The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action just turned 18! Here’s a poster listing 18 of WABA’s projects:
Category: advocacy
Lord Voldemort and breastfeeding?
I confess I’m a fan of the Harry Potter books. So I enjoyed seeing the title of a working paper published by Australian Centre for Economic Research on Health: ‘Voldemort’ and Health Professional Knowledge of Breastfeeding — Do Journal Titles and Abstracts Accurately Convey Findings on Differential Health Outcomes for Formula Fed Infants? For a…
Nursing IS Normal
One of my parenting regrets is that I only have two pictures of me nursing one of my babies. I breastfed four children for a total of over a decade. We nursed everywhere, all the time. It was a normal, happy part of my life for many years. But the only photos I have are…
What are the stats?
When I first started breastfeeding, the only people that collected large scale information on breastfeeding rates were formula companies. Of course there’s a conflict of interest here. Now we’ve got data collected by the USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The quick summary for Wisconsin is: Breastfeeding initiation: 67.9% Any breastfeeding at 6 months:…
Another reason to ride the bus
The Madison and Dane County public health and WIC programs have got some great breastfeeding promotion posters on the Madison Metro buses. If you aren’t going to be on the bus soon, you can see them here:
Nursing In Public — the legislation
While breastfeeding is (of course) legal all over the United States, mothers are still sometimes harassed for nursing in public. There are lots of things we can do to try to change this. One approach is to protect mothers with laws. In Madison and Dane county we have ordinances that do this. Senate Bill 16…
More gifts of breastfeeding…
Unfortunately many international aid organizations have given emergency and long-term aid that has undermined breastfeeding in the countries they are helping. In both the short and long-term this hurts babies and mothers. If you’d like to be able to make an international donation that supports breastfeeding, Mercy Corps has the option of a specific breastfeeding-support…
Fighting Poverty
A lot of people think about poverty and giving during the holiday season. UNICEF executive director James P. Grant said this: “Breastfeeding is a natural ‘Safety Net’ against the worst effects of poverty. If a child survives first month of life (the most dangerous period of childhood) then for the next four months or so,…
Infant Feeding in Emergencies
December is approaching and many people are thinking about making charitable donations… If you’re planning to donate to an organization that provides emergency aid, you might want to check out their record with the infant feeding assistance that they provide. According to a report from the Emergency Nutrition Network: A recent flood in Botswana (2005/06)…
The La Leche Lid Little Nipper
This made me smile: something cute to buy for your favorite breastfed baby. As the makers of this hat say: “Pop it on baby at feeding time to keep that noggin warm and let it all hang out. After lunch, it’s simply a cozy fashion statement.”
Madison Breastfeeding Help 