Breastfeeding in the News
May 24, 2010 – The Atlantic reports that Mead Johnson has introduced a chocolate formula for toddlers, ages 12 to 36 months. This product is chocolate-flavored and has 19 grams of sugar (4 ½ teaspoons) per 7 oz serving. The company advertises that it has over 25 nutrients, Omega-3 DHA, and prebiotics. The authors of the article, Kelly Brownell, a director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and Mary Story, a professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota, were appalled that Mead Johnson would exploit parents’ vulnerabilities, especially in light of the obesity epidemic. They feel that infants need to transition from mothers’ milk to eating nutritious table foods, drinking milk, and developing healthy eating behaviors.
May 22, 2010 – CBC News reports on a rally of 12 women at a city pool in Winnipeg after Jenna Baker, who was breastfeeding her baby after an infants’ morning swim class, was told that other patrons had complained about her breastfeeding in a common area and said that it was offensive. She received an apology from the mayor after the incident, who said the city supports breastfeeding. The rally was to raise awareness that women should be able to breastfeed in public without fear of discrimination or being shamed.
May 20, 2010 – The Huffington Post reports on the controversy of Julie Bowen, who stars in ABCs Modern Family, showing a picture of herself breastfeeding her twins on the May 17th George Lopez Show. She shot the photo herself. It is shot so that only her chest and the babies are shown. When the Huffington Post put the photo up on HollywoodLife.com, they had some immediate emails imploring them to take it down saying, “It’s offensive” and “It’s too shocking.” To judge for yourself, click her to view the “offensive” picture.
May 19, 2010 – BayNews9.com reports that a Florida woman, who was told she couldn’t breastfeed in the school lobby by the principal, took her case to the school board meeting. The school board attorney said the principal can stop any activity she perceives to be a problem. Board members asked the principal and the mother to find a solution.
May 19, 2010 – Reuters reports on an Italian study published in Pediatrics in which researchers found that breastfeeding may protect babies from post-vaccine fevers. In this study of 120 exclusively breastfed infants, 154 partially breastfed infants, and 176 bottle-fed infants, 25% of the exclusively breastfed infants, 31% of the partially breastfed infants, and 53% of the bottle-fed infants developed fevers of at least 100.4°F after being immunized. Risk of fever for the breastfed babies was 54% lower than for the bottle-fed babies. The researchers noted that breastmilk could reduce the production of inflammation-promoting proteins released after immunization, and breastfeeding might comfort and encourage feverish children to eat.
May 13, 2010 – ABC News reports that their May 14th show, What Would You Do, focused on a restaurant manager berating a mother for breastfeeding in the restaurant to see what other patrons would do. One middle-aged couple agreed with the manager. Other patrons defended the mother’s right to breastfeed, including a UPS man stopping by the café to make a delivery. He told the manager he couldn’t talk to a woman that way.
May 5, 2010 – The Northern Star in Australia reports that the NSW Public Service has decided to give mothers working in the public service the time and space to feed their babies at work. Following negotiations between the Public Service Association (PSA) and the Director of Public Employment, the Lactation Clause was approved. Breastfeeding mothers will now be allowed two half-hour breaks to breastfeed or express milk in a private space with access to hygienic facilities, such as a fridge and sink. Part-time workers will be allowed a half-hour break each four-hour shift. The negotiations were started after the PSA received numerous reports of women having to express milk in cars or in the toilets during their lunch break. Other public sector unions, such as nurses and teachers, are expected to follow suit.
May 4, 2010 – Medical News Today reports on a Canadian study that will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In this study, breastfeeding mothers of 12 infants born at 29 weeks gestation or earlier were supplemented with high doses of DHA supplements until 36 weeks post conception. Researchers compared DHA levels in the mothers’ breastmilk, mothers’ and babies’ plasma lipids, and daily DHA intakes in preterm infants from birth to 49 days with a control group of mothers and babies who did not receive DHA supplements. The breastmilk of mothers in the supplemented group was 12 times higher in DHA levels than the control group. The infants in the supplemented group received about 7 times more DHA than the control group. Plasma DHA concentrations in the supplemented group were 2-3 times higher than the control group. This study shows that supplementing breastfeeding mothers is a feasible and effective way to provide DHA to low birthweight premature babies.
April 29, 2010 – AsiaOne reports on a Swedish study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that found that children who were exclusively breastfed for the first 4 months of life were less likely to develop asthma by age 8. Researchers followed nearly 4000 Swedish children over 8 years. They found that about 12% of children who were exclusively breastfed for the first 4 months of life developed asthma by age 8 compared with 18% of children who were breastfed for a shorter amount of time. This translates to a 37% lower risk of asthma for those breastfed 4 months or longer.
April 26, 2010 – RedOrbit reports on a study about breastfeeding support for overweight or obese women that will be presented at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim. In this study, 154 overweight or obese Puerto Rican women were recruited during pregnancy. All participants received standard information about the benefits of breastfeeding, 76 were randomly chosen to also receive breastfeeding support from peer counselors. Women in the peer counselor group were visited 3 times during pregnancy and 11 times in the first few months after birth by a specially trained peer counselor. Chapman and colleagues found that peer counseling substantially improved breastfeeding success. By 2 and 8 weeks, 16% and 46% (respectively) of the women in the control group had stopped breastfeeding, whereas only 7% and 33% (respectively) of the women in the peer counselor group had stopped breastfeeding. In addition, babies in the peer counselor group were 3.5 times less likely to be hospitalized during their first 3 months, due mainly to lower rates of respiratory infections and fever. The study authors concluded that with help obese women can be very successful at breastfeeding, and that the more intensive the support, the more successful they can be.
