Goidellick Designs is a tiny family run business. We run our business from our remote farm cottage in the Highlands of Scotland.
We have three children who are educated at home. We decided to start up our own business to allow us to be at home with the children. We wanted this business to reflect our values and opinions. We are enthusiastic about breastfeeding, home education and environmental issues. Through these interests we came up with our range of shirts and bags.
We’re now running a busy household full of children and cats and trying to promote our business too.
Dear Aunty Lactivist, There has been some discussion at an ante-natal group I attend about the merits of Vitamin K and how best to administer it to babies. Given fears about the injection potentially causing a leukaemia risk, there is some support for an oral dose administered through formula feed, as Vitamin K deficiency-related illness tends to mainly affect breastfeeding mothers. Please can Aunty Lactivist weigh in with some facts and figures? Kind regards,Anonymous
Aunty Lactivist is all of us so if you can help the person who wrote the question, if you have links to research, have read anything useful or have opinions you want to share on the matter please use this space.
I’m really pleased that Lactivist t-shirts are now available in Norway! The shop Ammebutikken stocks them, along side all sorts of interesting looking things.
Here is the site translated through google, for those of you, who like me cannot read Norwegian!
I would like to start up Aunty Lactivist and ask Lactivist readers to become agony aunts and help people with breastfeeding problems.
The idea is that we take one problem, say ‘my baby won’t sleep through the night and people say formula will help’ then Lactivist readers can comment and try to help. I know for a fact that some of you are Breastfeeding Peer Supporters and Lactation Consultants so we could theoretically have a good mixture of professional help and personal experience.
What do you think?
If you have a problem you’d like discussed you can email me at moomum@lactivist.co.uk and I can post it anon for you.
September 9th, 2010 by Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths
There are many myths surrounding breastfeeding and to be honest they’re all pretty unhelpful… One of the ones you hear most often though, is that breastfeeding your baby will make your boobs saggy.
In light of the unhelpful & (IMO) highly misleading article in closer magazine by Dr Christian Jessen I thought it might be a good idea to set the record straight (again).
In one online survey, half of the young women (aged 18-25) polled said they had no intention of breastfeeding, and 32% stated that their reason for making such a decision was that they didn’t want to develop saggy breasts.
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of such a decision, anyone aiming to encourage women to breastfeed needs to take such figures seriously.
Last year in England and Wales there were nearly 700,000 births. If the above poll is in any way representative, last year something in the region of 350,000 mothers (around half) may have chosen not to breastfeed.
A belief that breastfeeding would adversely affect their figures may therefore have prevented over 200,000 mothers from breastfeeding their babies in England and Wales alone*. *(Until further research is undertaken these figures are purely speculation on my part, however they are based on a large survey of over 1,000 women).
Setting aside for a moment the range of other issues which influence a woman’s decision concerning how she feeds her baby, these statistics are horrifying because they show a huge degree of ignorance when it comes to the facts.
Thousands of women choose never to start breastfeeding because of a myth – they may as well believe the earth is flat.
IT’S SIMPLY NOT TRUE.
Last year thousands and thousands of babies were denied the protection of breast milk and breastfeeding. Not because their mothers weren’t adequately supported (which is so often the case), but actually because their mothers believed alie.
Who told these women breastfeeding would make their breast sag? Their mothers? Partners? Friends? Doctors?
It’s incredible in the C21st, but this myth is so virulent that despite scientific evidence to the contrary, people still believe it.
So here’s the truth.
Breastfeeding doesn’t make your boobs sag.
Here are the facts on breast sagging (breast-ptosis) and why it happens:
The majority of women undergo some breast changes during pregnancy. These changes include breast enlargement, increased blood flow, the development of small lumps (‘Montgomery’s tubercles’) on the areola. These changes happen so as to prepare the breasts for breastfeeding a baby after birth.
Many women put on weight during pregnancy and additional fat stores are laid down in the breasts. This adds to their increase in size. Both of these changes will result in a stretching of the skin, and stretch marks may appear.
In the days and hours following birth, the breasts begin to make milk. This will happen whether you intend to breastfeed or not. A few days after birth the milk (usually) ‘comes in’ and many women experience some engorgement. Their breasts become full and the skin may feel tight and stretched, (breastfeeding is a great treatment for this). ;)
If you don’t breastfeed, the breasts gradually stop producing milk and the engorgement subsides on it’s own as the body realises no milk is required. The milk-making machinery then shrinks back in a process called ‘breast involution’. The skin (which has been stretched as explained above) may or may not ‘snap back’ into shape.
The additional weight gain/ breast enlargement caused by pregnancy may have also stretched the ligaments supporting the breast.
If a woman smokes, this can affect the ability of her skin to recover from changes (such as those brought on by pregnancy). This is because smoking reduces the levels of collagen and elastin in the body.
If a woman continues to breastfeed her breast involution will be delayed and will take place when the child weans.
Age matters – the older we get, the less collagen and elastin we naturally have in our skin (hence wrinkles!), and so with age everyone sags a bit. It’s a fact of life.
The number of pregnancies you’ve had can also contribute to breast sagging. The associated weight gain/ weight loss and breast enlargement/ breast involution is to blame. Basically, the more pregnancies you have the more you’re putting your body through & the harder it will find it to recover.
The bigger your breasts are anyway, the more likely they are to head south at some point. This is because of gravity and the weight of the breast pulling on the supporting ligaments.
If you lose a lot of weight, your skin may struggle to shrink back once the fat has gone – this can leave your breasts looking ‘empty’. Again, the supporting ligaments may have been stretched in the past.
Breastfeeding has not been found to be a cause of breast-ptosis.
Breastfeeding helps the body to recover from the changes of pregnancy because it helps the uterus to return to it’s pre-pregnancy size. It also uses up additional calories and therefore assists in post-pregnancy weight loss.
Take a look around you. Can you honestly say you can tell from looking which of the mothers you see out and about have breast-fed? Can you tell if their impressive cleavage is down to a good bra, a set of chicken fillets, good genes, a good surgeon or a breast full of milk?
Posted by ceridwen on September 7th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Here’s how it should go: As a part of the basic biology curriculum, children are taught about breastfeeding. How the milk comes in. What’s in it. How it helps the baby. Students see pictures of women of multiple ethnicities breastfeeding. There’s a homework assignment and several questions on a test. Twenty or thirty years later these kids, now fully grown new parents, may not even remember Ms. Morris’ biology class, but there might just be one less mental hurdle to breastfeeding.
The website Nursing Freedom ran a piece last week called, “Why Children Should Witness Breastfeeding in Public.” Here’s a line I liked:
“We need to make nursing in public so boring, so quotidian, that it garners no more of a glance or second thought than seeing someone drinking a coffee or hugging a friend in public.”
I read this on Friday and over the weekend kept thinking about public breastfeeding. Usually this issue comes up when some ignorant manager of a mediocre eatery stupidly asks a nursing mother to cover up and then has to endure all kinds of grief, including being read to from state laws concerning breastfeeding in public and/or local press coverage of a “nurse in” in which a posse of breastfeeders show up and breastfeed in front of or inside the establishment.
I support a woman’s choice to breastfeed in public. If breastfeeding is kept out of sight, no one sees it. No one sees it and it’s mysterious. It’s mysterious and people feel weird about breastfeeding. And on the feedback loop goes. More exposure would make the sight of breastfeeding “boring.” Or normal.
But then I saw a new mom in the park nursing under a kind of nursing tent/cover-all. It was a pretty cool-looking gizmo and propped up so that the baby could nurse privately without a blanket literally plastered over his or her face. I thought about the feedback loop and wondered whether this mother should just toss this fancy tent aside to help the rest of us get over our baggage.
Then I thought back to when I first had my baby.
I was quite engorged and it wasn’t the hot kind of engorged, the fake boob kind. It was the, Wow, how’s your back doing? kind. I won’t tell you the cup size, but let’s just say many people I do tell had no idea that size even existed. My over-supply meant that milk would often squirt out all over the minute I started unfastening things. The idea of doing all of this in public– as much as I supported the idea in theory– was hard.
After a few months when I’d gotten it all down, I nursed at friends’ houses, in restaurants and parks discreetly and without much fuss or a blanket. But at first I felt like this was all nobody’s business. I also felt a little cranky about the situation. Why do I have to change attitudes about public breastfeeding?? It’s hard enough learning all these new things. Do I have to change public opinion at the same time?
This is how I came to the breastfeeding in school concept. If Bill Maher and others had seen breastfeeding when they were kids, and been taught that it’s a normal part of life, like digesting or breathing, maybe there wouldn’t be so many snickers. Get to the kids before they get to the giggling stage– teaching teens about breastfeeding is also a great idea but by then too much squeamishness has settled in. The sooner the better.
“I am a nearly 37 year old mum with two children (Connor nearly 4 and Katie nearly 2). I gave up teaching in a primary school (which I loved) so I could look after my son and haven’t looked back. Although money is tight, my husband and I are content with our lifestyle choice which is just as well as we are going to home educate our littlies and so won’t be bringing in much money any time soon.
I like being creative, when I get the time, and I am not looking after children, cats, dogs or chickens. I enjoy cooking/baking, making jams and chutneys, making ring slings and clothes, making cards and my latest Sok Doodes. Sok Doodes were sock dolls that I made for my children but after I put photos on Facebook, I had lots of friends and family asking me to make them all kinds of creatures. My midwife loved them and asked if I could make a breastfeeding doll and I accepted the challenge as it was something that I had wondered about in the past myself and so Boobee Mamma was born!
As I posted the orginal photos on Facebook, a friend suggested I make a toddler as well as a baby so she could be a tandem feeding doll. Already she has created a lot of discussion at a family party and if I don’t get the opportunity to feed my daughter in my efforts to normalise breastfeeding (which to be honest, happen fairly regularly ) then at least I have something else to help the cause!
All items start at just 99 pence with NO RESERVE. Come on over to The Bundle Jungle pregnancy and parenting forum now, sign up for your FREE account and get bidding! It’s all for a great cause and there are some serious bargains to be had.
“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!!
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.
Women who refuse to breastfeed their newly-born babies may face jail sentence for denying their children’s right.
Article 128 of the 2009 law on health stipulates that babies have the right to six months of exclusive breast milk unless their mothers could not fulfill their obligation due to medical problems.
Article 200 of the draft says a mother who declines to exclusively breast feed their children will face a maximum of one year in prison term or Rp 100 million in fine.
Law expert Prof. Sarsintorini Putra said Tuesday people, including employers, who prevent women from breastfeeding their children would also face punishments. The law says employers that do not support the exclusive breastfeeding movement will be imprisoned or fined.
The law, however, will not come into effect sometime in the near future due to the absence of implementing government regulations.
Passed by the House of Representatives on Oct. 13, 2009, the law will only be enforced on Oct. 13, 2010.
“Why I’ve had to give up breastfeeding, by Denise Van Outen
By Ben Todd
Last updated at 1:05 PM on 14th July 2010
There are many reasons that new mothers might opt out of breastfeeding.
Some find it too painful, some find it too difficult. Denise Van Outen, on the other hand, simply found it too public.
The 36-year-old actress said she gave up breastfeeding her daughter Betsy after less than a month, claiming she didn’t like the idea of being spotted nursing in Starbucks. Or, heaven forbid, the Post Office.”
So Denise – this is ok?
But this is not?
Jerry Hall breastfeeding
The 36-year-old new mum said: “I probably should have persevered a bit longer than three weeks. “But I can’t be sitting in Starbucks and breast feeding, because they (photographers) are taking pictures.”
“Dr. Waseem Khawaja from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said it is a high time to educate people that breastmilk protects babies as it is a living substance containing antibodies and other protective factors. He said low levels of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in formula milk may contribute to lower IQ levels and vision skills in infants. He added babies fed on breastmilk substitutes are more likely to become sick than breastfed babies.”
Formula Milk Companies Playing With Infants Health
ISLAMABAD, Jul 11 2010 (APP): Many formula milk companies are misleading the mothers through promotional nature of logos, pictures and messages presenting their products as breastmilk substitutes for infants.People have demanded the concerned health authorities to take notice of such illegal practices of companies who are trying to attract the consumers despite the fact that mothermilk is medically essential for infants in their early age.
They urged that formula milk companies should remove their colourful and attractive logos and other health claims from their products’ labels as these undermine the obligatory message that ‘mothers’ milk is best food for babies and helps in preventing diarrhea and other illnesses’. They said idealizing images and text are prohibited on labels under Article 9.2 of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981. Article 9.2 of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes states “Neither the container nor the label should have pictures of infants, nor should they have other pictures or text which may idealize the use of infant formula.” People said these formula milk companies also use ‘Protect’ logos backed by the opinion of medical specialists claiming benefits for the users. They said such claims that have rejected by independent scientific experts are even contrary to laws of the country. People urged for complete ban on such products that mislead the innocent people with wrong messages on labels trying to trump these with its prominent colourful logos and false claims of health benefits from using baby milk. Kamran Khan, a citizen of federal capital said “I found that formula milk of leading companies are available in the markets of federal capital with new claims which is a gross violation of the recently launched and disseminated Breastfeeding rules.” He said the ministry of Health should strictly implement the Breastfeeding rules. The law prohibits promotion of any type of infant formula, teats and shields infants (0-12 months) as well as any type of promotion or claims made by the infant formula industry, he added. According to UNICEF, improved breastfeeding practices and reduction of artificial feeding could save an estimated 1.5 million children a year. World Health Organization claimed that exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life is particularly beneficial, and infants who are not breastfed in the first month of life may be as much as 25 times more likely to die than infants who are exclusively breastfed. Dr. Waseem Khawaja from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said it is a high time to educate people that breastmilk protects babies as it is a living substance containing antibodies and other protective factors. He said low levels of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in formula milk may contribute to lower IQ levels and vision skills in infants. He added babies fed on breastmilk substitutes are more likely to become sick than breastfed babies. It is pertinent to mention here that Health Ministers meeting held at the World Health Assembly in May 2010 adopted a resolution stating that progress in improving infant and young child health is being undermined by commercial promotion of breastmilk substitutes and baby foods and called for action on health claims. The new resolution stated that the promotion of breast-milk substitutes and some commercial foods for infants and young children undermines progress in optimal infant and young child feeding. The resolution called for governments to act collectively to end inappropriate promotion of food for infants and young children. It also asked to ensure that nutrition and health claims should not be permitted for foods for infants and young children. The resolution called upon infant food manufacturers and distributors to comply fully with their responsibilities under the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent, relevant World Health Assembly resolutions.
The Family Commission is a national inquiry into the extended family and the support it needs in the 21st century.
Backed up by groundbreaking research and consultation with thousands of families, The Family Commission will present an unparalleled insight into the strengths and challenges of the family today, leading to far reaching recommendations in every aspect of public policy.
There is a short online survey you can fill in but they also say they want to hear from as many people as possible:
“If you have views on families today, please let us know. Submissions to The Family Commission should generally be no more than four sides of A4 and should address the six big issues (see Family Commission main page and The Family Commission call for evidence leaflet).
Please send submissions to:
The Family Commission
4Children
City Reach
5 Greenwich View Place
London E14 9NN
Nestlé don’t want you to see the video above, because they complained to Youtube that we were infringing their copyright. Youtube removed the video but now we’d like to offer it to you, as a gift. Download the video and put it on your favourite video sharing site. The more people who join in, the more interesting we’ll make it for Nestlé.
We all like a break, so it’s time to give orang-utans one. Nestlé uses palm oil in Kit Kat and many other products which is bought from suppliers that destroy rainforests in Indonesia to grow their plantations.
As a result, threatened species like orangutans are being pushed into extinction and huge quantities of greenhouse gases are being released, accelerating climate change.
Nestlé have so far refused to stop buying palm oil from the worst suppliers, so it’s time to make them change their minds.
We are all aware of the earthquake which devastated Haiti on January 13th this year.
The Countess of Chester Radiology Department is trying to raise enough funds to send a Shelter Box (www.shelterbox.org) to help the survivors of this earthquake.
Each box contains a sturdy 10 man tent, cooking equipment (including stove and pans etc) basic tools, blankets, ground sheets and water purification and storage equipment. These boxes are life changing for survivors, each one can house an extended family (of about 10 people) and gives them dignity and practical help and support.
So far, with cake & cookie sales and general donations we have raised £270, to raise the final £220 we need to pay for a complete box we are holding a Green Day. Any member of staff who donates at least £2 can then wear something green (as much or as little as they want) to represent the Shelter Box and show their support for the earthquake survivors.
We will also be holding a raffle, with various prizes, including wine, candles and crystal glasses. We also have a Just Giving page http://www.justgiving.com/CountessofChesterRadiologyShelterBox4Haiti where you can either donate online or just watch the total creep closer to our target of £490
“Breastfeeding is a shield that protects infants in an emergency”
- WABA World Breastfeeding Week Calendar Announcement
The event will be launched in May and will go on until the end of the year. This is to cover all WBW celebrants who celebrate from August – December 2009. For every pledge that is received, a virtual breastfeeding shield will appear on the world map on the WBW website www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org.
OBJECTIVES OF WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2009
To draw attention to the vital role that breastfeeding plays in emergencies worldwide.
To stress the need for active protection and support of breastfeeding before and during emergencies.
To inform mothers, breastfeeding advocates, communities, health professionals, governments, aid agencies, donors, and the media on how they can actively support breastfeeding before and during an emergency.
To mobilise action and nurture networking and collaboration between those with breastfeeding skills and those involved in emergency response.
RATIONALE
Children are the most vulnerable in emergencies – child mortality can soar from 2 to 70 times higher than average due to diarrhoea, respiratory illness and malnutrition.
Breastfeeding is a life saving intervention and protection is greatest for the youngest infants. Even in non-emergency settings, non-breastfed babies under 2 months of age are six times more likely to die.
Emergencies can happen anywhere in the world. Emergencies destroy what is ‘normal,’ leaving caregivers struggling to cope and infants vulnerable to disease and death.
During emergencies, mothers need active support to continue or re-establish breastfeeding.
Emergency preparedness is vital. Supporting breastfeeding in non-emergency settings will strengthen mothers’ capacity to cope in an emergency.
Its We the People Who Can Bring Change: Lets ACT NOW!! World Breastfeeding Week starts on August 1, (1-7 August). The theme is Breastfeeding, A Vital Emergency Response: Are You Ready?
You can find out more download materials and find events at: http://www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org/
UNICEF and WHO have made statements in support of the week, which is coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. UNICEF’s statement includes: “Around 9 million children under five die every year, largely from preventable causes… According to the Lancet, optimal breastfeeding in the first two years of life, especially exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, can have the single largest impact on child survival of all preventative interventions, with the potential to prevent 12 to 15% of all under age 5 deaths in the developing world…
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week provides an opportunity to sensitize policy-makers, donors, implementing partners and the general public to the benefits of breastfeeding, to its particular importance in emergency situations, and to the need to protect and support mothers to breastfeeding during emergencies.”
You can find the full UNICEF and WHO statements via links at: http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2009/07/wbw-2009.htm One country facing an emergency is Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, where 13% of the populations is infected with HIV. In conditions of poverty, infants have a better chance of escaping HIV and being protected from other infections if they are exclusively breastfed. Yet in Malawi, Nestlé is promoting its formula with a logo claiming that it ‘protects’. Formula is very expensive and those that believe the claim that the formula ‘protects’ may well use it alongside breastfeeding – mixed feeding is the worst possible scenario for the transmission of the virus. It is a government requirement that tins have warnings that breastmilk is best for babies, but Nestlé refused to translate these into Chichewa, despite a government request to do so, because of ‘cost restraints’. It took a Baby Milk Action campaign that led to Mark Thomas highlighting this irresponsible marketing on UK television, to change Nestlé’s minds, and further campaigning to persuade Nestlé to show cup feeding, rather than bottle feeding, in line with government policies.
See: http://www.babymilkaction.org/CEM/compfeb00.html So campaigning works. Now we need to persuade Nestlé to remove the ‘protect’ logo from labels in Malawi and elsewhere in the world. You can help by sending a message to Nestlé. You will find the information you need to do so on our July Campaign for Ethical Marketing action sheet, which is now available on our website at: http://www.babymilkaction.org/cem/cemjuly09.html Also featured on the action sheet is a call on Danone/Milupa to stop using claims for its formula that have been found to be untrue in a ruling last week from the UK Advertising Standards Authority. Although these breach the advertising code’s clauses on substantiation, truthfulness and comparisons, the code is voluntary and it remains to be seen whether similar claims will be removed from labels and other promotion stopped.
There is also a call for Mead Johnson to stop making untrue claims about its formula. If politicians fulfilled their responsibility to implement the baby food marketing standards adopted by the World Health Assembly, then public campaigns would not be necessary and there would be progress towards stopping the millions of preventable under-5 deaths. You can help put pressure on politicians by signing the ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN petition. If you have already signed, visit the campaign website to see what action you can take to encourage friends and colleagues to sign up. See: http://www.onemillioncampaign.org Action Alert 1. Make an opportunity to call upon companies and your leaders to END ALL KINDS OF PROMTIONS of Baby Foods by 2015. 2.
If you would like to submit the One Million Campaign Petition to your Head of the State, please use the opportunity to do so. At this link http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/press-release1.aspx you can find the Petition letter, and petition submitted to the President of the World Health Assembly in May 2009. Another link http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/doc/draft-letter.doc provides a draft for you to use to write to your Head of State.
Thanks! Team ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN- Support Women to Breastfeed http://www.onemillioncampaign.org
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of individuals & organisations concerned with the protection, promotion & support of breastfeeding worldwide.
WABA action is based on the Innocenti Declaration, the Ten Links for Nurturing the Future and the Global Strategy for Infant & Young Child Feeding. WABA is in consultative status with UNICEF & an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).
They are producing a fantastic interactive world map of mother support – you can add to it and you can see it here:
A breastfeeding mother who contracted swine flu, together with her husband and their eldest daughter, believes her youngest child was spared the virus because she was breast fed.
Rosemarie Azzopardi said that when she got sick and took antiviral drugs she decided to keep breastfeeding her two-and-a-half year old daughter and, that way, transmitted her immunity to the child.
“People sometimes pass comments because I still breastfeed but, this way, I helped my daughter who falls within the vulnerable group of potential swine flu victims,” she said, taking the opportunity to advocate the importance of breastfeeding.
Ray Busuttil, the director general for health, said breastfeeding should not stop if a mother contracted swine flu. Although the child was still at risk, just like anyone else, the breast milk gave the baby stronger immunity to the H1N1 virus.
To date, 92 people have been diagnosed with swine flu in Malta and Ms Azzopardi is one of the 73 of who have already recovered.
Speaking during a press conference on swine flu yesterday, she said being diagnosed with the flu had initially worried her because public misconceptions made it out to be much worse than it actually was.
“It’s really just a flu. I’ve been much worse in the past when I suffered from the normal influenza,” she said.
She was diagnosed on July 5 after catching the flu from her husband who had just returned from Spain with his friends. When she realised her husband had it she was particularly worried about her two young daughters. And when the health authorities confirmed she too had caught it, she locked herself in a room for fear of transmitting the virus to the children.
Her health improved within three days of being administered antivirals. Her eight-year-old also got the flu and is fine today while her youngest was spared thanks to her breast milk, she believes.
Nigel Lightfoot, chief adviser to the head of the UK’s influenza programme, praised the health care system in Malta, calling on people to stay at home if they had flu-like symptoms and to seek medical advice.
Prof. Lightfoot, who is married to a Maltese and is in Malta on holiday, interrupted his break to meet local experts and share his experience.
He said assumption-based predictions indicated that about 16 per cent of the UK population would have contracted swine flu within the next few months and 30 per cent would catch it in winter. Such figures could also apply to Malta, he added.
The number of swine flu cases in the UK hit 55,000 last week and 29 people have died so far, the vast majority having been suffering from underlying medical conditions. As was done in many EU countries, the Maltese government has moved from containment stage to mitigation, focusing on reducing the impact of the illness on patients instead of trying to contain its spread.
Since then, only vulnerable people – children under five, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses such as heart, respiratory and kidney problems – have been tested.
Healthy adults would be able to fight the virus without the need of intervention in the form of the antiviral Tamiflu.
Dr Busuttil said there was no link between mortality and intervention because the mortality rate, which ranged between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent in the UK and US respectively, was related to the severity of the virus.”
Pasig City (10 March) — There are two indisputable reasons why breastfeeding is best. One, it comes free in a regime of skyrocketing prices. And two, it makes for brainy and talented children. A 16 year old valedictorian and summa cum laude of UP Batch 2007, a soprano of the world-renowned UP Singing Ambassadors, and musical phenomenon Tagala Brothers proved just that.
Mikaela Fudolig entered college at the age of 11, and graduated at 16 with a degree of B.S. in Physics, with a near perfect grade of 1.095 (1.000 is perfect) making her the Overall Valedictorian of the entire batch of 2007 of the University of the Philippines. She was breastfed by her mother for two years.
Sierra Isabelle A. Castillo, a UP college scholar and a UP Singing Ambassadors’ soprano was breastfed for 2½ years by her mother and grandmother. The five Tagala Brothers – Jonathan, David, Jimmy Junior, Daniel and Samuel who play the violin, viola, cello, flute, saxophone, piano and guitar; sing and compose songs – known collectively as Vegetarian Voices and Violins, were all breastfed from birth.
They are joined as role models by Susann Roth, born a German who chose the Philippines as her home country, who at 32, is a Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy. She is soon to earn her Master in Public Health, with accreditation in Emergency Medicine and Medical Acupuncture. Roth breastfeeds her two children (Joelle Sophie 2 years old and Lillian Julie 4 months old) in tandem from birth to present.
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus and Dr. Elvira L. Henares-Esguerra, Director of Children for Breastfeeding, Inc., (CfB), a non-government organization, recently inked an agreement to affirm their roles in pushing the National Plan of Action on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF), which includes breastfeeding. This will culminate in 2010.
“Breastfeeding must be taken seriously because it addresses many societal issues such as food security, preventive medicine, ecology, economy, women empowerment, love and faith,” said Lapus.
On her part, Dr. Elvira L. Henares-Esguerra says that her NGO is promoting a campaign for “The Seven Acts of Kindness” to instill social consciousness and responsibility on the part of young children to provide family support to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
DepEd intends to integrate IYCF practices as part of the curriculum of every health-related subject in pre-school, grade school, high school and alternative learning system.
Numerous studies have found that human breast milk helps brain development and improves cognitive development in ways milk formula cannot. One study has found that the average I.Q. of 7 and 8 years old children who had been breastfed as babies was 10 points higher than their bottle fed peers.
Philippine Customs statistics indicated that $400 million of milk is imported a year, enough to finance 22 million classrooms, or 110 million textbooks, or the salaries of 18 million teachers, or 880,000 housing units every single year.
According to Lapus, DepEd is ready to implement the government’s breastfeeding policy as part of President Arroyo’s Hunger Mitigation Campaign because breastfeeding is the most far-reaching and cheapest strategy for the alleviation of poverty. Moreover, breastmilk is the most ideal food for infants and young children, far better than formula milk. Breastmilk, studies confirmed, ensures the life-long health and well-being, emotional stability and intellectual development of future generations.
“We will also mobilize our school health and nutrition personnel in communicating the importance of IYCF and breastfeeding to students, teachers and parents,” Lapus stressed.
Meanwhile, in collaboration with DepEd, CfB will be conducting advocacy seminars for teachers this summer. It will prepare supporting instructional materials, which will be used for the next school year.
CfB, the most celebrated Breastfeeding advocacy group in the country, broke three Guinness World Records on Breastfeeding and Tree Planting, and convinced SM Supermalls to install Breastfeeding clinics in all its 32 malls.
To drum up public interest to the cause of breastfeeding, CfB and DepEd have chosen as role models, Mikaela Fudolig and Sierra Isabelle A. Castillo each as Breastfed Princess of the Philippines: the Tagala brothers, individually as the Breastfed Prince of the Philippines; and Susann Roth as the Breastfeeding Queen of the Philippines.
The DepEd and CfB will also celebrate the National Breastfeeding Awareness Month every August and World Breastfeeding Week on August 1-7 annually in all public schools, as per Presidential Proclamation 1113. (DepEd) [top]
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Goidellick Designs is a tiny family run business. We run our business from our remote farm cottage in the Highlands of Scotland.
Dear Aunty Lactivist, 
We are all aware of the earthquake which devastated Haiti on January 13th this year.
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