or are breastfed babies parented more effectively? A number of studies link breastfeeding with higher IQ scores while others report no relationship. According to a recent report in Pediatrics ((2006;118:1444-1451) mothers who breastfeed tend to be better educated and therefore are more likely to provide their babies with stimulating activities. But what if the nutrients in breastmilk make a difference? What if it’s the milk and the mother?

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