Tag Archives: breastfeeding

Culture

Why We Celebrate Breastfeeding

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Put Breastfeeding on the map! As a species, we have survived because of breastfeeding. With the advent of corporations devising infant formulas to help moms who return to work, or to help moms who can’t breastfeed, and to help dads feel bonded to their babies – formula in Western Society has become the expected way to feed your baby.

But does the choice to breastfeed or formula feed define your ability to be a mom? Absolutely not.

So, why do we celebrate World Breastfeeding Week for an entire week around the world (First week of October in Canada)?

We celebrate what has been passed down to us through evolution (or creation). We have breasts to feed our children. They weren’t positioned to hold up strapless gowns, nor were they created for the purpose of pleasing our mates.

There have been 2 or 3 generations in Canada who haven’t breastfed. Much knowledge has been lost.

Thanks to the La Leche League and more recent peer-to-peer groups, mother-to-mother support is filling the hole made by the lack of breastfeeding knowledge among family members, and the relative lack of medical information in our medical systems. For years, doctors and hospitals have been visited by formula company representatives. This does not make the doctors knowledgeable about breastfeeding. They only learned to give a bottle when there was an breastfeeding issue.

Many doctors today still do the same thing. Push the formula and don’t give mom breastfeeding support. I’ve heard them. Clients also tell me. They need support in their choices, not a heartbreaking way out.

There is no money in breastfeeding. A Lactation Consultant could spend time visiting doctors like formula companies do, discussing the risks to formula feeding (and those risks are many and documented). She would not have money to leave freebies at the office – pens, measuring tape, free samples. There is no money for breastfeeding promotion.

How will the doctors and nurses learn? I know recent grads from medical schools who were given 3 hours of breastfeeding education over the course of their studies. Clients who take classes with me also get 3 hours but I wonder which is of better service?

This is one reason why we celebrate breastfeeding for a week: We need to let people know about the damage the marketing of formulas has done to our psyche and to our general health.

This is not about being “mom enough.” This is about remembering that biologically and physiologically speaking, the normal way to feed our children is by breastfeeding. Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week in October. This is not about any ‘mommy wars’ which are born and bred by the media. This is about helping women feel happy in their choice to breastfeed – under a blanket or not. This is about getting letting every know that breastfeeding needs to be seen and celebrated, if only this one week a year. Stephanie MacDonald.

Politics

Ontario Planning Legislation- Mandatory Menu Labeling For Fast-Food Restaurants and others

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It appears North American society has been desensitized to what childhood obesity 'looks like'- what a difference a single generation can make. Here we see child obesity stricken Augustus Gloop characters from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory- (Left) 1971 (Right) 2005. Clearly, what was considered obese 42 years ago would not be considered obese today. As Society as a whole becomes more overweight and as media desensitizes our perspectives due to film and video characterizations, our opinions have been influenced. CP image: weknowmemes.com
It appears North American society has been desensitized to what childhood obesity ‘looks like’- what a difference a single generation can make. Here we see child obesity stricken Augustus Gloop characters from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory- (Left) 1971 (Right) 2005. Clearly, what was considered obese 42 years ago would not be considered obese today. As Society as a whole becomes more overweight and as media desensitizes our perspectives due to film and video characterizations, our opinions have been influenced. CP image: weknowmemes.com

 

October, 2013     Ontario will help parents and their children make healthier choices by putting calories on menus, following consultations with the fast-food industry and health care sector.

Legislation that would require large chain restaurants to include calories and other potential nutritional information on their menus will be introduced this winter. The government will also seek advice on how to reduce the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages aimed at kids.

Consultations on menu labeling will include parents and representatives from food and beverage manufacturing, agriculture, restaurant, food service, food retail and health sectors. Consultations on limiting the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children will also include the media and telecommunications industry.

Making it easier for Ontario families to choose healthy food is a key component of the Healthy Kids Panel report and helps deliver on our Action Plan for Health Care.

This is part of the Ontario government’s economic plan to invest in people, invest in infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.

QUICK FACTS

*   The consultations build on steps the government has already taken to implement recommendations from the Healthy Kids Panel, including a 24-hour support line for breastfeeding moms and expanding Ontario’s Student Nutrition Program.

*   In 2009, the economic cost associated with physical inactivity and obesity in Ontario was $4.5 billion.

*   More than 80 per cent of food ads in Canada are for food high in calories and low in nutritional value.

*   A vast majority of Ontarians (95 per cent) support requiring fast food restaurants list nutritional information on their menus (Ipsos Reid, 2011).

 

Australia’s controversial “Break the Habit”- childhood obesity commercial

 

 

LEARN MORE

*     Ontario Consulting On Healthy Eating Initiatives

*     Support for Ontario’s Healthy Eating Initiatives

*     Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care

*     The Health Kids Panel Report

QUOTES

“Parents have told us they want our support in keeping their kids healthy. We are

committed to giving parents and their kids the information they need to make healthy

choices. I want to thank our health care and industry partners for working

collaboratively with us on this important initiative to improve kids’ health.”

— Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

 

McDonald's VP Ontario- Sharon Ramalho began working at McDonald's part-time in 1983. image courtesy of womenworthwatching.com
McDonald’s VP Ontario- Sharon Ramalho began working at McDonald’s part-time in 1983. image courtesy of womenworthwatching.com

 

“McDonald’s Canada supports the Ontario government’s action to provide Ontarians

with more access to nutrition information in restaurants. McDonald’s is a long-time

leader in providing comprehensive in-restaurant nutrition information based on the

13 core nutrients including calories, so its customers can make informed eating

choices to suit their dietary needs and preferences.”

—  Sharon Ramalho, Vice President – Ontario Region, McDonald’s Canada

 

 

 

 

“Ontario’s doctors wholeheartedly support the government’s plan to introduce menu

labelling in large chain restaurants, and also believe in the need for restrictions

on the marketing of unhealthy food to kids. Obesity is strongly associated with an

increase in chronic disease – and over half of all adults and one-third of children

are overweight or obese. The government’s Healthy Kids Strategy will go a long way

towards addressing this growing epidemic.”

— Dr. Scott Wooder, President, Ontario Medical Association

 

“The Heart and Stroke Foundation applauds the Government of Ontario’s decision to

introduce mandatory menu labeling. With today’s busy lives and vast array of food

choices, it’s crucial to provide everyone with the ability to make well informed

decisions about the food we eat and feed our children. This important initiative

will go a long way in empowering Ontarians to make healthy choices when dining out

or purchasing prepared food. Eating well is absolutely one of the best investments

Ontarians can make to decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke.”

— Mark Holland, Director of Health Promotion and Children & Youth, Heart and Stroke

Foundation

 

Helping Families Make Healthier Food Choices

Supplemental- How close is planned Ontario legislation to the USA Obama administration’s new calorie limitations for school lunches? http://eagnews.org/appalled-school-cafeteria-employee-seconds-banned-extra-food-thrown-away/

The impact of food advertising on childhood obesity by the American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx

"“We have to keep an enormous amount of paperwork, about serving sizes, food temperatures, labels, on and on,” our source says. “The new forms are more complex, ask for more information that’s just being duplicated on other forms. (Food service workers) are all collecting the same data for reports that sit in a file drawer and never get looked at.” Our source believes the new government-required paperwork consumes so much of the employees’ time that it is driving up labor costs for the school district, which serves a low-income community." source/image: eagnews.org
““We have to keep an enormous amount of paperwork, about serving sizes, food temperatures, labels, on and on,” our source says. “The new forms are more complex, ask for more information that’s just being duplicated on other forms. (Food service workers) are all collecting the same data for reports that sit in a file drawer and never get looked at.”
Our source believes the new government-required paperwork consumes so much of the employees’ time that it is driving up labor costs for the school district, which serves a low-income community.” source/image: eagnews.org
Politics

Ontario Will Invest $2,500,000 in Breastfeeding Supports

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Dr. Jack Newman: "Breastfeeding should almost always work" image: breastfeedinginc.ca
Dr. Jack Newman: “Breastfeeding should almost always work” image: breastfeedinginc.ca

Earlier today [Sept 30, 2013 ed.] , our provincial government announced an investment of more than $2.5-million for enhanced breastfeeding supports. This will include the launch of a 24-hour helpline providing access to lactation experts with service in more than 100 languages. This really is a fantastic program for breastfeeding mothers who can benefit from increased support, no matter what region of Ontario they call home.

Ontario Government Helping Babies Get Healthy Start

Ontario newborns and their families will soon benefit from enhanced breastfeeding supports, helping ensure that every woman who wants breastfeeding support can get it.

Breastfeeding helps to encourage healthy development and can reduce the likelihood of overweight and obesity in adolescence and adulthood. As part of Ontario’s Healthy Kids Strategy, the government is investing more than $2.5 million to help families give their infants a sound nutritional start by:

*   Providing 24-hour telephone access to expert support for mothers who are breastfeeding.

*   Supporting Ontario’s hospitals and community health care organizations with training, tools, guidance and resources to help them achieve the World Health Organization’s Baby-Friendly Initiative<http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/bfhi/> designation and adopt clinical best practices in infant feeding that meet Baby-Friendly Initiative designation requirements.

·         Targeted support for mothers in population groups that have lower rates of breastfeeding.

*   Providing new resources to support breastfeeding through Best Start: Ontario’s Maternal Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre.

These initiatives fulfill recommendations made by the Healthy Kids Panel.

Giving Ontario’s children the healthiest start in life helps deliver on our Action Plan for Health Care to provide the right care, at the right time, in the right place. This is part of the Ontario government’s economic plan to invest in people, invest in infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.

In Ontario, approximately 90 per cent of mothers want to breastfeed, but only 60 per cent do so when they leave the hospital after giving birth. By six months, only 28 per cent are breastfeeding- that means 72 per cent are feeding their infant formula. image: Jarrod Barker
In Ontario, approximately 90 per cent of mothers want to breastfeed, but only
60 per cent do so when they leave the hospital after giving birth. By six months,
only 28 per cent are breastfeeding- that means 72 per cent are feeding their infant formula.

 

QUOTES-

“We’re helping moms to breastfeed with round-the-clock telephone support and expert
help from hospitals and community health providers. Breastfeeding promotes closeness
between mom and baby, helps protect against illness, and sets babies on the path to
leading healthy lives right from the start.”
– Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

“Experts tell us that the first few years of our lives have a major impact on our
health as adolescents, teenagers and in adult life.  This investment will help
mothers who want to breastfeed and create more Baby-Friendly Initiative certified
places where they can go to get answers and supports that are critical to raising
healthy children.”
– Teresa Piruzza, Minister of Children and Youth Services

“Breastfeeding should almost always work.  Almost all breastfeeding problems are
preventable and if they are not prevented, they can be fixed.  Unfortunately in
Ontario today, mothers have significant difficulties with breastfeeding because they
cannot get the best start from day one and they cannot always find help when they
need it.  The initiatives the Ontario government is announcing today will help moms
get the support they need to breastfeed successfully.”
– Dr. Jack Newman, International Breastfeeding Centre and Newman Breastfeeding Clinic

“Though breastfeeding is natural, it is a learned behaviour and two must learn. Here
in Ontario there hasn’t been enough knowledgeable help for learning mothers and
babies up until now. I am hopeful with these new initiatives announced today that we
will see a vast improvement in the support mothers receive to achieve their
breastfeeding goals.”
– Edith Kernerman, International Breastfeeding Centre, Newman Breastfeeding Clinic,
Centre for Breastfeeding Education and Ontario Lactation Consultants Association

QUICK FACTS

*   In Ontario, approximately 90 per cent of mothers want to breastfeed, but only 60 per cent do so when they leave the hospital after giving birth.  By six months, only 28 per cent are breastfeeding.
*   The benefits of breastfeeding include improved cognitive development and reduced incidence of illness during infancy, childhood and later in life.

*   For each month a baby is breastfed until the eight month, the risk of obesity is reduced by four per cent – resulting in a reduced risk of obesity of 32 percent overall when a baby is breastfed for the first eight months.

LEARN MORE

Read the report of the Healthy Kids Panel

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/ministry/publications/reports/healthy_kids/healthy_kids.pdf

Culture

Suck it? Public Breastfeeding.

21 Comments

Come on, breastfeeding is not obscene. Breastmilk has evolved into an immune-building milk tailor-made for each child to protect infants and children from illnesses in their environment. There are over 400 ingredients in breastmilk whose reasons for being there are not fully known. There is a component in breastmilk which is only there to grow the baby’s brain. That’s it. It can’t be replicated. Saying a certain non-humanmilk-based formula is ‘closer to’ breastmilk is akin to saying Michigan is closer to Hawaii than Pennsylvania. True, but one wouldn’t be closer to Hawaii’s environment, would they?

Our September Print edition cover- It is western culture that has sexualized breasts to the point where seeing a mother breastfeeding her child is obscene. image: courtesy of the author

Did you know that if you leave a naked baby on mom’s chest right after birth, they have the knowledge and ability to crawl to the breast and nurse perfectly by themselves (especially if mom was un-medicated during the birth). It is a beautiful moment to watch. That instinct is there for 3-4 months.

Should breastfeeding ever hurt? No. Just because many women do have pain in breastfeeding, doesn’t make it ‘normal.’ Most pain in breastfeeding, in my 20-year experience, is from poor latching or lack of knowledge. There isn’t enough time in a full prenatal labour/birth class to give breastfeeding instruction the time it needs. Attending La Leche League (LLL) meetings while pregnant can help prepare you (www.LLLc.ca). Or, talk with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant if you are nervous speaking in a group. Plus, partners may feel more comfortable speaking individually. IBCLC’s are listed here: http://www.americas.iblce.org/ibclc-registry. Both LLL and IBCLC’s are available before and after you have your baby and are a tremendous resource and support.

Maternite (Motherhood) by Maria Blanchard. Due to physical conditions that prevented Maria from ever being able to have children, she powered up her paintings with sentiment and substance. CP

The World Health Organization, and the Canadian Pediatric Society both say to exclusively nurse your baby for the first 6 months of life and to breastfeed for 2 years or more. That is the world standard. It is western culture that has sexualized breasts to the point where seeing a mother breastfeed her child is obscene. There is no food on earth which can replace the vitamins, minerals, and immunities which are found in human milk. How is seeing a baby nurse in public worse than seeing the lingerie models in the mall?
Dads should not be left out of baby’s life. But, if dads were meant to feed babies, they would lactate. Skin-to-skin bonding with dad/baby increases parenting hormones and normalizes baby’s temperature, heart, and breathing.

Public breastfeeding- what’s the big dealio? image: courtesy of the author

Dads, or other support people, may use a medicine cup (like what comes with children’s fever medicine) to feed the baby. In addition, baby’s tongue works similarly to breastfeeding, so feeding a baby with cup and at the breast should not cause nipple confusion.
There are documented risks to formula-feeding (increased risks for obesity, diabetes, and general colds/flus). Plus, moms may have an increased risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes if she chooses formula feed. Breasts are part of our anatomy to feed our babies. Honour that.

For the Silo by Aboriginal midwife Stephanie MacDonald, IBCLC. Contact Stephanie on twitter @StephIBCLC

Supplemental- 30$ per scoop Ice cream made from human breastmilk on sale in London, England