The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has received a five-year, $9.7-million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and test candidate vaccines to prevent HIV infection in children. The HIV vaccine program supported by the grant will be the first of its kind to support basic research and clinical trials specific to breastfeeding infants.

Pamela W. Barnes, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, unveiled the pediatric vaccine program on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day and praised the Gates Foundation for including children in a global effort to discover an HIV vaccine.

The grant will fund up to eight…

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A while back I wrote about World Breastfeeding Week which is celebrated most places August 1-7. Now that August is just around the corner, I want to give you an update.

Each year, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) establishes a theme. This year the theme, “Breastfeeding: The 1st Hour-Save ONE million babies!” emphasizes the importance of breastfeeding within the first 1-2 hours after birth.

The International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) joins WABA in encouraging breastfeeding soon after birth. ILCA invites mothers, healthcare providers, and the community to give special consideration to the first hours of a baby’s life and the…

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I am developing a love-hate relationship with the internet. It can be both a wonderful source of information and a terrible source of information. The challenge for internet users is separating facts from myths.

One popular resource that I use for accessing the latest news on a specific topic is Google Alerts. Among the listings on a recent alert was an article on foods to avoid while breastfeeding by Apuva Shree.

The article begins with the statement, “There are no hard and fast rules regarding foods to avoid while breastfeeding.” The author then proceeds to give readers a series of hard and…

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New York Times Op Ed Contributor, Jennifer Zajfe recently described New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s support of the free formula ban in city hospitals as a “Formula, for Disaster”.

For those unfamiliar with the proposed ban, it was the focus of a previous post on baby gooroo®, and reflects efforts by the NYC Health Department to expand its good-parenting-campaign in an attempt to get more moms to breastfeed.

Zajfe reports that other states have taken similar action after data showed that distribution of free formula by hospitals is associated with lower rates of breastfeeding after hospital discharge.

While Zajfe acknowledges that “breastfeeding is…

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It seems peculiar to me that many new mothers are reluctant to ask for help when they get home from the hospital or that new fathers think they are limited to “diaper patrol”. A life changing experience has just occurred and yet some mothers feel that they must still go it alone, especially when it comes to breastfeeding. Granted, it is about the mother, the breast, and the baby but fathers play a very crucial role in coaching the mother-baby team towards breastfeeding success.

All professional athletes have coaches. Even amateur athletes have them. Mothers-to-be have labor coaches who are there…

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According to a report published in an American Cancer Society publication, 216 chemicals found in urban air and consumer products are known to cause breast cancer in animals.

A research team representing five institutions (Silent Spring Institute, Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Keck School of Medicine at USC) reviewed hundreds of existing studies and databases in producing “the most comprehensive compilation to date of chemicals identified as mammary carcinogens.”

Because “mammals such as rats and mice often develop the same tumors as humans, animal tests are efficient means of testing the effects of chemicals,” reports…

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Sidney Laurel, Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company recently announced that effective immediately, all educational grants and monetary contributions made through its Foundation will be posted on its website.

Eli Lilly is the first pharmaceutical company to take such action. According to Laurel, the disclosure “will enable the public to see how the company's grants are being provided and used.”

“By sharing this information on our grant funding, we are addressing head-on questions regarding the nature of the relationships between our company and the organizations we support,” asserts Laurel.

The Foundation awarded $11.8 million in the first quarter of 2007. Among the…

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Will the controversy over breastfeeding in public never end?

Maggie Gyllenhaal was recently captured on camera breastfeeding her baby. I don’t care that Maggie Gyllenhaal is a Hollywood star. I do care that Maggie Gyllenhaal is a mother. And like all mothers she deserves respect and support.

I can only guess at the motivation of the photographer who snapped the image and the websites that published it, including Babble and Gawker.

What’s “tacky”, isn’t breastfeeding in public, it’s publishing the picture and inviting comment. Barbara Behrman author of The Breastfeeding Cafe said it best, “It’s a breast. It’s a baby. Enough already.”

…

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In an effort to identify the best way of offering feeds to babies when mothers are unable to breastfeed, or initially have difficulty with breastfeeding, researchers performed a meta-analysis of available data. Alternative feeding methods include using a cup, bottle, or feeding tube. Results are published online in the April 18, 2007 issue of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

The authors identified four randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials published 1966 – April 2006. Each trial compared cup and bottle feeding: the results of three of these studies demonstrated that infants who were cup fed were more likely to be exclusively breastfed…

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According to a recent report in Time Magazine, wet-nursing (hiring a woman to breastfeed your baby) and cross-nursing (mothers breastfeeding one another’s babies) is making a comeback.

Robert Feinstock, owner of Certified Household Staffing, a Los Angeles-based agency that supplies wet nurses nationwide, reports that demand has steadily risen in the past four years, despite an average fee of $1,000 a week.

Many women who hire wet nurses, do so because they are unable to breastfeed for a variety of reasons, yet know the value of breastfeeding and human milk, and want their child to have both.

While donor human milk can be purchased from…

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The 7th Annual 2008 Breast of Canada Calendar is now available online. Breast of Canada is an artistic calendar designed to inspire women to have greater awareness of breast health and breast cancer prevention.

Breast of Canada is a grass roots organization founded by Guelph artist, Sue Richards. Sue is joined in her efforts by photographer, Melanie Gillis, graphic designer Gareth Lind, writer, Liz Armstrong and “web wench,” Sandy Walsh.

A wonderful article written by Kristy Chesworth and titled, The Breast of Times, details the history behind the calendar.

“Richards realized the power of a calendar both to project gripping images and to create new…

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a newly redesigned website featuring an online pregnancy information center.

Parents who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant can learn how to be healthy (before, during, and after pregnancy) and how to give their baby a healthy start in life.

Healthcare professionals and researchers will find an alphabetical listing of pregnancy-related topics, research articles, data, guidelines, and resources.

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