From The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008 Issue 3, Copyright © 2008: Skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby at birth reduces crying, improves mother-baby interaction, keeps the baby warmer, and helps women breastfeed successfully. In many cultures, babies are generally cradled naked on their mother’s bare chest at birth. Historically, this was necessary for…

Lots of families wonder if things in the environment (including medications, drugs, diseases, and chemicals) are safe for babies before birth and during breastfeeding. Here’s another resource to help us answer these questions: OTIS provides health care professionals and their patients with up-to-date scientific information regarding the effects of maternal exposures to environmental agents on…

While I know that positive thoughts don’t solve everything they can make you feel better — and they’re a lot more fun than worrying. Here’s a video with happy images and statements about pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. Enjoy!

Understanding how laws affect pretty much any part of our lives can be complicated. When it comes to breastfeeding, mothers mostly don’t need to worry about how laws might affect them. Once in a while, though, it becomes important — maybe because of a call to jury duty, a problem with nursing in public, or…

Just for fun here’s a link to a review of a book collection of photos of everyday objects that might remind you of breasts. On the serious side, it’s a bit of commentary on how our society sees and thinks about breasts (and how little we think of them feeding babies).

We got the news (not surprising to experienced nursing mothers) a few years ago that both breastfeeding and sugar water relieve pain for babies. Now a new study shows that breastfeeding works better than the sugar water. This is a great piece of information to share with health care providers that might be reluctant to…

So we all think we know what sleep is like for families with little babies. But do we really know or do we just have cultural stereotypes and individual experiences? Tom Hale (author of Medications and Mother’s Milk) and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett (author of The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood) are trying to learn more. If you’re…

For the fifth year, Brattleboro, Vermont is displaying a breastfeeding art exhibit to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. My favorite quote from one of the photographers whose work is on display: “I look at this photo exhibit as a celebration of a community’s acceptance of breastfeeding, rather than (for) breastfeeding awareness,”

I thought you might enjoy seeing the Channel 27 news report on the gathering at the Farmers’ Market yesterday to celebrate nursing in public. If you watch the video, you’ll see some really cute nursing babies and hear Dr. Jill Mallory do a great job explaining why breastfeeding is so good for babies. I love…

Cross-nursing means nursing someone else’s baby once in a while — wet-nursing is nursing someone else’s baby full time, usually for pay. Both of these used to be common. Good Morning America just did a short segment on cross-nursing. Here’s La Leche League International’s official statement that notes the need to be careful to avoid…