Company WEU has 20 employees. Ten or more are women. BWEU provides no maternity benefits, no flexible work schedules, no onsite childcare, and no lactation rooms. Despite women supplying more than 50% of the U.S. workforce, gaining accommodation in the workplace for those things uniquely woman such as pregnancy and breastfeeding is difficult at best, impossible at worst.

Many employers recognize that breast milk is the best source of infant nutrition. It promotes optimal growth and development, protects babies against diarrhea, respiratory infections, allergies and diabetes, and reduces mothers’ risk for ovarian cancer and premenopausal breast cancer, yet few employers  have a…

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On January 12, Earth’s Best celebrated its 25^th anniversary by ringing the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell. Hours later, I was at the grocery store, standing at the register, watching the clerk slide each pretty little glass jar over the scanner. $1, $2, $3… $9… $18. I left the store with $30 less in my pocket and a (reusable) bag full of organic baby food. $30? I didn’t get more than a week’s worth, I thought to myself. But $30 is what it takes to feed my 8-month-old boy three square meals a day. Three square pesticide-free meals a day.

There’s definitely…

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A carrot-filled spoon zooms overhead as a mother mimics the sound of an airplane. “Just two more bites,” she cajoles. Her two-month-old baby, positioned upright in an infant seat, clamps his lips shut. He doesn’t want the vegetable. But she persists until the last of the carrots are consumed. To even the casual observer, it’s obvious the baby doesn’t share his mother’s enthusiasm for carrots. At least—not yet.

Many moms across America will recognize this ritual—one that is repeated three times a day in their homes. It is the transition from breast or bottle to solid foods—one that all babies will…

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Employed by the Red Cross after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, text messaging contributed to record donations. In less dire circumstances but indicative of the popularity of text messaging, millions text their vote for their favorite American Idol. But what can text messaging do for you?

With text4baby, the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) is flipping the text message and using it to help expectant and new moms.

The familiar ping, ding, or ringtone sounds out from your handset:

“Give your baby a good start by not drinking alcohol, smoking or using drugs. For help call 800-784-8669 (smoking); 800-662-4357 (drugs & alcohol).”

“Feeling…

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A toddler stands next to a young mother as she puts a fresh diaper on her newborn baby. “Too bad you had to get a bald-headed one,” says the toddler. And just like that Johnson & Johnson had a hit commercial on its hands and pop culture had another buzz line.

While bald-headed babies are still common today, it is the growing number of flat-headed babies that is causing a stir. Flat heads may indeed be used to describe this generation of babes, but results from a recent study suggest that more than appearances are at stake.

Researchers in Washington State reported…

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Both you and your baby are going to sleep terribly, possibly for months, so you might as well get used to the idea.

But don’t freak out—this is totally normal. All you have to do is make sure everyone lives through this tumultuous time. Pretend there’s a zombie war going on outside and your priority is basic survival. Do whatever it takes to stay alive. Believe that this too shall pass.

For those of you in the midst of intense sleep deprivation, you would probably like to take your computer and throw it at my head right now. No one wants to…

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Although the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) decreased significantly after the launch of the Back to Sleep campaign in 1994, SIDS is still the leading cause of death in children 1 month to 1 year of age. While the cause of SIDS remains a mystery, researchers recently identified a defect in the brain of infants who died of SIDS that may eventually lead to early detection of babies at risk for SIDS.

Published in the February 3, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers compared the brainstems of 41 infants who died of SIDS with 7 infants who died…

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Breastfeeding keeps babies healthy, but breastfeeding can also make babies sick. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2008 estimated that 430,000 children under the age of 15 were newly infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Most infections were transmitted from mother-to-child during pregnancy, labor, birth, or while breastfeeding. It is estimated that breastfeeding may account for one-third to one-half of all cases of mother-to-child-transmission.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that HIV-infected women in the United States not breastfeed. However, in countries where safe alternatives to human milk are scarce and the risk of infant death from…

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Stephanie Sanders and Alex Bligh both had trouble with their milk supply in their early weeks of breastfeeding. After trying everything else, both turned to a drug called domperidone and found their supply quickly increased. Both were able to continue breastfeeding their children.

The difference? Alex lives in Dunedin, New Zealand, where she got a prescription from her doctor and had it filled at the pharmacy. Stephanie lives in northeast Georgia and had to sneak around, ordering her supply from the internet—from a company in New Zealand. The pills subtly arrived in an unmarked box.

FDA: Not okay
Stephanie and other American women…

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Long Chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) have generated considerable interest in recent years. Early animal studies suggested that low levels of docosahexanoic acid (DHA) could interfere with brain development in unborn and newborn babies. However, findings from studies in children were inconsistent. A Cochrane review found that use of enriched formulas in term infants had no proven benefit regarding vision, cognition, or physical growth.

Research methods
Aiming to dispel the myth that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) makes babies smarter, researchers from the United Kingdom (UK) followed 241 children from birth until four years of age. The children were divided into three groups: those that were…

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Haiti needs a lot of things right now. But for some, nothing is more important or more needed than human milk.

The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), International Lactation Consultant Association/United States Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA/USLCA), and La Leche League International (LLLI) are jointly issuing an urgent call for human milk donations for premature infants in Haiti, as well as sick and premature infants in the United States.

A press release announcing the need for milk noted that this week the first shipment of human milk from mothers in the United States will be…

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Was it with a note of irony that the woman in charge of selecting products for the gifting suite of the Golden Globes chose to include The Booby Trapper?

We will never know, but that’s exactly what happened. Canadian Nancy Armstrong headed to Hollywood several days ago to show off her uncomfortable-sounding Booby Trapper, the latest in a long line of covers marketed to breastfeeding women.

What’s to like
Unlike other such covers, Armstrong promises that the Booby Trapper will not flop on the baby’s face. In fact, she doesn’t bill it as a breastfeeding cover so much as a breastfeeding tent.

Also, it…

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