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September 2nd, 2010 by admin
Posted in Links, Things we like
September 2nd, 2010 by admin
 There were some technical problems with the last poll but I am hoping that this will work now. I’ve deleted the old poll so this one starts fresh – please vote again if you have voted before.
You can vote for up to 3 forums and the poll ends on the 31st October 2010.
Thank you to all the people who nominated their favorite breastfeeding friendly websites. I have sorted them out into categories and the first one is
The Most Breastfeeding Friendly Forum.
The forum with the most votes at the end of October 2010 will be awarded a prestigious Mothers Milk Marketing Board Seal of Approval! There will be runners up awards too!
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Here, in alphabetical order are more details about the nominated forums.
Breast Buddies
http://www.breastbuddies.nice-forum.com
Breastfeeding Support Forum and Natural Parenting Forum. Topics ranging from Newborn feeding and full term feeding (extended breastfeeding). We also cover Babywearing, Cloth Nappies and other Natural parenting topics. Help for all mums
The Bundle Jungle
http://www.thebundlejungle.com/
The Bundle Jungle is friendly and welcoming to those trying to conceive, pregnant women, fathers to be and parents from all walks of life. What makes our forum different to other mainstream pregnancy and parenting forums is, not only our focus on community support but, also our interest in challenging the way we look at parenting.
“With the breastfeeding guru system, advice and support section, breastfeeding stories section and upcoming charity auction for Cheshire and North Wales Milk Bank we are huge breastfeeding fans!”
Cloth Nappy Addicts Forum
http://clothnappyaddicts.co.uk/forum/index.php
A forum run by Natasha, a WAHM and total cloth nappy addict and assisted by “SaraSeahorse” a woolly WAHM and “puddlepants” a nappy, woolly and clothing WAHM.
The Green Parent Forum
http://www.thegreenparent.co.uk/forum
The Green Parent is the UK’s leading green lifestyle and natural parenting magazine. A truly inspiring read, TGP is like nothing else on the newsstand, with insightful intelligent journalism covering topics from babywearing and attachment parenting to home-education and alternative medicine. Each issue features regular columns on Organic Gardening, Seasonal Food and Drink, Green Travel, Ethical Fashion and lots more. The magazine is produced by a small team of passionate experts who live and breathe the positive message of the magazine.
“So full of other mums who have the same ideas on breastfeeding and other topics. Always someone there to offer help, advice and support I always point breastfeeding mums there.”
I want my mum
http://www.iwantmymum.com.
“I’m someone who’s found the information and support there invaluable in successful breastfeeding, helping me meet other like-minded mums IRL, and having a great resource to recommend to expectant mums. Without their support I may well have stopped ( or at least tried to stop, my daughter would have a lot to say about it!) feeding my youngest, but instead we’ve past 2 yrs, still going strong and still finding the info there fab.
Knowing that info on there is evidence-based, moderators include fully qualified breastfeeding counsellors who DO check the veracity of statements made. The emphasis is information, not advice, and a very friendly place to ask important questions.”
Mad Mums
http://www.madmums.com/
Parenting and Pregnancy can be very daunting and sometimes, it can really help to speak to people who have been or are going through the same things that you are. The Madmums Buddy Scheme has been designed to put you in touch with other Mums who have experience in specific areas of Pregnancy and Parenting. You can use this free and confidential service on a “one to one” basis away from the forums to get in touch with one of our Buddies who will then contact you personally.
Mama Pack Forum
http://www.mamapacks.eu/forum/
Mama Packs are the United Kingdoms ONLY ethically influenced, trade marked Mum & Baby sample pack. A pack you wont find nasty chemicals in, a pack you will love receiving!
“The ladies there have such a wealth of experience and a geniuine love for the benefits of breast feeding that I have been greatly encouraged to keep breastfeeding, despite my child being seriously ill and in an incubator when born and later whilst she underwent major surgery. Now I am BFing past the age I had previously thought ‘normal’ and my child is thriving!”
Natural Mamas
http://www.naturalmamas.co.uk/
A natural parenting forum with an emphasis on babywearing.
“It’s a natural parenting forum with an amazing breastfeeding support board. Members who contribute are lactation consultants, midwives, breastfeeding peer supporters as well as breastfeeding mothers. The range of breastfeeding topics covered is second to none and the support is phenomental, with lots of experience as well as good non-judgemental evidence based advice. I love it!!”
Rollercoaster
http://www.Rollercoaster.ie
Pregnancy, having a baby and parenting can all bring you to the heights of joy and the depths of despair – all within the space of a few minutes! RollerCoaster.ie accompanies you on this exciting journey.
“A great community of people with a dedicated breastfeeding board”
Posted in Awards
August 31st, 2010 by admin
 Latch on Britain invites all nursing mums to help raise the profile of breastfeeding by taking part in an event on Wednesday September 1st.
Just arrange to meet some friend or family in town or at home or head out to your local cafe, park or community centre and then at 11am, give your baby a feed!
For more information and how to enter our competition, click here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=147238525293390&ref=ts
C’mon! Latch on Britain and help normalise breastfeeding!!
Posted in Breastfeeding Campaigns
August 31st, 2010 by admin
Hilary wrote this in response to the comments that her article – Stop Pointing, Start Doing got.
Both articles are re-published with permission on www.lactivist.net and Hilary’s own site is here: http://www.maternitywomen.com/blog-all.html. She is American so any reference to laws will be reference to American ones.
Lisa
“First, I would like to thank those of you who have been supportive. Second, I would like to thank those of you who have confirmed my statement that women who CHOOSE not to breastfeed are uneducated. You’ve really shown your ignorance with your comments. And third, here is where I “get off.” Not once did I condemn any woman who TRIED to breastfeed. You’re right. I did not mention my own inability to breastfeed for six months in my blog. I excluded this information because, 1) as previously stated, I was speaking of women who CHOOSE not to breastfeed, NOT those who TRIED and were unable to do so for whatever reason, and 2) IT’S NOT ABOUT ME. It seems that those of you who disagree with me really have no facts, nor legitimate reasons to back your personal position. Redirecting the attention to attack me personally is not solving any problems.
While I stand by my opinion, I do believe that it is unrealistic to pass a law that would require a prescription for formula for the first six months of a babies life. However, I do think that we can all agree that any mother who is educated and presented with all of the facts, would make the right decision. Of course, there will always be exceptions, but I would like to believe that no matter what the sacrifice, most women would do what is in the baby’s best interest. If any one of you were presented the opportunity to prevent your baby’s risk of serious health issues, or even death, by cutting off your arm, would you do it? If not, you don’t deserve to be a mother.
There are actually women saying, “It’s too hard.” What about being a mother isn’t challenging? Nothing worth doing is easy. You are probably the same women who use your television as a babysitter and feed your children fast food. Here’s a good one. Another woman said that she didn’t want to disfigure her breasts! Really?!? Someone give this woman a mirror so she can check out her vagina!! Then again, she’s probably one of those women who had an elective c-section. (perfect analogy, Aimee!)
Do you see what happens when you get off topic? I did it to make a point–and for a little comic relief for those of you who can appreciate it. But, it just becomes an obnoxious rant that wastes everyone’s time and offers no solution. I am all ears to anyone who can provide even a partial solution to this problem! But if your solution is for me to mind my own business and stand by quietly watching babies suffer, and also women suffer from lack of support, discrimination, and making uneducated decisions, YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG WOMAN!!
Until we put aside our differences and work towards a common goal, society and workplaces will continue to be discriminatory. Health care costs associated with the lack of breastfeeding in this country will continue to rise and ultimately, our children will be the ones to pay the price. As offended as many of you may be by words, which one of you would say, “I DO NOT WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR MY CHILD.”? I’ll be happy to get off of my soap box once you’ve gotten off of your lazy asses!!
Click to JOIN THE breastfeeding in public NO SHAME campaign.”
Posted in Breastfeeding News, World News
August 30th, 2010 by Anne Harper Simmance
The above article appeared in a the issue of Closer Magazine dated 28th August – 3rd September 2010.
It’s hard to know if the author, Dr Christian Jessen, is just ‘bandwagon-jumping’ (because of recent press contraversy over other articles) or if he’s being deliberately provocative, but many of us consider his recent writing on the subject of sagging boobs to be scaremongering. Some of you may remember that this is the same ‘TV doc’ who told a woman her breasts were ‘too small’ to breastfeed, and advised another (on ‘The Ugly Face of Beauty’) to have a breast enlargement because breastfeeding had made her boobs saggy. Following the latter broadcast we contacted Dr Jessen to make him aware of the most recent research into the subject (which concluded that breast-ptosis is not linked to breastfeeding but to a variety of other factors). He responded at the time saying that his opinion was based on his ‘clinical experience’ and stated that he did not think the study was credible. Dr Jessen’s area of speciality is sexual health. Following the debate in parliament over free school milk Dr Jessen wrote an article in the London Evening Standard which also attracted criticism. He maintained that milk (in any form) is not necessary after 1 year, despite the WHO advice on the subject. You can read the article here. I have, on behalf of ‘Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths’, written to the Press Complaints Commission regarding the content of his article in Closer Magazine and what I (and others) consider to be a mis-representation of the facts which may put women off breastfeeding. You can read a copy of the letter here. Closer magazine have, in the past, been more balanced in their presentation of breastfeeding articles. They have responded to our complaint to say they will approach Dr Jessen and get back to us. I think it is worth mentioning that via his Twitter page Dr Jessen communicated with a number of members of our group. Although they were complaining solely about his article regarding breast-sagging, he seemed to suggest that in taking exception to the article they were trying to make ‘bottle-feeding friends feel bad’. He also tweeted that he was taking a stand against ‘midwife tyrany’ (sic). I have (reluctantly!) concluded that Dr Jessen is currently using his position to try and promote a negative perception about breastfeeding and breastfeeding advocates. He would not agree, and (also on Twitter) has said that breastfeeding is ‘a choice’ and that he is walking the ‘moderate, balanced middle ground’.
I feel that his article in Closer magazine misrepresented the facts about breastfeeding and mastitis, and in particular I am disappointed that he included no information about how best to treat the illness. As a former ‘fan’ of Dr Jessen I am both surprised and saddened by his behaviour surrounding this issue.
If you also would like to complain about the content of this most recent article by Dr Jessen, the complaints section of the PCC website is here. You can read more opinions from members of DBM on our facebook page.
Posted in Breastfeeding Campaigns, Lactivism, Media Complaints
August 30th, 2010 by Anne Harper Simmance
In our 21st century world we see breasts all the time in newspapers, on the cover of albums, on the catwalk and the red carpet. We can barely escape them! A goodly amount of cleavage on display is deemed tolerable or even desirable by many, just so long as they are being used for aesthetic pleasure. However, even amongst the (so-called) ‘liberal’ media (those very same newspapers/ pop-stars/ celebrities), the sight of a breast being used to feed a child is referred to as ‘creepy’ (Mother & Baby magazine), and images of feeding children are censored if they happen to show a glimpse of areola (Facebook). Breastfeeding mothers are frequently called ‘bullies’ and ‘breastfeeding mafia’ because of their enthusiasm for, and commitment to, breastfeeding.
Here are just a handful of comments I found in recent media coverage of breastfeeding issues:
• “’Gossip Girl’ star Kelly Rutherford might not be uncomfortable talking about breast-feeding, but the rest of us are uncomfortable hearing about it!” ~ NYPost Dec 2008
• “In practice, you realise that most attempts to feed your baby in a public space will be met with subtle but palpable resistance. Older chaps roll their eyes, slick young businesswomen purse their mouths, teenagers look disgusted, waitresses anxious…. But it strikes me as ironic that many members of the public fret about British Muslims donning the hijab, yet happily condone the veiling of nursing mothers.” ~ Rowan Pelling, Daily Telegraph 2008
• “A mother must know when her baby is due a feed, so she should do it before or after going out in public. Anyone else who got their breasts out, or a man who urinated in public, would surely be accused of lewd behaviour” ~ ‘Bombshell’, Dagenham ~ in online discussion @ Virginmedia.com March 2010
• “peeing and pooping is natural too, so why don’t we start doing that publicly?” ~ Adrianne Curry (former America’s Next Top Model) on Twitter
Many seemingly confident, strong women struggle with the basic function of their own breasts after they have a baby. Some struggle so much that they make the decision not to breastfeed even before they have their child. They are keen to keep their breasts for sexual and visual assets only, even though they know that breastfeeding would benefit both themselves and their child. In recent debates I have frequently seen breastfeeding compared to other bodily functions (such as sex, urination, & defecation) and whilst these comparisons to me are appalling, they are also very interesting. You see, to compare breastfeeding to having a poo says a lot about how ‘shameful’ the whole thing has become, and I ask myself, how – and why has this happened? Why is it so difficult for many people to see a woman breastfeeding?
There is a belief amongst a significant number of anthropologists & historians that at some point in our human history many civilisations were ‘matriarchal’. Almost every culture on Earth has some sort of ‘mother deity’ in it’s past. Some matriarchal cultures even remain today including the famed Mosuo people (2, 3) in China, and tribes off New Guinea, in NE India, and in Peru. (4)
The earliest artwork supports the theory of a Goddess-culture in pre-history.
Three European Venus figurines from the ice-age of ca. 25,000 years ago. From left to right: Venus of Dolni-Vestonice, Czechia, burnt clay. Venus of Willendorf, Austria, Chalk. Venus of Les pugue, France, mammoth ivory ~ http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/venusfigures.htm
It seems that the female of the species was greatly revered in pre-history because of her capacity to (seemingly) create life spontaneously as the mechanics of reproduction were not yet fully understood. Men were at worst completely unaware and at best unsure of their role in creating children. All those thousands of years ago the only parent who could be reliably identified (particularly in cultures which were polygamist) was the mother. Images of deities of the time show figurines with rounded stomachs, buttocks and breasts, venerating the differences between women and men. Women had a high social standing with wealth and property frequently travelling down the maternal line. It is believed that this was the case even in many parts of Europe until approximately 4,000 years ago.
“In Western Europe, the first signs of Matriarchal societies emerged through figures like Venus, which, again, was interpreted by males as purely sexual through her large breasts and big belly. Unlike patriarchal cultures, these societies revered women due to their corresponding cycles with nature and their ability to give birth.” (5)
“In a time when survival of elements was a constant struggle, life seemed to be a miracle” (6)
“The progress from the maternal to the paternal conception of man forms the most important turning point in the history of the relations between the sexes” (7)
‘Religion, Myth and Mother Right’ ~ Johann Jakob Bachofen
It is estimated from surviving artwork, that at some during in the Neolithic period, (probably as mankind began farming animals as opposed to scavenging) the balance of power started to change. More phallic images come into play and it becomes obvious that a shift is taking place. (8, 9) Whilst it’s true that the female ‘goddess’ image did survive elsewhere for generations, the shift had clearly begun. So why did this change occur? One of fundemental changes which took place at this point in time was a move from ‘hunter-gatherer’ living to the more settled farming practices. Higher rates of infant mortality are noted from this period which may be linked to the farming of animal milk, especially when it replaced breast milk in the diets of young children.
“It is very likely that early weaning was a major cause of child death. As we know from history, and from what is currently happening in the developing world, death in non-breastfed or prematurely weaned infants is not due to intrinsic ill health but usually diarrhoea and respiratory infections […] Moreover, early cessation and even earlier supplementation leads quickly to further pregnancy” (10)
Ann Sinnott ~ ‘Breastfeeding Older Children’ Chpt 11.
Sustained breastfeeding afforded our ancestors protection from a life-time of childbearing by giving women a break, in what would otherwise have been a constant cycle of pregnancy and birth. Introducing alternative milk, and thereby encouraging earlier weaning of infants, led to women becoming increasingly vulnerable as they were likely to become pregnant again more quickly. As a result, the balance of power began to shift in favour of the male since men were now acting as principal providers.
“Current researchers into ancient history, working in the fields of theology, archeology, art history, and mythology, are uncovering evidence that, starting around 3000 BCE, there occurred a transition in the predominant religious and political structures that governed humanity. Matriarchal societies, which had worshiped goddesses of the earth and moon such as Innana, Ishtar, Isis, Demeter, and Artemis, gave way to patriarchal societies, which followed the solar gods and heroes such as Gilgamesh, Amen Ra, Zeus, Yahweh, and Apollo” (11)
Demetra George ~ ‘Mysteries of the Dark Moon’
The predominant religion of the last two millennia has been Christianity. One of the most cutting remarks ever to have been thrown in the direction of the established Christian Church came from the remarkable Sojourner Truth (12) (an emancipated black slave) in 1851.
“And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part?”
How emasculating is that?
The psychoanalyist Karen Horney (1885 – 1952) also had some interesting theories, especially that which she described as ‘womb envy’ (13) .
“An important question for Horney is why men see women as they do. She contended that male envy of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood, and of the breasts and suckling, gives rise to an unconscious tendency to devalue women[..].”
“..the threat of woman is not castration but humiliation; the threat is to his masculine self-regard. As he grows up, the male continues to have a deeply hidden anxiety about the size of his penis or his potency, an anxiety that has no counterpart for the female, who “performs her part by merely being”.”
~ The Karen Horney Society Website
Horney hypothesised that:
“The “womb-envy” of the male must be stronger than the so-called “penis-envy” of the female, since men need to depreciate women more than women need to depreciate men.”
~ The collected works of Karen Horney (volume II). W.W. Norton Company, New York
This is not the first time I have heard this type of argument. I have often seen it mooted that men may feel on some level inferior to women sexually in part because a woman is capable of multiple orgasms and the male (usually) only one at a time. Prior to the invention of the DNA test, men never even knew whether they had fathered the child they were supporting. The female of the species seems capable of endless pleasure whilst the energy of the male is quickly subdued by her hungry mouth-like orifice! He is ‘spent’ whilst a woman is capable of continuing to have sex with multiple partners. Women live longer, they multi-task with ease, they follow a ‘lunar cycle’ which even today is shrouded in mystery, they undergo enormous physical changes during pregnancy, endure the pain of childbirth and then have the ability to sustain a baby at the breast for months and years on end. The argument is that this contributes to a deeply-buried inferiority complex within men which has throughout modern history led to a diminution of all things maternal. Since we now live within a patriarchal society, men have influenced popular press and government for centuries. The degradation of women has affected every area of life and despite all the progress of the past hundred years, there is still a very long way to go before we can say we have true equality. This has resulted in generations of women being raised outside of a ‘sisterhood’.
We no longer retreat to the ‘red tent’ monthly to share our stories and our wisdom. We no longer deliver our own babies, we take on the male name when we marry and we accept lower wages and fear to ‘rock the boat’ when it comes to maternity and breastfeeding rights at work. Small wonder then that some women find it easier to deny their demonstrably female breastfeeding role than to engage in it. Women often state a desire to let their partners feed their baby as a reason for formula feeding.
Nourishment of small babies was, until the last century, a female preserve. It no longer is, usually to the detriment of the child. Compared to a breast full of milk, the male nipples seem a bit pointless, impotent.
“Males are left with vestigial nipples, a reminder that life begins for all of us as proto-females, and some of us are fated to become more masculinized than others.” (14)
~ Louis A. Berman
Yes, it’s possible to see why, on the psychoanalyist’s couch a man might admit to some issues regarding a breastfeeding breast. I found one man admit (in an online discussion at straightdope.com) that:
“As a man with a new baby – and two preceeding babies – I’d like to say that I am still slightly freaked out by the sight of public breastfeeding. I recognize this as my problem and not the mother’s”
If only everyone were so self-aware! But why – why should the sight of public breastfeeding upset a woman, and even a woman who has herself breast fed? Surely this seems absurd? This quote (from a mother who breastfed both her children for three months) came in response to a debate on public breastfeeding on a newspaper website in August 2010.
“I believe that a mother can only feed her baby well in surroundings that allow her to be quiet and comfortable, and I am not comfortable with seeing mothers breastfeeding in public”
When a woman, who herself has breastfed, finds the sight of another mother doing the same thing difficult, something strange is going on. This is obviously not rational thinking, but it is not uncommon. There must be a reason why some women feel this way. I believe that in order to survive in what is still a male-dominated world, women become accustomed to hiding aspects of their womanhood from quite early in life.
When I was a young woman I found going to the check-out with sanitary towels embarrassing. Why on earth should I have felt that? I am female, I have periods (which are a demonstration of my fertility), and yet I grew up feeling that this was somehow shameful. Other cultures throughout history have delighted in a young woman’s transition to fertility. In early human cultures where it was a rare event (due to constant pregnancy or breastfeeding) it was even more celebrated, often in women-only ceremonies. (15, 16) Not now though – as the advert says, ‘why stop when your period starts?’. We carry on as normal and pretend menstruation doesn’t exist. We tell white lies to our friends and employers when we suffer from period pain because we don’t want to admit the true reason for our absence. We grow up hiding the aspects of our femininity which don’t fit with the prevailing climate and we embrace those traits most likely to make us more appealing and less threatening to the status-quo.
I believe that true equality between the sexes can only come about when we all celebrate and venerate our differences. By adapting to exist within the ‘man’s world’ we deprived them of elements of their masculinity and lost touch with elements of our own femininity. Men and women are not the same. Both genders have their strengths and weaknesses and neither one is superior to the other. As women, as mothers, as partners and fathers, we need to realise that our true strength lies in recognising our true strengths. Public breastfeeding is a visible reminder of the power of the female. It recalls within us the incredible mysteries of life, some of which remain mysteries to us even in the C21st. Being brought face-to-face with a breast (even discreetly) reminds us of what we have lost.
So what remains of these lost ‘goddesses’? Well, quite a lot actually. Their power and strength remains intact within each one of us, it’s just a question of allowing it to be seen. It’s in our mitochondrial DNA. That part of our genetic make-up which is passed solely down the female line.
“Some molecular biologists say that, aeons ago, the mitochondrion was a free-living organism with its own DNA and possessed the secret of generating lots of energy. It invaded single celled nucleated organisms and has stayed on ever since, dividing, like yeast, by binary fission. Males…. cannot pass it on to their children. [... ] Ultimately every person alive today has inherited their mitochondrial DNA from one single great-great-great…. Grandmother, nearly 200,000 years ago” (17)
~ Stephen Oppenheimer
Quite a number of women, on www.mythnomore.blogspot.com, have chosen to display and celebrate the most obvious manifestation of their womanhood in a way which seems (even to some breastfeeding advocates!) pretty ‘in your face’. Why have they done this? Because they have recognised that we need to re-balance. We need to remove the shame from the breast and start to appreciate it for more than just its aesthetic beauty, just as our ancestors did. The next time you breastfeed in public, congratulate yourself for embracing – and enabling others to open themselves up to – something very old, and very important.
‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of god.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ‘
~ Marianne Williamson
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_goddess
2.http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mosuo-One-of-the-Last-Matriarchal-Societies-36321.shtml
3. http://matriarchy.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=26
4. http://www.saunalahti.fi/penelope/Feminism/KhasiGaro.html
5. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/22750/Womens-Studies
6. http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~gloria/Goddess.html
7. ‘Religion, Myth and Mother Right’ ~ Johann Jakob Bachofen
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4713323.stm
9. http://www.goddesstimeline.com/
10. Ann Sinnott ~ ‘Breastfeeding Older Children’ Chpt 11.
11. Demetra George ~ ‘Mysteries of the Dark Moon’
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_I_a_Woman%3F
13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womb_and_vagina_envy
14. http://www.narth.com/docs/berman2.html
15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_and_menstruation
16 http://matriarchy.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=148
17 http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/eve.html
Posted in Breastfeeding Campaigns, Random
August 30th, 2010 by admin
I’m really pleased to be part of this, makes me feel all grown up!
On the 1st September a new discount card www.babygrowers.co.uk will launch.
 It has been especially created for new and expecting parents and the team who created it are all parents too.
With this in mind they have created a unique partnership with a range of high street companies as well as smaller individual companies to offer you a range of discounts, which include: home/car insurance, groceries, holidays, maternity necessities, pushchairs, car seats, nursery furniture and much more including a discount on pro breastfeeding t-shirts, bags, badges and cards at www.lactivist.co.uk.
Not only are the Babygrower team offering you a whole host of discounts that will be valid for one year from when you buy the card, they will also be keeping you up to date with their blog and weekly newsletter which will be full of great tips and further special offers.
The cost of the card is only £14.99 and for most people this amount spent will be far less than their actual savings in their first month of use will be far less than their actual savings in their first month of use or in many cases, their first purchase! For every card sold, £1 will be donated to your selected charity, at time of registering.
Babygrowers are committed to saving you money not just points.
Here are some of the discounts you can get:
Home insurance – 20% off and £50 supercheque vouchers
Car insurance – 15% off and £50 supercheque vouchers
Supermarket shopping – £15 off your first order over £75 then further discounts of £10 for spends over £100
Companies involved so far include: Aviva, Sainsbury’s, Butlins, Monsters and Munchkins, Big Green Smile, Babipur, Natural Nursery, Green Jelly, Cotton Baby, Tots and Tiddlers Toys, Dam Tam, Hello Baby, Green Child, Barnyard Kids, Lactivist, Slumber-Roo, Precious Memories, My Munchkin, VUPbaby, My Funny Bunny, Baby Not Included, DaisychainBaby, Green People and Green Baby with more coming on daily.
Posted in Things we like
August 30th, 2010 by admin
 To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week 2010 Lactivist, the home of slogan t-shirts and bags that promote breastfeeding had a competition to find the Moo Boy – that is my son (when he was a lot younger) and the person who started off the whole Lactivist thing.
If I wasn’t critisized for breastfeeding him when he was a tiny baby then none of this would happened.
The 4 winners each searched the site at www.lactivist.co.uk to find his picture and emailed me it’s location.
The winners are:
Laura Cameron
Bekki Lewis
Lisa Fryer
Nicola Kelsall
They each win a Lactivist bag of their choice, a Lactivist T-shirt of their choice and a handful of cards and badges. I’ll be emailing you all to tell you how to order too 
Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered.
Lisa
Posted in Competition Winners
August 30th, 2010 by admin
Kate had a baby girl!
I’m looking forward to further breastfeeding adventure cartoons from Kate but in the meanwhile, here is one she made earlier
http://www.thefoodoflove.org/
Posted in Breastfeeding News
August 29th, 2010 by admin
 Oscar found some great graffiti This is such an amazing photo of Oscar wearing his Mummy Milk Rocks t-shirt in front of some very apt grafitti!
Thank you Lisa for sending it to me. I love it so much I have turned it into a postcard.
Posted in Baby of the Week
By admin, on September 2nd, 2010
By admin, on September 2nd, 2010
There were some technical problems with the last poll but I am hoping that this will work now. I’ve deleted the old poll so this one starts fresh – please vote again if you have voted before.
You can vote for up to 3 forums and the poll ends on the 31st October 2010.
Thank you to all the people who nominated their favorite breastfeeding friendly websites. I have sorted them out into categories and the first one is
The Most Breastfeeding Friendly Forum.
The forum with the most votes at the end of October 2010 will be awarded a prestigious Mothers Milk Marketing Board Seal of Approval! There will be runners up awards too!
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Here, in alphabetical order are more details about the nominated forums.
Breast Buddies
http://www.breastbuddies.nice-forum.com
Breastfeeding Support Forum and Natural Parenting Forum. Topics ranging from Newborn feeding and full term feeding (extended breastfeeding). We also cover Babywearing, Cloth Nappies and other Natural parenting topics. Help for all mums
The Bundle Jungle
http://www.thebundlejungle.com/
The Bundle Jungle is friendly and welcoming to those trying to conceive, pregnant women, fathers to be and parents from all walks of life. What makes our forum different to other mainstream pregnancy and parenting forums is, not only our focus on community support but, also our interest in challenging the way we look at parenting.
“With the breastfeeding guru system, advice and support section, breastfeeding stories section and upcoming charity auction for Cheshire and North Wales Milk Bank we are huge breastfeeding fans!”
Cloth Nappy Addicts Forum
http://clothnappyaddicts.co.uk/forum/index.php
A forum run by Natasha, a WAHM and total cloth nappy addict and assisted by “SaraSeahorse” a woolly WAHM and “puddlepants” a nappy, woolly and clothing WAHM.
The Green Parent Forum
http://www.thegreenparent.co.uk/forum
The Green Parent is the UK’s leading green lifestyle and natural parenting magazine. A truly inspiring read, TGP is like nothing else on the newsstand, with insightful intelligent journalism covering topics from babywearing and attachment parenting to home-education and alternative medicine. Each issue features regular columns on Organic Gardening, Seasonal Food and Drink, Green Travel, Ethical Fashion and lots more. The magazine is produced by a small team of passionate experts who live and breathe the positive message of the magazine.
“So full of other mums who have the same ideas on breastfeeding and other topics. Always someone there to offer help, advice and support I always point breastfeeding mums there.”
I want my mum
http://www.iwantmymum.com.
“I’m someone who’s found the information and support there invaluable in successful breastfeeding, helping me meet other like-minded mums IRL, and having a great resource to recommend to expectant mums. Without their support I may well have stopped ( or at least tried to stop, my daughter would have a lot to say about it!) feeding my youngest, but instead we’ve past 2 yrs, still going strong and still finding the info there fab.
Knowing that info on there is evidence-based, moderators include fully qualified breastfeeding counsellors who DO check the veracity of statements made. The emphasis is information, not advice, and a very friendly place to ask important questions.”
Mad Mums
http://www.madmums.com/
Parenting and Pregnancy can be very daunting and sometimes, it can really help to speak to people who have been or are going through the same things that you are. The Madmums Buddy Scheme has been designed to put you in touch with other Mums who have experience in specific areas of Pregnancy and Parenting. You can use this free and confidential service on a “one to one” basis away from the forums to get in touch with one of our Buddies who will then contact you personally.
Mama Pack Forum
http://www.mamapacks.eu/forum/
Mama Packs are the United Kingdoms ONLY ethically influenced, trade marked Mum & Baby sample pack. A pack you wont find nasty chemicals in, a pack you will love receiving!
“The ladies there have such a wealth of experience and a geniuine love for the benefits of breast feeding that I have been greatly encouraged to keep breastfeeding, despite my child being seriously ill and in an incubator when born and later whilst she underwent major surgery. Now I am BFing past the age I had previously thought ‘normal’ and my child is thriving!”
Natural Mamas
http://www.naturalmamas.co.uk/
A natural parenting forum with an emphasis on babywearing.
“It’s a natural parenting forum with an amazing breastfeeding support board. Members who contribute are lactation consultants, midwives, breastfeeding peer supporters as well as breastfeeding mothers. The range of breastfeeding topics covered is second to none and the support is phenomental, with lots of experience as well as good non-judgemental evidence based advice. I love it!!”
Rollercoaster
http://www.Rollercoaster.ie
Pregnancy, having a baby and parenting can all bring you to the heights of joy and the depths of despair – all within the space of a few minutes! RollerCoaster.ie accompanies you on this exciting journey.
“A great community of people with a dedicated breastfeeding board”
By admin, on August 31st, 2010
Latch on Britain invites all nursing mums to help raise the profile of breastfeeding by taking part in an event on Wednesday September 1st.
Just arrange to meet some friend or family in town or at home or head out to your local cafe, park or community centre and then at 11am, give your baby a feed!
For more information and how to enter our competition, click here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=147238525293390&ref=ts
C’mon! Latch on Britain and help normalise breastfeeding!!
By admin, on August 31st, 2010
Hilary wrote this in response to the comments that her article – Stop Pointing, Start Doing got.
Both articles are re-published with permission on www.lactivist.net and Hilary’s own site is here: http://www.maternitywomen.com/blog-all.html. She is American so any reference to laws will be reference to American ones.
Lisa
“First, I would like to thank those of you who have been supportive. Second, I would like to thank those of you who have confirmed my statement that women who CHOOSE not to breastfeed are uneducated. You’ve really shown your ignorance with your comments. And third, here is where I “get off.” Not once did I condemn any woman who TRIED to breastfeed. You’re right. I did not mention my own inability to breastfeed for six months in my blog. I excluded this information because, 1) as previously stated, I was speaking of women who CHOOSE not to breastfeed, NOT those who TRIED and were unable to do so for whatever reason, and 2) IT’S NOT ABOUT ME. It seems that those of you who disagree with me really have no facts, nor legitimate reasons to back your personal position. Redirecting the attention to attack me personally is not solving any problems.
While I stand by my opinion, I do believe that it is unrealistic to pass a law that would require a prescription for formula for the first six months of a babies life. However, I do think that we can all agree that any mother who is educated and presented with all of the facts, would make the right decision. Of course, there will always be exceptions, but I would like to believe that no matter what the sacrifice, most women would do what is in the baby’s best interest. If any one of you were presented the opportunity to prevent your baby’s risk of serious health issues, or even death, by cutting off your arm, would you do it? If not, you don’t deserve to be a mother.
There are actually women saying, “It’s too hard.” What about being a mother isn’t challenging? Nothing worth doing is easy. You are probably the same women who use your television as a babysitter and feed your children fast food. Here’s a good one. Another woman said that she didn’t want to disfigure her breasts! Really?!? Someone give this woman a mirror so she can check out her vagina!! Then again, she’s probably one of those women who had an elective c-section. (perfect analogy, Aimee!)
Do you see what happens when you get off topic? I did it to make a point–and for a little comic relief for those of you who can appreciate it. But, it just becomes an obnoxious rant that wastes everyone’s time and offers no solution. I am all ears to anyone who can provide even a partial solution to this problem! But if your solution is for me to mind my own business and stand by quietly watching babies suffer, and also women suffer from lack of support, discrimination, and making uneducated decisions, YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG WOMAN!!
Until we put aside our differences and work towards a common goal, society and workplaces will continue to be discriminatory. Health care costs associated with the lack of breastfeeding in this country will continue to rise and ultimately, our children will be the ones to pay the price. As offended as many of you may be by words, which one of you would say, “I DO NOT WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR MY CHILD.”? I’ll be happy to get off of my soap box once you’ve gotten off of your lazy asses!!
Click to JOIN THE breastfeeding in public NO SHAME campaign.”
By Anne Harper Simmance, on August 30th, 2010
The above article appeared in a the issue of Closer Magazine dated 28th August – 3rd September 2010.
It’s hard to know if the author, Dr Christian Jessen, is just ‘bandwagon-jumping’ (because of recent press contraversy over other articles) or if he’s being deliberately provocative, but many of us consider his recent writing on the subject of sagging boobs to be scaremongering. Some of you may remember that this is the same ‘TV doc’ who told a woman her breasts were ‘too small’ to breastfeed, and advised another (on ‘The Ugly Face of Beauty’) to have a breast enlargement because breastfeeding had made her boobs saggy. Following the latter broadcast we contacted Dr Jessen to make him aware of the most recent research into the subject (which concluded that breast-ptosis is not linked to breastfeeding but to a variety of other factors). He responded at the time saying that his opinion was based on his ‘clinical experience’ and stated that he did not think the study was credible. Dr Jessen’s area of speciality is sexual health. Following the debate in parliament over free school milk Dr Jessen wrote an article in the London Evening Standard which also attracted criticism. He maintained that milk (in any form) is not necessary after 1 year, despite the WHO advice on the subject. You can read the article here. I have, on behalf of ‘Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths’, written to the Press Complaints Commission regarding the content of his article in Closer Magazine and what I (and others) consider to be a mis-representation of the facts which may put women off breastfeeding. You can read a copy of the letter here. Closer magazine have, in the past, been more balanced in their presentation of breastfeeding articles. They have responded to our complaint to say they will approach Dr Jessen and get back to us. I think it is worth mentioning that via his Twitter page Dr Jessen communicated with a number of members of our group. Although they were complaining solely about his article regarding breast-sagging, he seemed to suggest that in taking exception to the article they were trying to make ‘bottle-feeding friends feel bad’. He also tweeted that he was taking a stand against ‘midwife tyrany’ (sic). I have (reluctantly!) concluded that Dr Jessen is currently using his position to try and promote a negative perception about breastfeeding and breastfeeding advocates. He would not agree, and (also on Twitter) has said that breastfeeding is ‘a choice’ and that he is walking the ‘moderate, balanced middle ground’.
I feel that his article in Closer magazine misrepresented the facts about breastfeeding and mastitis, and in particular I am disappointed that he included no information about how best to treat the illness. As a former ‘fan’ of Dr Jessen I am both surprised and saddened by his behaviour surrounding this issue.
If you also would like to complain about the content of this most recent article by Dr Jessen, the complaints section of the PCC website is here. You can read more opinions from members of DBM on our facebook page.
By Anne Harper Simmance, on August 30th, 2010
In our 21st century world we see breasts all the time in newspapers, on the cover of albums, on the catwalk and the red carpet. We can barely escape them! A goodly amount of cleavage on display is deemed tolerable or even desirable by many, just so long as they are being used for aesthetic pleasure. However, even amongst the (so-called) ‘liberal’ media (those very same newspapers/ pop-stars/ celebrities), the sight of a breast being used to feed a child is referred to as ‘creepy’ (Mother & Baby magazine), and images of feeding children are censored if they happen to show a glimpse of areola (Facebook). Breastfeeding mothers are frequently called ‘bullies’ and ‘breastfeeding mafia’ because of their enthusiasm for, and commitment to, breastfeeding.
Here are just a handful of comments I found in recent media coverage of breastfeeding issues:
• “’Gossip Girl’ star Kelly Rutherford might not be uncomfortable talking about breast-feeding, but the rest of us are uncomfortable hearing about it!” ~ NYPost Dec 2008
• “In practice, you realise that most attempts to feed your baby in a public space will be met with subtle but palpable resistance. Older chaps roll their eyes, slick young businesswomen purse their mouths, teenagers look disgusted, waitresses anxious…. But it strikes me as ironic that many members of the public fret about British Muslims donning the hijab, yet happily condone the veiling of nursing mothers.” ~ Rowan Pelling, Daily Telegraph 2008
• “A mother must know when her baby is due a feed, so she should do it before or after going out in public. Anyone else who got their breasts out, or a man who urinated in public, would surely be accused of lewd behaviour” ~ ‘Bombshell’, Dagenham ~ in online discussion @ Virginmedia.com March 2010
• “peeing and pooping is natural too, so why don’t we start doing that publicly?” ~ Adrianne Curry (former America’s Next Top Model) on Twitter
Many seemingly confident, strong women struggle with the basic function of their own breasts after they have a baby. Some struggle so much that they make the decision not to breastfeed even before they have their child. They are keen to keep their breasts for sexual and visual assets only, even though they know that breastfeeding would benefit both themselves and their child. In recent debates I have frequently seen breastfeeding compared to other bodily functions (such as sex, urination, & defecation) and whilst these comparisons to me are appalling, they are also very interesting. You see, to compare breastfeeding to having a poo says a lot about how ‘shameful’ the whole thing has become, and I ask myself, how – and why has this happened? Why is it so difficult for many people to see a woman breastfeeding?
There is a belief amongst a significant number of anthropologists & historians that at some point in our human history many civilisations were ‘matriarchal’. Almost every culture on Earth has some sort of ‘mother deity’ in it’s past. Some matriarchal cultures even remain today including the famed Mosuo people (2, 3) in China, and tribes off New Guinea, in NE India, and in Peru. (4)
The earliest artwork supports the theory of a Goddess-culture in pre-history.
Three European Venus figurines from the ice-age of ca. 25,000 years ago. From left to right: Venus of Dolni-Vestonice, Czechia, burnt clay. Venus of Willendorf, Austria, Chalk. Venus of Les pugue, France, mammoth ivory ~ http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/venusfigures.htm
It seems that the female of the species was greatly revered in pre-history because of her capacity to (seemingly) create life spontaneously as the mechanics of reproduction were not yet fully understood. Men were at worst completely unaware and at best unsure of their role in creating children. All those thousands of years ago the only parent who could be reliably identified (particularly in cultures which were polygamist) was the mother. Images of deities of the time show figurines with rounded stomachs, buttocks and breasts, venerating the differences between women and men. Women had a high social standing with wealth and property frequently travelling down the maternal line. It is believed that this was the case even in many parts of Europe until approximately 4,000 years ago.
“In Western Europe, the first signs of Matriarchal societies emerged through figures like Venus, which, again, was interpreted by males as purely sexual through her large breasts and big belly. Unlike patriarchal cultures, these societies revered women due to their corresponding cycles with nature and their ability to give birth.” (5)
“In a time when survival of elements was a constant struggle, life seemed to be a miracle” (6)
“The progress from the maternal to the paternal conception of man forms the most important turning point in the history of the relations between the sexes” (7)
‘Religion, Myth and Mother Right’ ~ Johann Jakob Bachofen
It is estimated from surviving artwork, that at some during in the Neolithic period, (probably as mankind began farming animals as opposed to scavenging) the balance of power started to change. More phallic images come into play and it becomes obvious that a shift is taking place. (8, 9) Whilst it’s true that the female ‘goddess’ image did survive elsewhere for generations, the shift had clearly begun. So why did this change occur? One of fundemental changes which took place at this point in time was a move from ‘hunter-gatherer’ living to the more settled farming practices. Higher rates of infant mortality are noted from this period which may be linked to the farming of animal milk, especially when it replaced breast milk in the diets of young children.
“It is very likely that early weaning was a major cause of child death. As we know from history, and from what is currently happening in the developing world, death in non-breastfed or prematurely weaned infants is not due to intrinsic ill health but usually diarrhoea and respiratory infections […] Moreover, early cessation and even earlier supplementation leads quickly to further pregnancy” (10)
Ann Sinnott ~ ‘Breastfeeding Older Children’ Chpt 11.
Sustained breastfeeding afforded our ancestors protection from a life-time of childbearing by giving women a break, in what would otherwise have been a constant cycle of pregnancy and birth. Introducing alternative milk, and thereby encouraging earlier weaning of infants, led to women becoming increasingly vulnerable as they were likely to become pregnant again more quickly. As a result, the balance of power began to shift in favour of the male since men were now acting as principal providers.
“Current researchers into ancient history, working in the fields of theology, archeology, art history, and mythology, are uncovering evidence that, starting around 3000 BCE, there occurred a transition in the predominant religious and political structures that governed humanity. Matriarchal societies, which had worshiped goddesses of the earth and moon such as Innana, Ishtar, Isis, Demeter, and Artemis, gave way to patriarchal societies, which followed the solar gods and heroes such as Gilgamesh, Amen Ra, Zeus, Yahweh, and Apollo” (11)
Demetra George ~ ‘Mysteries of the Dark Moon’
The predominant religion of the last two millennia has been Christianity. One of the most cutting remarks ever to have been thrown in the direction of the established Christian Church came from the remarkable Sojourner Truth (12) (an emancipated black slave) in 1851.
“And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part?”
How emasculating is that?
The psychoanalyist Karen Horney (1885 – 1952) also had some interesting theories, especially that which she described as ‘womb envy’ (13) .
“An important question for Horney is why men see women as they do. She contended that male envy of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood, and of the breasts and suckling, gives rise to an unconscious tendency to devalue women[..].”
“..the threat of woman is not castration but humiliation; the threat is to his masculine self-regard. As he grows up, the male continues to have a deeply hidden anxiety about the size of his penis or his potency, an anxiety that has no counterpart for the female, who “performs her part by merely being”.”
~ The Karen Horney Society Website
Horney hypothesised that:
“The “womb-envy” of the male must be stronger than the so-called “penis-envy” of the female, since men need to depreciate women more than women need to depreciate men.”
~ The collected works of Karen Horney (volume II). W.W. Norton Company, New York
This is not the first time I have heard this type of argument. I have often seen it mooted that men may feel on some level inferior to women sexually in part because a woman is capable of multiple orgasms and the male (usually) only one at a time. Prior to the invention of the DNA test, men never even knew whether they had fathered the child they were supporting. The female of the species seems capable of endless pleasure whilst the energy of the male is quickly subdued by her hungry mouth-like orifice! He is ‘spent’ whilst a woman is capable of continuing to have sex with multiple partners. Women live longer, they multi-task with ease, they follow a ‘lunar cycle’ which even today is shrouded in mystery, they undergo enormous physical changes during pregnancy, endure the pain of childbirth and then have the ability to sustain a baby at the breast for months and years on end. The argument is that this contributes to a deeply-buried inferiority complex within men which has throughout modern history led to a diminution of all things maternal. Since we now live within a patriarchal society, men have influenced popular press and government for centuries. The degradation of women has affected every area of life and despite all the progress of the past hundred years, there is still a very long way to go before we can say we have true equality. This has resulted in generations of women being raised outside of a ‘sisterhood’.
We no longer retreat to the ‘red tent’ monthly to share our stories and our wisdom. We no longer deliver our own babies, we take on the male name when we marry and we accept lower wages and fear to ‘rock the boat’ when it comes to maternity and breastfeeding rights at work. Small wonder then that some women find it easier to deny their demonstrably female breastfeeding role than to engage in it. Women often state a desire to let their partners feed their baby as a reason for formula feeding.
Nourishment of small babies was, until the last century, a female preserve. It no longer is, usually to the detriment of the child. Compared to a breast full of milk, the male nipples seem a bit pointless, impotent.
“Males are left with vestigial nipples, a reminder that life begins for all of us as proto-females, and some of us are fated to become more masculinized than others.” (14)
~ Louis A. Berman
Yes, it’s possible to see why, on the psychoanalyist’s couch a man might admit to some issues regarding a breastfeeding breast. I found one man admit (in an online discussion at straightdope.com) that:
“As a man with a new baby – and two preceeding babies – I’d like to say that I am still slightly freaked out by the sight of public breastfeeding. I recognize this as my problem and not the mother’s”
If only everyone were so self-aware! But why – why should the sight of public breastfeeding upset a woman, and even a woman who has herself breast fed? Surely this seems absurd? This quote (from a mother who breastfed both her children for three months) came in response to a debate on public breastfeeding on a newspaper website in August 2010.
“I believe that a mother can only feed her baby well in surroundings that allow her to be quiet and comfortable, and I am not comfortable with seeing mothers breastfeeding in public”
When a woman, who herself has breastfed, finds the sight of another mother doing the same thing difficult, something strange is going on. This is obviously not rational thinking, but it is not uncommon. There must be a reason why some women feel this way. I believe that in order to survive in what is still a male-dominated world, women become accustomed to hiding aspects of their womanhood from quite early in life.
When I was a young woman I found going to the check-out with sanitary towels embarrassing. Why on earth should I have felt that? I am female, I have periods (which are a demonstration of my fertility), and yet I grew up feeling that this was somehow shameful. Other cultures throughout history have delighted in a young woman’s transition to fertility. In early human cultures where it was a rare event (due to constant pregnancy or breastfeeding) it was even more celebrated, often in women-only ceremonies. (15, 16) Not now though – as the advert says, ‘why stop when your period starts?’. We carry on as normal and pretend menstruation doesn’t exist. We tell white lies to our friends and employers when we suffer from period pain because we don’t want to admit the true reason for our absence. We grow up hiding the aspects of our femininity which don’t fit with the prevailing climate and we embrace those traits most likely to make us more appealing and less threatening to the status-quo.
I believe that true equality between the sexes can only come about when we all celebrate and venerate our differences. By adapting to exist within the ‘man’s world’ we deprived them of elements of their masculinity and lost touch with elements of our own femininity. Men and women are not the same. Both genders have their strengths and weaknesses and neither one is superior to the other. As women, as mothers, as partners and fathers, we need to realise that our true strength lies in recognising our true strengths. Public breastfeeding is a visible reminder of the power of the female. It recalls within us the incredible mysteries of life, some of which remain mysteries to us even in the C21st. Being brought face-to-face with a breast (even discreetly) reminds us of what we have lost.
So what remains of these lost ‘goddesses’? Well, quite a lot actually. Their power and strength remains intact within each one of us, it’s just a question of allowing it to be seen. It’s in our mitochondrial DNA. That part of our genetic make-up which is passed solely down the female line.
“Some molecular biologists say that, aeons ago, the mitochondrion was a free-living organism with its own DNA and possessed the secret of generating lots of energy. It invaded single celled nucleated organisms and has stayed on ever since, dividing, like yeast, by binary fission. Males…. cannot pass it on to their children. [... ] Ultimately every person alive today has inherited their mitochondrial DNA from one single great-great-great…. Grandmother, nearly 200,000 years ago” (17)
~ Stephen Oppenheimer
Quite a number of women, on www.mythnomore.blogspot.com, have chosen to display and celebrate the most obvious manifestation of their womanhood in a way which seems (even to some breastfeeding advocates!) pretty ‘in your face’. Why have they done this? Because they have recognised that we need to re-balance. We need to remove the shame from the breast and start to appreciate it for more than just its aesthetic beauty, just as our ancestors did. The next time you breastfeed in public, congratulate yourself for embracing – and enabling others to open themselves up to – something very old, and very important.
‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of god.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ‘
~ Marianne Williamson
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_goddess
2.http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mosuo-One-of-the-Last-Matriarchal-Societies-36321.shtml
3. http://matriarchy.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=26
4. http://www.saunalahti.fi/penelope/Feminism/KhasiGaro.html
5. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/22750/Womens-Studies
6. http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~gloria/Goddess.html
7. ‘Religion, Myth and Mother Right’ ~ Johann Jakob Bachofen
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4713323.stm
9. http://www.goddesstimeline.com/
10. Ann Sinnott ~ ‘Breastfeeding Older Children’ Chpt 11.
11. Demetra George ~ ‘Mysteries of the Dark Moon’
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_I_a_Woman%3F
13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womb_and_vagina_envy
14. http://www.narth.com/docs/berman2.html
15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_and_menstruation
16 http://matriarchy.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=148
17 http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/eve.html
By admin, on August 30th, 2010
I’m really pleased to be part of this, makes me feel all grown up!
On the 1st September a new discount card www.babygrowers.co.uk will launch.
It has been especially created for new and expecting parents and the team who created it are all parents too.
With this in mind they have created a unique partnership with a range of high street companies as well as smaller individual companies to offer you a range of discounts, which include: home/car insurance, groceries, holidays, maternity necessities, pushchairs, car seats, nursery furniture and much more including a discount on pro breastfeeding t-shirts, bags, badges and cards at www.lactivist.co.uk.
Not only are the Babygrower team offering you a whole host of discounts that will be valid for one year from when you buy the card, they will also be keeping you up to date with their blog and weekly newsletter which will be full of great tips and further special offers.
The cost of the card is only £14.99 and for most people this amount spent will be far less than their actual savings in their first month of use will be far less than their actual savings in their first month of use or in many cases, their first purchase! For every card sold, £1 will be donated to your selected charity, at time of registering.
Babygrowers are committed to saving you money not just points.
Here are some of the discounts you can get:
Home insurance – 20% off and £50 supercheque vouchers
Car insurance – 15% off and £50 supercheque vouchers
Supermarket shopping – £15 off your first order over £75 then further discounts of £10 for spends over £100
Companies involved so far include: Aviva, Sainsbury’s, Butlins, Monsters and Munchkins, Big Green Smile, Babipur, Natural Nursery, Green Jelly, Cotton Baby, Tots and Tiddlers Toys, Dam Tam, Hello Baby, Green Child, Barnyard Kids, Lactivist, Slumber-Roo, Precious Memories, My Munchkin, VUPbaby, My Funny Bunny, Baby Not Included, DaisychainBaby, Green People and Green Baby with more coming on daily.
By admin, on August 30th, 2010
To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week 2010 Lactivist, the home of slogan t-shirts and bags that promote breastfeeding had a competition to find the Moo Boy – that is my son (when he was a lot younger) and the person who started off the whole Lactivist thing.
If I wasn’t critisized for breastfeeding him when he was a tiny baby then none of this would happened.
The 4 winners each searched the site at www.lactivist.co.uk to find his picture and emailed me it’s location.
The winners are:
Laura Cameron
Bekki Lewis
Lisa Fryer
Nicola Kelsall
They each win a Lactivist bag of their choice, a Lactivist T-shirt of their choice and a handful of cards and badges. I’ll be emailing you all to tell you how to order too
Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered.
Lisa
By admin, on August 30th, 2010
Kate had a baby girl!
I’m looking forward to further breastfeeding adventure cartoons from Kate but in the meanwhile, here is one she made earlier
http://www.thefoodoflove.org/
By admin, on August 29th, 2010
Oscar found some great graffiti This is such an amazing photo of Oscar wearing his Mummy Milk Rocks t-shirt in front of some very apt grafitti!
Thank you Lisa for sending it to me. I love it so much I have turned it into a postcard.
By admin, on August 28th, 2010
Ok, I know this is nothing to do with breastfeeding but I really like Barefoot books!
This is the Barefoot Book site of Nicola and the competition is run by Barefoot Books and not me!- http://www.barefootbooks.com/uk/?bf_affiliate_code=000-09n2&bf_affiliate_code=000-09n2
http://barefootmahala.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/win-a-shiny-new-ipad/
“Barefoot Books are giving away a 16GB iPad to one lucky person, and two runners-up will each receive a Natural Child Gift Collection worth £60.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to sign up with Barefoot as an Ambassador. Now – don’t run off screaming… signing up is completely free, and there’s no catch. To enter you only need to sign up, you don’t need to buy anything.
Becoming a Barefoot Books Ambassador is a good deal anyway, I think. There’s no charge to join us (unlike many other similar organisations) and there are no minimum orders or quotas to meet. You receive generous commissions, even from your first order, as well as loyalty points to spend on future orders. You get a free customisable web portal to help you promote your business, as well as free training materials, a team leader (whose job is to help you get started and understand the systems – not to nag you into selling to up their earnings!) and a large supportive Ambassador community who love to help each other out with ideas and experience.
People become an Ambassador for all sorts of reasons – some make it a full time career, others want a part time income which will fit around family or other commitments and some just want to buy our beautiful, award-winning books for their children and other children in their lives at a discount. All of these are valid reasons for joining us, and you’ll be welcomed whatever your reasons for joining.
My advice would be to make sure you sign up with a team leader though, no matter what your reasons for joining, if nothing else it makes life easier, and you already have a contact within the organisation who can help you out. By using the links in the post, you’ll be asked if you’d like me as your team leader. I’d love it if you said yes – I have a growing team of lovely people, and really enjoy helping them with their businesses. Besides, I might win a shiny new iPad too!” Text by Nicola
By admin, on August 27th, 2010
 On September 25th Celia, Kangarinos’ chief sling tester, turns two. To celebrate we’re giving one lucky person anything they want from our stock (just the one though this isn’t Supermarket Sweep!).
You get to choose from Kangarinos’ small but perfectly formed collection. Perhaps you’ll choose a gorgeous hand batiked Wrapsody, or a soft and snuggly Moby. If woven wraps are more your thing you could pick a bright Storchenwiege. If you’re looking for something that’s simple to use, a practical Pouchling ring sling or comfy Slingling pouch sling could be your cup of tea. Or maybe you’re after one to tempt dad into babywearing, if so one of the manly prints of a Kozy mei tai (although we have girly and neutral prints too!) or the buckles on a Connecta will catch his, and indeed, your eye! The hard part will be narrowing it down to just one!
To enter just fill in the form and answer the question on this page: http://www.kangarinos.co.uk/win-sling-or-baby-carrier
By admin, on August 25th, 2010
Charlotte Keating ENGLAND was originally founded in 2001 as a high end womenswear clothing company and couture bridal wear. In 2008, Charlotte gave birth to her daughter Béa and during her 14 months breastfeeding, she designed and launched a new mother and baby range specialising in feminine, flattering nursing clothes for breastfeeding with confidence, discretion and style. Designs double up as fabulous maternity wear which fit & flatter through to full term pregnancy. Born from personal experience, the brand now includes a complementary selection of mummy essentials, baby, toddler and nursery décor range.
 Our ethos is to make life easier for new mums breastfeeding with a functional and stylish range that supports new mum’s current lifestyle preferences of breastfeeding in public places without the need for compromise or concealment. We continually strive to raise awareness of the benefits of nursingwear and it’s importance in the successful promotion of breastfeeding in accordance with this ideal.
Feminine, flattering nursing clothes for breastfeeding with confidence, discretion and style. Designs double up as fabulous maternity wear which fit & flatter through to full term pregnancy.
Born from personal experience, the brand now includes a complementary selection of mummy essentials, baby, toddler and nursery décor range.
By Jenny Allen, on August 24th, 2010
This is a compilation of a load of questions I have answered and problems I have encountered, both myself and with other mothers. That this stuff isn’t common knowledge anymore is a sad state of affairs, but, the fact is, it’s not, so loony lactivists like me have to put it together and put it out there, so here it it, why breastfeeding fails;
1. Drugs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8231144.stm
“Drugs commonly used to treat bleeding after birth may hamper a woman’s ability to breastfeed her baby, research suggests.
The study, which appears in the journal BJOG, suggests the drugs may impede milk production. The Swansea University team also confirmed high doses of painkilling drugs have a similar effect. The findings may help to explain the limited success of efforts to increase breastfeeding rates in the UK.”
This is not new news, Michel Odent has been saying this for 30 years, but it hasn’t been taken seriously, and still isn’t now. I did have a synto injection after I had my eldest, and bled out 850mls. When I had my youngest I opted for a physiological third stage (no synto injection to expel the placenta), including not clamping and cutting the cord until it had stopped pulsing, and I hardly bled at all. I know this is anecdotal, but the reasoning works this way; when the cord is left to stop pulsing before it is clamped and cut, not only does the baby get it’s full quota of blood [about 250mls/half a pint is in the placenta & cord] but the placenta drains, which may make it detach better, resulting in less bleeding.
Opiates (pethidine etc) and all pain relief, even epidurals and gas and air cross the placenta and effect the baby.
http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/choice.html
“The labour pain-reducing drug, pethidine, also interferes with this tentative, yet alert, exploratory behaviour by the infant. A newborn whose mother has received pethidine during labour can be dopey, unresponsive and disinterested in the breast.
Studies have shown that newborns exposed to pethidine have poor arousability for up to three hours after delivery. Poor arousability means there is slowness in the central nervous system and delayed and depressed rooting behaviour and suckling. The effects of pethidine can last for a long time – the elimination half-life of pethidine in a newborn is about 22 hours, compared with three hours in a mother.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-truth-about–pethidine-1270958.html
“In addition, pethidine readily crosses the placenta; if the drug is given too near the time of delivery, it can delay breathing at birth, make feeding difficult and cause the baby to be very drowsy. There is an antidote available, naloxone, which can be injected into the umbilical vein at birth, but it is not always given.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6161727.stm
“The researchers, led by Dr Siranda Torvaldsen, say: “There is a growing body of evidence that the fentanyl component of epidurals may be associated with sleepy infants and difficulty establishing breastfeeding.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4371552.stm
“A review of 21 studies comparing epidurals to other forms of pain relief showed women who chose them were 40% more likely to need intervention.
The Cochrane Review found this could mean instruments such as forceps being used to deliver the baby.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1423668.stm
“However, babies whose mothers were given a low-dose epidural took longer to become vigorous after delivery, and a few of the babies in the low-dose infusion group were more likely to require breathing assistance.”
2. Separation.
Skin-to-Skin is important, washing, swaddling, dressing and testing done away from the mother all inhibit reactions and instinct. Left alone a baby will instinctively root and suckle.
Breast Crawl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjDQN9keKQk
http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVDecJan03p123.html
“When the mother and midwife tried to help him latch on, he closed his mouth firmly and arched his back, pulling his head away from the breast.
When I went to visit this mother at her home, I could see that the repeated attempts to latch the baby on were making him feel increasingly unhappy about being held in the nursing position. As soon as he was held on his side and moved close to the breast, he started to fuss and push away. I suggested to the mother that she just concentrate for a little while on helping the baby feel relaxed and comfortable at the breast—just letting him lie there, close to the breast, without any pressure to latch on or feed.
She called me back several hours later, very excited, with wonderful news. She had been lying on her back, dozing, with her naked baby lying on his stomach on her bare abdomen just below her breasts. She noticed the baby beginning to squirm and wriggle and then, to her surprise, he pushed himself up to her breasts, his little head bobbing as he searched for the nipple. Then he latched on and suckled away. After several minutes of vigorous sucking, he let go and rested. She then gently moved him toward the other breast, and to her delight he repeated the process, latching on beautifully all by himself once again.”
And these;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reZQOvMn1lk
http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/pregnant/0008-pop.html
are really good examples of how not to get a baby to feed, holding the head like this is really, really bad practice! These holds make babies flail their arms and arch away from the boob, holding a baby by the back of the head, or at the back of the neck as is commonly taught actually works against instinctive feeding behaviours.
But this kind of approach; http://www.biologicalnurturing.com/pdfs/Colson%202007%20non%20prescriptive%20recipe%20for%20BF%20put%20with%20recipe.pdf
triggers all the instinctive behaviours that help a baby to feed easily. Newborns have strong necks and like to lie well supported either on their belly or side, pressure on the soles of the feet also triggers a rooting response, so laying a baby on his/her stomach or side and letting them “stand” on your thighs (or the palm of your hand) as you recline on your back or lie on your side is the most natural way to feed a baby. Sitting bolt upright holding your baby by the back of the head and shoving a nipple in it’s mouth is neither natural or pleasant!
3. Expectations.
http://www.iwantmymum.com/site/articles/the-sleep-of-reason/20
“Tell parents the stark reality of life with a newborn, rather than forcing them to question their instincts…………… But here’s the thing. Young babies are not meant to sleep through: that’s the harsh and horrible truth. They have a very real and primal need to know their mothers are close, that they are safe. Their tummies are tiny and so cannot hold much milk, so they get hungry often. And breast-milk – which, remember, is the natural food of babies – is extremely easy to digest so as not to put undue strain on an immature system. All of this adds up to a baby who wakes during the night. Darn those babies for not being self-sufficient.
This research also found that babies got “fussy” in the early evening and that this “unexplained crying” starts at six to eight weeks. Well, guess what? Six weeks is when a baby has its first growth spurt, so its need to feed often goes into overdrive (this is also the time most women who started off breastfeeding stop, because they think they haven’t got enough milk).
And babies get fussy in the evening because they are starting a natural, primal process that will eventually help them to sleep through (if we don’t interfere with it): they tank up on milk, most often between the hours of 7 and 10pm. If you don’t know this then the crying becomes “unexplained and unexplainable”. And can take you to the brink of madness.”
So;
Expect your baby to want to feed, seemingly all the time, for the first few weeks. No baby in the whole world ever goes 3-4 hours between feeds happily or naturally. A breastfed baby is more likely to want to feed every hour or so, and there’s nothing wrong with comfort sucking. It’s natural, it’s normal and it’s good for the baby and your milk supply. A newborns tummy is the size of it’s clenched fist, ie, very tiny. It is easily filled and quickly emptied, so needs to be re-filled regularly. Allowing your baby to “comfort suck” means s/he is constantly topping up this tiny tummy. Contrary to popular wisdom babies can also suck and feed whilst they are dozing, so if your baby seems to be asleep, but is still sucking gently, then leave him/her there. They are only deeply asleep if they relax totally and voluntarily let go of the nipple.
Expect to get very little sleep for the first few weeks, especially if your baby is sleeping in a separate cot or moses basket. A newborn baby that can’t feel and smell it’s mother is an unhappy newborn baby. They have an instinctive need to be held and kept close. So, expect your baby to want to be held all the time, either by you or by Daddy, or grandma or grandpa, or, well, anyone really, as long as they are warm and have a comforting heartbeat! Expect growth spurts at 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks and again about 18-20 weeks, ride out the feeding frenzy and you’re baby will settle again in a few days.
But don’t expect to feed your baby every 3-4 hours and then change them and put them down and walk away. You are confusing them with a Baby Annabel doll…… ☺
4. Bad Advice.
“You’ll spoil that baby”
“Your milk isn’t [good] enough”
“S/he’ll be more settled on formula”
“Feed 10 minutes from each boob, no more”
“You have to drink milk to make milk”
“You must eat extra healthy now, or your milk will be poor quality”
“Routine, routine, routine…….”
I’m sure you’ve already heard some of these, and will undoubtedly hear others too. You’ll know if it’s garbage because it’ll go against your instincts and sound ridiculous!
5. Nipple Confusion.
Caused by dummies and bottles.http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_confusion.html
“What is Nipple Confusion? It is a problem that arises when a breastfed baby is given an artificial (rubber or silicon) nipple and must try to learn to nurse both from his mother’s breast and the bottle nipple. While seemingly similar, these two feeding methods require completely different mouth and tongue motions and swallowing skills.
In breastfeeding, the baby needs to take as much of the nipple and areola into his mouth as possible to ‘pump’ the milk from the milk ducts. In bottle feeding, he uses his lips to grip the tip of an artificial nipple. Some nipples do better to imitate a natural breast, but none are quiet the same.”
So, now you know what not to do, what not to expect and what advice to not listen to!
(This can also be found as a Guest post at; http://jonirae.com/got-milk-part-three-why-breastfeeding-fails/)
By admin, on August 22nd, 2010
 Jasmine in her Care Instructions T-shirt Thank you Maryanne for letting us see the photo of Jasmine Tracey Winifred. She is 5 months old in the photo, all together now ahhhhhh!
Jasmine also stars on www.lactivist.co.uk.
By admin, on August 21st, 2010
Amanda Rayment works as a herbalist in the arena of the parent and child relationship. She is also the tutor for the training programme Birth and loving Relationships. Her website is http://www.welcomeworldcafe.com
 The arrival of a child in to our lives offers opportunities to awaken tenderness and love within us. A baby listens to his mother’s heartbeat while he is in the womb from very early on in the pregnancy. We could say his mother’s heart is singing to him continually. This sound becomes familiar and reassuring to the baby. Isn’t this wonderful? That no matter what is occurring in the mothers daily life her heart continues to sing to her child. After the child is born this familiarity and reassurance of listening to his mother’s heartbeat continues through being held close to the mother’s body and with breastfeeding. This tenderness begins to be expressed in other ways such as caressing, speaking soothing words to the child and of course with eye to eye contact between mother and baby. This eye to eye contact also encourages the release of the wonderful hormone of love Oxytocin, which is of great assistance with breastfeeding and bonding. Through all these actions tenderness begins to arise in the mother which is naturally extended to the child. So how do we continue to nurture this contact with what is real what is natural? How do we directly experience the truth that in the giving we receive? What does it mean to give of ourselves? To include ourselves in the giving and receiving, these are questions I invite mothers to ask themselves inwardly. So this period of time in women’s lives while they are breastfeeding the focus is on relaxation, nourishment and nurturing. When we view breastfeeding in this way it sounds so simple but of course it may not always be easy to rest back into what sounds simple and natural. So how does a mother include herself in the nurturing and tenderness she is offering her child?
For most of us sometimes we can rest back in the flow of harmony of what is natural and effortless. Other times it seems as if that flow is a distant memory and everything feels tiring. Those moments of not knowing how to respond are opportunities to stop for a moment and to ask inwardly to be shown, to acknowledge to ourselves we have become confused as to what the communication of love is. To recognise that love is not sacrifice in any form no matter how we try to disguise it. To ask love to reveal itself, to show us how to give to our child the nurturing and nourishment we want to know and receive for ourselves. Then we have come back to our true nature of recognising tenderness, happiness and nurturing is shared. That love includes everyone. My encouragement to breastfeeding mothers alongside these inner practices is to ask yourself what makes your heart sing with joy, to give yourself the time to offer this gift of love to yourself, to include this in your life no matter how busy it seems right now .Again I recognise resistances my come forward that it isn’t always easy to include ourselves. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t give it ago and see what occurs as the outcome of being kind and gentle with our selves.
My craft is herbal medicine and producing herbal tea formulas makes my heart sing. On my website I offer different tea formulas for mothering. The website has lots of information about herbs and mothering. There is a cafe area where you can ask questions. The tea Mamas Nursing support is available which many women have found helpful while breastfeeding. This is a formula i have used for years with breastfeeding mothers both in my clinic and in the welcome World tea range. This tea is formulated with herbs that nourish on many different levels and also gently stimulates the blood supply to the mammary glands ensuring a healthy flow of breast milk.
http://www.welcomeworldcafe.com Herbs that assist with breastfeeding are Red raspberry leaf ,fennel seeds ,nettles, holy thistle, fenugreek seeds , goats rue.“
The following herbs may also be helpful to have in your kitchen cupboard or medicine bag.
Marigold flowers; useful for any inflammation of breasts when feeding e.g. with engorgement or mastitis. This plant is also wonderfully soothing for cracked nipples. Again go to http://www.welcomeworldcafe.com for information about marigold {look under notes from Amanda in cafe area }
Ladys Mantle;A wonderful plant that can be used as an external compress for sore or inflamed breasts. Use the leaves to make a paste with a little oil i would choose castor oil, although olive oil would be fine. Again check http://www.welcomeworldcafe.com { look under writings 3 herbs I would always have in my apothecary in cafe area}
There are of course many plants i could list here , my feeling is to keep it simple ,make friends with a few plants ,get to know their benefits, keep them in the kitchen cupboard and make nurturing cups of herbal tea. Use the plants as compresses and washes when assistance is needed. Enjoy and happy mothering.
By admin, on August 18th, 2010
I wish that breastfeeding wasn’t such a “hot” topic.
I wish that formula feeding wasn’t so common place and normal that people assume that the way a formula fed baby behaves is the way babies should behave. So that long deep sleeps in very small babies were not expected, instead of the hourly feeds, short naps and light sleep that is actually normal baby behaviour. That people knew that vomiting was not normal, that baby poo shouldn’t stink to high heaven and that reflux isn’t to be expected. There’s a big difference between posseting now and then, and regularly chucking back large amounts of milk.
I wish people didn’t think that breastfeeding was the “Gold Standard”, but understood that it is simply the biological norm. What babies are meant to do, what boobs are for, and what gives our babies the things they need to grow up the way they were meant to. Physically, immunologically and emotionally.
I wish people didn’t think it was fair game to pass comment on the health of breastfed babies. Or to take the piss out of breastfeeding mothers. Imagine if a breastfeeding mother passed comment on the health of a non-breastfed baby, or belittled a woman who didn’t breastfeed? That people realised that childhood illnesses are just that, a part of normal, everyday childhood, that all babies and children get colds, and coughs and chicken pox, and that breastfeeding is not a Magical Forcefield which stops your baby ever getting ill, but what it actually does is makes your child able to resist a lot of infections, and means they can fight off the ones they do get. All babies and children get sick, the more contact they have with others the more likely they are to get sick, so a breastfed baby in a nursery will still catch infections, where as a formula fed baby that stays at home won’t be in contact with those infections, and that’s why they seem to get sick less often, not because breastfeeding makes no difference. I wish I didn’t have to defend the fact that I breastfeed. Ever. To anyone.
I wish people understood that advertising works. That formula manufacturers invented “Follow-On” formula to get through a loophole in the advertising laws, because all they care about is profit, how much of their product they can sell. That most of the “special” ingredients in artificial milks are not proven, not necessary and not there to improve the health of babies, but to make one formula seem “closer to breast-milk” than all the others. That artificial baby milks are not sterile, and subject to fewer and less rigid tests and standards than over-the-counter cold medications.
I wish people understood that the risks that go with not breastfeeding are rarely instantly obvious, but can creep up and effect our health when we are 10, 20, or 30, or 40, or 50. Babies rarely drop dead from being formula fed (although it does happen in some cases, from contamination like in China, or from allergic reactions or gastroenteritis) but that it is, all the same, a large scale public health issue that needs to be viewed seriously, not as a life style choice or as a fashion statement.
I wish breastfeeding was normal.
By admin, on August 18th, 2010
http://www.maternitywomen.com/maternity-news/stop-pointing-start-doing.html
By now you’ve probably heard Gisele Bundchen’s quote from a recent magazine interview in which she said, “There should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months.” Well this, of course, caused an uproar to which she later gave an explanation of her opinion on her blog—which I feel is absolutely ridiculous. First of all, it was her opinion. Second of all, I think she’s right—no explanation necessary.
Reality star/chef/author/business woman/wife/breastfeeding mother, Bethenny Frankel responded to Gisele’s comment by saying, “That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard,” then went on to say, “Breastfeeding is one of the most rewarding experiences, but it isn’t for everyone.” That’s a shame because what a great advocate she could have been, especially for those who use their careers as an excuse not to breastfeed. I would like to pose this question to Bethenny Frankel. Do you think it’s absurd to put your child in a car seat? I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I’m guessing your answer would be, “no.” Not only is it a law put in place for the safety and protection of children, it’s pretty much, as I read in one article, common sense and a maternal instinct for a mother to want to protect her child. You tell me what the difference is between a law mandating the use of a car seat and a law mandating breastfeeding.
These women who ridicule advocates of breastfeeding, accusing them of making them feel guilty, fit into one of three categories: 1) uneducated, 2) selfish, or 3) lazy. To those women who choose not to breastfeed,
I would like you to make the following statements—out loud, holding your baby, looking directly at their face:
“I CHOOSE for you to have a weaker immune system.”
“I CHOOSE for you to have a greater risk of having chronic ear infections.”
“I CHOOSE for you to have a greater risk of having asthma.”
“I CHOOSE for you to have a greater risk of having juvenile diabetes.”
“I CHOOSE for you to have a greater risk of having childhood leukemia.”
“I CHOOSE for you to have a greater risk of dying of sudden infant death syndrome.”
THEN say, “I make this choice because ________,” and fill in the blank with your excuse for not breastfeeding.
Harsh, isn’t it? Those are the facts. Hopefully, someone out there is in agreement with me. It is that serious. Do your own research. Numbers don’t lie. There is an urgent need for a movement, yet every time someone makes a statement, or breastfeeds in public, there are those of you who can’t wait to spew your negativity on those who are just doing what is right. Does this make you angry? If so, why? Does this make you feel guilty? Well, let me share something with you. NO ONE can MAKE you feel anything. Your feelings are your own.
Here’s another thing, the definition of guilt is 1) fact of having committed an offense, and 2) painful feeling that one has done wrong. If you feel guilty, then congratulations!! This means you at least know that you’ve done wrong and you’re not a heartless person without a conscience. The bad news is that you are the only one to blame, so stop pointing your finger!! That being said, there are those who argue that there is a serious breakdown in this country’s health care system (with which I strongly agree) that is to blame for the low percentage of mothers who breastfeed, therefore relieving the mothers of any personal responsibility to educate themselves (with which I strongly disagree).
I’ve seen this breakdown first hand, over and over again. I have yet to figure out why our hospitals and health care professionals are not requiring their patients to TRY breastfeeding and spending more time on education. If your ob/gyn prescribes you prenatal vitamins, you fill the prescription and you take them. If they put you on bed rest because you have a high risk pregnancy, you stay in bed. No questions asked, Dr. knows best, right? So someone explain why, if formula manufacturers themselves are printing, “breast milk is best” (as required by the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes), right on their labels, then why aren’t health care professionals requiring their patients to breastfeed? In our country today, only 12% of women breastfeed exclusively for the first six months. And 43% of women try and either dry up or give up.
That leaves 45% who are going straight to formula. I encourage everyone to do their own research on the medical issues, health care costs and infant mortalities that are directly connected to the lack of breastfeeding in this country. But I will share this. After the introduction of the rubber nipple in 1845, there was a dramatic increase in the use of breast milk substitutes. In 1846 there was an increase in the number of medical problems and infant mortalities directly associated with breast milk substitutes. The facts were and remain the same. Breast milk is best and formula should be used ONLY as a last resort. Our government and media are famous for using scare tactics to sway our thinking. Apparently, it’s not working in this case. Perhaps anger will work, but make sure you are channeling your anger in the right direction. Don’t get angry with me because I made you “feel guilty.”
Get angry with your employer who is unwilling to accommodate your need to do the best thing for your child. Get angry with a society who looks at breasts as sexual objects rather than what their intended purpose is. Get angry with the women who are dragging you down, making believe formula is acceptable when you know it is not. Stand up for yourself, but more importantly, stand up for your child! Everyone keeps calling for a movement, but it has not yet happened. If we can’t unite as women and do what is best for our children, then perhaps the government should intervene and require women to breastfeed for six months. Women fought for the right to vote, and won. Women fought for equality in the workplace, and won. Why in the hell can’t we fight for our children’s health and lives?? We need to unite and command respect from a society that looks upon public breastfeeding with disgust. We need to unite and demand that ALL employers give adequate maternity leave and facilitate pumping once you’ve returned.
Finally, we need to EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE ourselves and everyone around us to change the way society views breastfeeding to give our children a healthier life.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/breastfeeding-study-on-be_n_525180.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_formula http://blog.giselebundchen.com.br/en/sentido/a-importancia-da-amamentacao/
By admin, on August 15th, 2010
 Sam in a Lactivist T-shirt This is Sam who has just turned 9 months in this picture. Sam’s mum took loads of him in this t-shirt and it was so difficult to choose one, so I didn’t I chose two
 Sam still smiling! You can also see him on www.lactivist.co.uk.
By admin, on August 13th, 2010
In case you have missed all the hoo ha, in July the magazine Mother and Baby published an article entitled ‘I formula feed so what” you can read it here: http://www.lactivist.net/?p=1155
I and many others feel that the article negatively, insultingly and inaccurately portrays breastfeeding. A Facebook group was set up (Mother and Baby Magazine – please support breastfeeding) and you can see that breastfeeders and formula feeders were similarly upset by the article so the one good thing that came out of it was that we united!
A couple of us complained to the Press Complaints Commission – This was my complaint and rational:
Please explain how you believe the Code of Practice has been breached
Accuracy
“supposed health benefits [of breastmilk]”
Breastmilk has proven health benefits not supposed. “Over the past decades, evidence for the health advantages of breastfeeding and recommendations for practice have continued to increase. WHO can now say with full confidence that breastfeeding reduces child mortality and has health benefits that extend into adulthood” http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/topics/prevention_care/child/nutrition/breastfeeding/en/
“I also wanted to give my boobs at least a chance to stay on my chest rather than dangling around on my stomach”
Breastfeeding does not make breasts sag. “There was no difference in the extent of ptosis – the clinical term for breast sagginess – between those women who had breastfed and those who had not. ” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7082473.stm
“felt like getting tipsy once in awhile” It is possible to drink occasionally and breastfeed “research shows that occasional drinking, such as one or two units once or twice a week, is not harmful to your baby while you are breastfeeding.” http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/958.aspx?CategoryID=54&SubCategoryID=135
Which specific clause(s) of the Code are you complaining under?
1
Accuracy
i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.
Mother and Baby have now responded to the complaint – the delay was because the Press Complaints Commission wanted to see how it was dealt with in the next issue.
July 14th 2010
Dear William
Thank you for your letter of 1 July detailing two complaints received at the PCC.
Both complaints are reacting to a one-page opinion feature by Deputy Editor Kathryn Blundell in our July issue who – for reasons explained in the piece – decided to go straight to bottle-feeding. It was her choice, and this was an account of her personal experience, which the feature made abundantly clear. Readers could choose whether or not they agreed with Kathryn, and it is clear that a few vocal individuals, including the two complainants, strongly disagreed with Kathryn’s choice and her reasoning. But we defend our right to publish that opinion, and defend Kathryn’s right to express it has her ‘Viewpoint’.
Context is very important too. Mother and Baby promotes breastfeeding as the norm. Last summer we featured a cover of a model breastfeeding her baby, a first for the UK magazine industry. We also conducted a campaign “Lets Make Britain Breastfeeding Friendly” and we went on GMTV to back this up. I personally wrote a piece in the Daily Mail saying how outrageous it was that women are often made to feel uncomfortable. We offer help and advice to women on a monthly basis on this very issue: our May edition included a siz page ‘get started and stick with it’ feature, our July issue (the one complained of) had a feature on the best breast pumps, and our next issue carries expert advice on surviving painful feeding in the early days.
Further, in the feature Kathryn herself states “ Sure breast milk has the edge over infant formula – it’s free, it doesn’t need heating up and you can whip up a feed in the middle of the night without having to get out of bed. Then there are all the studies that show it reduces the risk of breast cancer for you, and stomach upsets and allergies for your baby.” Read as a whole, and in proper context, I do not think that anyone should reasonably have concluded that Mother and Baby were saying that breast was not best.
If these complaints are to be considered further, and by default Kathryn’s piece is not considered simply as an opinion piece, we would be obliged to ask for the opinion of medical professionals. For example, we would need to look at whether the research Miss Cole refers to on ‘breast sagginess’ was peer reviewed and published, and how the opinion and conclusion of those doctors sits with the general body of medical opinion. Similarly, we would need medical opinion on the ‘extensive evidence’ on the risks of formula feeding that Miss Cole again refers to, and to understand how that research fits with the general body of medical opinion and research to the contrary. We would also need to have opinion on whether it would be possible to feel tipsy (as opposed to drinking one unit of alcohol) and safely breastfeed. Our view is that it is not be appropriate to ask the PCC to adjudicate on matters of opinion such as these.
You should be aware that we have been inundated by supportive emails and letters of Kathryn’s ‘Viewpoint’ article (43 in total which we are happy to make available in anonymous form for the PCC to see) applauding her honesty: in their opinion we have made readers feel ‘normal’ and less of a ‘failure’ for not managing to breastfeed – a situation which is incredibly common.
Please do call me if you would like to discuss any of this further, and I am sure you will let me know if you wish me to expand on anything.
Yours sincerely
Miranda Levy
Editor
Mother and Baby
So, I am on a fact gathering mission
Lisa Cole
Lactivist!
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