The good news: the American Academy of Pediatrics has officially endorsed the UNICEF/WHO 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. You can read the letter below. The qualification: it’s not a whole-hearted endorsement. They devote a significant part of their letter saying that they don’t agree with avoiding pacifier use in breastfeeding infants.
Author: AdriaC
Moms in the military
Mothers are doing every kind of work now — including serving in the armed forces. Some of the challenges for breastfeeding mothers in the military seem to be shared by all working mothers. Others (as far as I can tell as a non-military person) are unique. I just found a website by a US navy…
Really cool historic breastfeeding pictures
I’ve been meaning to post a link to Jennifer James’ breastfeeding blog (on Mothering.com) for ages. She puts up historical breastfeeding pictures, along with a little commentary and historical context. I find these such an interesting window into the breastfeeding and mothering world of women just a few generations ago. I look at them and…
Nighttime Feedings
This cartoon shows why so many breastfeeding mothers end up sharing their sleep space with their babies. Breastfeed In Your Sleep
D-MER
D-MER or “dysphoric milk ejection reflex” is the name for the brief rush of negative emotions that some women feel right before their milk lets down. It is something that mothers may be reluctant to talk about. Here’s a video.
Breastfeeding is where I learned it first…
Breastfeeding is not a unique parenting experience. It’s the first give and take interaction that we have with our children. It’s not just about food. It’s a relationship. For me it was the place where I had to learn that I can’t force my children to do something and that in some ways I’m as…
Fathers are REALLY important
Yes, of course everyone knows this. But it’s true for successful breastfeeding too. According to one study (Clinical Pediatrics, Vol. 33, No. 4, 214-219 (1994)): Strong approval of breastfeeding by the father was associated with a high incidence of breastfeeding (98.1 %), compared to only 26.9% breastfeeding when the father was indifferent to feeding choice…
Nursing in public — the statue
Check out this World Breastfeeding Week story NEW YORK, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ — For World Breastfeeding Week, Phantom-Financial announces the unveiling of a life-size park bench sculpture of Angelina Jolie nude with her twin babies by New York artist Daniel Edwards just minutes from Brad Pitt’s own birthplace in the Oklahoma City Metro area in…
Taking Babies’ Feelings Seriously
Breastfeeding isn’t something that we can do to babies — we have to create an environment where babies can breastfeed. Mothers offer access to the breast and support babies’ instincts and skills. Babies do the work. As a breastfeeding advocate and supporter, I’ve discovered that I have to learn what makes it possible for babies…
Older nurslings
It really is different nursing an older baby or toddler. I’ve heard women say that they would never nurse a baby that could ask to nurse. While that might work for them, I found that breastfeeding just started to get easy around the time my babies started to talk. At the end of the first…
Madison Breastfeeding Help 