Mocha Milk

Please Vote AGAIN! - No presidential controversy here!

2008-10-28T15:28:00.003-06:00

9 Months & Beyond, LLC needs YOUR VOTE!!
I have always been passionate about voting but this time it's personal!

You can vote here: 9 Months & Beyond on Ideablob

9 Months & Beyond, LLC, my company is up for the $10,000 prize this month at Ideablob.com! And voting for us is how we win the money. Voting for 9 Months & Beyond is so much easier than voting for president. No long lines, no registration cards or IDs, no complicated voting machines or hanging chads. Just a simple online registration (and no spam in my experience) and one click to vote.

All, I can do is to ask you to vote. If you blog or twitter, please let other people know! I am very far behind right now, but only in 4th place. I have until October 31st to accumulate votes. Please, please, please, vote!

My idea is inspired by places like this all over the United States:

Mommy Matters
Natural Resources
Happy Bambino
Isis Maternity

and others....

But no one has done it in Nashville or surrounding cities in the south...

So, please, vote, please pass the word....I would really appreciate it.

October is Attachment Parenting Month

2008-10-03T16:04:00.000-06:00

October Attachment Parenting Month

What: Attachment Parenting International (API), along with the Sears family and other prominent AP supporters, have declared October to be Attachment Parenting (AP) Month.

The AP Month vision is to create one strong voice for AP through activities, events and information and to celebrate what we believe in — the value of “Giving Our Children Presence” for our families and for our communities.

Who: All parents, AP partners and like minds around the world are invited and encouraged to join with us in “Giving Our Children Presence” during the first annual Attachment Parenting Month.

Why: “Giving Our Children Presence” is the theme for AP Month 2008 and an antidote to the upcoming holidays so often filled with the giving of material presents. During AP Month, parents are challenged to incorporate more family time into each day and AP Month partners will offer resources to support and sustain these efforts all year round.

Key AP Month Goals include unifying the AP voice to:
1. Offer parents and adults support and confidence in “Giving Our Children Presence” to last a lifetime
2. Promote awareness of AP
3. Educate about API, other AP Month sponsors and their services
4. Provide a source of funds to support the API mission

Resources: The AP Month Central website is the gateway to information about AP Month. It includes a calendar of activities in which to participate and the AP Month Toolkit as resource for you to use to plan and promoting your own events and activities for October.

API's Eight Principles of Parenting:

* Prepare for Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenting
* Feed with Love and Respect
* Respond with Sensitivity
* Use Nurturing Touch
* Engage in Nighttime Parenting
* Provide Consistent and Loving Care
* Practice Positive Discipline
* Strive for Balance in Your Personal and Family Life

See http://www.attachmentparenting.org/ for local events and more information.

September is National Infant Mortality Month

2008-09-22T06:59:00.003-06:00

A while back I found Jennie Joseph on the internet. Immediately, I thought, "OOhhh, that's someone I would like to meet.". The next time I make it to Florida, I hope to visit one of her centers and perhaps take her to lunch and just soak in her wisdom for a while.

Anyway, here is her post on her website about National Infant Mortality Month. Tennessee, where I live seriously must address this issue. Memphis has a very high infant mortality rate - a baby dies every 43 minutes.

Why does this relate to Mochamilk? One, this is a huge issue in the African-American community that we must address. Two, doulas and breastfeeding supporters can directly affect infant mortality rates. A woman supported with a network of information, caregivers and caring friends, family and professionals is less likely to deliver preterm AND more likely to breastfeed. Those are real things that bring down infant mortality.

Take some time and look around Jennie Joseph's site and learn about what she is doing. It is inspiring to all.

Pain Relief that only mom can give!

2008-09-09T11:59:00.002-06:00

It has become standard practice for several of the hospitals in our area (Nashville) to give sugar-water to newborns during heel sticks and vaccinations immediately after birth. The most disturbing part to me, is that they do not often ask parent's permission. My theory is because it is given with a syringe and not a nipple, they think, "it won't affect breastfeeding". How about the permeable immature gut....can you say blood sugar spike, friends? Diabetes later in life? No studies done on long term effect or even short term, but hey, it's just a little sugar water, right?

Anyway, I am happy to report that a study just came out showing that breastfeeding DURING a procedure like a heel stick is MORE effective than sugar water for easing infant pain.

See the Medline article here: Nursing beats Sugar water for easing infant pain.

I would love to hear comments from mothers who have offered to (and been told they can't or shouldn't) and those who have nursed infants through medical procedures.
Please feel free to leave a comment.

Also, please still vote for us at Ideablob.com . We could win $10,000 to open our own free-standing center. Please vote today for 9 Months & Beyond Pregnancy and Parenting Center.

I know it's been a long time....but I can explain

2008-08-31T08:55:00.003-06:00

START VOTING SEPTEMBER 1, 2008 PLEASE!

My business, 9 Months & Beyond, LLC which offers breastfeeding and childbirth support in the non-cyber world, is growing like crazy! We have moved into a pediatric office in a great part of town. We have converted an exam room at Maryland Farms Pediatrics into a small office for Lactation Consultations and doula interviews. We also use the lobby for Hypnobabies Childbirth classes and the conference room for our already popular Weigh To Go, Baby! Weigh-ins and Breastfeeding support group. It is going so well and we are helping so many moms and really having a great time.

So, you think I would be happy, right? Well, I want to take it even bigger! I want a free-standing (or in a strip mall) center where we can offer classes, support groups, lactation consultations, prenatal and mama-baby exercise, yoga, dance, art, etc. We would have a small amount of retail for hard to find objects like slings, positive parenting books, mama-baby exercise videos etc). I am working on firming up the business plan and possibly looking for an investor.

BUT, here's where you can help. Go to Ideablob.com and vote for 9 Months & Beyond! We could win $10,000 which would help us move into a larger location, buy furniture, library items, and have leverage with an investor.

Please vote for us. Please blog about it so others will vote for us.
If you have one of these centers, please let me call you or email you and ask questions because I need a mentor.

For an idea of what my vision looks like see these places: Happy Bambino, Natural Resources, Tulip Grove, Day One and Zenana Spa.

Of course, mine will be different, because it will meet the needs of families in Middle Tennessee!

Vote for us here:

Thanks for reading this blog (even though I haven't kept it up) and thanks for all your support!

Fireworks and Free stuff

2008-07-04T08:06:00.002-06:00

Here's a Contest I would LOVE one of my readers to win:
Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

We all know babywearing facilitates easier, more frequent breastfeeding...so go enter already. And tell em where you heard about it!

Oh, And Happy 4th of July! Go nurse your baby at a Fireworks show!

Interesting comments on breastfeeding, pumping and Milk banks from Rebecca Walker (Daughter of Alice Walker)

2008-05-29T08:11:00.003-06:00

I am ashamed to say that I had no idea that Alice Walker had a daughter, let alone a grown daughter that is a writer. Ironically, I saw Alice Walker on TV the other day (yes I watch Book TV) and was struck again by how beautiful and interesting Alice Walker is. It also realized how I desperately need to learn to enjoy fiction again. All I read are breastfeeding textbooks and birth/breastfeeding/baby care books and articles. My brain needs a vacation!

So, Kimberly Traylor, the brilliant director of The Village in Texas, passed along this article by Rebecca Walker. She recently had a child and went on to breastfeed for 3 months before quitting due to work and antidepressants. You can read her full explanation and thoughts on pumping, her emotional response to weaning early and her revelations on the milk banks.

While I think it is great that 1) she breastfed at all, 2) she is even discussing breastfeeding and breastmilk and milk banks in the "black community" and 3) that women commenting on her site are speaking about breastfeeding positively, I can't help be a little saddened by her comments. I understand she has to work, has to eat, has to provide, but I just wished we could live in a "perfect world". A world with more support, guidance and acceptance of the postpartum feelings of anxiety, depression and disappointment that so many of us feel. I wish there was a better understanding of the "safer" mood medications so that mothers know how much is getting to their babies. I completely support her decision to limit her baby's exposure to any drug, but did she truly weigh it against the chemicals in formula and the drugs and chemicals often found in municipal water supplies, the water which would have been mixed with the formula to make her baby's food? Did she speak to a health professional (like an IBCLC) who could help her wade through all of those factors before removing the protective bubble of breastmilk for her baby? Probably not. We don't view formula as really that much different from breastmilk when it comes down to it.

As far as work as a reason for stopping, that is even more distressing. If a woman who is basically running her own schedule of speaking and writing can not able to pump...we live in a very sad society. I rent hospital grade breastpumps. I have had clients who are public speakers take pumps all over the country. They pump on planes, in cars, in closets, in offices, in dressing rooms. They send milk home to their babies, carry it on planes or tearfully dump it out in front of TSA officers who don't even understand their own regulations. There are mothers who make it work. Period. They are not willing to do less for their infant because of the demands of their jobs. Speakers, doctors, singers, saleswomen, teachers, nurses, etc. who make sacrifices because they are willing to step out on a limb and insist that their baby be taken into account as part of their "package". Again, I think had she had the support of a healthcare provider who worked with her to keep breastmilk as a part of her baby's life, perhaps things would have worked out differently.

I don't want to point fingers as part of the "mommy wars". She did the best with what she had. She now says she might have chosen the banked milk had she known then what she knows now. Maybe the answer is more IBCLCs, especially more African-American breastfeeding counselors, helpers and IBCLCs. She is a highly educated, probably affluent African-American woman though, surely she knew where and how to get assistance. Surely she read all the books. But for some reason, still found her options limited.

So on one hand I say, "Hooray!" We are talking about breastfeeding, milk banks and how important this all is. On the other hand, will moms look at Rebecca Walker and think if she could only do 3 months, with the resources she has, how could I possibly do more? Let's just hope this opens up conversation about breastfeeding, mothering, choices and more...just like any amount of breastmilk is good for a baby, any amount of discussion about these issues is great too. Right?

And this is news?

2008-05-07T09:50:00.002-06:00

I love my husband. Not only did he take me out for a wonderful birthday dinner last night at the fabulous Cheescake Factory (can you say Avacado Egrolls, friends?) and shower me with gifts (he really went overboard) but today he sends me this article: Breastfeeding Associated with Increase in Intelligence in today's news.

And then he says, "And this is NEWS?!?!?!?"

Then I think of my sisters and even more so, my "sistahs" whose partners/boyfriends/husbands are not supportive of breastfeeding because they have to share (Those are my boobies!), it might make her boobs sag, or they just don't understand what the big deal is with breastfeeding.

And by the way, breastfed babies don't have increased intelligence. They have NORMAL intelligence. Formula fed babies, unfortunately are at increased risk of lowered intelligence. Think of it as an investment in your child's ability to get college scholarships!

Breastfeeding Celebrity Mom

2008-05-06T08:04:00.004-06:00

Meet Iyari Limon - actress AND new mom.

She talks about her birth experience, breastfeeding, relationships and enjoying your baby on Celebrity Baby Blog. See the interview and very cute pictures of her and her family here.

Enjoy!

Happy IBCLC DAY!

2008-03-05T15:41:00.002-06:00

Today is IBCLC day - a day to celebrate the more than 16,000 International Board Certified Lactation Consultants in 70 countries worldwide. They are mothers, grandmothers, nurses, doctors, current and retired La Leche League Leaders, public health professionals, women AND men and most importantly individuals who understand and value the importance of breastmilk and breastfeeding.

Today, I want to say THANK YOU to each of you who have studied, worked with mothers, fathers and babies and have taken and passed the IBLCE exam and continued to get education in order to serve the families in your community. You work as a detective - putting together the puzzles of lactation challenges and devising plans to get reluctant babies back to the breast all the way to helping a mother with a medical challenge balance breastfeeding and medical treatments. You work LONG hours and are not paid what you are worth. Most of you pay for your own training, seek out your own mentors and often work in challenging or hostile environments.

THANK YOU for your dedication, your hard work, your respect of the mother-baby dyad. THANK YOU for not giving up, for supporting, for listening and for being a part of the healthcare team.

THANK YOU for being there and for answering the call to be a servant and a guide! For all your work and dedication - I say THANKS!!

God Bless the Lactation Consultants! Hip Hip Hooray! It's IBCLC DAY!

Slurp N Burp - The Blog!

2008-03-02T18:26:00.002-06:00

While at the La Leche League International 50th Anniversary Conference this past summer I tried to visit the exhibit hall as much as possible. I didn't have nearly enough time to look at all the innovative products and ideas surrounding breastfeeding. My favorite part was meeting all these amazing mamas and papas who came up with breastfeeding related products to solve their own problems and help others.

One really creative, brilliant and innovative mama I met was Missy, inventor of the Slurp N Burp. I was so impressed I bought one for myself and several to sell.

Missy has started joined the world of blogging. And here's the exciting part - the blog is going to be interactive. She wants your stories, your thoughts, your experiences to pass on to the rest of the world. She will be sharing the thoughts of a different mama each day.

So, visit Share the Joys of Breastfeeding and Share your joys with the world!

Q: What do you do if someone tells you to nurse in a bathroom?

2008-02-29T23:10:00.002-06:00

A: Contact FirstRight, a new advocacy group that "aspires to ensure freedom from discrimination for breastfeeding mothers and their children."

FirstRight says they work collaboratively with other organizations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding as the cultural norm.

So, if you need help latching your baby on or dealing with sore nipples call La Leche League. If someone tries to kick you out of Applebees for breastfeeding, call FirstRight.

The FirstRight website links to their committees - a discrimination task force, Education committee and legislative committee. There are also links to their advisory counsel (each member is pictured breastfeeding their child(ren) and a form where you can report breastfeeding discrimination. However, they are not lawyers. My guess is they will help and support you are if planning a nurse-in or trying to write or encourage legislation to protect or promote breastfeeding in your state.

Good to see mamas coming together to make a difference in the world!

Can we talk about Target?

2008-02-22T13:35:00.002-06:00

Confession time....I have the grand opening date of the new Super Target written in my planner...March 9th (in case you were wondering). Okay, true confession, I have it memorized and I look longingly at the freshly built building each day as I drive to pick up the children from school. It is a beautiful sight.

So, yes, I do like Target. Is it perfect? No. They advertise Formula, break the WHO Code like every other American store, but I think, I really think, they must have buyers who are more breastfeeding friendly or savy. According to this Lactivist post from 2006, they support breastfeeding in their stores.

I have been meaning to write about Target since my visit a few weeks ago where I saw these products for the first time:

1. Hotslings: Target has been carrying Hotslings pouch slings online for some time and even in selected stores. When they first started carrying them, they were only going to be in two Nashville stores, neither of which were near me. Since corporate stores often try a product in a few stores before expanding them to all or most stores I wondered if they would sell enough to expand. Well, low and behold, there were 3 Hotslings on a hook in the Franklin Target! I couldn't believe it. Finally a decent sling (pouch) that could be bought in a normal store, not a boutique, specialty store, hospital lactation boutique etc. I have so many parents ask where to buy a sling...so glad I can finally point those wanting a pouch to their local Target store.

I know slings and babywearing is not directly connected to breastfeeding but as we say in La Leche League..."many mothers find" that babywearing helps stimulate milk supply, makes breastfeeding easier because the baby is right there and can nurse hands free and it makes for a happier baby".

Target also now carries Peanut Shell pouch and wrap slings online and a variety of other baby carriers. Maybe Target will be a part of the babywearing revolution helping to normalize parent-child togetherness in our culture!

2.Bebe au Lait/ Hooter Hiders nursing covers: Now, while I wouldn't personally use them, (I prefer the Slurp N Burp which I didn't even use much b/c I don't plan far enough ahead to pack it or take it out :)) I am glad that Target (a normal, non-boutiqey store) is carrying a fashionable nursing covers. Until now, the only nursing covers you could find at Target or Walmart were these aweful hospital gown-esque covers from The First Years or something. I wouldn't even want one as a gift. For moms who are avid about covering about nursing, I am glad they have a cute fashionable option they can grab at the local Target. There was quite a large selection on the end of an isle too. When I saw it, I thought, this is good and bad. Good that moms will say - hey oh yeah, I will be breastfeeding after I have this baby. What about nursing in public. Maybe instead of pumping and bottlefeeding in public, more will register for or buy the Bebe au Lait cover. On the other hand, will it send the message that you need to be covered to breastfeed?

3. My third find at Target had nothing to do with breastfeeding really, but this item has been popular in the alterna-mom sphere for a while as well as in the celeb world. A large percentage of cloth diapering moms also breastfeed, so I have run across this product and while I have never used them, I do think they are adorable. They are Baby Legs - a baby leg warmer of sorts that you can put on your baby when they are only wearing a diaper. They are super cute and make diaper changing or infant potty training/elimination communication easier. Maybe all that is going mainstream too.

Go check out your local Target and see what new items they have. And buy a new mama in your life a sling!

Breastmilk: Baby's 2nd placenta

2008-02-13T10:36:00.002-06:00

So, I am the last breastfeeding blogger to cover the news out on Monday that breastmilk contains stem cells . I am very excited about this discovery for several reasons.

1. We can always make more milk. Just think, your baby comes down with a cancer that is cured with stem cells or has sickle cell anemia and all you have to do is pump a few ounces, send it to a lab and get the cure (I am sure it won't be that easy, I'm not a scientist), well, maybe it's more complicated than that but it could mean a renewable source of stem cells for various treatments to diseases.

2.It could end the whole debate/issue with embryonic stem cells. Why use an embryo if you don't have too?

3. It shows just another way that breastmilk is a living, changing, vital fluid. Not just water or a formula-like substance.

The statement that really caught my eye was what Dr. Cregan had to say about how breastmilk programs the baby's cells and continues the work that the placenta began.

The article from Science Alert says:

He believes that it not only meets all the nutritional needs of a growing infant but contains key markers that guide his or her development into adulthood.

“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,” says Dr Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia.

He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure a baby’s genetic destiny is fulfilled.

Breastmilk provides developmental guidance and genetic programing into adulthood.

That's one to add to the reasons to breastfeed list!

Blogging opportunity for all you mamas out there!

2008-02-12T09:53:00.000-06:00

Jennifer James of the Black Breastfeeding Blog and The Mom Bloggers Club is looking for fabulous mama writers to share their experiences with the rest of us! See the information below and contact Jennifer for more information.

The Mom Bloggers Club has partnered with Hybrid Mom (http://www.hybridmom.com) to provide mom bloggers with a great opportunity to be published!

Hybrid Mom, a site focusing on the "real world" of a new generation of moms, will be re-launching soon and would love to publish your work.

Interested? Please email me at jenniferj@hybridmom.com for writer's guidelines. Act fast, the deadline for early submissions is Friday, February 15, 2008.

We'd love to see your work on HybridMom.com.

Visit Mom Bloggers Club at: http://www.mombloggersclub.com

Good luck!

Link Between Breastfeeding and IQ discovered ....again

2007-11-06T13:18:00.000-06:00

Apparently scientists have discovered that if you have a specific gene (supposedly 90% of us do) than breastmilk makes you have a higher IQ. Notice I didn't say smarter....I don't know that smart and IQ are necessarily the same thing.

Here's the article if you'd like to read it. I could have told you my children are brilliant...enough proof for me.

Thanks to my sweetie for heads up on this story.

NaBloPoMo Ya'll!

2007-11-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

It's NaBloPoMo or National Blog Posting Month! What does that mean? It means you may be sick of me by the end of the month. I am going to try my hardest to blog EVERY DAY for a month.

I am going to try to post every day during November....it sounds impossible. Maybe only to me but it sounds impossible. But I promise to give it the ole college try.

So stay tunned....

Trying out Utterz

2007-10-26T23:39:00.001-06:00

Me blog more! I can call y'all!
Have you wondered what I sound like? You might find out soon thanks to this amazing new application I got turned on to by Jennifer over at the Black Breastfeeding Blog! Thanks, girl! And if you read this, you have a beautiful voice yourself.

Mobile post sent by mickyj using Utterz. Replies.

Lactation Educator Workshop in Nashville TN

2007-10-26T22:38:00.000-06:00

I posted a while back about what a Lactation Educator is and does. Did you say, "Hey! I can do that!" or "Wow! That's what I would LOVE to do!" or perhaps you would like to get more training in breastfeeding support and education. This training is perfect for labor doulas, midwives, postpartum doulas, crisis pregnancy center workers, anyone who works with pregnant and postpartum women/families. You do not have to complete the entire Lactation Educator program but the training alone will educate, motivate and encourage you to do just that for your clients.

So I will be having a training in Nashvegas next month - November 17-18, 2007. We will meet in the heart of the beautiful city of Nashville at the historic Nashville Farmer's Market (in an upstairs meeting room). Lunch is available from a variety of ethnic vendors downstairs. This training includes current videos, current research on breast anatomy and successful breastfeeding and challenges for both mother and baby. It is a fun and fabulous weekend and I hope you'll consider joining us!

And just for you...okay and your friends if you spread the word, an amazing discount of $25 off the workshop fee of $325 if you register by November 5, 2007! Just visit the CAPPA.NET and visit the page for my Nashville training. Contact me directly for the discount!

See you next month!!

The Business Doula and Me

2007-10-04T22:55:00.000-06:00

Sheri Menelli, the Business Doula(tm) interviewed me the other day regarding Mocha Milk and our coverage on NPR and what having a blog has done for business. To read what she had to say on The Birthing Business Institute's Blog click here.

I think she may be using some of our conversation for future classes and materials of hers. Which is great because I think what Sheri is doing is tremendous. If those of us that are passionate about birth and breastfeeding could actually get organized, focused and making money, we'd be UNSTOPPABLE!! Her business and marketing tips are yes, common sense and not complicated business strategies but they are IMPORTANT, vital steps that most of us are NOT doing. It's about time someone stood up and said, doulas, midwives, lactation consultants, etc. deserve to make good money, should be proud to market their business and should be respected experts in their communities. I hope Sheri will continue with the Birthing Business Institute for years to come, speaking at conferences and doing online seminars. Thanks, Sheri!

Get ready Mamacitas!

2007-10-02T21:26:00.000-06:00

COMING SOON TO MIDDLE TENNESSEE!

What is a Certified Lactation Educator?

2007-09-30T08:15:00.001-06:00

In teaching breastfeeding classes, working with moms one-on-one and advocating for breastfeeding in my everyday conversations I get called lots of names. Good ones like lactation consultant, lactation nurse or even the boob lady. However, I have only two true titles in the world of lactation - accredited La Leche League Leader which is a volunteer position with the oldest, most respected mother-to-mother breastfeeding support organization in the world and Certified Lactation Educator through CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association).

This year I became a trainer for CAPPA's Lactation Educator program. My next training is October 20-21 in my old hometown of Knoxville, TN. It will be attended by nurses, LLL Leaders, mothers who want to help other mothers, WIC employees and others. I want to share a little bit about the CLE program through CAPPA to clear up any misconceptions, answer your burning questions and who knows, this might be YOUR path in lactation support.

Purpose of Lactation Education Certification Program.

The purpose of the CAPPA lactation educator program is to provide childbirth professionals comprehensive training in breastfeeding education. When a candidate completes the certification program they will be qualified to teach and educate the public on breastfeeding and related issues. When all requirements have been satisfactorily completed candidates will be issued the CAPPA credential “ CLE ” Certified lactation educator.

This program does not issue Lactation consultant status, and does not qualify one to issue medical advice, diagnose medical conditions for mother or baby or to prescribe treatment or medication.

Scope of practice
Certified Lactation Educator

Lactation Educators fill an important function in educating and supporting families interested in learning about breastfeeding. This education may take place in the public, hospital, clinical or private setting. Lactation Educators provide informational, emotional and practical support of breastfeeding. They may provide this service exclusively as breastfeeding educators, or may use their training to augment their support in other professions, in the cases of doulas, childbirth educators, nurses, dietitians, and postnatal or parenting educators. In addition to providing breastfeeding information, Lactation Educators offer encouragement, companionship, an experienced point of view, and foster confidence and a commitment to breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding education is not restricted to new families, but applies to the general public and medical staff as well. Due to the limited breastfeeding information given in standard medical and nursing training, and the rampant misinformation about breastfeeding that is so prevalent in our society, the breastfeeding educator serves as a resource for accurate, evidence-based information to the public and health care providers, as well as to childbearing families.

CAPPA does not issue Certified Lactation Consultant status, nor does the Lactation Educator Program qualify a member to dispense medical advice, diagnose or prescribe medication. However, Lactation Educators provide a wealth of information about how and why to breastfeed; establishing a breastfeeding-friendly environment; basic breastfeeding
anatomy and physiology; the normal process of lactation; deviations from normal; physical, emotional and sociological barriers to breastfeeding; overcoming challenges; and resources available (including medical referrals) for the breastfeeding family. They can also be a source of vital support, guidance and encouragement throughout the duration of breastfeeding.

CLE™ Program FAQ

How are CAPPA's Lactation Education programs different from other breastfeeding courses or programs?

Our program is designed for those who would like to teach breastfeeding classes either privately, in groups like at hospitals, parenting centers, etc., or use the credential and education to complement their doula and/or childbirth educator practices.

Do your Lactation Education training's qualify me to sit for the IBLCE exam?

No. Our training's are Lactation Education training's, not breastfeeding management courses. We are geared towards those who wish to educate, not for those who wish to prepare to sit the IBLCE exam at this time. Our courses are not IBLCE exam prep courses, with the exception of some of Vergie Hughes' courses. Please see our training's page for more information. http://www.cappa.net/trainings.asp

If you wish to sit for the IBLCE exam, please see the IBLCE website for instructions, qualifications and pathways.http://www.iblce.org

What do you train your Lactation Educators to do?

We teach normal and unique breastfeeding situations and management, the role of the Lactation Educator, scope of practice, counseling the nursing mother, what to refer out to healthcare providers such as IBCLCs, MDs or Midwives. We assume that our attendees are higher level learners who already know the basics of breastfeeding.

Another part of what we teach is how to set up a class, interesting teaching techniques, and compassionate communication with the new breastfeeding family, which most breastfeeding management/exam preparation courses do not offer.

What exactly is a CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator?

We are like childbirth educators, except that we are breastfeeding educators. We can also act as counselors, referring out issues that are out of scope of practice to IBCLCs, MDs or group support to LLL. We have a position paper about our Lactation Education programs available at Lactation Educator Position Paper.

For Requirements and pathways to certification, please visit CAPPA.net

School's In?

2007-09-12T10:35:00.000-06:00

Schools back in session...but if you are a breastfeeding mom, you have to risk clogged ducts and mastitis to go back to school. What do you think of this mom and student at Harvard University who wants to take extra breaks to pump for her baby?

A football team in Scotland (which we on this side of the pond, know means soccer for them) is joining a breastfeeding in public campaign. Hmmm...how do I get the Tennessee Titans to do a breastfeeding promotion? I can see it now... Tennessee "tit" ans! Go boobs! Okay, I better stop.

And a bit of personal news - the Birth Workshop was a huge success! Thank you to all who helped and thank you to Barbara Harper of Waterbirth International. We will soon have pictures on the Birth Workshop website and information on our next event - a Hypnobabies Instructor Training in Nashville. Also if you are interested in becoming a Certified Lactation Educator and are close to or live in Columbia, South Carolina, Nashville, TN or Knoxville, TN see my website for more information.

Reflections from the CAPPA conference

2007-08-25T06:44:00.000-06:00

I am attending the CAPPA conference this weekend in my very own city of Nashvegas (funny how it's in my city but still an hour away). Anyway, yesterday, Jack Newman started off the weekend with a bang or more like a whirlwind of "controversies in breastfeeding".

Quote of the day:
What do colostrum and formula have in common?

They are both liquids.

And then he went on to say that even that point is debatable. (Colostrum is often a very thick liquid.)

And I sat next to two very lovely ladies from Australia that commented that our obsession with pumping - which pump to buy, when to pump, pumping instead of breastfeeding, etc - is primarily an American obsession. In Australia, mothers and babies are together (only in the nursery if in intensive care), mothers have 24-hour access to their NICU babies, mothers have long maternity leave, mothers have true breastfeeding support and culturally, BREASTFEEDING is the norm.

Not that they don't have their own problems, have WHO code violators and aggressive marketing by companies looking to make money but they are doing some things right that we in "the states" could learn from. Now I want to go to Australia - maybe I will try to go to the Hot Milk conference one year. That would make a fun vacation!

I'll post more about the conference later!

My new favorite Quote

2007-08-11T08:18:00.000-06:00

I went to a dinner in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week on Tuesday hosted by the Tennessee Lactation Coalition and the Cumberland Pediatric Foundation. The speakers were Margreete Johnston, MD, IBCLC and Julie Ware, MD, AAP Chief Breastfeeding Coordinator. Both did a fabulous job and spoke on important topics. Dr. Ware ended her talk with my new favorite quote - but only the first half of it. I found it in it's entirety and it is below. Enjoy.

Imagine that the world had invented a new "dream product" to feed and immunize everyone born on Earth. Imagine also that it was available everywhere, required no storage or delivery - and helped mothers to plan their families and reduce the risk of cancer.

Then imagine that the world refused to use it.

At the end of a century of unprecedented discovery and invention, even as scientists discover the origins of life itself, this scenario is not, alas, a fiction. The "dream product" is breastmilk, available to us all at birth, and yet we are not using it.
UNICEF

Food! Fashion! Panties?

2007-08-02T09:11:00.001-06:00

Here's another goodie!

Can you spot me and P-Tizzle in the Fashion Show?

For the record, the point was to show the baby in the LLLI Licensed clothes not me or the sling but he was sick and I was NOT taking his cranky behind out of the sling.

If you weren't there you missed the historic LLLI fashion show. Not that big of a deal to me...but I would love to hear your thoughts. Should LLLI be licensing it's name to panties and bras and onesies? Was the model in a bra walking the stage during our tea in bad taste? Is this the wrong image of LLLI on the internet? Is it a forward-thinking modern image?

Post your thoughts and let me know. Especially those who are "outside" of LLLI - how does this affect your view of leaders, of LLLI, of what we do?

La Leche League - 50th Anniversary

2007-08-02T09:03:00.001-06:00

Happy World Breastfeeding Week! My first gift to you is a video on the history of this organization that I am proud to be a part of. La Leche League is often seen as a "white woman's group" probably because it was started by 7 suburban White housewives. However, I really believe they want to support all mothers interested in breastfeeding. La Leche League is not perfect and has a lot of work and growing to do but they, we are working on it. I believe in La Leche League and am personally doing what I can to make it an organization for ALL women.

Notice the Mocha mama with the righteous Afro about half-way through the video. So apparently we have been going to LLL meetings since at least the 70s.

Off we go!!!

2007-07-16T12:57:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow P-Tizzle and I will be off to the La Leche League International Conference in Chicago, IL!

I am so excited about all the fabulous speakers, the unique and interesting exhibits and hanging out with so many other "lactation nerds", gentle parents and authors of all the books I like BUT a little worried as to how I will keep a 13 month old entertained during sessions for 5 days! Pray for me, mothers, pray.

So, if you see a frazzled, tired-looking mother with dreadlocks and a wild-eyed, curly-haired little tornado say "hello"! And maybe offer me some chocolate or an adult beverage.....

I'd like to know if any Mocha Milk readers will be at the conference? Please leave a comment and let me know if I should look out for you. We can sit together at a luncheon!

It's not too late to register. To find out more information about the conference visit La Leche League's newly redesigned website.

International Nestle Free Week

2007-07-03T10:03:00.000-06:00

Boycott groups in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America have declared 2-8 July to be International Nestlé-Free Week.

Baby Milk Action is a non-profit organization which aims to save lives and to end the avoidable suffering caused by inappropriate infant feeding. Baby Milk Action works within a global network to strengthen independent, transparent and effective controls on the marketing of the baby feeding industry.

The global network is called IBFAN (the International Baby Food Action Network) a network of over 200 citizens groups in more than 100 countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.5 million infants die around the world every year because they are not breastfed. Where water is unsafe a bottle-fed child is up to 25 times more likely to die as a result of diarrhea than a breastfed child.

That is why a marketing code was introduced in 1981 to regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes. Companies continue to violate its provisions - see examples here. Find out how Baby Milk Action works to stop them and how you can help.

Baby Milk Action is not anti-baby milk. Our work protects all mothers and infants from irresponsible marketing.

The Birth Workshop - Coming this Summer

2007-06-19T21:16:00.001-06:00

I am proud to announce a unique event coming to Nashville, Tennessee this August 28-29, 2007. 9 Months & Beyond, LLC and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing along with Vintage Remedies brings you a workshop with
Barbara Harper,RN of Waterbirth International.

Barbara has been researching and documenting waterbirth and gentle birth since 1983. Besides that she is full of energy, spunk and most impressively mounds and mounds of up-to-date birth and bonding information - specifically information that can make birth more gentle, humane and healthy despite our love for technology and drugs.

So come on down to Nashvegas and join us! If you are coming to the CAPPA conference - stay a few extra days. We would love to see you!

Pass the information on to pregnant friends, family and neighbors, heck stop a pregnant woman on the street and tell her to come to the parent night. Post it on your yahoo groups - this is a grass roots operation here and I can use all the help I can get to let people know about this event! So I am shamelessly blogging about it. I wish I had had the opportunity to attend something like this during one of my pregnancies. Not only would it have given me information, it is also inspiring and encouraging to hear positive information about birth. The professional workshop just might be what we need to bring waterbirth to the Nashville area and other parts of the country that are lagging behind. Come learn and then share your new found knowledge with your part of the world.

To find out details about our event or to register, please visit
BirthWorkshop.com

Or you can keep reading....

A Parent Information Evening

We've got an amazing evening planned for Middle Tennessee parents as Waterbirth International's own Barbara Harper discusses the topic:

"I want a Healthy, Happy Baby – Do My Birth choices Really Matter?"

We'll also have a panel made up of local birth experts to field any questions you might have. Oh, and if that's not enough to get you there, there will be goodie bags, door prizes and exhibitors!

Tuesday, August 28th - 6-8pm
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
Registration is $5 per person, $8 for 2 people and $30 for a group of 10!

Professional Workshop

Our professional workshop for August brings birth professional Barbara Harper to Vanderbilt University's School of Nursing to address

"Embracing Gentle Birth in a High Tech World – Solutions that Work."

CEU's will be awarded. The cost is free to Vanderbilt students and faculty.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 - 8:30am-5:30pm
Vanderbilt University Campus
School of Nursing Building
Free for Vanderbilt Nursing Students and Faculty
Students: $45
Regular Rate: $65
Late Registration (After July 27): $85
CAPPA members receive the $65 rate at any time.

Paid registration includes continental breakfast, snacks, CEU's, syllabus, exhibit tables, gift bag and door prizes.
Continuing Education Credit

Applications have been made to provide CE hours for CNMs, CPMs, LMs and RNs. 5 Contact hours / .5 CEUs from the ACNM have been applied for by Barbara Harper of Global Maternal/Child Health Association.

Application for continuing education credit has been submitted to Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) and is pending approval. VUSN is approved as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the Tennessee Nurses Association which is accredited as an approver of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Provider Number 032113008. Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, 461 21st Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee 37240

CAPPA has approved this workshop for CEUs for certified professionals. Please check with your professional organization concerning CE/CEUS.

About Our Speaker
Barbara Harper

Founder and director of Waterbirth International Resource and Referral Service, Barbara has been researching and documenting waterbirth and gentle birth since 1983. An internationally recognized expert, she lectures and consults in hospitals and universities. She is the author of Gentle Birth Choices (2005) and the producer of the videos Gentle Birth Choices and Birth Into Being.

Barbara’s topics will include:

* How best to keep birth undisturbed
* Identifying fear and helping to resolve it
* Chemical pathways of labor
* Influence of birthing practices on bonding and breastfeeding
* Neuroscience of motherbaby skin to skin contact
* Getting women into Hot Water: everything nurses, doulas and midwives need to
know
* Local panel of midwives, doulas and nurses talking about how to institute
Gentle Birth in hospitals

To Register for either workshop visit BirthWorkshop.com

To inquire about sponsorship or advertising opportunities, contact us at info@birthworkshop.com.

New Breastfeeding hotline

2007-06-07T07:49:00.000-06:00

La Leche League has a new 24 hour breastfeeding hotline. According to La Leche League

"toll-free phone help is available 24 hours a day, anywhere in the US, providing information, education, and support for women who want to breastfeed, healthcare providers, and others".

So let everyone know to call 1-877-4-LA LECHE for breastfeeding concerns for a warm voice, correct breastfeeding information and support.

Of course, they could use your help funding the phone line too. LLL has set up a Cafe Press store with items that you can purchase to support and advertise LLL at the same time. You can also donate directly to the helpline.

To donate funds directly to the helpline, please contact Carroll Beckham, helpline treasurer, at cbeckham@nc.rr.com or mail your donation to Carroll at 2101 Woods End Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28312. Donations are also being received by Pam Freedman, pmfree3@aol.com, in memory of Olivia and Elena Parry, grandchildren of LLL Leader Linda Parry. Olivia and Elena died tragically in a house fire in December, 2006. Linda was quite instrumental in the creation of the helpline. Donations in memory of Olivia and Elena can be sent to Pam Freedman, 104 Crofton Springs Place, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.

So, let your pediatrician, Lactation consultant, WIC office, OBGYN, friends, cousins, everyone know this helpline is out there for moms and healthcare professionals day and night for any breastfeeding related problems. It could be just the right support at just the right time.

Roll Tape...Camera 1

2007-06-06T23:04:00.000-06:00

I have been slacking as a blogger lately...sorry to all who have been regular readers and have had nothing new to read. I have had lots of ideas for posts, but no time to post them. If you could only have access to my brain...oh, wait, that probably wouldn't be a good idea either. You would also have access to my anxiety over our family finances, post-baby weight gain and daily 4:30 freak-out over what's for dinner. I am sure one day we will be able to blog straight from our brains, but until technology catches up, you'll just have to wait for me to sit down and write once in a while.

Don't be shy, please write me or comment and let me know that you are reading so that I will keep writing and engaging the world in this discussion on breastfeeding in the Black community.

Okay, just wanted to update on my video project. You can see here back in December of last year I started doing research into putting together a video to encourage breastfeeding among Black women. In my head I envision a video that shows images of us breastfeeding children, playing with, loving and holding our children and sitting with our husbands (and significant others) and friends and discussing breastfeeding. Why did you choose to breastfeed? How did you deal with your family members that thought breastfeeding was nasty or inappropriate? How did the baby's father participate in baby care? Answering questions that Black mothers - all mothers want to know and showing that it really can work for real mothers. Working mothers, mothers in school, younger, older, large chested and small.

Well, this Saturday, we will roll tape. We will attempt to get mothers, babies, children, husbands, boyfriends, doctors and of course the crew (my dear husband and his professional camera-man friend) together to get enough usable footage to make a 5-10 minute waiting room video. Something that will encourage moms to "try" breastfeeding.

I am very excited. I am very nervous. I have never done anything like this and don't know that I can do it. All I know is that it is worth a try. We are trying to get it done in time for the La Leche League International Conference in a little over a month. If we do, I will hopefully show it during a session I am facilitating on Breastfeeding in the African-American community.

Thanks to Latchon.org - a place where those who have an idea or dream for a breastfeeding project can meet donors with support to give. More people need to visit latchon.org and more people need to give there too. Please consider sending some of your charity money to projects there. My project was fully supported because someone who went to latchon.org believed in my vision.

Keep your fingers crossed for us, say a little prayer and stay tuned for an update. Hopefully many happy, healthy families will show up Saturday ready to share their breastfeeding experiences with the world.

Reasons to Breastfeed in 1914 or 2007

2007-05-16T19:56:00.000-06:00

I had to pass on this gem found by the Breastfeeding Daily Tips and News RSS Feed on the blog of a NYC husband, father and apparent breastfeeding supporter: Scott's Simple Story.

I am fascinated by things like this...it is interesting how public health campaigns are structured and worded.

For instance, today we usually hear "Breast is Best" or about the "benefits of breastfeeding" or "Breastmilk, the gold standard".

In 1914, however, they described it differently. See #4 below. "Mother's milk is the only safe food during the first six months of its life."

So, take a look at this information sheet put out by the NYC Department of Health and express your opinions on public health messages and breastfeeding of yesterday and today.

Shout out to NPR!

2007-05-15T09:41:00.000-06:00

Never thought you'd hear a Black person say that, did you?

Apparently on May 11, 2007, the News and Notes program on NPR (National Public Radio) did a story titled The Black Blogoshpere Expands and discusses how more and more of "us" are getting involved in the world of blogging and thus increasing our presence in the online world.

Thanks to a comment by a reader I found out that they mentioned Mocha Milk by name!! They even talked about Mocha Milk being a blog dedicated to all things breastfeeding related in the African-American community! You can listen to the piece here.

They went on to encourage more African-Americans to blog and to comment on blogs. I encourage you to post here - join my online community - help me grow our presence in the internet world.

Maybe one day I'll reach the Lactivist status and be recognized at the grocery store.

Now back to your regularly scheduled breastfeeding information....

Give yourself and your family a gift this Mother's Day - Exercise!

2007-05-04T00:20:00.000-06:00

Breastfeeding has always been an amazing weight loss plan for me. I am what you could call a "thick" or "healthy" girl. In high school, the biggest girl on the dance team. I wasn't unhealthy, just not thin. Then, when pregnant with the princess (baby #1), I gained a good 45-50 lbs. I was going to eat what I wanted. But, I did exercise and stay active.

I will never forget a conversation I had with a born-skinny mom with a young child who told me how she lost so much weight she was SKINNIER after having a baby than she had ever been before. I could have smacked her. It wasn't her fault, God bless her, she just wanted to share the good news that breastfeeding and chasing a baby can help you loose weight. That's not the kind of thing you want to share with a big-as-a-house pregnant woman. It's just too hard to believe when you can't see your toes.

Lo and behold, I was like my skinny mom-friend. I too became tiny as my little nursling got plumper and plumper. Not only that, I got thinner after baby #2. So thin in fact I started throwing out my "big clothes". Unfortunately, I started regaining as #2 nursed into toddlerhood. My weight loss plan was starting to fail me.

Now, 10.5 months after birthing the last little golden nugget, I am dangerously close to my full term pregnancy weight. For the first time in my life I am understanding the term "muffin top" and I am still not able to wear my normal clothes (why did I get rid of the "big clothes"?).

Did I also mention I turn 30 on Sunday? My metabolism is apparently screeching to a halt as I turn the corner on decade three.

So, I stop by the Motherwear Blog and see a post from Tanya about The WOMAN Challenge 2007 (Women and girls Out Moving Across the Nation). Apparently, she has a few extra baby pounds hanging around as well and has challenged everyone to join her team Breastfeeding Babes and get moving. The challenge starts on Mother's Day (May 13th) and goes for 8 weeks. And as much as I really don't have time to exercise or know how I am going to get around to it, I know it is a commitment I need to make.

So, I joined the team! Go to the WOMAN Challenge site and sign up. Make a commitment to yourself and your family today. They need you to be healthy so you can be around to take care of your family, make memories with your family, laugh with your family.
I am taking it as an opportunity to spend more time engaged in a fun and healthy activity with my children. We can go outside and play tag, throw a Frisbee, run races, walk the neighborhood or at a park or turn on some music and dance inside the house.

If you sign up, let me know, let Tanya know. Or even, start your own team, with your friends or colleagues, right where you are. Give a gift only you can give to yourself and your family - your health.

Where have I been and weighing in on the Gallagher Article

2007-05-01T22:00:00.000-06:00

Apparently, I have been under a rock. I didn't realize I have not posted since April 19th! Yikes. But I have good excuses...I am launching a new Happiest Baby class at the local Gymboree, we are applying to a private school for the princess in the fall, I am working on my CLE workshops, I am running a breastfeeding support group on my own, teaching breastfeeding class, attending meetings and oh yes, I cook and clean for and keep tabs on three children and a husband. It is also dance competition season for the princess. However, that does not absolve me of my duties as the mistress of this little spot on the web you have come to know and love as Mocha Milk. I hope you have been kept "abreast" of current happenings in the lactation world by my fellow bloggers. Jennifer at the Black Breastfeeding Blog has been faithfully writing and had several interesting entries about wet nursing. She said everything I would have said and more (It's so nice to agree :)) so please check out what she had to say.

Apparently while I was gone, there was a big stir over an article posted by Jen at The Lactivist but written by Morgan Gallagher, a self-described Lactaneer. If you read some of the comments posted (strangely mostly by "anonymous" posters) they call the article "racist", say they are comparing the breastfeeding rights struggle to "slavery and its repercussions" and say it compares "racism to breastfeeding" and then some go so far as to call both Gallagher and Jennifer racist themselves and "using blacks for their dumb-a$$ causes".

Jennifer added a post on May 1, essentially stating that she understands why the analogy of being black to a baby's essential need to eat/breastfeed would be offensive, belittling and poorly placed. Jennifer, please don't feel the pressure to apologize, soften your words or even call the article poorly written. It was beautifully and properly stated. This is a case of the Jessie Jackson/Al Sharpton bullying so common in American culture today. Just because a White person said it, doesn't make it racist or wrong. I could have easily said the same thing, and in fact have made similar statements myself. I will address this more later.

Call me an Uncle Tom if you will (However I won't post your comment, because first off that's a dumb insult if you've even read Uncle Tom's Cabin and like on The Lactivist says, name calling will get you nowhere.), but I think race is a PERFECT analogy when discussing a baby's right to eat and a mother's right to breastfeed.

Gallagher wasn't talking about our struggle, slavery, the civil rights or lynchings. The point was biology. I am pretty sure the point was not to insinuate that women breastfeeding their children are under the same persecution as Blacks during the Civil Rights movement. The point is this: I can not stop being black any more than my baby can stop being hungry or wanting to breastfeed right at the moment he is hungry/scared/uncomfortable/thirsty, etc and needs to nurse. Breastfeeding is what baby human mammals do. A baby shouldn't have to eat in a toilet or under a blanket because they are a baby and get nourishment from a woman's breast. A mother shouldn't have to hide what she is doing because it is how a human baby eats. That was the point. Nothing more, nothing less.

One anonymous poster said that the struggle to protect breastfeeding and the baby's right to be breastfed is not a civil rights issue/can't be compared to the civil rights struggle. It is fundamentally a civil rights issue. Her argument is flawed because she says breastfeeding mothers aren't lynched, or crosses burned on their lawns. If that's the criteria for a civil rights issue than what about the rights of disabled people, Native Americans, religious minorities, etc. Most of those groups didn't suffer lynchings or cross burnings either (some actually did if they lived in KKK areas during certain periods of history). Regardless, this is not the struggle TODAY. Maybe the anonymous poster works for Jessie Jackson. He is always riding on the glory days of "the struggle". We have to realize that we are fighting a different struggle now. I live in the South. Are there still scary pockets with crazy racists loons? Yes. But we have a strong, educated, (biracial) Black man running for president, Black CEOs, entrepreneurs and some of the most powerful people in television and government are Black. If you are a Black child and want to go to college and make up your mind to do so, YOU CAN. We now struggle against self-perpetuated stereotypes (in entertainment), poor education, poor neighborhoods and our inability to work together (Bill Cosby says it much better than I). But I digress...we were talking about breastfeeding.

Maybe I have a deeper understanding of what she was trying to say because I live with the reality that the very life I live is offensive to some people - Black and White. My husband is White.(Which to some of you will disqualify everything I have to say.) I am Black. (Race in itself is actually a cultural construct not a biological one which actually makes the whole argument silly but I am making a point.) There was a time, about 40-50 years ago that the thought of the two of us holding hands or eating together in a restaurant would have made people sick. We would have been told to leave restaurants, not sit together on buses, told we can't "do that" here. Now, for the most part, we are free to do as we please, go where we want, be together and be who we are, without fear of harassment or danger.

No one is implying that a baby or mother is lynched for breastfeeding. However, being kicked out of a restaurant, having security called, having to bring in lawyers, being treated like a security threat on a plane, having your milk poured out as you weep, are all forms of intimidation, abuse and harassment. These are actions that may cause women to choose not to breastfeed, to wean early or supplement with formula when in public. These actions lead to health problems (whether you can see them or not - they may take years to manifest), infections, and increased morbidity and mortality rates (or at least no improvement).

And the problem is, having a culture that encourages the breastfeeding mom/baby pair to hide, stay home and not "offend" everyone else is hurting OUR PEOPLE the most. Our babies are dying in greater numbers, our babies have more disease, more infection, more obesity, less connection and bond to the family and die more often. So here we bitch and moan about how white women are exploiting us to promote breastfeeding when we are not doing enough to further the cause in our own community. When we are still looking at the lowest breastfeeding rates among all races in America. I hope those that were applying the racist label and recounting all the bad things ever done to Black people by White people are actually spending half as much time promoting breastfeeding - the single most beneficial, the cheapest and easiest health intervention among our people - as they were spending trying to shame someone for actually pointing out that it is wrong beyond all reason to tell a person to eat in a bathroom because of the color of their skin just as it is wrong to tell a breastfed baby (via the mom) to eat in a bathroom. The reason it is a powerful argument, is because today, virtually no one would dare suggest that Black people shouldn't eat in public (as was the sentiment 50 years ago), but we do that to babies when we say their mothers should not feed them in public.

That was the point, and it is a point well taken.

For further thoughts on this subject see my former post on Rosa Parks and Lactivism.

I would be happy to hear your thoughts as well.

Protecting the protective nature of breastfeeding

2007-04-19T11:21:00.000-06:00

Kudos to the National Action Against Obesity President MeMe Roth who has taken a stand against Unilever, maker of Suave Shampoo for a commercial they are currently running equating breastfeeding with flat hair and a flat chest. In a Fox News interview on the Bill O'Riley show, Roth expressed her concern over this jab at breastfeeding that may prevent children from receiving this protection against obesity. Newsflash, Suave - no 80 year old woman has perky, perfect breasts (unless she bought and paid for them and has had them replaced every 10 years or so) regardless of the way she fed her babies.

It is so encouraging to see someone outside of the world of "breastfeeding advocacy" recognize and promote breastfeeding in regards to obesity prevention (or any other health issue). She encourages everyone to write a letter expressing discontent to Unilever at unilever.com. Believe it or not, I actually wrote! I used the form here. If I get a response other than a form letter, I will let you know.

Also, new research indicates that mamas who have a baby after 25 years old have even more reason to breastfeed. It reduces their increased breast cancer risk. See this article here for more information. It just keeps getting better to give your baby the best (or the normal, right?)!

Ronald McDonald House...Or Why you can't Trust Clowns

2007-04-17T08:04:00.000-06:00

So, I don't have a lot of time to post this morning but I want to alert you to a situation going on in Texas regarding a breastfeeding mother and child undergoing treatment. They are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston Texas and were asked to only breastfeed i their room as to not offend other house guests. You can read about the saga so far at The Reluctant Lactivist.

I don't write letters. I am not a very good lactivist in that sense. But I am pretty sure I will be writing about this one. And you should too.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Oprah says Happy National Siblings Day!

2007-04-10T19:36:00.000-06:00

My two older children have this thing where they will randomly declare "Brother day" or "Sister day" and proclaim the coordinating sibling as "king for a day" of sorts. Well, who knew a sibling day really exists. Apparently Oprah (she knows everything, doesn't she?) knows about sibling day and decided to celebrate by having special brothers and sisters on her show today.

One story was about the Diamond Sextuplets - the first surviving set of African-American sextuplets! You can read about them on Oprah's site. Here's the best part: Mama Diamond breastfed/pumped for her babies for SIX - count 'em - 1-2-3-4-5-6 MONTHS!! She deserves a medal!

Here's my favorite quote from the Oprah story:
Raising six brand-new babies isn't an easy task. Simply feeding them can be a challenge—especially since Diamond decided to breast-feed all six! "The doctor told me Mother Nature would take care of this all," she says. "I was pumping about 50 to 60 bottles a day."

They are smart parents. First of all, can you imagine the formula bill for SIX babies? Breastfeeding is always touted as a smart financial decision, but for them it was probably the only way they could still eat! And who is this doctor? I want to give him a big kiss! And a big professional pat on the back for realizing that this mama really could make milk for her babies! She was her own personal milk bank! This is an inspirational story for us all and goes to show what a little encouragement from a medical professional can do to encourage breastfeeding/pumping for high risk/NICU babies or any baby/mom couple.

Thanks to Angela over on Breastfeeding 1-2-3 for the heads up on this story!

Breastfeeding and Babywearing

2007-04-07T17:59:00.001-06:00

I have been thinking about slings/carriers/wraps more than usual lately. I use them every day to carry around my baby, but it is such a part of my daily life, that I hadn't really given it much actual thought in a while. However, I am considering adding slings to my business inventory again so I have been on the hunt for the best slings.

I hope that babywearing will catch on in the Black community, because after all, our African sisters and ancestors have always carried their babies. In this Washington Post article from 1994, An Idea Still Looking for Traction in Kenya, Carol Mandi, editor of an East African Women's Magazine, EVE shares her thoughts on picking the good ancient traditions from the bad. A statement that has always struck me to my core, she says:

"But carrying on your back, well, that is just a wonderful custom that keeps the baby emotionally stable and lets the mother feel bonded. We can't stop being African women just because we are suddenly thrust into the modern world. What next? They will tell us to stop breast feeding in public? No way."

Yet, African-American women seem to want the biggest stroller, keep the baby in the carseat and never carry him/her and breastfeed in public? No way! For a people so often concerned with remembering and honoring our past, there are many basic nuggets of wisdom we have too quickly forgotten. Instead of worried about feeling bonded to our babies we are overly concerned with spoiling our precious little ones.

Babywearing often comes up with breastfeeding because a lot of breastfeeding mothers enjoy closeness with their baby and say that keeping the baby close helps them feed the baby quickly, easily and sometimes hands free. Not only that, the sling can act as a nursing cover or changing pad. For those of you unfamiliar with babywearing I thought I would share some basics from NINO (Nine In, Nine Out: A non-profit babywearing organization.

What is babywearing?
Babywearing is the practice of carrying your baby close to your body in a sling, pouch,wrap, or other baby carrier.

Why wear your baby?
Rest those tired arms
A baby carrier distributes baby’s weight across your body, making it much more comfortable than carrying a baby in arms. Many caregivers carry even older babies quite a lot. Most carriers are usable from birth up to 35 pounds (16kg).

Freedom of movement
Wearing baby frees you to take care of the house, run errands, eat out, and enjoy the outdoors without struggling with a stroller. The baby carrier is your stroller, portable crib, coverup, and more.

Free your hands to care for other children
Babywearing can help keep your baby content while making you more available for
other children.

Soothe fussiness, reflux, and colic
Some babies crave constant motion. Others spit up unless they remain upright. Some babies enjoy being swaddled. Others insist on being held constantly. A baby carrier allows you to address all of these issues with ease.

Share the load
Father, older siblings, grandparents, and other caregivers now have a powerful tool to comfort and bond with baby.

Slings promote bonding
Wearing baby fosters trust and attachment. A baby whose needs are met promptly now will be more secure later. Baby carriers are also a great way to bond with foster or adopted children.

Make frequent feeding easier
Newborns want to eat all the time, but new mamas sometimes feel tied down. Feed on the go — some moms even breastfeed with both hands free — in a baby carrier.

Carried babies tend to cry less
Research shows that carried babies cry 40-50% less. When your baby is close you will
become aware of his needs more quickly. Babywearing makes long-term carrying easy.

Carried babies tend to be more alert
Babies that are carried see the world from an adult point of view, and adults will tend to interact more with a baby whose face they can see. Babies are less likely to be bored and can learn more about their world when they are up higher.

Carried babies are safer
Protect your baby from unwanted touches of strangers by sharing your personal space – a great way to keep babies safe from germs during cold and flu season.

There are several different types of carriers. Most women and children carrying babies and children around the world use a simple scarf or long peice of fabric often referred to as a Wrap or scarf. Brand name wrap styles include Moby Wrap, Moby D, Didymos and Rebozo. Pouches are popular among first time moms, those new to babywearing and those who prefer the simplicity of a single piece of fabric. Pouches can be accented with padding on one or both rails, pockets and key rings. Pouches include the Urban Pouch, Hotslings and Mama's Milk. Ring slings come both padded and unpadded and are perhaps the most well known style of baby "sling". There are virtually hundreds in this style, from small SAHM manufactures like Soul Baby NYC who sell to friends, on their own websites or on EBAY to larger companies like Maya Wrap who use Guatemalan fabric for their signature vibrant colors. There are Asian-styled and inspired carriers such as the popular Mei Tie and Podegi and soft-structured carriers like the popular Ergo Carrier.

There are so many carriers (and I my listing is a mere nod to the thousands of styles and many many manufactures/designers out there) to choose from that every mom can find one that fits her fashion sense, lifestyle, budget and baby's personality. Slings now come in such beautiful fabrics and accessory choices, they are truly a fashion accessory for moms AND a way to carry baby and still have hands free. And, yes I do think a stroller still comes in handy sometimes...it is nice to have something to put the heavy diaper bag or packages in! Sometimes the stroller is a nice change of pace for a long stroll or extensive airport travel with an older (but still slow walking) child. Having traveled in airports and being a yard sale junkie - I can tell you there is nothing better than being able to keep baby close, protected from strangers and safe in a sling/carrier. If you have never tried a carrier and you have a child under 30-35 pounds, give it a try. You will wonder what took you so long! And beware, they can be as addicting as cute shoes...and as expensive too. But at least you and your baby will look good and be comfortable!

For more information on babywearing visit thebabywearer.com and mamatoto.org

Here's where I need your help. What is your favorite carrier? I would like to carry two - three different styles so moms have plenty to choose from. Maybe a pouch for beginners, a ring sling and a wrap. I would love your recommendations and raves. If you make or sell them, feel free to boast about it too! Just leave a comment with your babywearing experiences!

You can make enough milk for your baby! And other things I should have blogged about earlier...

2007-03-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

First of all, let me ask your forgiveness for being MIA for so long. I have gotten busy with other things and neglected my blog. I will try to go back to at LEAST once a week. You can count on Mocha Milk for that!

So, what did I miss? Well, my birth state of Ohio is getting its very own Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition. What's a breastfeeding coalition you ask? It is a group for anyone interested in promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding. We have a state and several regional/city Breastfeeding Coalitions in Tennessee. It is a great way to network with other lactation professionals, work together on legislation, workshops, conferences and bring more resources to breastfeeding moms. If you are interested in joining the Ohio coalition, they have set up a Yahoo group here.

I wrote a rebuttal (her words, not mine)of sorts to Jennifer's continued "Breastfeeding in Public/Let's be Discreet" discussion at the Black Breastfeeding Blog. As a matter of fact, she's still talking about it. It's not so much that I disagree with her, I just have never really seen a woman lift her shirt up to her chin, announce to the room that she is now going to expose her breast, proceed to latch on her baby and dare anyone to say something. Do I have friends who show more skin at a LLL meeting or in the company of other women? Yes (which should not be a problem if you ask me.). Have I ever seen a mother just expose her breast without regard for those around, take twelve minutes to latch her baby and give the middle finger to anyone staring? Absolutely not. I am not quite sure what she and others arguing for "discreet" nursing want. Every mom to use a blanket or cover up? To turn your back to others while latching? What exactly are the rules of discreet nursing? I have a feeling I already "follow" them but from all the discussion I have read it is a subjective thing. One woman's discreet nursing is another's indecent act. And to assume that any mother asked to leave for breastfeeding her baby is being indecent or indiscreet is asinine. Several of the stories that have made the news involved mothers who were holding their shirts down or covered with a blanket. HOW could they have been more discreet? It was truly the act of breastfeeding that was objected to NOT how it was being done. I would LOVE to hear your opinions on the matter, so feel free to leave a comment - I will post them no matter what the opinion and we can discuss.

I also went to the Northwest Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition 2007 conference this past Wednesday in Dalton, GA, USA. I have one word: FABULOUS! First of all, the south needs all the good breastfeeding conferences it can get, and I must say, Georgia breastfeeding supporters, you are doing a great job. The LLL of Georgia also has a WONDERFUL conference each spring! It is a full conference with Health Care Provider seminar and children's activities! One of the best conferences I have ever attended!

Back to the NW Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition Conference. It was wonderful for several reasons: one, it is affordable; two I was surprised to see a lot of African-American peer counselors, nurses, IBCLCs etc, a few men and several people in
white coats. There were even a few moms with fat, healthy breastfed babies. Nice to see a wide variety of people getting information about breastfeeding. Of course the best part was hearing the brilliant James McKenna, PhD speak.

The title of the Conference was : Pertinent Issues in the SIDS/Bedsharing Debate
How Breastfeeding and Cosleeping Change Everything. His research in sleep of parents and babies, together and apart is quite amazing. He can be quite technical at times, using lots of charts and graphs but he is also warm and practical. Not to mention, he can (and did) tap dance! He has written a book called, Sleeping With Your Baby: A Parent's Guide. I will add it to my client reading list and will encourage all my friends and parents looking for sleep solutions to read it. The science is out there folks, and it is hands down on the side of the biological imperative of the mother-baby unit and of constant supervision of infants by adults which, you guessed it, includes close night time proximity (co-bedding or co-sleeping). Run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore and purchase this book. And if he is speaking near you, go. You will not be disappointed.

And finally, you may have missed this in the news, as I don't think it got a lot of press, but apparently in Brazil, there is a 55 lb, one year old! Now get this, he is as far as all accounts tell it, exclusively breastfed, or at least still breastfeeding. Now, I can no longer find the original video, just a picture and story here at BabyTalkers.com but trust me, his little mama was just as normal to skinny as can be. So, not a genetic thing. The video even showed this little woman nursing this HUGE baby. Just goes to show, YOU can make enough milk for your baby, even a BIG FAT BABY! And I thought 20 lbs at 5 months was big!

Art that makes us imagine ourselves

2007-03-18T07:52:00.000-06:00

Call me nerdy, but I enjoy museums. I love to learn new things, see new things, and if I can interact with the art or science exhibited, even better. Well, now I don't even need to leave my house to go to an interactive, informative and inspirational museum exhibit. The International Museum of Women is a "museum without walls" and last year it began an exhibit called Imagining Ourselves, A Global Generation of Women. It is the Museum’s first interactive, multi-lingual online exhibit designed to reach a global audience and it is fascinating.

So what does it have to interest the readers of Mocha Milk? Well, each month has a different theme. The theme this month is MOTHERHOOD. None of the featured stories deal specifically with breastfeeding, but several deal with birth and those of us who deal with breastfeeding know that the way we birth profoundly affects breastfeeding.

I have spent several days exploring the site when I can. There are four short films that moved me and I hope you will take the time to view: LifeWrap, Play your Part , Love, Labor, Loss: A film on obstetric fistula in Niger and Born In Brazil. There are many other films, pictures and stories to explore and many lead to information on projects being done around the world to help women suffering due to malnutrition, poor health care and low social status.

What I learned from the March 2007: Motherhood Exhibit

1. One woman dies every minute due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these women die from things that could be avoided through better nutrition and trained midwives and medical personnel. I am so disturbed by this and I just can not be happy with my own personal birth experiences until birth is safe for all women. I understand that birth is unpredictable and complications will occur, but I also know there is much that could be done to make it safer. Not more technology, but more training and supplies to support the ancient art and SCIENCE of midwifery.

2. The c-section rate in Brazil is 65-85%. While the "average" first labor is 6-18 hours, in Brazil it is 4 hours before a c-section is done. America - this is our future if we don't get our act together.

3. Obstetric Fistula is a big and real problem that we (especially other Black women) need to get behind and deal with NOW. Women are in labor for days at a time, perhaps a week and because of true CPD from malnutrition, can not get their babies out. These women need the right nutrition (from childhood), they need proper pregnancy care (trained community midwives) and proper medical care and intervention (trained Obstetricians). That is why organizations like the International Center for Traditional Childbirth, The African Birth Collective and others are so crucial. They not only help train American midwives and help the women giving birth while they are there, they also work to train local midwives and bring in much needed supplies.

4. Postpartum depression is not just a rich woman's disease. It can strike women in any culture and needs to be dealt with globally.

5. The LifeWrap is probably the most important first aid device to be invented in years. I am convinced it should be in every midwife's kit in the world, even here in America. It could save women from the very real, very scary complication of hemorrhage, which I have seen first hand. Yes, we have medications to stop hemorrhage in the industrialized world, but sometimes, even the medications fail. Reusable, simple to use and low cost - sounds reasonable to me.

6. No matter what our birth experiences are like in America, we have it so so so much better than the majority of our sisters around the globe. Yet most of them still breastfeed. Maybe we can help them with birth issues and they can help us with breastfeeding ones.

There are many other lessons to be learned at the IMOW Motherhood exhibit. I know I will be going back to watch more films, read more stories and learn about more worthwhile organizations and projects. If you make time to "visit" the museum from your computer, come back and leave a comment and tell what you learned. Share with your friends and family what you've learned. Increase awareness. Share motherhood experiences with your sisters around the globe.

Sharing About myself

2007-03-15T09:11:00.000-06:00

Well, apparently, I've been tagged. Good thing too, since my upkeep of the blog has been spotty lately. So much going on in real life (have you looked at the new 9 Months & Beyond website?), that I am having a hard time keeping up with the webworld too.

That's what friends are for - helping you keep all those balls in the air. So Jessie, the Master Herbalist over at Vintage Remedies tagged me for the latest game: Share 5 things about yourself. Now, this is not a "personal" blog, I consider it a professional, informative, activist blog if you will. Information and commentary on breastfeeding issues as they relate to the African-American community. But, I guess it wouldn't hurt if you know a little bit about the woman behind the blog, me, Micky Jones.

So here it goes, feel free to leave a comment. Am I the woman you thought you knew? Are you shocked? Can you confirm my crazy statements? Want to share something about yourself? Leave me a note and join in as we all get to know each other better.

5 things you didn't know about me yesterday

1.I have a 3 for 3 record of short labors. My first was 6 hours, start to finish. Second was about 3-4, my husband and I debate on the amount of time. The third was about 2 hours once the contractions started. Both my mother and grandmother had short labors so I guess it is hereditary. I am the kind of woman other women hate at birth story time. Mine are so fast - crazy, steamroller intense, but fast and yes, even enjoyable. I will say though, the shorter, the more "painful". I hope to try hypnobabies if we have another so I can have one of those "pain-free" births.

2. I was a professional back up dancer and choreographer in the Christian Music industry. Any guesses as to who I was a dancer for. I loved it because I love to travel and love to meet new people. I love hotels and I love to eat out. It's a lot like doing breastfeeding trainings and workshops, just not as sweaty.

3. David Copperfield made me disappear during a magic show. I have had a HUGE crush on him my entire life (I blame my father who did cheesy magic tricks when I was a child and made me love magicians.) and have watched every special he ever made. My husband scored some tickets the last time he came through Nashvegas and I somehow managed to get picked to go on stage for a trick. To this day I have never told a soul, not even my husband, how the trick was done. I will take it to my grave. David shook my hand, gave me an autographed picture and I will never, ever reveal the secret. It is the only secret I have from my husband. Sorry, honey. No, I won't tell you.

4. I got married when I was 19 years old. No shotguns were involved.

5. I was in a professional production of Little Shop of Horrors at The Boiler Room Theatre in the Factory in Franklin, TN. If you've seen the movie, I was Tisha Campbell's character. The stage show is a bit different from the movie but just as campy and a lot of fun. It was a great experience and I hope to do theater again when I have time and it is a show I want to do like Hairspray (hint, hint Jamie, musical director!) or High School Musical (just kidding). Since my daughter has apparently inherited my flair for the dramatic, I see more theater in my future, either as an actress, backstage or as a stage mom.

So there you go, more than you ever wanted to know about me. To continue the trip around the blogging world, I tag Jennifer at the Black Breastfeeding Blog, Barbara Harper at waterbirthblog, and Tanya over at the Motherwear blog.

Shameless Self-promotion

2007-03-12T10:58:00.000-06:00

Today is the soft-launch of my new website: 9 Months & Beyond .I have the BEST web/graphics/marketing man on the planet: My husband. He currently works at Gibson Guitar and occasionally does some freelance on the side through his company Core 29. He is BRILLIANT and puts up with the toughest clients in the world, namely ME.

Let me take a moment here to give a word of advice to all my fellow professionals in the childbirth/breastfeeding/parenting world. PLEASE have your marketing materials professionally done. It is time we look legitimate. The year is 2007. Just because you can make a webpage at geocities or freeweb yourself, DOES NOT mean you should. Find someone who will make you look as professional as the hospitals in your area. Get quotes from several designers, CHECK THEIR WORK and then have a logo, website and card professionally designed. My designer husband begs you, please, stop the madness and the comic sans and the butterfly trails. I know this is all easy for me to say as I can pay my designer in lovingly home-cooked meals and well, I did give him three beautiful children, but in all honesty, it is worth the money and something to consider as an investment in your business. It will be a lovely day when my husband no longer makes fun of "birth websites" because, let's be honest, most of them fit the stereotype of being poorly designed with music in the background and several pages that don't load.

Sorry for the lecture - back to my regularly scheduled self-promotion....

Please sit back, have a cup of tea and spend some time at my new site. We will be adding more pictures soon. Pictures of birth tubs, pictures of me with clients and other professionals like Ina May and Bill and Martha Sears. Many of our services will start up in the next month or two and a few are available now like CAPPA CLE Trainings and Birth Plan Consultations.

Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think about the site. Don't forget to bookmark it, tell your friends about it and refer moms and dads to it, especially those in the Nashville, Tennessee area.

Thanks!

Welcome to the March Carnival of Breastfeeding!

2007-03-11T08:43:00.000-06:00

Ah...Advice. Pregnant women are a walking target for little old ladies, frazzled moms and single frat boys with a baby sister who all want to share a nugget of baby care wisdom. And by the 6th month of pregnancy you are ready to strangle the next person who offers their heartfelt piece of baby advice. I have been pregnant three times and nursed three times (including right now) so I have unfortunately had my fair share and then some of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding advice. This month's Breastfeeding Carnival is about breastfeeding advice: the good, the bad and the ugly.

In my experience....
The worst: From a single guy who worked with my sweet hubby, while at a wedding with my young baby in a sling. Is she sleeping through the night? It's all about sleeping through the night. Once she's sleeping through the night everything will be perfect. I just nodded, smiled and ate another piece of cake. From time to time I imagine that young guy married, up with their baby at 3 am, hopefully reading askdrsears.com and realizing that whether or not your baby is sleeping through the night is completely irrelevant to the rest of your parenting or baby growing up.

The best: All the great advice I have gotten from other mothers at La Leche League meetings over the past six years. A breastfeeding support group is the BEST place to get the advice and support you need to keep going and realize that you are not crazy. There is always someone who you can give advice to and always someone who's advice will help you know where to look for answers next. Some gems over the years: "He will eventually be able to drink out of a cup without a no spill top. Don't worry.", "You can night wean and still breastfeed and still cosleep.", "Don't worry about what other people say." I learned about Little Duck from Twelve Corners - easily the BEST baby diaper rash/all purpose balm of all time at my local LLL group. That ALONE was worth it, trust me. Six years later, I still have Little Duck in my house! It doesn't matter how long I go, I always learn something new from the mamas young and old(er)who share at these mother-to-mother meetings.

So advice isn't all bad, it isn't all good. I guess part of being a mom is learning how to weed through it. How to let the bad advice pass through your ears and not let it take root. And to take the good advice and use it to do your own research and see if it will work for your family. My advice to you: TRUST your baby and yourself. Your God-given mama instincts and your connection to your baby are the only semblance of a map you have in this crazy treasure hunt we call life.

So be blessed by the luck-o-the-breastfeedin' mamas as you check out the other posts today. Tanya at the Motherwear Blog shares a long list of good and bad advice; Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 shares how to navigate the medical advice in regards to breastfeeding; Jennifer at the Black Breastfeeding Blog shares the best breastfeeding advice she ever got; Cairo Mama gives some advice to get you through the rough spots, especially after an unexpected birth outcome; Andi at Mama Knows Breast shares who to get advice from and a little mother-to-mother advice; the mama at The Twinkies shares Brestfeeding wisdom from the Trenches; Jennifer over at The Lactivist gives one much needed and hard to find advice for pumping moms; the mama at Random Wonderings shares her "ugly" advice from a disappointing breastfeeding experience; and the Mum across the pond at BreastfeedingMums Blog shares good advice/bad advice and C-A at The Baby Gravy Train shares the best advice she was given as a new breastfeeding mom.
Enjoy!

Check out another African-American Breastfeeding Blog!

2007-03-04T16:55:00.000-06:00

Today Angela over at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 posted an AMAZING collection of breastfeeding related product, book and clothing reviews! Trust me, a post like that takes a lot of time and requires a lot of back and forth between open tabs (you other bloggers know what I mean). Please go over and check out this virtual mall of anything you could ever need or want related to breastfeeding that she so diligently put together.

I didn't make it far down the page before seeing a link to the Black Breastfeeding Blog. At first I was shocked (happy but shocked) to learn there was another black woman blogging about breastfeeding, but soon realized that the woman behind the Black Breastfeeding Blog is none other than Jennifer James, web magazine diva, homeschooling advocate and experienced writer. She is the heart and soul behind Mommy Too Magazine and the National African-American Homeschoolers Alliance among other things. The Black Breastfeeding Blog is in a network of blogs dedicated to the Black American parenting experience from conception to securing money for your child's education. So encouraging to see more voices representing African-Americans on the web and even more exciting to me to find one encouraging and supporting breastfeeding moms! Thanks Jennifer!

I have added the Black Breastfeeding blog to the Places I Like list on the left. I hope you are visiting my friends on a regular basis. Like most women, we always have a lot to say!

Vitamin D - The Controversy lives

2007-03-01T23:02:00.000-06:00

A new study released a few days ago is raising concerns about the levels of Vitamin D in American pregnant women and babies. The study funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that 80% of African-American women and over 50% of White women had Vitamin D levels that were "too low" at delivery. They also found that the newborns had low levels of vitamin D - 92.4% and 66.1% respectively had low levels despite 90% of the moms taking the recommended amount in a prenatal vitamin.

I think this study raises more questions than answers. First of all, there is no agreed upon optimum level of Vitamin D intake. Part of the problem is that Vitamin D isn't really a vitamin, it's a hormone. Your body synthesizes it from sunlight. Vitamin D is truly a lack of appropriate sun exposure. However, all the concern about protecting oneself from skin cancer (which is valid but needs to be balanced with our need for fresh air and sunlight) has created a culture afraid of the sun and its rays.

I would be interested to read the study. Were the women encouraged to eat a diet high in foods that provide this essential element of good health such as Salmon, shrimp, Cod and cod liver oil, eggs and of course fortified dairy and other products? Now cod liver oil can be taken in a pill - no more yucky spoonfuls of fishy oil! It is difficult if not impossible to eat your way to your necessary amount of Vitamin D, but thinking about it as part of your dietary planning is a smart thing to do.

Were the women encouraged to get a small amount of sunlight each day/week Spring through fall? That is the easiest and best way to get "Vitamin D" - the way your body was meant to have it, by making it! Cynthia Good Mojab calls vitamin D deficiency, sunlight deficiency. How would you cure a deficiency in sunlight? More sunlight! Read her article from LLLI's Breastfeeding Abstracts here.

What levels are dangerous? When does your level of Vitamin D leave you more susceptible to the various chronic diseases that it is believed to help protect against: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and more? Just about every study on Vitamin D concedes that we can and should all have higher levels but don't . Yet we don't all have cancer; we don't even have high amounts of rickets or osteomalacia (rickets for grown folks). If we are supplementing and it is not enough, maybe it's time to put down the sunscreen a little and enjoy the sunshine a little more.

I understand that public health messages are supposed to be simple and for the masses. However, I think a blanket ban on sun and blanket recommendation of vitamin D supplementation isn't getting us to where we need to be.

You may be wondering what this has to do with breastfeeding. Well, the NIH and AAP recommend Vitamin D supplementation for ALL breastfed babies, regardless of skin tone based on the amount of Vitamin D found in breastmilk. This is flawed for two reasons. One, the vitamin D content of human milk varies from five to 136 IU per liter and is not the constant 25 IU vitamin D per liter claimed on the NIH website. Secondly, humans are meant to synthesize Vitamin D from sunlight through skin NOT ingest it through food. So calling the baby's food source deficient is unfair because it was never meant to be the source. Just because you can add enough Vitamin D to formula to have the magical approved RDI listed on the label, doesn't mean the baby absorbs it.

From the NIH website:

Infants who are exclusively breastfed
In infants, vitamin D requirements cannot be met by human (breast) milk alone [4,19], which usually provides approximately 25 IU vitamin D per liter [20]. Sunlight is a potential source of vitamin D for infants, but the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises that infants be kept out of direct sunlight and wear protective clothing and sunscreen when exposed to sunlight [21]. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends a daily supplement of 200 IU vitamin D for breastfed infants beginning within the first 2 months of life unless they are weaned to receive at least 500 ml (about 2 cups) per day of vitamin D-fortified formula [20]. Children and adolescents who are not routinely exposed to sunlight and do not consume at least 2, 8-fluid ounce servings of vitamin D-fortified milk per day are also at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency and may need a dietary supplement containing 200 IU vitamin D [20].

Formula fed infants usually consume recommended amounts of vitamin D because the 1980 Infant Formula Act requires that infant formulas be fortified with vitamin D. The minimal level of fortification required is 40 IU vitamin D per 100 calories of formula. The maximum level of vitamin D fortification allowed is 100 IU per 100 calories of formula [22]. This range of fortification produces a standard 20 calorie per ounce formula providing between 265 and 660 IU vitamin D per liter.

**************************************************************************

Does the risk of skin cancer from sun exposure outweigh the known risks of formula? Did the AAP research that before making this recommendation?

Am I supposed to exclusively breastfeed or wean to some formula by two months to make sure my baby is getting enough vitamin D? Is it any wonder that the "benefits of breastmilk" don't outweigh the "benefits of formula feeding" to most moms?

It is statements like these (and their underlying attitudes and misunderstanding of human milk) that makes breastfeeding promotion difficult. How can breastmilk be both "the gold standard" and "deficient and needing supplementation"?

For more information on this issue see LLLI's FAQ on Vitamin and fluoride supplements, Kellymom.com's Does my Baby need vitamin D supplements and The Politics of Vitamin D: Questioning Universal Supplementation by Kathy Barber and Mishawn Purnell-O'Neal.

Now, next time the sun is out, go outside and enjoy yourself! Get your RDI of sushine!

Pregnancy on the big screen

2007-02-19T17:13:00.000-06:00

I was just minding my own business, reading my email, when I saw a post from one of the many lists I am on about a new film concerning pregnancy and birth in the good ole U.S. of A. It looks very promising. Pregnant in America is said to be "a film that will expose the underside of the U.S. childbirth industry and help end its neglectful exploitation of pregnancy and birth". He said "neglectful exploitation...", I can already see some OBs taking off their earrings and greasing up for the fight. This could really stir things up in the world of American birth.

I have not seen An Inconvenient Truth, but many people were moved by it. I have read passionate posts about people who felt like their eyes were opened and they were moved to make steps or more steps to living a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Apparently, Al Gore is now organizing a series of worldwide concerts to continue his mission.

It all started with a film.

Now, granted, this guy, Steve Buonaugurio doesn't have the money, political clout and renown that Al Gore has. But if he can create a groundswell of support using the power of viral marketing (think YouTube videos) and the blogging world (remember the recent Pork vs the Lactivist), he can use this film to make a statement and actually turn the tide of the pregnancy machine in this country. It took consumer demand to allow fathers in the delivery room. Maybe a film like this can help create the fire that will drop our cesarean rate from 30 percent to 10 percent (as it should be) and will drop our shameful infant mortality rate (and the shame only rises for the African-American family who has higher infant mortality rates).

So go check out the trailer and tell me what you think. Would you see the film? Do you think it will give an honest view of the state of pregnancy and birth care in America today? Will it scare women or help them wake up and become more aggressive consumers? I can't wait to hear what you think.

The Big Apple Supports Breastfeeding

2007-02-16T11:22:00.000-06:00

This story is a few days old, but the city of New York deserves a big thumbs up for their recent breastfeeding promotion effort. The New York Post has an article about the New York City Health Department's million dollar program to support and encourage breastfeeding. The program includes $2 million in hospital based breastfeeding promotion, $7 million to hire home visiting nurses,$4.5 million for an ad campaign (signs on buses and taxis, etc.) and training 50 health care workers in breastfeeding support. I am excited about the ad campaign and I think the city will probably do a very good job producing beautiful, multicultural public health pro-breastfeeding messages.

I am crossing my fingers about the rest of it however. The article said they will be taking the free formula "gift" bags (aka - Marketing Materials for drug companies) out of hospitals, possibly an attempt to be more Baby Friendly, and will replace the formula sponsored diaper bags with milk storage bags and ice packs. Will $2 million be enough to do that and hire enough staff? Are there regulations as to how the hospitals spend the money? Who decides?

The prospect of home health nurses is very exciting. That is an intervention that has been used in many populations to improve health outcomes. I hope that the nurses they hire actually have BREASTFEEDING training. Breastfeeding is not always covered in a basic nursing curriculum. I sincerely hope whomever is responsible for the administration of this program will make sure every home health visitor is trained in basic breastfeeding management.

I am sure what the thought plan is with training 50 health care workers to assist breastfeeding women...in a city with over 8.1 million people...50 newly trained IBCLCs (I hope this is what they are alluding to)? Maybe per hospital, that would work. I am not sure what that means but it will be interesting to see if breastfeeding rates in New York city go up.

Here's hoping that throwing a bunch of money at breastfeeding promotion and support actually works and is executed well. If so, maybe other cities will follow.

The Love Day Report....

2007-02-15T21:13:00.000-06:00

I hope you all were able to experience a little romance yesterday. If you are like me - a few kids, still nursing at least one of them and limited babysitters by choice or necessity - romantic moments are often scheduled. As experienced couples will tell you, spontenaiety is a luxury of the childless. After a baby joins the family, it may be easier to "schedule" a night for regular romance to 1)assure that it ever happens again and 2)give mama time to emotionally (try to relax with the kids that that day) and physically (get enough sleep and be energized for the "night" ahead) prepare for something that used to happen only when "the mood" struck. It's also nice for your man to know he won't be going too long without. I know it can be somewhat awkward discussing what goes on in the bedroom (or if their are children in your room - in the other rooms of the house) but sexuality is important to every woman, breastfeeding mothers included.

Every year we celebrate our anniversary (February 1) and Valentine's Day in one big shebang. This year was our first attempt to leave the Tizzle (8 month old and baby #3) and have a romantic dinner and after party (if you know what I mean) in an empty house.

I am a woman of my word and I promised that I would deliver a report, to you the readers of Mocha Milk, if the wonderful people behind Condessa Breastfeeding Lingerie sent me a set to try. Well, they found out that I was admiring their skivvies and sent me the beautiful Cassandra Seductive Sunset Brassiere and Brief Set for evaluation. I was in search of form and function. So keeping with my original post about Condessa, I have a list of SEXY - what I liked and GET BACK - what could use improvement.

SEXY
-Beautiful, vibrant color! Makes you feel happier and more beautiful. And I have to say, Sunset on brown skin - very nice. I am sure the other colors look just as good.
-Cotton-lined cups. The bra cups are lined with a soft, cotton fabric so the lace doesn't rub the nipples. Comfortable but undetectable to your man.
-Bra sizing seems to be pretty standard yet generous. Runs true to regular bra sizing.
-Jewel tone button snaps to release cups. I wasn't crazy about the function of them but the aesthetic was very pleasing. They looked like a pretty decoration not an access point, ya know?
-Very supportive! Several of you wrote me personally and said you might try Condessa even though you are hardcore underwire fans. I have only owned one underwire bra in my life but the Condessa Cassandra line bra supports like an underwire without the potential duct-plugging wire! It is supportive, lifting and separating without wires and I had no idea what I was missing.

GET BACK
-Lace bras under cotton shirts can be rather unsightly. Some mothers shy away from lacy bras for that very reason. So if you never wear anything but cotton t-shirts this bra might bother you. On the other hand, maybe it means you need to branch out and try something a little dressier! It would be great if the other collections would include a silky/flat front bra as well.
-The bra cups release from the middle of the chest. That is a unique way to open a nursing bra and it is a little of a learning curve. The snaps/buttons are gorgeous, but difficult to unsnap with one hand which is preferable when trying to discretely unhook your bra and feed a wiggling baby. I am not sure if the placement of the snaps or the type of snaps or the combination is what makes unhooking difficult, but this was the biggest drawback.
-The brief. The fabric was not breathable enough for my tastes. Again, I tend to be a cotton gal, but am not against other fabrics if they still allow for circulation. It could have been the size not fabric. Which leads me to my biggest issue with the bottoms - size options! Don't forget about the big girls...especially after having a baby. Eight is the largest size in the bottoms and I know that could leave allot of my girlfriends out in the cold or at least with a pretty bra and nothing cute for their booty.

I learned about myself in trying out this lingerie. I really do feel prettier and sexier when wearing pretty, sexy lingerie under my clothes. I learned I can do something small (like wearing a sexy bra) and it can make a big impact on how I feel and act. I learned that it really does matter to your mate, even if he never mentions it. I joke that men don't really care what your underwear looks like on you, just how it looks on the floor, but when you go to the trouble of "fancy" lingerie, it makes him feel special and adds a little spice.

Let's just say my husband approved of me reviewing the Condesesa Cassandra lingerie. He had nothing but good things to say...

I am wondering if I have wandered into the land of TMI (Too Much Information) ...please forgive me if I have shared a little to much. We grown though, right ladies?

Anyone else tried any other breastfeeding lingerie? I would love to hear what other bras are maternal and sexy. If Tyra and Oprah can have bra and panty parties, so can we!

That's Some Pig!

2007-02-08T15:58:00.000-06:00

I recently read the children's classic, Charlotte's Web with my children and went to see the new live action version of the movie. In the movie Charlotte, a common gray spider hopes to save her pig friend's life by showing the world what a wonderful pig Wilbur is. So she writes a message in her web describing Wilbur that says simply, "Some Pig".It wasn't extravagant or puffed up, just a simple statement of who Wilbur was.

As I mentioned last Friday, the Pork board wrote a C & D letter to the Lactivist to get her to remove a site from her Cafe Press website that said "the other white milk". The letter was harsh, implied that she was advocating human milk as some kind of fetish/sexual thing and more threatening than it needed to be.

I along with just about everyone else in the blogging world was soon sizzling about how these big piggies were handling themselves. Because of the blogging world buzz, the Lactivist's cool head and ability to wait, think and handle things professionally, she was issued a letter of apology from the National Pork Board and the employees of the National Pork Board will be making a donation, from their own pockets to The Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio. I am glad it was her and not me to go through this ordeal. Had it been me, I think I would have had to have somebody hold my earrings and my baby, if you know what I mean.

She has asked everyone who wrote about the original incident to follow up with the happy ending here. Just as Charlotte's Web ends in Wilbur's life being saved (sorry if you haven't read the book or seen the movie), this has a happy ending for all: more money for a struggling non-profit milk bank, more publicity for milk banking and the Lactivist isn't going to jail. Okay, she wasn't ever in danger of jail, but she could have been looking at a lot of money spent and the headache of legal proceedings. And it is so nice to see a business, any business recognize their wrongs and take steps to make it right.

So while our family doesn't personally partake of the swine, I won't be mad at you for gettin' your BLT on...just pass me the turkey bacon and we can still be friends.

We told ya'll pork was from the devil...

2007-02-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

My family does not eat pork. I used to be a vegetarian (over 11 years) and quite frankly it makes me physically ill if I eat it now. My children know we do not eat meat and for the most part my sweetie doesn't partake of the swine either. Now, all of you that know about the Black Muslim faith, know that pork is just another way "The Man" tries to keep us down. And this my friends is the final proof. My girl, Jennifer at The Lactivist is being threatened by the National Pork Board.

Really? Have they nothing to do but threaten a mother with a hobby breastfeeding support blog?

I actually read the letter they sent to her and this is the part that really ticks me off:
"In addition, your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of the National Pork Board's mark in light of your apparent attempt to promote the use of breastmilk beyond merely for infant consumption,..."

What? Huh? So okay, fine we can breastfeed but God forbid you joke about it, have a good time or make a statement while doing it. My six year old could read those shirts and get the joke. She wouldn't think I was inviting grown men to take a sip! Give me a break. Besides, go to any mall and you'll see 15 teenagers wearing parody name brand slogan shirts that insinuate improper behavior. No one seems to care about that. Of course, why would pork want to be compared to something as healthy as breastfeeding? After all, breastfeeding is disgusting and dirty and needs to be covered, right? It's not FOOD! Oh, wait, it is food. For crying out loud!

Just another instance of the Devil (big PORK business) trying to keep us (in this case women) down.

They need to get a grip and get a life.

Peace.

Addendum to Sexy Nursing Bra post

2007-01-28T10:33:00.000-06:00

The head hot mama at Condessa let me know that their current collection of bras DOES NOT have underwire. That makes me feel better about mamas wearing them in the immediate postpartum. The new collection does have underwire - so you now have a choice.

I will be trying them out so I will be sure to report on fit, function and of course what my baby daddy had to say.....

Celebrities a breastfeeding mama can relate to....sorta

2007-01-28T09:01:00.000-06:00

Celebrities...they have trainers to help them loose the postpartum baby fat, nannies that hold their baby behind stage or on set while they work and top line baby clothes free from the hottest "kiddie designers". Not to mention help at home, glamorous jobs and a cook - Dear Lord Jesus, what I wouldn't give for a cook!

But I digress...we spend too much time pointing out the differences between us as mothers, so let's look at some breastfeeding celebrity moms.
Now, Jada Pinkett-Smith sounds like a woman I could hang out with. She said that Jaden (who is 9 years old this year), breastfed around 18 months and "never saw a bottle". Apparently she took her baby everywhere. In this Fit Pregnancy article she was pregnant with Willow, her almost 7 year old daughter. I don't know how long Willow breastfed, but she openly talks with Justin Timberlake (of all people) for an MTV interview about breastfeeding Willow while training for the Matrix Reloaded and her husband Will Smith (you know, of "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" and Men in Black fame) spoke of getting her more work now that she is no longer breastfeeding. Apparently he said that sometime in 2005 or 2006! Way to take care of those babies, girl!

Nelly Furtado (singer of hit song "Permiscuous" with Timbaland) speaks openly about breastfeeding for two years in article after article like she's just talking about putting on lipstick in the morning. This is my favorite quote of Furtado's:

"I'm a lot more comfortable with myself now," she says. "I was pregnant for nine months and breast-feeding for two years. My body was completely hijacked; for all the best reasons, but for that time it wasn't mine. So once that was all over," she sighs, reliving the relief, "I got to rediscover my body. I had all these new curves and I loved them!"

Finally, a celebrity, a mom talking about how, yes, your body is completely taken over by this little person - you give of your very self while pregnant and breastfeeding. But it is for such a wonderful reason and it is only for a season. And when that season is over, you have this wonderful, new body that you know is functional and miraculous, full of curves and can be SEXY again. I should point out too, that you can be sexy and loose weight during breastfeeding too. I personally have been my smallest size after about a year of breastfeeding but it doesn't work like that for everyone. Apparently Nelly's body hung onto some extra weight until she stopped.

Gwen Stefani (lead singer of No Doubt; has current hit "Wind it Up"). Has joined the rank of motherhood. She has been photographed with baby in a Rocking baby sling and claims that breastfeeding gives you "superhuman powers". Gwen, I would agree! Her baby has to be at least 6 months, but may be closer to 8 months, so she is making it longer than most American mamas while releasing and promoting a new album.

Others who have been reported as breastfeeding mamas include: Holly Robinson Pete (twins), Anita Baker, Cheryl Swoopes (WNBA player), Micheal Jordan's mama breastfed him for 3 years and credits it for making him the athlete he is, Ruth Pointer (of the Pointer Sisters breastfed premature twins), Sherri Sheperd (Less Than Perfect) and Erykah Badu. Check out a nice but surely not complete list at the bottom of the page here.

I will leave you with this quote from Erykah Badu.

No matter who you are, all mothers have the same concerns, same insecurities, same decisions and same struggle to trust themselves and their baby. When it boils down to it, we are all just human mamas trying to do right by our babies.

"When I first had the baby, I was breastfeeding for two years straight, so we were together for two years of his life - every day, all hours of the day. So I was two people, and I eventually morphed back into one. Now he's part of me. He's very independent as a result of it. I thought it was going to be the opposite," she added. "I was very worried that he was going to be attached since we were together every day, but I guess it made him feel comfortable: 'I know she's around. She'll be there.' It made me feel like a very responsible person and tidy, and my health was better because I'm now responsible for someone's whole reason for being."
- Erykah Badu

*Stay tuned next week for my take on Fit Pregnancy's Top Cities to have a Baby in America 2007 report.

Bringing Sexy Back to the Nursing Bra

2007-01-23T07:28:00.000-06:00

Okay, maybe bringing sexy for the first time to nursing bras, but I digress. I have met many women over the years in desperate search of at best a comfortable nursing bra, forget beauty or God forbid, something sexy. Many mothers struggle with balancing motherhood and sexuality. A common barrier to breastfeeding in the African-American community is that the man doesn't want to share his woman's breasts who have belonged to him in love making until now.

Well, boys, it looks like the lovely ladies at Condessa are interested in providing functional, supportive breastfeeding lingerie so that even a frazzled mother of three like me can get her groove on when daddy comes home from work. Personally, I am a fan of Bravado Bras. They are comfortable, cute and even come in cute patterns like floral and animal print. I have not tried their tank tops but they look nice. They even hosted a booth with a dressing room at the LLLI Conference and had special deals which is where I got hooked. Many moms, nursing and otherwise (they have non-nursing bras too) love Bravado for it's function and form.

Back to the sexy stuff....
The Condessa lingerie actually LOOKS like the stuff at Vicki's hush-hush (you know what store I am talking about, right?) and has the same price point but is designed for ease of nursing too. It's nice that a company is actually thinking of the "other" needs of a breastfeeding woman (and her husband/partner)! And with color names like "seductive sunset", "tempting rose" and my favorite of course, "captivating mocha" maybe breastfeeding mothers with "low desire" (let's face it, breastfeeding and mothering sometimes lowers desire and availability) will feel sexy and want to show it off and daddies will have more than a white, stained nursing bra to look forward to.

According to this story, the bras do have underwire in them which I do NOT recommend in the first six months of nursing, but some mothers use them from the beginning with no problem. If you notice plugged ducts (lumps) at any time, discontinue use or change sizes to avoid mastitis (breast infection).

My ten year anniversary and Valentine's Day is coming up and if the good people at Condessa wants to send me a set to try I would be happy to post results....well, not detailed results....

Feel free to leave a comment with ideas on how to feel, look and be sexy as a breastfeeding mother. Keeping your legs shaved? Using a special body wash or sparkly lotion? What do you do? We could all use a little more sexy...it's only three weeks until Valentine's Day!

Depo Provera and breastfeeding

2007-01-19T11:52:00.000-06:00

Recently a prolific colleague, Kimberly Durdin-James,IBCLC brought up the epidemic of mothers, particularly low-income, minority mothers being given Depo provera in the hospital before lactation is established and before discharge. Women who have received breastfeeding information, been encouraged to breastfeed and have DECIDED to breastfeed who are now, unable to breastfeed. Lactation consultants will tell you story after story of mothers who struggle to bring in any milk supply at all after receiving an injection of Depo Provera. Even worse, how many mothers now think this is one more way that their body doesn't work; they could not produce milk for their baby. Yet, it didn't have to be that way.

Do doctors know they are sabotaging their patients? Do they care? What information is out there?

I decided to do some of my own research. Information online varies from site to site. The actual Depro Provera site says that women can use the medication after the birth of a baby. It does not specifically mention any affect on milk production.

Various sites say it is compatible with breastfeeding or safe for the breastfeeding mother and baby.

Other sites offer more specific guidelines. The general consensus is to administer at 3 to 5 days if NOT breastfeeding and after 6-8 weeks (or after breastfeeding is well established) if breastfeeding. However, it is not listed as a "con" or reason not to choose Depo Provera.

Depo Provera has a dark side, excluding its affect on lactation. Sara Littlecrow-Russell shares her experience with this form of birth control, doctor coercion and finding out about the potential side effects here. According to her article, Depro appears to be the contraceptive of choice for many government clinics and agencies and is growing in popularity in those settings. Interestingly, black teens are more than twice as likely as white teens to use it (19% compared to 8%). I have heard time and time again of it being given with and without consent to black mothers (some young, some low income, some not) in the hospital. Apparently some doctors are so concerned that these potentially "non-compliant" patients will either skip the 6 weeks appointment or come back pregnant that they are willing to trample on their right to make an informed decision (especially one they may not agree with). Why not teach these women how very important it is that they exclusively breastfeed to prevent the return of fertility until the 6 weeks postpartum check-up where they can discuss other options?

Even if given "with consent", there are some valid concerns. Twelve years ago, four consumer groups including the National Black Women's Health Project banned together to ask for a moratorium on Depo Provera. The FDA promised to "monitor any adverse health effects" and the groups asked for healthcare professionals to use a standard informed-consent form. Twelve years later, and as they say, "ain't nothin' changed". Women are still reporting negative side effects and have their stories online including a general Petition against Depo provera and and a Men's Petition. The Philadelphia Black Woman's Health Project states on it's web site:

"While Depo is viewed as a drug of convenience, we maintain that it exacerbates pre-existing disease conditions. Depo has been linked with long-term irreversible effects such as breast cancer and cervical cancer, both of which disproportionately affect Black women. Depo is also associated with a thinning of the bones. This places young women who use Depo at a higher risk for developing osteoporosis. Other risks include increased depression, excessive weight gain, excessive bleeding, and loss of sex drive."

Again, no mention of negative affect on milk supply, but honestly that may be the least of your problems with this contraceptive. What is scary, is that it not only takes away your ability to produce milk, but also takes away your ability to reap the protective nature breastfeeding offers against breast and cervical cancer. It is a "double whammy". But it prevents more "ghetto babies" right? Apparently that is the most important objective.

Depo Provera may be a solution for some mothers in some situations. It is important that we give mothers the information, counseling and opportunity to make the best choice. For breastfeeding mothers, especially mothers who already have social barriers against breastfeeding, we should do everything we can to eliminate barriers where we can. For more information on breastfeeding and fertility click here and for more information on breastfeeding and hormonal contraceptives and options click here.

I have a dream....

2007-01-15T22:53:00.000-06:00

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Even the most white-bread public school history class includes a brief history of the speeches and non-violent protest work of Dr. King. If you need an overview of Dr. King and his work, check here.

So in honor of Dr. King, I have decided to make my own "I have a Dream Speech". Thank you to Martin Luther King Jr. for Kids for the link to this idea. This is a great idea to try with your children too.

"I Have a Dream Too!"

I have a dream that one day this nation will value and support breastfeeding mothers and babies.

I have a dream that one day America will be a place that breastfeeding is the norm. After all, it is their birth right. (Thanks, Kimberly!)

I have a dream that one day African-American babies will no longer have a greater risk of SIDS, morbidity, mortality, ear infections, obesity....the list of diseases that are more prevalent in the African-American children and adults is too long. One is too long.

I have a dream that the womanly art of breastfeeding will be reclaimed and respected.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day Black moms, White moms, Native moms, African moms, British moms, Christian moms, Jewish moms, Muslim moms, stay-at-home moms and working moms will all be able to breastfeed their babies/provide human milk so their children can get the start in life they deserve.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day LLLI philosophy will be the predominant parenting philosophy.

This is my hope and faith. With this faith we will be able to help mothers gain confidence, trust and pride in themselves as they realize they are the experts in their own babies.

This will be the day when breastfeeding is not "the best". It is normal, it is common, it is just what mothers and babies do.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

What's the public attitude towards breastfeeding?

2007-01-12T09:59:00.000-06:00

I often say that until breastfeeding is valued and normalized in our culture, breastfeeding rates will continue to be low and have sharp drop off rates. Let's face it, breastfeeding is expendable. Child is gaining too slow - stop breastfeeding. Baby is fussy, must be your milk - stop breastfeeding. Child won't eat many solids - stop breastfeeding. It's raining today - stop breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is often easily dismissed when developing care plans for children and their mothers. In American culture the thought of a baby who doesn't take bottles or receive some formula is foreign to most people.

After all, formula is just as good. Especially the new formulas that are "patterned after breastmilk" (Bright Beginnings Formulas) or have "special nutrients found in breastmilk" (Similac Formulas) and "provide nutrients found naturally in mother's milk" (Parent's Choice Formulas), RIGHT? How could they make these claims if they aren't true? The truth is, the formula companies aka pharmaceutical companies are excellent at marketing. The have convinced many, like a mother who once called me asking which formula had the "breastmilk ingredients in it" in case she needed to supplement her baby. The marketing had gotten to her. Has it gotten to you or those you know too?

I am glad that formulas are now being made with organic ingredients and EFAs - they should have been from the start. They also still contain corn syrup and synthetic ingredients and things with names normal people can't pronounce. It is not a living fluid, it is not custom made for each baby and subject to human error in mixing and water contaminates among other issues. I do not desire to see infant formula disappear, for it serves a medical purpose. I just want to see it put in its place.

I say all this to bring your attention to a recent article int the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. A study found that attitudes toward breastfeeding and formula are changing and not for the better. More people in 2003 (25.7%) agree that "infant formula is just as good as breastmilk" than did in 1999 (14.3%). The study found the biggest gain (or loss from my perspective) in those believing the lie were of low socioeconomic status. (Which by the way are the people the government should be reaching through public health messages, right? What messages are really being sent and received?) More people are uncomfortable with a breastfeeding woman sitting next to them as well. Is it any wonder this is the case when infant formula companies have raised marketing funding from $29 million in 1999 to $46 million in 2004. Many now have celebrity endorsers as well.

The lesson here is simple. Formula company marketing is working. It is powerful and effective. The half-hearted U.S. National Breastfeeding Campaign DID NOT WORK. The WHO International Code on Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes needs to be adopted and enforced in America to show a serious commitment to the health of our youngest most vulnerable citizens and the women who care for them. Public health departments need to make a real commitment to breastfeeding instead of firing lactation consultants (like in my area)and giving lip service to breastfeeding support. Doctors should receive breastfeeding education and hands on support training in medical school and residency. This is a wake up call, ladies and gentlemen. We have miles to go before we sleep.

Splish, Splash...

2007-01-11T11:11:00.000-06:00

Tanya, over at the Motherwear Blog, asked "How much water do you need?" I get that question a lot when I teach breastfeeding classes, lead support groups or just answer mother's questions. Many mothers are told that if the don't drink gallons upon gallons of water their milk supply will get low. So far, medical science has found no benefit to drinking your weight in water every day during lactation.

Drink water preferably, and drink it often. It is a good rule of thumb to always have a glass of water nearby when you sit down to nurse. In the early weeks, you tend to get thirsty during each feeding (burning all those extra calories, I guess). It can be very irritating to have just gotten junior latched on and realize your throat is on fire! Just start a water cup in the morning and fill it up right before you sit down to nurse. It is a good habit to keep up as the months go by as well. Most importantly, follow your body. If you are thirsty, drink. Drink before you get really thirsty and use it as a reminder to take care of your needs too.

Here is my favorite glass to drink out of. I don't know why but I love it. It is the only one we have like it and drinking out of it always makes me happy. My preferred beverage on the daily is water, no ice, lemon if I am feeling fancy. Everyone says they don't drink enough water, but I actually think I do pretty good. The only other drink we have in the house is apple juice so I usually drink water or tea. It's pure vanity. I can't afford to waste calories on drinks. I'd rather eat chocolate.

I will pass the challenge on to Jennifer at The Lactivist. What's in your cup, Lactivist?

La Leche League Conference Registration Open!

2007-01-10T22:17:00.000-06:00

Imagine a world of fathers with babies in slings and backpacks while mom hangs out with friends, stay-at-home mothers from Alabama in conversation with doctor-moms from somewhere in Australia.

A mother nursing her child while taking notes in a professional education session and a highly educated researcher stopping to play peek-a-boo with a toddler.

Close friends, new and old who admire and respect your parenting choices. Older, wiser women and younger, "smarter" teenagers that both offer to help you with your packages so you can go ahead and nurse your baby.

Not to mention people from all over the world, gathered together to improve the health of mothers, babies, children, families, even nations through education, discussion and planning. Hearing many many languages everywhere you turn - yet everyone working toward the same goals.

Now imagine having someone else make up your bed and room service.

That dream...no that reality exists every two years at the La Leche League International Conference.

Please consider attending this year and being a part this conference, that is much more than a conference. It is a gathering of friends and family. And even though LLLI is often thought of a "white woman's group" it is trying to change and while I can't speak for every leader, I can say that there is a true effort and desire within LLLI to reach out to the African-American mother and women of color around the globe. La Leche has a long way to go in that goal and instead of just complaining about the organization, I am trying to be a part of the change I want to see. Come to Chicago and be a part of change with me. Help make LLLI a rainbow of sisterhood.

To register online click here.

Just because it's free, doesn't mean it's good!

2007-01-09T08:53:00.001-06:00

If there is one thing I learned from a grandmother who grew up during The Great Depression and a mother who had to make it on her own with no child support for the better part of my growing up years, it was to be frugal, thrifty....cheap, however you'd like to put it. Coupon clipping, sales and if you could get it for free, even better.

So when I was pregnant with my first baby almost seven years ago (Good Lord, could it really be that long ago?), I dutifully took my "free formula gift bag" coupon to the hospital with me. I was determined to breastfeed for at least six months, but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to get something free. Just imagine how thrilled I was when I didn't even have to present the coupon! A nurse just brought the bag with our check out materials. Lovely! Since then, I have learned that these bags are not just a "gift" from the hospital or formula/pharmaceutical company. The bags are slick, well-designed marketing tools designed to sabotage breastfeeding and ensure that mothers use their products.

The truth is these bags, whether they contain formula or not are very effective marketing tools. Breastfeeding mothers who get the bags are more likely to start using formula. And the "gift" doesn't save you any money - it is less than one week's worth and it is the most expensive kind. It's like a drug dealer "The first hit's always free." And ironically, these are drug companies we're talking about.

If you have your baby in the hospital (my last two were born at home, on purpose). Don't ask for the "gift bag". Don't accept the gift bag(even if you take out the formula). Don't participate in sabotaging your own effort to breastfeed. Give your friends a cute diaper bag like Tutti Bella Bags or at Belly Dance Maternity or if you are more in my price range, you can get a pretty cute bag at Target these days.

Don't sell out. Don't take the free "diaper bag crack".

Breastfeeding around the world

2007-01-02T23:04:00.000-06:00

Apparently in Malaysia, too many women want to breastfeed. Women are adopting babies and taking pills to be able to produce milk and breastfeed them. The government is trying to encourage them to get married first and have babies second. Three observations from me. First, it is interesting that they are not having biological babies, but adopting. Second, they consider breastfeeding the way to feed even adopted babies (no mention of bottle feeding as an option in society or bottle feeding as the other option for these women or babies). Third, the government is saying that the social structure of mother-father = baby is important. I am sure there are many differences between Malaysian culture and American culture, but these three areas show pretty striking differences. Valuing adoption, breastfeeding and family.

In the Philippines pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are at risk of malnutrition. This article addresses the concerns. According to the article their diet consists mostly of a fish-vegetable combination. The article continually restated the need for pregnant and breastfeeding women to receive adequate information and education regarding proper nutrition. A good, holistic, thorough health care provider (midwife or doctor) will include nutritional education and counseling in prenatal and well-baby care.

The article also said "it is important that pregnant and breastfeeding women get full support from loved ones to relieve them of some discomforts related to pregnancy and breastfeeding". I think we all could agree with that.

Happy New Year, Mocha Milk fans!

Party like it's...well, 2000-something....

2006-12-30T16:38:00.000-06:00

In the words of musical revolutionary, Prince (or whatever he goes by these days), "Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999!". Okay, well, tomorrow night, but New Year's Eve is fast approaching and a common concern from many African-American mothers (and all mothers really) is how to still enjoy a party or even an adult beverage or two while breastfeeding. Can you drink alcohol while breastfeeding or must you completely abstain as you are encouraged to do during pregnancy.

In some respects this is a cultural question. The long-standing recommendation by many health-care providers has been to either enjoy the occasional drink with dinner and not worry about it or to pump and dump after a holiday party. Current information from La Leche League International suggests that 1 drink at a holiday party should not pose a problem for the nursing mother. Of course, the age of the baby, weight of mother and amount of time from drink to the next nursing are all part of the equation. The bottom line, if you are still feeling the affect of the drink or feel drunk, your baby will be getting alcohol too. It is clear that your baby will get *some* alcohol if it is in your milk. How much and what the affects will be are up for debate. As with all things parenting related you have options, which include pumping before and feeding expressed milk until the "buzz" has worn off or enjoying a non-alcoholic drink with fruit, fizz or an umbrella in it. Of course, here's your chance to find out if all your old friends and co-workers are as interesting as they think they are without the rosy lens of alcohol to help them.

There is a test to see if alcohol is in your milk but you would need to buy it ahead of time. Personally, I think if you are buying testing strips to see if your milk is safe for your baby, you have bigger problems than the occasional drink at dinner or a party. It might just be the circles I run in or the buckle of the Bible Belt in which I live but if I brought a box of Milkscreen strips to a baby shower, I think the reaction would be polite but confused. Milkscreen has been around a while and seems to be doing well as a company, so they must be serving some one's needs. If the product helps someone continue to nurse, rather than wean or introduce even one bottle of formula that may disrupt the baby's GI tract, than I think it is a good thing to have available.

There is a popular myth that you can "pump and dump" alcohol out of your breasts so the alcohol will leave your milk sooner. However, pumping will keep your supply up while not nursing your baby, the milk will contain alcohol and should not be kept. As the alcohol leaves your system, it will leave the milk, simple as that. For more information on enjoying an adult beverage during New Year's festivities or any time, see Tanya's recent post at the Motherwear Blog.

Here's to a Mocha and Milky new year! May your days be full and fruitful! Happy 2007!

Protection against Otitis Media genes...breastfeeding

2006-12-27T22:12:00.000-06:00

Everyone associates ear infections with babies and young children. As a matter of fact, I have a friend who's baby was just diagnosed with an ear infection last week. Healthy African-American children, Alaska Natives and Native Americans (all brown-skinned people) have a higher risk of Otitis Media (ear infections). Our children also often fall into the other risk categories such as being in group day care and having sickle cell anemia. Apparently two genes have been identified as the culprits in a genetic tendency toward getting ear infections (especially repeat infections).

There is a treatment that renders those genes unable to function, thereby taking the genetic factor out of the picture. It does not mean your child will not have ear infections. What it means is, with this treatment the child will be protected from the genes that he/she carries that would make the infections worse or more frequent (and for your child could mean none at all or one or two). The treatment is free and carries no negative side effects. The treatment requires you hold your child for 15-30 minutes every day, 8 to twelve times a day for at least the first 6 weeks of life and frequently (though not as frequent) after that for at least the first year. Okay, maybe I lost some takers, there. However, the good news is, any treatments are better than none. The treatment is, you guessed it, breastfeeding. It is free, can be given in any dose and it cancels out your genes for ear infections. Yet another way to give a baby protection against disease.

Protection Against Cancer Begins in Pregnancy and during Breastfeeding

2006-12-20T08:14:00.000-06:00

Just about everyone knows that babies are given immune protection through their mother's antibodies during breastfeeding. However, there is new research on mice, our fellow mammals, that when the mother eats a nutritious diet of cancer-fighting fruits and veggies during pregnancy and breastfeeding, her baby also receives protection from cancer potentially lasting into middle age! Talk about long term benefit. Now, I know we are talking about rats, not babies at this stage of research, but there are many, many things we do not know about breastmilk and breastfeeding yet and we may never figure it all out. However, it is THE substance our bodies make for feeding babies. Makes sense that it can do so much to protect the human being for the long haul. Here's the bottom line, if your baby isn't breastfeeding, he gets his protection is cut short when he leaves your womb. And those of us who have had benefits cut at work or from a health care program know how much that stinks! Give your baby full benefits, breastfeed!

Also, there is a debate article in the IBJ about child feeding and human rights. Kent asserts that "children should be viewed as having the right to be breastfed, not in the sense that the mother is obligated to breastfeed the child, but in the sense that no one may interfere with the mothers right to breastfeed the child. Breastfeeding should be viewed as the right of the mother and child together." I couldn't agree more. The question is, what does that idea look like in real life?

News update...and it's not good

2006-12-17T22:25:00.000-06:00

Apparently Freedom and Delta Airlines might not be able to land a plane safely with a breastfeeding mother on board but they are able to master the art of double speak. They have asked that the complaint by Emily Gillette, the mother who's family was recently kicked of a plane for her refusing a blanket to cover her nursing toddler in order to ease the flight attendant's discomfort.

Freedom Airlines argues: "in a Monday letter to the Human Rights Commission that the federal Airlines Deregulation Act trumps Vermont's human rights law, because state law cannot interfere with air carrier service." Whatever that means. So the airlines can do whatever they want because of the federal deregulation act? So if they want to add crack to the snack list on Freedom airlines, they can? It just doesn't make sense. I have a feeling Mrs. Gillette is willing to take this case as far as it can go and this is just the beginning. According to the article, the Vermont Human Rights commission said these cases can go on for 3 months to a year. Keep checking back for the latest information. Mocha Milk scours the web for breastfeeding news so you don't have to!

Nestle rears its ugly head again. The FDA's letter to Nestle has been answered. That is if you consider denying and blaming an answer. First of all, they said there own "independent tests" show no problems. They have "rejected" the FDA's test results. Let me get this straight, they can just reject the test results. Like, if I don't see you, you're not there? Companies only have to listen to the FDA if they agree with them? That makes me feel safe about the food and drugs on American store shelves. yikes! And they say there will be no recall. So either the FDA testers are idiots or got the one faulty can in the place. All the while, countless babies are getting formula that doesn't meet the FDA standards (which is still for a dead, substandard food replacement substance, but that's beside the point). And apparently, all those Nestle boycotts have not made a difference. The arrogance of Nestle is beyond belief but not surprising. Read the article here.

Nursing Covers...friend or foe?

2006-12-17T20:13:00.000-06:00

A few days ago I received a nice email from Evie Ballesteros of Mommy's Little Monkey, a nursing cover online boutique, encouraging me in my blog endevor and vowing to become a reader. Thanks Evie! So, after visiting her site, I started thinking about covering up while breastfeeding. There is also a discussion going on at the Motheringdotcommune forms about it. I am not sure how I feel about it. I do not have a specific nursing cover. I do, however have nursing clothes (just a few, and most were bought with baby #1) and tend to wear them on days when I know I will be out and about alot or in situations that could have people that could be "offended" by seeing the slightest flash of nipple such as (ashamedly) church. On days that I have "covered", I have used a sling (ring sling usually tail or in the sling) or receiving blanket. Most of the time I just kind-of hunch over my baby, make sure he's turned in, ready to go, unhook my bra, bunch my shirt around me and just do my best to get a good latch the first time. Sometimes I might just cover right at my baby's mouth with a burp cloth or put a blanket over my belly (because that is what shows more than anything) and by nature of where the baby is, the baby.

So, I am thinking out-loud here. Feel free to join me in the comments section. When I wear nursing clothes that are obvious nursing clothes I feel weird. I feel like I am anouncing to the world, "At some point I will be breastfeeding. I don't want you to see anything, so I am wearing special clothes so that you won't see, so make sure you aren't looking when I start, since I made the effort to wear special clothes". On the other hand, my nursing clothes that are more subtle, that look like clothes I would wear anyway or my extra large shirts that I wear and nurse in, don't make me feel like I am making a statement or like such a nursing leper.

I have never used a cover specifically for nursing, but my impression of covering with a blanket or special cover is this: you are announcing to the world, "I am nursing a baby right now." For what other reason do women wear blankets on their shoulders? No one just wears blankets on their shoulders. Bottle feeding mothers do not cover their babies during their feedings. No one serves solids under a blanket or changes a diaper under there. So we know it is the act of breastfeeding going on under the blanket. So what does that say? Breastfeeding is so private and intimate it can only be done when mother and baby are alone or in their own home? Breastfeeding should be covered because it is not appropriate around other people? If breastfeeding is so natural, normal and encouraged by medicine, science and common sense, why does it happen under cover? No one practices other healthy nutrition habits like eating fruits and veggies, under a covering. I also wonder what message it sends to my children, who will one day be parents. Does it tell them, even if I don't cover at home, just in public that this is something that other people shouldn't see? With all the competing pressure out there, I want my children, especially my daughter to know that breastfeeding is THE WAY we feed our babies.

On Bebe au Lait for instance, they say "neither your style or modesty is compromised". Is your modesty compromised without being draped from the waist up? Cover up Clips are clips for making any blanket into a nursing cover. They promise "breastfeeding privacy" while the Busy Baby Nursing Wrap promises "nursing confidence". The issues of blankets being pulled of by babies, feeding in bathrooms or modesty are listed as reasons to buy a nursing cover. I am just not sure what all this means. All of these products were born out of mothers own needs or desires to make nursing in pulic easier. My worry is that maybe we are going in the wrong direction. Maybe moms shouldn't feel like they need to cover up. I have to admit, I have had a few embarassing moments nursing in public (NIP). Oddly enough, because people did NOT think I was breastfeeding, they come up to me and my baby and start talking or touch the baby's head or look closely at the baby. When they realize what the baby is doing, THEY, the adult get's embarrassed. That is not my responsibility. It can however lead to an interesting discussion or sheepish comments. For that reason, and not my own embarrassment, I do sometimes cover, as if to flash a sign, "I am nursing, right now. If that makes you uncomfortable or you are afraid of seeing nipples, please for your own safety, stay away.". It usually works. My biggest problem is that when I do try to cover, it is often too hot for me or baby or both and I can't see well enough to get everthing right so it takes longer and more exposure than it would have otherwise.

Well, I am conflicted. I am not sure where I stand. Maybe it just comes down to whatever makes the mother happy and secure. Heck, if it means more moms will nurse and nurse longer and wherever they go, then it's good. If it means that the standard or acceptable way to nurse in public is to cover, I will have a problem with that. No one should ever feel like nursing their baby is something to be hidden, no matter how much breast is showing. And no mother, anywhere should ever, you hear me, ever feel like she has to go to a bathroom stall to feed her baby. The thought makes me sick and angry. This is a Western culture issue, not a morality issue. As a culture we are uncomfortable with the thought of lips on a breast, even if it is a baby getting food from his mother and that is the heart of the problem. If breastfeeding ever becomes the cultural norm in Western culture, I don't think nursing covers will be around at all, at least not in the plethora of options there are today.

I must say, that there are many cute styles and fabrics available now. They are stylish, even funky and may make a mom feel more chic. I don't begrudge them or mom's using them, I just question the thinking behind them and wonder what it says about our society. But, I have to admit, like slings, there are many cute and sassy nursing covers on the market that have become the "it" item for the modern mom's diaper bag. Maybe this is a trendiness issue, too.

I have to admit, I would try a Busy Baby Nursing Wrap or Under Wraps Nursing Poncho just because I like wraps/shawls/ponchos and have tried nursing in them but both my wraps have tassels which end up in the baby's mouth while nursing, yuck. It would be interesting to see if there was a difference in the function and fit of a shawl designed just for nursing moms.

Here are some of the other nursing cover sites I visited in my research: Covered in Love, the QT Wrap, Sasha B. Designs and the Milk Mumu.

So, feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on the subject. Do you own a special nursing cover? Have you used one? Would you? What do you think when you see a mom using one? What does covering up mean? Should we all do it or is it just a matter of personal choice and doesn't mean a whole lot?

As the Coffee Talk ladies said, "Discuss!"

Thinking about the video project

2006-12-15T11:41:00.000-06:00

In an effort to research (as I obsessively do with everything) I wanted to see if there was any research having to do with breastfeeding videos and initiation or duration for African-American mothers. The only one specifically addressing videos is here.
The results were: "WIC-based peer counselor support and motivational videos can positively affect the duration of breast-feeding among African-American women." The rate of decline in breastfeeding was slower in the WIC clinics that used peer counselors and showed breastfeeding videos. I am not sure what that tells us, but hopefully that means a well made video can help encourage a mother to breastfeed. We already know that lack of "breastfeeding role models" is part of the reason our breastfeeding rates are so low, but can a video make up for that missing role model?

I would so like to read the entire study and even see the video they used. What if it was horrible? Out of date? Not culturally sensitive to not only race but where they live and their community? It has bothered me for a while now that when discussing breastfeeding among Black people the only group considered seems to be WIC participants, low income or adolescent mothers. I understand that it is easier to reach these women that are already in a position of availability to public health researchers but I am tired of the "let's go to the ghetto and help these moms breastfeed their babies" mentality. Not that those groups aren't important, they are, but breastfeeding rates among middle class and probably even upper middle class Black women stink too. I will have to save that for later, but I intend to see if there is any research out there about middle class African-American breastfeeding statistics. I am hoping to do my own research in this area during my masters work, assuming I am able to start that in the spring.

I will update here with how the script writing goes, as I have yet to start. If anyone has any ideas on what to include and how to include it, feel free to share. I need all the help I can get.

Has Breastmilk ever been recalled?

2006-12-13T15:12:00.000-06:00

Apparently the FDA sent Nestle a warning letter stating that deficiencies were found in Carnation Good Start Formula after an inspection of their Wisconsin plant in May. They had 15 working days from the reciept of the letter to make changes to the formula to bring it up to nutritional standards. Will they? When will the FDA check? It took them 6 months for the FDA just to send the letter. What about all the babies that are recieving this deficient formula for their sole source of nutrition? There has been no recall, no notice on the news, just thousands, perhaps millions of babies drinking formula that doesn't meet nutritional standards. Now not only are they missing out on the antibodies, other living cells and changing tastes and allergy protection of breastmilk, they are missing out on key nutrients. Very sad. And no one cares enough to let parents know.

This is a great illustration of how breast is not best. Breast is the standard. Formula, even when it meets nutritional standards but especially in cases where it does not, it is substandard. Breastmilk is always right.

In the words of Amy Spangler, "While Breastfeeding may not seem the right choice for every parent, it is the best choice for every baby."

You'll need a vacation in March...

2006-12-13T11:46:00.000-06:00

Or at least you should consider a business trip to attend this conference. I am happy to see my sister (and by that I mean "sistah" not "sister") in the cause, Kimberly Durdin-James will be speaking at the Comprehensive Lactation Care Conference, A benefit for the Unites States Lactation Consultant Association.

It's nice to see people tackling subjects that are not often talked about. Anyone wanna give my a scholarship to go?

COMPREHENSIVE LACTATION CARE

Honoring Cultural, Social and Physical Diversity
March 9-10, 2007 Berkeley, CA USA

A Benefit for USLCA

FACULTY

KIMBERLY DURDIN-JAMES IBCLC

· Examining Breastfeeding Practices and Beliefs of African-American Women

Co-owner doula & lactation service in Washington DC & Los Angeles, CA; IBCLC at Watts Healthcare WIC in Los Angeles, CA; former co-chair/founding member of the Washington, DC Breastfeeding Coalition; National President of the African American Breastfeeding Alliance (AABA)

JULIENE G. LIPSON PhD, RN, FAAN

· Culture and Clinical Care

Professor Emerita in the Dept. of Community Health Systems & the Dept. of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine at UC San Francisco. Her research has focused on women’s birth transitions; immigrants; culture and disability. She is the co-editor of Culture and Clinical Care.

JAMES J. MCKENNA PhD

· Sleep Like a Baby? What Does That Really Mean?

· SIDS Bed-sharing and Breastfeeding: What Research Really Says and What To Do About It.

· American Academy of Pediatrics New SIDS Guidelines: Maternal-Infant Biology in Conflict with Local Science Edmund P. Joyce C.S.C. Chair in Anthropology

Director, Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory; University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana

JUDITH G. ROGERS BA, BS, OTR

· Culture and Disability

National Resource Center on Parenting with Disabilities at Through the Looking Glass in Berkeley, California. Parents with disabilities expert, creates innovative, low-cost baby care solutions. Co-authored Mother to Be: A Guide to Pregnancy &Birth for Women with Disabilities. Conceived of, BHAWD, Breast Health Access for Women with Disabilities program(education and breast exams).

ULFAT SHAIKH MD, MPH

· Islam and Infant Feeding

· Extent, Accuracy and Credibility of Breastfeeding Information on the Internet

Assistant professor of pediatrics, University of California Davis School of Medicine

CHRISTINA SMILLIE MD, IBCLC, FABM
· Baby-led Latch and Its Practical Applications
· Right-brain to Right-brain communication of Mothers and Babies

Medical Director, Breastfeeding Resources, Stratford, Connecticut; Board of Directors, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine; Health Advisory Council to the Professional Advisory Council of La Leche League International; Leadership Team, Section on Breastfeeding, American Academy of Pediatrics

For a full brochure contact SWAGconferences@aol.com

The Breastiest Christmas Pagent Ever

2006-12-12T23:42:00.000-06:00

I love this and had to share. This is going around several message boards and is so amazing. I wish I could have been in the audience for this Christmas Pageant. Makes a breastfeeding advocate mama proud! For those of you who know me, this was not my Ab, but she would probably (hopefully) do the same!

Went to Abigail's school Christmas concert (no "proper" Nativity this year ). Each class did a little something followed by a song or 2. Anyway, Ab's class did a Nativity scene, with Ab as Mary ( How proud was I?). A few mins into their bit Ab promptly lifted her dress & shoved baby Jesus up it. The script then wandered away from what they'd learnt & goes as follows....

Joseph: "What are you doing?"
Mary: "I'm feeding our baby"
Shepherd: "Have you got a bottle up there then?"
Mary: "Don't be silly he's having milk from my booby"
Joseph: "That's disgusting"
Mary: "No, that baby milk they have in Tescos is disgusting. My baby's having proper milk"
Shepherd: "What's a booby?"
Mary: "Those sticky out bits ladies have"
Shepherd: "They're not boobies, they're nipples"
Mary: "No they're not, they're boobies"
Joseph: "So why can't Jesus have milk from a bottle then?"
Mary: "Because I haven't got a breast pump with me - you forgot to put it on the donkey"
Shepherd: "Can't you ask the teacher for a bottle to feed Jesus with?"
Mary: "No because this is the best way to feed Jesus. Anyway bottles haven't been invented yet & even if they were I've just had a baby so if you think I'm faffing about round Tescos to buy baby milk when I make proper milk in my boobies you can think again"

I felt a teeny bit sorry for their class teacher - she did try her best to steer them back towards their proper lines but she was laughing so much she didn't really stand a chance. The line about Joseph forgetting the breast pump finished her off - she slid to the floor & couldn't get up for laughing....

Rosa Parks and Lactivism (Lactation Advocacy)

2006-12-12T20:36:00.000-06:00

I get very uncomfortable when people compare the struggle of Black people during the civil rights movement to other movements such as "gay rights/marriage" or any other people group. My skin color/racial heritage is something that everyone can see when I walk in the room. It was always part of me, not something I discovered later in life. Some may disagree with my assessment, but that is a debate for later. Either way, by now you have heard about Emily Gillette, a mother who was removed from a Delta Airlines flight for refusing to cover her nursing daughter during a flight because the flight attendant said she was offended. Gillette maintains she was showing no skin, holding her shirt down, in a window seat and even blocked by her husband sitting in the seat next to her. After refusing to cover up, her family was kicked off the flight. Gillette has taken legal action and the airline was given 21 days to respond. I have not heard if she received a satisfactory response or has continued legal action.

Arly Helm an IBCLC with her own radio show shared perhaps some of the most brilliant thoughts on the case of the mother-turned-lactivist I have seen so far with a comparison to the well respected Rosa Parks, mother of the Civil Rights struggle and central figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the United States. She has given me permission to post her eloquent words here. Her words are in response to a post on Lactnet, a listserv we are on for breastfeeding supporters where a reference was made to other women saying that some breastfeeding mothers who had been asked to leave or cover up were being "so Rosa Parks about it". Rosa Parks was an intelligent, working/middle class, respectable woman who took part in an organized act of civil disobedience. She was also a woman who made a choice to do what had to be done for the greater good of her fellow man. She was also a woman who was tired of not being treated fairly - tired of paying for a seat and then not getting one. If standing up for a baby's right to eat in public, and doing so in a decent, respectful way (by that I mean, she wasn't standing up, taking off her shirt and verbally announcing that she would now be breastfeeding a baby while doing a lap dance for her husband) is "so Rosa Parks" then so be it. I would be honored to behave in a way that is "so Rosa Parks" whatever that means.

Arly's Words:
A member of a birthing weblist wrote "I always have such mixed feelings about this topic...some of the women seem so Rosa Parks about it..."

My response:

It is part of a process of accepting change in cultural norms that our hearts and heads tell us something is right, but we admit we are uncomfortable at first.

The Rosa Parks analogy is actually quite good. Remember that all Rosa Parks did was sit down after a long hard day at work, having done what everyone else on the bus had done: paid her full fare.

Many people who felt and thought that Rosa had a right to take a seat on the bus probably were still very uncomfortable with seeing a black woman sitting while white men stood. It broke our cultural norms, not only regarding where blacks were allowed to sit and eat and stand and walk with respect to white folk, but in how women and blacks were supposed to ingratiate themselves with authority--something that is much more frightening. Even those who understood that there is no human difference between black and white were still uncomfortable and frightened that Rosa would simply and quietly challenge the right of authority to deny her humanity.

Infants need the breast on an immediate basis. It is both a true physical and emotional need. Milk from the breast provides up-to-the-minute immunological protection, pain relief, reassurance, and is the only physiological and complete source of nutrition for babies. It is at least as important as making certain a diabetic is not denied either food or insulin in a timely manner. It is at least as important as making certain we are clear, calm and loving when explaining things to those with Down Syndrome, or autism. It is equivalent to meeting the needs of the disabled, and not denying those in wheelchairs access to bathrooms or restaurants or
airplanes.

The discomfort that some still feel when they see a woman breastfeed a baby is only partly due to their own training--most, if not all, persons my age were uncomfortable at some point at seeing people of color eating at Woolworth's, or couples of different races holding hands. It was not only that we were unused to seeing it, and we had been told it was wrong (and, in fact, both these things were illegal in this country when I was growing up). It was also a fear of what would happen when people challenged the status quo by reclaiming their humanity, their dignity, and their freedom. We were afraid for them, and afraid for ourselves.

A baby's right to eat, and a mother's right to breastfeed, are basic human rights. They are physiological needs. We can no more deny a child the right to breastfeed than we can deny all those under age 5 or over age 80 the right to eat in public. We cannot deny the disabled or people of color the right to eat in public. We can no more insist on the breastfed baby remaining in purdah, wearing a chadoor while he eats, no matter the temperature and circumstances, than we can insist that women remain in purdah, covering their faces while they eat.

I urge you to consider with compassion the situation this mother was in. A plane, before it takes off, is a very uncomfortable place. There are hundreds of people squashed in together, there is as yet no fresh air flow, the heat builds up, and there is a palpable miasma of fear from those who are to some degree afraid of flying--perhaps this includes all of us. Anticipating the pressure change and roar of the engines about to occur, this mother offered the only practical and loving protection available--the ways available in frightening and painful
circumstances--the breast.

I don't want to nitpick about how many square inches of breast were visible around the child's head. We all know that a child's head is larger than a bikini top, and that the airport terminals are full to bursting of magazine covers showing much more breast being displayed provocatively and with the intention to incite desire than the amount of breast being shown lovingly and non-sexually during a nursing episode.

This mother did precisely what was right. She defended her child's right to be relieved of fear and pain, and she refused to betray the commitment she has made to stand by her child and protect him from capricious acts of cruelty, even when invoked by someone claiming authority, or by current mores.

We do need to stand up for our children.

And others without power and without a voice in our society.

Yours,

Arly Helm, MS, IBCLC

Come on and Latch on!

2006-12-12T10:48:00.000-06:00

Formula companies are funded by large pharmaceutical corporations. They spend millions just advertising to pediatricians and obstetricians who they hope will pimp their product. So where does breastfeeding promotion get funding? The government provides funding for breastfeeding promotion through WIC clinics but just about every WIC employee I have spoken with can see that the United States government clearly spends more money promoting formula than breastfeeding. LatchOn.org is an answer for this dilemma. Developed by the resourceful women of La Leche League International, this site is a meeting place for those with a great idea for the support, promotion or research of breastfeeding and those that might want to give the time, money or resources to support it. Give it a look. See if there is something that you can help with, give some money or share your resources. After all, it is the giving season, right?

My own project is here. Check it out.

The most non-news news of the day

2006-12-11T09:08:00.000-06:00

Apparently there might be some evidence to suggest that epidurals affect breastfeeding outcome. See original research here. Ask any labor and delivery nurse, doula or mother who has had a baby with an epidural and without. There is a difference. According to Sue Jordan, author of the first article, it may be difficult to ever show a causal relationship due to ethical concerns. However, the testimony of many mothers and care providers is difficult to ignore.

I'm moving

2006-12-10T21:51:00.000-06:00

I am going to move my blog from milkjugs.net to here. It will make the process easier for me and more enjoyable for my readers. If you are one of my readers, consider yourself a trend-setter. One day, my blog will be the top site for things related to breastfeeding in the African-American community (I hope). Stay tuned.