Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths

TMZ talks breastfeeding & Facebook with Alanis Morissette

2012-02-10T17:32:00.003Z

Scroll through to the 5 minute point for a topical discussion (of sorts!) and a major shout-out for the Blacktating blog.

video platform video management video solutions video player

Facebook Protest #fbbf #Dublin

2012-02-06T20:52:00.006Z

Well, I did it. Got us all there and back in pretty much one piece.

Emergency boob-stops = 4

Dirty nappies changed on the front seat = 4

Emotional breakdowns (mine) = 1.5

Illegal U-turns after wrong turns >6

I'm sure there's more but I've blanked it out... Here's what I can remember:

When we arrived, two HR reps (both women) from Facebook met us and invited us in out of the drizzle and into the lobby. They even offered us coffee!

Fiona from the fabulous Friends of Breastfeeding had brought along examples of some of the deleted images to show to representatives of Facebook. The ladies from the HR department confirmed that Facebook supports breastfeeding and seemed genuinely surprised when they saw some of the images that have been deleted. They told us that Facebook only deletes photos when they show lots of skin - however Fiona's pictures told a different story. The HR ladies also confirmed to me verbally that all flagged photos are reviewed by a real human being before being deleted. Definitely a training need then..

You can view some of the pictures Facebook has deleted over the years on this website.

Facebook's representatives also kept a good eye out for the press, and they informed them that they had to wait outside and weren't allowed to film in the lobby. We soon realised that Facebook was probably trying to make it look (from outside the building) like very few people had turned up. If we stayed inside (in the warm!) then clearly fewer of the mums would be able to talk to the press, there would be no usable photos and the net result would much less press coverage of the protest. Sneaky!

So of course we had to go outside again - fortunately it had stopped drizzling by then.

DBM group member the lovely Grainne (a real baby whisperer for her 'That's Not My Monkey' efforts with dd2 on the M1) was brave enough to be interviewed by RTE. Go girl!

Many other mums were interviewed or photographed by members of the press, and Chris from Friends of Breastfeeding gave a really excellent speech. Well done to everybody who made an effort to speak out publicly to raise awareness of this long standing problem. I'm sure many of them felt the same as me - like a fish out of water.

I was lucky to meet MANY amazing women - and not a few amazing men - too many to list here. Amongst them was Niamh from The Mama's Hip Blog (pictured above) who has written her account of the day here.

I honestly think EVERYONE who attended today deserves a 'big-up' for making the effort to come along. People had travelled from all over the island (from as far away as Derry and Waterford) to attend.

So many people are 'armchair activists', and I guess I don't really get it. Essentially they agree with something, but they'll tell you they just don't 'do' protests. It's not their *thing*.

Well I'll tell you - it's not my *thing* either. I do NOT get a kick out of an 190 mile round trip alone with two small children (who does?). I find the thought of being labelled a 'lactivist' a real turn off. It's certainly not something I aspire to be! I just want mums to be supported to breastfeed if they want to. I certainly don't want anyone (in this case Facebook) making it harder for them by making out they're doing something weird. So even though it's not my *thing* I accept that protesting is sometimes necessary.

As nice as it was to meet so many lovely people, I hope I don't have to do anything like this again. Ever! I just don't want it to be an issue.

On the upside, there was cake!

Well done to all the people all over the world who turned up to the protests today, thank you to everyone who changed their profile pictures in support, and to those who wanted to come but couldn't make it - it's your turn next time ;)

Below, the real face of 'lactivism'.

EDITED TO ADD: In the time it's taken for me to write and review this post I've seen on Twitter that @babycalmclasses has been banned from Facebook for three days for (seemingly) posting a cartoon showing a newborn having skin to skin with a topless mum. I SO hope this isn't true. :(

Here are links to some of the press coverage of today's protest. If you have blogged about this or know of an article I've missed, please let me know so I can add it to the list:

http://www.rte.ie/news/player.html

http://www.tv3.ie/3player/show/2/45108/0/News-Updates (scroll to 8 mins)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWM-o6JH3cc

http://www.q102.ie/news/news-item.aspx?ID=0c043817-1551-407c-b23f-8291051b1897&audio=true

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01bqwr4/Talkback_07_02_2012/ (approx 39mins in)

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0206/breaking49.html

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/digital-life/item/25646-facebook-breastfeeding/

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0206/facebook.html

http://www.thejournal.ie/breastfeeding-protest-held-outside-facebook-hq-347988-Feb2012/

http://www.themarysue.com/facebook-women-and-breastfeeding/

http://pachamammy.blogspot.com/2012/02/protest-at-facebook.html

http://andmybaby.ie/2012/02/07/not-just-about-the-pictures/

Apprehensive

2012-02-05T12:21:00.002Z

Tomorrow I'm taking my two little girls with me to Dublin to attend the protest outside Facebook's offices at Hanover Quay.

I'm a bit stressed about it all to be honest. 'Nurse-Ins' aren't my thing. I've never attended a protest. I can be quite shy with people I don't know, especially in large groups. Probably you won't believe me but this is all true. I'm a (relatively) normal mum, and I don't enjoy drawing attention to myself or my children. I 'brazen it out' when I have to, but I don't enjoy it one little bit. I'm dreading the 90 minute drive each way, and finding my way around Dublin. I am worried in case dd2 cries on the way or dd1 needs the loo and there's nowhere for me to stop. The petrol and toll roads will cost £££ and we're not exactly 'flush' these days, and I won't know anyone when I get there.

You're probably wondering why I'm going at all.

I'm going because I think social media will play an increasingly large role in all our lives over the years to come, and especially in my daughter's lives. I think Facebook is valuable in so many ways - most especially as a vehicle for sharing information and support. This is the way the world is moving, social media is going to be increasingly powerful in influencing the way we think, and more importantly, the way our children WILL think. If breastfeeding is to survive into the digital age, we have to get this sorted out.

That's why we have to stop the way Facebook is harassing breastfeeding mums when they post their photos or even write about breastfeeding. Heck - they deleted the Leaky Boob group, and threatened to delete DBM twice. I can't be having that now can I? ;)

Facebook was dreamt up by a very creative young man, and it's run by incredibly creative, forward-thinking young people. Facebook's office in Dublin is it's Head Office in Europe employing 400 people, with plans for expansion. Those young people have grown up in a world where formula feeding is normal, and where breasts are used to sell things and to titillate rather than to feed babies. It's understandable that some of them will find breastfeeding shocking - obscene even - because they probably don't see it in their daily lives. It's also likely that some of the employees at Facebook find pictures of breasts being used provocatively less obscene, simply because they've seen them more often growing up. I don't want my children growing up in a world where the largest social network deems this image acceptable, but deletes these ones. It's important to see breastfeeding in order for it to become normalised once again within our culture, and that includes pictures on a social network.

I have it on good authority that the human beings who review 'obscene' photographs for Facebook are located at the Dublin offices. These employees are directly responsible for deleting so many breastfeeding images and banning the posters. 'The Dublin office is responsible for all of the company’s users outside of the U.S. and Canada, according to the Irish data-protection agency'.

Ireland has one of the lowest breastfeeding initiation rates in Europe - the economy here increasingly relies on the formula industry to generate income during these tough economic times. Our small country will soon produce 20% of the world's infant formula milk, and that is set to increase with the Government courting the formula industry for all it's worth. People here consume vast amounts of dairy products and most people think cow's milk is essential for good health.. Our culture is incredibly anti-breastfeeding. That is reflected in the way Facebook's Irish employees are implementing their 'obscenity' policy. And let's not forget that Facebook make a lot of money advertising formula milk.

The reason I'm going to Dublin is because we, in Ireland, are at the centre of this problem. Facebook's Irish employees are playing a key role targeting and shaming breastfeeding mums from within Facebook's on-line community. In terms of population, Facebook represents the third largest country in the world with 800 million users and rising. We cannot allow the Irish breastfeeding 'issue' to become a global one - we are NOT in a position to lecture anyone about how to feed babies. If a picture of a baby being bottle fed is acceptable and not deemed obscene by Facebook then we have to demand that photographs of babies being fed at the breast are also permitted. If Facebook truly is the global network it purports to be, then it must stand for global and human norms, rather than (our) hypocritical and prudish Irish ones. And that means I feel I have to make the trip.

Wish me luck!

If you can't make it to one of the many rallies (find out where they're taking place here) - then please consider joining the on-line protest by changing your profile picture to one supporting the protest. The image below is free for you to use.

2012-01-28T23:47:00.002Z

Self-Explanatory

2012-01-26T13:24:00.000Z

An Apology

2012-01-12T16:24:00.007Z

Dear DBM-ers,

You might remember that sometime ago, the DBM Facebook group was threatened (twice) with deletion due to 'obscene' photographs which some of you had wanted to share on the group wall.

At the time I was very concerned that our community was under threat and so I asked you to send me your photos via email for publication on this blog instead. I disabled the wall so you couldn't post your pictures, and changed the community guidelines to say you shouldn't post pictures to the wall.

I was completely wrong to do this.

By allowing Facebook to dictate to me their definition of 'obscene' I toe-d a line which I shouldn't have toe-d. A misogynistic line which seeks to tell women that they are still lesser beings than men because their upper body is 'obscene' but a man's is not. A line which forces mothers to hide out of sight from the rest of society because using our breasts to feed and comfort our children is 'obscene'. A line which says that breasts are fine when they are being used to titillate men but suddenly become obscene when they are used to nurture the children those same men sire.

According to the sociologist Allan G. Johnson, misogyny is:

"a central part of sexist prejudice and ideology and, as such, is an important basis for the oppression of females in male-dominated societies. Misogyny is manifested in many different ways, from jokes to pornography to violence to the self-contempt women may be taught to feel toward their own bodies."

I'm really sorry :( I should never have asked you to hide away.

Facebook is only a 'virtual' world but it plays an important part in many people's real lives. I absolutely support your right to nurse in public and I therefore I must unquestionably support your right to share your nursing photos on our Facebook group wall too.

But what happens if we get into trouble with Facebook and our group gets shut down?

If that happens, I will let you know how to find one another again via the Twitter account @bfdboobies

I will also contact the press and campaign to have our group reinstated, just as the wonderful Leaky Boob did. I will trust that other online communities will support us just as we have supported them in the past.

As Jessica from the Leaky Boob promised me when DBM was threatened with deletion once before:

'we've got your back'.

In the meantime I have a favour to ask. There is a co-ordinated campaign of 'nurse-in's being organised at Facebook's offices around the world on February 6th. You can learn more about them here.

There will be one in London, and potentially one in Dublin if we can get it organised. They will also be taking place throughout Europe, in the USA, Canada and Australia. I want you to support those nurse-ins if you feel able.

My reason for asking is this: if Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest country in the world smaller only than China and India. It is currently home to 800 Million users. One analyst predicts that it will have 1 Billion users by August 2012.

We're allowing Facebook to tell 800 Million + people that breastfeeding is obscene and must be hidden, or done out of sight, and yet that same company makes millions from advertising formula milks.

So that my lovely daughters don't inherit a world where breastfeeding mothers are still denigrated, things really need to change. For the record, I'm not a fan of 'nurse-ins'. I've actually never attended one before. I'm not a fan of them because to me they're essentially just a 'sit-in' with babies and children around. If those babies and children need a feed, then they have a feed. However, this is what it is. We're nursing mothers, we will probably need to bring our kids with us and they'll probably need to feed. But anyone can 'sit-in' in support of the rights of breastfeeding mothers, so bring your friends, and your partners too - we don't discriminate ;)

In the meantime I'm going to change the settings so you can post your nursing pictures if you want to. I'll let you know when it's done.

Today I went for lunch with my mother and girls at an art gallery close to my home. In the garden outside there are many sculptures (which my eldest daughter calls 'angels') and she asked to go and see them. We walked around them all and the last one we came to was this one:

The name of this sculpture is 'Pillows of Strength' and it's by F.E. McWilliam.

I like that my daughter brought me to it today, and perhaps it was an angel. :)

Karen's Story

2012-01-11T20:42:00.003Z

Below follows a mother's story sent in by Karen who runs Boobiemilk.

They're going to be running a competition for us soon - however before that, Karen wanted to share her own story of breastfeeding her first child. I can honestly say that I never cease to be amazed by the determination of some of the women in our group.

Karen and William

'William was born in January 2008. He was exactly one week late. The labour went really well for the first 21 hours while I quietly laboured at home and then travelled 45 miles to the Birth Centre to labour in their birthing pool. When I felt ready to push I asked the midwife to break my waters and sadly they were brown. In this birth centre that meant a trip in the wheelchair underground and up the elevator to the hospital delivery ward. This also meant that when William finally emerged after 3 hours of pushing and an episiotomy resulting in a third degree tear, a group of staff from the NICU whisked him to the other end of the room to be deeply suctioned. William was finally placed on my chest and the NICU nurse told me not to breastfeed him yet because he would have to go to the NICU if his breathing worsened. When I asked his APGAR score I was told 9, pretty good score for a baby finding it had to breathe?

William weighed in at 9lb, I know this because a volunteer stood in the corner of the delivery room until we let her weigh him. She had been standing there for over an hour by this point while waiting for me to finish skin-to-skin.

The brown waters and high birth weight meant that William was watched closely and had his blood sugar monitored every couple of hours for his first day of life. Every time we mentioned going home, we were told that it was important for William to be closely monitored until discharged from hospital.

I knew a lot about breastfeeding. I had attended classes, I had read books, I ran a nutrition and breastfeeding program in the US. This all flies out of the window when you hold your first baby in your arms. “What’s the cross cradle position again?”.

Many of the nurses tried to help with positioning. One nurse told me “Your nipples will toughen up in time”. A lactation consultant came to the room with her inch long fingernails to help me position William URGH. My work colleague and lactation consultant came to the hospital to help with positioning. We delayed his circumcision to prevent further breastfeeding problems and left the hospital after 2 long nights stay (circumcision is very common in the US, however we decided against it after reading that it is performed without anaesthetic).

The first night in our own home things got worse. William refused the breast altogether. Every time he was put close to the nipple he would scream and try to get away. After all the suctioning and constant help with breastfeeding he’d had enough. I was so lucky to have my husband and Mum with me. I hand expressed onto a teaspoon while my family fed the milk to my son. I knew that at his age, small quantities of milk were enough for him.

We made it through the first night at home and went to see our paediatrician the next day for a routine appointment. The Doctor assured us that this was normal and breast refusal was common. He offered us two things, a dental syringe and a can of formula. He laughed when I took only the syringe, he knew I wouldn’t take the formula. Plus, if I needed formula, Mead Johnson had kindly delivered two cans while we were in the hospital (which I donated to the local food bank or tipped down the sink I don’t remember which). The syringe made things easier, and no milk was wasted in the task of hand expression. I had a pump but hand expression was the best method for the first couple of days.

William took many trips in those first few weeks in the snow to see my colleague the lactation consultant and to support groups at another hospital. We tried lots of skin to skin, we tried a nipple shield, we worked tirelessly to encourage William to like to spend time at the breast and we worked on latch. I knew that I needed to establish a good milk supply and so we got hold of a hospital grade pump and I pumped around the clock. I made a huge mistake in my desperation to pump enough milk for the next feed and turned the suction too high. I destroyed my nipples OUCH! So, as William became better and better at latching I was in agony from the pump. I used gel pads to help repair and soothe my nipples, I used antibiotics for the mastitis that I got from the nipple trauma. I say William got better and better, but in reality he never got really good at breastfeeding, he was just lucky that I ended up with an oversupply. I worked with four different lactation consultants before I found the right technique for us. William would never open his mouth wide, he hated having his nose near the breast, and in the end we had to take a hands-on approach to get a good latch. I know that many lactation consultants take a hands off approach to breastfeeding, but I really needed to be shown how to do it and I had to shape the breast for William to get a good mouthful and not have his nose touching anything.

I probably pumped full time for William for about a month. We then spent the next year with a great left side latch and a dodgy right sided latch. At three months I went back to work and sadly had to start pumping all over again. I worked four long days. I would feed at drop off, lunchtime and pick-up, and William would have 2-3 bottles of expressed breastmilk. My work was very breastfeeding friendly, and my staff were very encouraging and understanding. It would have been very easy to miss pumping sessions, but I made it a priority and it worked for us. William received expressed breastmilk until his first birthday, and I continued to nurse at lunchtime until he turned 2. At 18 months one of his teachers asked me to leave the room and nurse him somewhere else, this was the first time I had met with negativity towards my breastfeeding a toddler (outside the family). I had nursed him in that building 3 times a day for two years and never had a negative comment, it blew my mind. She never asked me to move again, she would just quietly leave the room.

William was never sick, he made it through all the bugs that came around at the nursery, he watched quietly from his cot as each and every other child and teacher went down with vomiting and diarrhea. He never had an ear infection, had his first diaper rash at 2 (cloth nappies are the best) and the staff were very happy to inform me of his first illness at 15 months, pink eye. I don’t think we could have travelled on a plane without him breastfeeding, it really has been a truly magnificent parenting tool. At six months William came to a breastfeeding conference with me for work. He was brought to me during one of the sessions and after the session was over we were asked to return after the break so that we could do a demonstration for the next session. He spent the entire hour flirting with the audience.

My husband, myself and William moved back to the UK in 2010. I was 5 months pregnant and William was still nursing maybe 4-6 times a day (he weaned at night 6 months earlier). My family were a little concerned that he was STILL breastfeeding, but it really worked for us, and nursing while pregnant had been tough in the beginning, but had become a lot less painful by the second trimester. I knew that William would have some jealousy when the new baby arrived, and a renewed interest for breastfeeding. When Ellie arrived (easy labour, easy breastfeeder, gorgeous little girl), I think it really helped them to bond by sharing breastfeeding together. William had decided early on in the pregnancy that he no longer wanted the right breast, and was very quick to give it to Ellie. I must admit it was a little weird to look down and see such a tiny head and such a big head nursing together, but adorable all at the same time.

William will be 4 in January, and he has had his last breastfeed. He had been asking for it less and less, and telling me more and more when Ellie needed to nurse. One night he asked for Boobie and Daddy told him he could have Boobie 5 more times. I did not disagree with him, it was time. While William nursed I cried. It’s been a long and hard journey, but there’s nothing I would change as it’s changed my life for the better and I know that we are closer because of it. I have used my experiences and passion for breastfeeding to promote and support other women’s choices and I’m even making it my living now. Breastfeeding has helped me understand what help other women need to succeed at it, and I have been able to make positive changes in breastfeeding rates in the US as a result of that. I have just graduated from Breast Buddy training in the UK which I hope will allow me to help UK women to reach their breastfeeding goals too.

William has not asked for Boobie again. '

Ellie and WIlliam

Boobiemilk are having a sale throughout January with 15% discount at the checkout using the code JANUARY15 ~ 'Like' their facebook page here.

STILL breastfeeding?

2012-01-09T22:39:00.008Z

'Are you STILL feeding that baby?'

'Teeth are God's way of telling you it's time to stop'
(a doctor once said this to me...)

'There are no benefits to breastfeeding past 6m/1yr'

bla.

bla..

bla...

Dear Friends*,

You've made it to about 6 months or beyond, and hopefully breastfeeding is going well.

Your baby is probably starting to eat solids and still breastfeeds.

You are probably enjoying feeding - maybe you're even starting to reconsider your original goals. 6 months might be becoming 1 year, or maybe you've decided you now want to breastfeed until your child self-weans.

You're just living your life, minding your own business and feeding your baby, and then someone - and it might be someone close to you - SOMEONE starts making *those* comments.

Apart from a rather ballsy 'what's it got to do with you?' Or a (perhaps slightly cannier) 'what makes you say/think that?'), what can a mum say when the comments start?

Well, there are plenty of reasonable things you could say in response - but of course you never remember the best retorts until it's too late (or is that just me?).

You could trot out the obvious 'the WHO recommend two years or beyond'; but even in the C21st many people seem to think that those recommendations only really apply to third world countries....

You could ask them why they think cow breast milk is better for a human being that human breast milk?

You could just say 'because s/he likes it and so do I' - but I think it likely that someone who will directly question how you feed your baby will also be the type of person who thinks that LIKING breastfeeding makes you a bit odd...

So I have a few suggestions to make about things you might store away for when the comments come.... (I realise that this list far from exhaustive!)

'Because the less my child breastfeeds, the more likely he is to become obese.'
'These findings strongly support a dose-dependent association between longer duration of breastfeeding and decrease in risk of overweight.'
'Because the less my child breastfeeds, the more likely he is to develop diabetes.'
'breastfeeding has a significant, measurable effect on the important growth regulators in the blood, IGF-I and insulin. The more times the child was breastfed, the lower the hormone levels'
'Because the less my child breastfeeds, the more likely she is to develop mental health problems.'
'A shorter duration of breastfeeding may be a predictor of adverse mental health outcomes throughout the developmental trajectory of childhood and early adolescence.'
'Because the less my child breastfeeds, the more likely she is to suffer from Autism.'
'No breastfeeding versus breastfeeding for more than six months was significantly associated with an increase in the odds of having AD when all cases were considered'
'Because the less my child breastfeeds, the more likely he is to suffer from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML).'
'This meta-analysis showed that both short-term and long-term breastfeeding reduced the risk of childhood ALL and AML,'
'Because the less my child breastfeeds, the lower her IQ is likely to be.'
'a significant positive association between duration of breastfeeding and intelligence was observed'
'Because the less my child breastfeeds the less support his immature immune system will have.'
'Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation' ' a child's immune system doesn't completely mature until about 6 years of age'

And because it always staggers me that women don't shout more about the protection longer term breastfeeding affords them - tell those pesky breastfeeding saboteurs that:

'my risk of developing ovarian cancer increases the shorter I breastfeed.'
'Breastfeeding of 18 or more months was associated with a significant decrease in ovarian cancer risk compared to never breastfeeding'
'my risk of developing breast cancer increases the increases I breastfeed.'
'The total duration of breast-feeding was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer (for each month of breast-feeding)'
'my risk of suffering from high blood pressure increases the shorter I breastfeed.'
'never or curtailed lactation was associated with an increased risk of incident maternal hypertension'
'my risk of developing diabetes increases the shorter I breastfeed.'
'increasing duration of lactation was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. For each additional year of lactation, women with a birth in the prior 15 years had a decrease in the risk of diabetes of 15%'
'my risk of suffering a heart attack increases the shorter I breastfeed'
'women with a single live birth who breast-fed for 7-12 months were significantly less likely to develop cadriovascular disease'
'my overall health is likely to be worse the shorter I breastfeed'.
'dose-response associations between breastfeeding duration and later health' 'among postmenopausal women, increased duration of lactation was associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease.'

As I said - this list is far from exhaustive...

Many of the 'benefits' of breastfeeding are dose specific. The longer you do do it for, the healthier for you and your child - simple.
I like to think of this as Mother Nature's reward ;)

So, lovely mums:

If you like breastfeeding, and your child still wants to breastfeed, let the only people to have a say in when you stop breastfeeding be you and your child.

(*you know who you are)

Links and further reading:

Obesity:
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/162/5/397.short
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v28/n10/abs/0802758a.html
http://www.healthjockey.com/2011/12/28/breastfeeding-reduces-obesity-risk-in-kids-life/
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/2/e81.short

Diabetes:
http://truthdive.com/2011/12/21/Breastfeeding-cuts-kids-risk-of-developing-lifestyle-diseases-later-in-life.html
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-5491.2010.03134.x/abstract
http://www.jacn.org/content/24/5/320.short
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/294/20/2601.short

http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/fulltext/2009/05000/duration_of_lactation_and_risk_factors_for.5.aspx

Mental Health:
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=23636338

Austim:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1746-4358-1-16.pdf
http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-ZFYB200814018.htm

http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/article/view/158/177

Childhood Cancers:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8282392
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2899774
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1497668/pdf/15504444.pdf
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673688928358/abstract

Higher intelligence:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/287/18/2365.short
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/65/5/578

Breast Cancer:
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/96/14/1094.short
http://breastcancer.about.com/od/riskfactorsindetail/a/breastfd_prevnt.htm

Ovarian Cancer:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17450440

Blood Pressure:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8949323/Mothers-who-breastfeed-for-at-least-six-months-have-lower-blood-pressure.html
http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/fulltext/2009/05000/duration_of_lactation_and_risk_factors_for.5.aspx

Better Overall Health for mothers:
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/161/3/289.full.pdf+html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/health/research/22breast.html

Immunity in children:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/433149
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309043913&page=134#pagetop
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1398-9995.2000.00118.x/full

Ardo Competition Winner!

2012-01-05T21:51:00.001Z

CONGRATULATIONS to....

Danielle Baker (entry via email)

who was randomly selected by this generator as the winner out of the many entries to our Ardo Calypso competition!

The question was: 'What is the technology called on the Calypso which gives you complete protection from contamination?'

Of course, the correct answer (which all of you got!) was B - VacuuSeal.

Read more about why such protection is important here.

Please get in touch with me Danielle, via email so I can arrange to have your pump sent from Ardo.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and huge thanks to Ardo for volunteering such a generous prize!

I hope this competition has helped to raise a bit of awareness about the importance of supporting breastfeeding by choosing to patronise companies who are WHO code compliant :)

Happy New Year!

Holiday Help

2011-12-23T19:05:00.001Z

For the next little while the facebook group will remain open for posts to the wall and 'peer to peer' support. However, it may be a little quieter than usual as everyone (including me!) enjoys a break from their normal routines for the holiday period.

If you need breastfeeding support over the holiday period you can:

1/ post your question on the group wall.

2/ check this page and see if your issue/ problem is already covered there.

3/ visit one of the following websites to search for information:

http://abm.me.uk/ (association of breastfeeding mothers)

http://www.llli.org/ (la leche league)

http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk (breastfeeding network)

http://www.nct.org.uk/parenting/feeding (national childbirth trust)

http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/ (website of Jack Newman)

http://www.kellymom.com (helpful website run by a lactation consultant)

4/ call one of the following helplines:

Breastfeeding Network 0300 100 0210

La Leche League 0845 120 2918

NCT Breastfeeding Helpline 0300 330 0771

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers 08444 122 949

Have a lovely Christmas and New Year - and don't forget to enter the Ardo competition to win a fab Calyspo breastpump!

Win an Ardo Calypso Breastpump!

2011-12-20T16:55:00.000Z

I'm really happy to be able to post the question for our Ardo Calypso breastpump giveaway ~ someone will be winning themselves a great pump in the new year!

More about Ardo and the pump itself is here.

To be in with a chance of winning, work out the answer to the following question by visiting the Ardo website:

What is the technology called on the Calypso which gives you complete protection from contamination?

A/ Optiflow

B/ VacuuSeal

C/ Upgrade Set

Post your answer (A,B, or C) in comments below, or email it to bcboobies@hotmail.co.uk .

We'll draw the winner on January 1st 2012.

NB - With apologies to group members from further afield, this giveaway is open to members from the UK and Republic of Ireland only.

Breastfeeding - with nipples!

2011-12-18T14:17:00.004Z

Click image to enlarge

Inspired by this.

Breastfeed - but no nipples!

2011-12-17T13:01:00.007Z

Recently I was asked to take part in a photo-shoot for a breastfeeding calendar. It wasn't being organised by me, but by a really vibrant and eclectic group of women from another town. I was delighted to be asked to take part, and it was a fun day. The calendar was to consist of a mixture of cute baby pictures, lovely skin to skin shots, mums playing with their babies, snippets of breastfeeding information and details about the local peer support service, as well as some breastfeeding pictures. The concept, organisation, and execution came entirely from the mums themselves.

The local council gave their support to the project, and the government agency tasked with dealing with public health issues here suggested they would like to come on board and even offered to give some financial support. That was - until they saw the pictures - some of which showed ACTUAL breasts, breastfeeding.

Now in fairness, I wasn't privy to all the interactions, but one thing seems plain to me. The government body who is supposed to be helping to promote breastfeeding and healthy living within our community won't give it's backing to visible breastfeeding.
They apparently described the images as 'too graphic'.
It seems they want to promote breastfeeding, but only if you do it discreetly. They decided to pull their support for the project and this necessitated the removal of the information about the local peer supporters.

Amongst the calendar pictures there are 1 (maybe 2 if you squint) visible nipples. Nipples being used for their intended purpose - feeding babies. Shocking, I'm sure you'll agree, and something Northern Ireland just isn't ready for - apparently.

And yet - as @goodythegood pointed out to me on Twitter - Northern Ireland IS ready for this:

As much as I applaud the DOE for their uncompromising approach towards tackling the chaos on our roads, HOW ON EARTH is it possible for our society to be OK with these graphic ads but NOT OK with the sight of a baby feeding at the breast?

The infant feeding Survey 2010 showed that only 64% of mothers ever put their newborn to their breast. That's an increase of only 1% on the 2005 survey. Dreadfully low breastfeeding initiation rates and hardly any sign of improvement over the last 5 years.

On the other hand, the deliberately shocking and provocative series of road traffic adverts from the DOE have helped to reduce road deaths here to their lowest level since 1931.

I'm not trying to suggest we all get out there and bare our chests publicly in an effort to force everyone to watch us feeding our babies so that we we can normalise infant feeding here - but it was a BREASTFEEDING CALENDAR for God's sake!

If YOU don't mind seeing a nipple being used for feeding a baby, and would like to support the calendar, then click here.

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and all good things for 2012

DBM Festive Giveaway ~ Win an Ardo Calypso Breastpump!

2011-12-05T17:39:00.000Z

So excited :)

The nice people at Ardo UK are giving us one of their lovely new Calypso breast pumps to give away when we reach 6,000 'likes' on the Facebook group!

Unlike almost all other breast pump manufacturers (including Medela, Avent, Lansinoh, Tommy Tippee, Breastflow & more), Ardo are in full compliance with the WHO Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. This really matters when it comes to protecting breastfeeding. As you can see, Ardo are in competition with some serious brand heavyweights when it comes to breast pumps, and they're a relative newcomer to the UK market. However, unlike these other companies they have put their commitment to the WHO code at the heart of their company philosophy.

To learn more about Code, what it does and why it matters, click here. Ardo have this to say about the WHO code:

'ARDO is in compliance with the WHO Code and strongly promotes breastfeeding - ARDO is your responsible partner when working with the WHO International Code. As producers of breastfeeding aids, we support the practice of breastfeeding with products of highest quality and functionality. Our nursing aids offer solutions to breastfeeding difficulties, and treat this natural process in a holistic and effective manner. Thus, compliance with the WHO Code is of the utmost importance to us.'

Not all breast pumps are created equal as this blog post shows. All Ardo's pumps have a 'closed' system which makes them the safest type of pump you can buy. Other very popular models have an 'open' design which means that - sadly - contamination is a real possibility. All Ardo pumps can be safely used by more than one person, (using replacement attachments). This means they can be sold on with a clear conscience once your pumping days are over! The Calypso is guaranteed for 400 hours or two years. That's a lot of worry-free expressing!

The Calypso can also be easily converted for use as a double breast pump. Double pumping helps to maximise milk removal and stimulates more prolactin than expressing just one breast at a time. It also cuts the time it takes to pump in half! The Calypso therefore enables you to choose between double and single pumping depending on your needs. It's easily portable, has a good range of suction and frequency settings, works on battery mode or mains electricity AND it's by far the quietest breast pump I've ever used. When I was looking to buy a new pump to use after the birth of my second child this was the one I chose. I consider it an ethical, safe, everyday pump which is good value for money and should suit the needs of a majority of breastfeeding mums.

You can read independent reviews of this pump here.

So how would you like to win one? :)

When we reach 6,000 'likes' on the Facebook group I'll post the multiple choice question. We'll draw the winner on January 1st 2012.

So get sharing and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

PLEASE NOTE: Unfortunately this competition is open to DBM members living in the UK or Republic of Ireland ONLY

DISCLAIMER: I have not received any payment or other inducement/ freebie of any kind to write this piece.

Beautiful Breastfeeding :)

2011-12-03T13:41:00.000Z

Viktoriya nursing her daughter in Thailand

William nursing at 16 months old.

Sally and her daughter at the start of their breastfeeding journey.

Rachel nursing her little daughters aged 2.5yrs & 1month

Nanette's babies meet at her breast.

Nina's little one nursing at 7m old

Mrs G and her little senorita

Melissa O's baby getting some skin to skin with daddy!

Liz feeding her little boy.

Lindsay breastfeeding her son aged 8m

Lianne and her booby baby.

Laura breastfeeding her son for the first time!

Kirsty and her bright eyed baby girl!

Kelly and her daughter, still going strong at 15 months!

Kaya on her way to a wedding :)

Karen and Ellie (6m)

Me and dd2 aged 10.5w

Julie and her blue-eyed boy

Jessica had some professional photos taken!

Jay's pic.

Heather and her nursling.

Danielle and her baby.

Claire and her nursling.

Claire C

Chloe tandem feeding her babies.

Caroline feeds her baby after her c-section

Bec and her nursling Ezekiel aged 5 months here

little Abigail at 9 months old

Merry and her nursling

Breastfeeding in Intensive Care

2011-11-19T12:57:00.001Z

I was sent this by email, and thought it should be shared with you all. What an incredible lady!

'I had an emergency c-section where I lost all of my blood and a bit more that they put back in, in the process of stemming my near catastrophic bleed, my ureter got sutured. This resulted in no flow of urine from my right kidney to my bladder. I was in Intensive Care for one night and then transferred to High Dependency unit. My baby and I spent 2 weeks on the post natal ward. The massive shock to my body and blood loss affected how long it took for my milk to come in - 7 days. But, amazingly it did come in! (see photo).

I had to live with a nephrostomy for 3 months whilst I waited for my surgery to heal so that I could have reconstructive surgery. The nephrostomy was really unpleasant to live with, however I had my healthy baby and my life. I had to remember this every time I was admitted with a severe kidney infection and had to have 5 day courses of I.V. antibiotics, arguing with doctors about my right to breastfeed and keeping my baby with me at all times etc.. etc..

My baby is 14 month old and we are still breastfeeding and will stop when he wants to. :-)

Emma x '

Breastfeeding a new baby and looking after a pre-schooler...

2011-10-22T16:49:00.003+01:00

Not so long ago a breast feeding mother wrote to one of the media doctors asking for advice about mix feeding her new baby because:

'I am finding it hard to give my toddler enough attention due to the long time it takes to breast feed' .

I complained to the PCC over inaccuracies in the published reply, and won a small amendment to the article (although there are so many other unhelpful myths perpetuated in the piece it still makes my blood boil!).

In my complaint I included a number of alternative suggestions I felt the doctor might have made which might have helped the mother to continue to breast feed whilst also enabling her to meet her toddler's needs. At the time of my complaint the suggestions were - for me - simply 'hypothetical' ones, though. I had never actually put them into practice. I always knew breastfeeding my second child whilst being a SAHM looking after a 2.5year old would be tough at times.

I totally relate to the mother who wrote the letter - I'm not going to lie - it's been a challenging few weeks here (hubby is out a LOT!) and though we've just come through the 6 week growth spurt I'm well aware that we're not out of the woods yet! There have been tears, and some exhausted mornings the thought of many long hours alone with two has seemed unbearably daunting. I've lost my temper and I've not been the parent I want to be. I'm sure it will happen again too.

Still - would any of this be easier if my newborn was being formula fed? I very much doubt it. To begin with, there are no guarantees that my baby would be 'settled' on formula, and bottles need careful preparation as well as washing and sterilising. Giving a baby formula doesn't magically make them an 'easy' baby, and young babies require a lot of time and attention regardless of what you feed them.

Setting aside the risks associated with formula feeding, what would stopping breastfeeds mean in practical terms for my family?

Well, at a guess giving a bottle might mean I could feed using just one hand (with the baby in a bouncy chair for example), and this would leave the other hand free for 'entertaining'. When I breastfeed I need to use both hands though (big boobs!), so in choosing to breast feed in theory I might be losing the use of one arm some of the time compared with bottle feeding.

You can also set a bottle down. Now I know that technically I could pause a breast feed to do something with my older child (to wipe a bottom for instance), but in reality that interferes so much with the process of breastfeeding (the milk ends up everywhere, the baby takes in air, you know the deal), that I don't stop and get up in the middle of a feed it if I can possibly avoid it. With bottle feeding you can just set the bottle to one side and calmly answer the door/ phone.

Those are just two examples of where I consider breast feeding to be more demanding than bottle feeding.

Bottle feeding is generally considered less 'bonding' than breast feeding, though. In general I think this is probably true (a piece about ways to make up for this is here) but I'm going to be really honest: a lot of the time when I'm feeding my new daughter I'm not gazing down at her adoringly, luxuriating in our wonderful bond and the miracle of life... Some of the time I'm barely registering the feed!

I only get to ENJOY breast feeding when my older girl is in bed or being entertained by someone else! I feel very guilty about this, but it's just the way it is - our days are very full on. Breast feeding is very functional a lot of the time.

So I'm not really able to be as attentive as I would like most of the time - BUT - from my new daughter's point of view, breast feeding is still ticking many important boxes that bottle feeding would not. My younger daughter is getting all-important skin to skin contact with me. I look at her frequently (sometimes just to check her latch!). She's also being held in my arms, and of course, she's getting the best milk there is.

What would happen if I decided to do some or all formula feeds so that I could give more attention to my older child? Well, I can only tell you that I suspect I would probably set the baby down a whole lot more. Of course I'd TRY not to, but ultimately I know that many people end up coping by sitting their babies in a chair for some of their feeds. That means less time being held, and potentially no skin to skin contact whatsoever. The advantage? Well, it's possible that she would go longer between feeds and those feeds might take less time. I'd also be able to give her to someone else to feed. But at what cost to my youngest child?

Currently, with all the distractions and other 'mothering challenges', breast feeding is making me a better mother. Not in the holier than thou sense - not at all. Breast feeding is simply forcing/ enabling me to give my baby more of what she needs (the skin to skin, the holding, the eye contact, the protection against her older sisters bugs which she gets from the milk!) - and all whilst I'm not really paying full attention.

Sharing the feeding responsibilities may be a relief sometimes, but if you see the logic in 'attachment' theory (and I do), then from the baby's perspective it's really not ideal.

Despite the guilt that comes with splitting your attention between children, the idea that a younger child should be denied breast feeding because you have an older child who also needs your attention is just crazy to me.

In our bottle feeding culture everyone is more than familiar with many ways to keep a younger baby entertained which leave mum hands-free. Even pretty young babies can do circuits of bouncy chair > play mat > moses basket > chair swing etc. Most mothers-to-be have at least one or two of these items on their shopping list. I did too.

Then I learned that my refluxy baby cried in the bouncy chair, screamed on the play mat and point-blank refused to sleep in the moses basket. Hmmmm.

Next time around rather than bother with/ waste more money on any of these (and I'm not saying they don't have their place), I opted for just one amazing, multi-function product which:

leaves your hands free
soothes a fussy baby
creates a warm natural sleeping environment
does not require batteries or electricity
doubles as a nursing cover (if you like)
gently rocks your baby
helps to regulate their breathing and body temperature

I could go on.... The product is (of course) a decent sling.

It has been a total life saver. I honestly have no idea how anyone (breast OR bottle feeding!) copes without one when they have an older child/ children.

So my number 1 top tip for surviving breastfeeding when you're looking after other children is GET A SLING! Good information about how to choose and use a sling is here.

I learnt from experience to choose a sling which will keep the new baby upright. I tried a ring sling with my first child but she never settled in it because she tended towards a reclined position. Upright positions rock (if you'll pardon the pun) because they really help to minimise any infant reflux. You can even learn to nurse in one - and I advise it! Learning to use a sling can be a bit challenging in the beginning, but help is out there - make contact with other sling-wearing mums and learn from them. It's really important to choose a sling which supports your baby correctly and distributes their weight effectively. Using a sling means you can do more with your older child, as in my experience the younger one will sleep MORE snuggled up to your chest. Sibling rivalry reduced. Result!

Ask around and you'll get a range of other suggestions as to how to cope when breast feeding a new baby. I read about making a box for my older child full of special, interesting things to keep her entertained whist the new baby nursed. Well, I'm sure it works for some people (so by all means give it a go!), but to be honest it just didn't cut the mustard in our house....

So here is my 'new baby' survival guide:

get a sling and practice using it
pay a trip to the local craft shop and fill your trolley
buy yourself a stand up dust-pan and brush (see above!) - here's one
try to get out somewhere most days - it helps to tire the older child out. It is hard in the early weeks though - so make arrangements with family/ friends whenever you can
make your health visitor do some work! In the UK Home Start offer free support and practical help to families with at least one child under 5. Ask them when and where the mother and baby groups are too.
do your big shop on-line and have it delivered - you can top up locally through the week. I figure the small charge for delivery is worth it because it is practically the same in petrol these days....
play-doh should never be underestimated - get a good set of doh-cutters
a nursing box works for some people. Put special toys, books, games etc into a box to be opened only when baby is feeding
involve the older child in small jobs to help you - and thank them when they do!
once feeds start to become more predictable you may be able to co-incide at least one of them with your older child's snack time. Perpare a snack-box in advance and then both kids can eat together!
make one of your trips out to the library and then read the books to your older child when you're nursing - that way you've always got something new to read
download some children's music onto your ipod (ear plugs for you are optional!)
there are some great toddler apps for smart phones which are also very educational. Don't judge me..
Cbeebies is not the devil - you're doing your best!

The early weeks are tough - but I'm fortunate in that having breast fed before, I now know that this newborn time is really very brief. It doesn't last forever and far too soon my new little daughter won't need me half so much. I know that it's worth persevering with. In the meantime my elder daughter has learned some really important things I think. Not least that it's possible to share, but also that breast feeding is normal.

A wonderful friend of mine breast feeds twin boys whilst also looking after her older daughter. During one of my 'guilty' days she reminded me:

'my daughter wants me, but the boys need me'.

And she's right - my older daughter is well adjusted, she's confident, and I am sure that being breastfed has a lot to do with that. I feel I now owe it to her little sister to give her the same secure start in life.

Do you have any tips for nursing whilst looking after a pre-schooler?

The first breastfeed.

2011-10-10T22:28:00.000+01:00

Lots of mums start out intending to breastfeed their babies. Sadly though, only a minority end up doing so for more than a few days. How can mothers-to-be improve their chances of getting breastfeeding off to a good start?

Top of the list when it comes to starting out right is having skin to skin and giving the baby access to your breast as soon as possible after birth.

A study undertaken in 1990 showed that 24 out of 38 mother/infant dyads who had immediate contact after birth were breastfeeding effectively within 1 hour. Pairs who were separated (20 minutes after birth for a 20 minute duration) fared very differently. Only 7 out of 34 suckled effectively. (Righard and Alade)

The study recommended that:

'contact between mother and infant should be uninterrupted during the first hour after birth or until the first breast-feed has been accomplished'.

Interestingly the same study also recommended that the use of drugs such as pethidine should be restricted due to their sedative effect which impedes newborn suckling. Other studies identify the same problem concerning the use of pethidine.

The relationship between early initiation of breastfeeding and sustained breastfeeding is also strong.

This WHO document states that:

'Early contact increases breastfeeding both soon after delivery and 2-3 months later.... As little as 15-20 minutes of contact in the first hour may be beneficial... skin-to-skin contact should start as soon as possible after delivery.'

Studies done into 'breast crawl' show clearly that the newborn has a strongly developed instinct to nurse after birth. After unmedicated births, babies are hormonally programmed to be alert, and this is the ideal time to initiate breastfeeding.

This is a subject which is close to my heart. My first child was delivered by ventouse after becoming distressed. I had taken pethidine twice during the labour, she was badly positioned in the birth canal and I had been pushing for 3 hours. My baby was not breathing properly, her cord was cut immediately and she was taken to neo-natal within minutes. I wasn't able to breastfeed her for 11 hours.

We missed all that important early skin to skin contact, I wasn't shown how to express milk and my daughter was given formula milk without our knowledge or consent. All this makes me even more thankful that we were able to breastfeed at all.

Often when a mother and baby are separated in such a way breastfeeding is massively undermined and never recovers. Mothers frequently encounter poor breastfeeding support when their babies are in SCBU despite the risks of formula feeding - especially to preemies. With good support it doesn't have to be this way.

'kangaroo skin-to-skin contact, peer support, simultaneous breast milk pumping, multidisciplinary staff training and the Baby Friendly accreditation of the associated maternity hospital have been shown to be effective.'

~ http://www.hta.ac.uk/pdfexecs/summ1340.pdf

This is a picture of our first breastfeed:

With baby number two I was determined not to be separated from my child at any cost. I had our second child at home into water. For the most part I used natal hypnotherapy as pain relief and a small amount of gas and air at the end. No pethidine! My baby breastfed within minutes of her birth, and before her placenta was delivered. We had a physiological third stage and delayed cord clamping. It was a world away from my previous experience. This time my baby was attached to her placenta - not to a machine. I was later able to witness her 'breast crawl' for myself (something which, sadly, her sister never did). Seeing a helpless newborn's intact instincts at work like that is really quite amazing.

Gradually the idea that mothers and their babies should be allowed uninterrupted skin to skin contact straight after birth is becoming a reality. This is thanks in no small part to the UNICEF/ Baby Friendly Initiative. Having your baby in a place where they will receive skin to skin contact straight after delivery gives you and your baby the best possible chance of getting breastfeeding off to a good start.

However, myths abound about what is, and is not possible when it comes to that all-important first feed!

Some members of DBM have kindly given me permission to share photos of their first breastfeeds.

Think you can't breastfeed straight after a c-section? Think again!

image © Sophie Malcolm Kempe

Vicki's baby breastfed twenty minutes after being born:

Emily breastfed her newborn just after her VBAC.

Rachel also fed her newborn straight after birth:

Tricia breastfed her brand new daughter Sofia whilst still 'rigged up':

Emma's daughter Florence initiated their first breastfeed after a 'quick, stress and drug free, natural delivery':

And Sarah expressed her milk for baby Sophia who was born at just 30 weeks gestation. Initially Sophia was fed through a nasogastric tube, but:

'I made it known I was eager to put her to the breast... The nurses kept saying it wouldn't be worth it yet as she was too premature to have the 'suck, swallow, breathe' instinct, but I was adamant! So, when she was exactly 2 weeks old (or 32 weeks gestation) I finally got my wish after the paediatrician said it would do no harm. With the nurse's help I got her in place and straight away she latched herself on, requiring no help. After a second she started to suck. The nurses all seemed to stop what they were doing and the doctors doing the ward round all came to look. They were all astonished.'

For me, the look of determination in this little lady's eyes says a lot. Babies want to breastfeed!

So if you're having a baby and want to breastfeed - don't be scared to put your baby to your breast as soon as you possibly can! Use your child's natural instincts to help you on your way. And remember - even if the circumstances of their birth aren't 'ideal' - it can still be done!

Massive thanks to all the mums who sent their precious pics to me for this blog.

What were they thinking?

2011-09-20T21:37:00.002+01:00

I've read numerous blog posts this week describing the importance of the 'fourth trimester' for newborns and unhurried post-partum recovery for their mothers. However I have to admit that whilst I totally agree with these blogs, I myself have singularly failed to enjoy an extended 'babymoon'.

Not that I wouldn't like to - you understand - it's just that I have a very energetic and demanding two year old, a husband who has to work, and no childcare. Sitting on the sofa luxuriating in my gorgeous newborn daughter whilst gently healing just isn't an option for me.

So, I've been out and about a bit more than I would ideally have liked at two weeks post-partum.

Whilst I'm happy to feed pretty much anywhere, I do need to change a nappy fairly often (!), and this brings me to the point of my post.

I had a pit-stop at the café in one of my all-time favourite shops today. Everything in it is GORGEOUS - from the products on the shop shelves right down to the café's milk jugs (if you'll pardon the pun..).

I had high expectations of their feeding/ changing room too...

On first glance I wasn't disappointed! It had a lovely pink sofa and muted lighting. There was a changing station and a sink. All lovely.

Then I had a look at the walls which were covered in retro adverts.

I took photos:

*nb. I've since discovered that this advert is actually in internet 'fake' - see comments

Now - I like a good bit of irony.

However, (and maybe it's those pesky hormones again..), this is a room intended to be used by mothers with young children. Some of them so insecure about breastfeeding in public that they have chosen to hide in the subtly-lit feeding room to do it.

The ads on the wall - retro though they may be - are for cigarettes, carnation milk, baby food, and cola.

I find all kinds of things amusing - but not this. I can't see how - even under the guise of 'humour' - this can be appropriate?

What do you think?

(Please leave your comments below rather than on the group wall as I intend bringing this blog to the shop's attention. Thanks.)

Tandem Nursing.

2011-09-11T11:14:00.009+01:00

Some of you will know I had our second daughter one week ago today - on my birthday - the most amazing present anyone ever got :)

A proper birth story will follow at some point - although perhaps not on this blog. It was an amazing experience, and our home birth was truly everything I'd hoped it would be.

We regularly gets posts on the group asking:

'Can I get pregnant whilst breastfeeding?'

'Can I breastfeed through pregnancy?'

'Will my newborn still get the goodness of colostrum if I'm also breastfeeding my older child?'

The answers to the above are well documented elsewhere, but basically they're Yes, Yes, and Yes!

As you can read elsewhere in this blog, I didn't just get pregnant at the drop of a hat. However - continued breastfeeding had absolutely nothing to do with it - and in fact it didn't make a pick of difference to my fertility once my cycle returned! Everyone is different, but for the vast majority of people breastfeeding won't make a difference to your ability to get pregnant. Kellymom has some good information on breastfeeding and fertility here, and on breastfeeding through pregnancy and beyond here.
A 'must read' for anyone wondering about tandem feeding is 'Adventures in Tandem breastfeeding' by Hilary Flower. It is full of information, and answers a whole host of questions, including discussions about the range of emotions you might experience.

I never really expected to find myself breastfeeding through pregnancy - I just didn't want to make my daughter wean before she was ready so we kept going. At one point I thought that she had self-weaned as my milk dwindled right down towards the end of the first trimester. However, about 9 weeks later when I started producing again she came back. Once the new baby was born there's no doubt that there was tons of colostrum. Trust me - the colour was a dead giveaway! None of this was 'planned' - all I've done is let nature take it's own course. I'm very glad I did.

So here we are. When my older daughter saw her new sister feeding shortly after the birth she immediately wanted to feed too.

I have no idea how long it will be before dd1 decides she doesn't want to feed anymore. Perhaps not long. However, I'm glad that they were able to meet each other this way, and when dd1 decides she's too big to nurse anymore, it will have been her decision.

Did you nurse two babies? Have you any tips for a newbie?

Why you shouldn't buy, sell, or borrow a second hand Medela Swing pump

2011-08-13T17:19:00.011+01:00

In recent Twitter discussions with some fellow breastfeeding nerds (and I mean that lovingly..) some confusion has arisen about whether or not the very popular Medela Swing Breastpump is suitable for sharing/ selling on/ buying second hand.

At least one blogger has stated clearly that the Medela pumps are NOT built with a 'closed' (and therefore more hygienic) system and should be avoided. However, elsewhere online you will find conflicting information, some of which states that the Medela Swing Pump IS 'closed' system. There is confusion, not helped by the fact that the Medela website doesn't actually state clearly whether the Swing is closed or open system. However, the website does say this:

'All products which come into contact with breastmilk are BPA-free and easy to clean, no matter whether you boil, disinfect or clean them using our microwave bags.'

Sounds good.

Why does it matter whether the pump is 'closed' or 'open' system?

Well, it matters because if the pump allows expressed milk to travel back up the tube towards the pump unit, then there is a risk of some milk getting into the unit itself. And then you won't be able to sterilise it properly. With an open system pump unit this is a distinct possibility, with a closed one, it won't happen.

From our (amateur) investigations, we discovered that it all seems to depend upon the location of the 'diaphragm' which is vital to the pump's function as it helps to create the vacuum. This moveable membrane helps to generate suction in much the same way as a toilet plunger - by moving back and forth creating a 'suck'. Mini diaphragm pumps are frequently used in medical apparatus.

From wikipedia:

'A closed collection system has a barrier or diaphragm that separates the pump tubing from the horn. In this design, the suction of the pump motor lifts the diaphragm to create a vacuum within the collection system to extract milk. An open system allows for the free passage of air/suction.'

'When an open collection system is used, the pump’s suction can cause milk to overflow it into the collection system tubing, which may lead to milk particles being drawn into the pump motor.'

If expressed milk is not separated from the pump unit by a physical barrier, then it may be able to travel back up the tubes and into the pump unit as the machine sucks. This creates an avenue of contamination, and mould/ bacteria can (in theory) grow where it isn't possible to sterilise.

So, since I've just 'treated myself' to a brand new WHO code compliant, closed system double pump (I'm hoping to donate milk once my baby is born, learn more here), my two year old Medela Swing Pump has just been sacrificed in the interests of settling this debate. Is the Medela Swing pump 'open' or 'closed' system?

I'd read online that expressed milk CAN travel back into the pump unit with the Medela Swing - but I'll be honest - I already knew that because I've seen it happening for myself. The following pictures should illustrate how this is possible:

This is the traditional flange/ tubing attachment for the Swing Pump (the one it's generally sold with):

Inside, the two apertures i) where the expressed milk comes into the flange, and ii) where the pump tubing enters the bottle are really quite close together:

Anyone who has expressed milk using a pump will know that sometimes the milk can back-up and collect (above the V-shaped 'lip-valve' or similar one-way valve) before splooshing down into the bottle - especially if you're pumping a lot of milk. When this happens it's easy to see how the pump could suck milk back up towards itself since the two openings are so close together with no barrier preventing the milk and air flow combining.

And it's also the same problem with this replacement attachment, which I bought separately. Often people who buy second hand pumps will buy new tubing and attachments such as this with the assumption that it makes the unit sterile. However, this may not be the case.

Although the opening for the tubing is slightly further away from the milk inlet in this design, there is still no physical barrier separating the tubing and the milk being expressed. The milk and the air flow into the pump can mix freely.

So my husband and I conducted our little experiment. We were looking for signs of contamination within my pump unit. Obviously if milk is being drawn back inside the pump then it's impossible to sterilise the unit without taking it apart completely.

We didn't have far to look I'm afraid.

Black mould (dirt?) where the end of the tubing meets the unit itself (about 1cm into the unit) - oh the shame...! Obviously, this could be superficially cleaned using a q-tip/ cotton bud - so a potential buyer of my second hand breast pump would be none the wiser - but just because something looks clean, doesn't mean it is clean!

Then we opened the pump unit right up. Here's the view of the area where the tubing enters the pump (bottom right of the picture).

And here's a closer look at the clear plastic (silicone) unit which meets the tubing and houses a couple of valves.

What's the white stuff? My guess - dried milk, but milk which has been exposed to the air and therefore may have grown bacteria or mould. Nice.

If anyone wants to test this residue they're welcome to, please get it touch!

And look - it's all the way along this inside of this component:

No matter how clean your second hand breast pump looks from the outside, it's highly unlikely that anyone has opened it up to clean inside. In their online cleaning instructions Medela do not say that you need to clean inside the pump. However, elsewhere the pump's literature (and oddly not located within the section 'cleaning and hygiene'?), they say you can run warm soapy water through the pump in order to clean these internal parts: page 9, section 'if there is an overflow' (thanks to Beth for pointing this out in comments).

Pumping soapy water through the inside is certainly a good idea if you notice milk/ vapour being pulled back up into your pump, BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME THING AS STERILISING, and therefore it's a bit of a cop out in my opinion. They give the impression that sterilising the external parts and rinsing out the internal ones is sufficient, but the bottom line is this: you can't sterilise the inside of the unit.

Quite obviously from the photographs, I didn't realise it was possible to run water inside the pump or I would have done so. However I was - at least - aware that milk could travel back into the machine causing contamination. Were you?

If you were to buy a second hand pump, how would you know if the previous owner had cleaned the inside or not? Would you know to clean inside the unit this way once you bought it? Does any of this even matter since you can't actually sterilise it?

Remember that once you switch the pump on, the air is circulating inside the non-sterile pump every single time it sucks, and that air can also mingle freely with the milk you are expressing. If milk can be sucked towards the pump on the 'in' suck, then of course it can also travel back towards the bottle on the 'out' - potentially bringing with it residue/ spores from inside.

Doesn't seem like a very 'closed' system to me...

And so we journey further into my ex breast pump...

[I should state at this point that I was never a 'big time' pumper - I pumped for roughly a year, I never shared my expressed milk and I didn't donate anywhere. I used it simply when I was apart from my daughter and to store moderate amounts of milk in my freezer for our own use. Had I been working full-time and having to express several times a day for months on end, the inside might look different again.]

Eventually we found the 'diaphragm' section of the pump. So it DOES have one! This membrane ultimately completely separates the pump motor from the tubing and valves. However, does this mean that the pump is 'closed' system?

The wikipedia definition of a closed system (where the diaphragm separates the tubing from the flange) would suggest that it's not.

[NB - in locating this diaphragm my pump really did 'bite the dust', so unless you are happy to say goodbye to your unit, I suggest you don't try this at home...]

Hmmm, white residue there too.

So how does the Medela Swing pump differ from a truely 'closed' system pump?

It's amazing how simple the difference is actually. Here's the tubing set/ bottle/ flange from my new pump.

The 'flexible membrane pot' forms a complete, impermeable barrier between the tubing and the flange where the milk comes in. It also acts as a diaphragm, and helps to create the suction when the pump is in operation and as such is airtight. You can see from the photograph above how easy this all is to take apart, clean and sterilise, and there's no risk of the milk travelling back towards the pump unit. Replacement parts are readily available and cheap.

So let's talk money. A Medela Swing pump costs something in the region of £85 - £95 new and something like £50 second hand. The pump I've just bought costs roughly £139, including the extra flange/ tubing to convert it to a double. Money well spent since I can loan or sell this pump on second hand with a clear conscience!

Now I need to make something really clear. Medela do not claim anywhere on their website that the Swing pump is a 'closed' system. The American version of their website states clearly in it's Swing information that this pump is a single user item. However, the Swing page on the UK site doesn't say anything about it, you actually need to download the right PDF file to learn this important fact.
I am quite sure many mums buying and selling the Swing pump don't realise it's actually being sold as a 'single user item'.

They also say that:

'Use by more than one user may pose a health risk, performance questions, and voids the warranty' (6 months).

For comparison, the manufacturers of my new pump say I can resell it without affecting the warranty (400 hours of pumping regardless of when you bought it). I guess that's tells you all you need to know.

This website explains the important difference between a pump like the Medela Swing, and a closed system pump very well:

If milk particles in the tubing go unnoticed, mold can begin to develop in the tubes, as well as the pump motor. This puts your expressed breastmilk at risk of being contaminated, since it is exposed to the mold, even if the tubes are thoroughly cleaned or replaced.
When using a closed system to express milk, the barrier in between the collection kit and the pump tubing prevents outside air from being exposed to your breastmilk. '

One of Medela's 'top of the range' diaphragm pumps (the 'Symphony') does seem to offer the inclusion of something called the 'membrane cap'. This separates the tubing and the pump unit from the outside, and 'closes' the system in a similar way to the 'membrane pot' shown in picture 11. It means milk cannot travel back up into the pump unit, solves the contamination problem and it's available to buy separately (and relatively cheaply) as a replacement part.

However, the instructions for fitting this 'membrane cap' show that it actually attaches to the pump unit itself at the far end of the tubing, and not to the bottle/ flange end. Therefore it can't be used to modify the Swing pump, or any other Medela pump.

It's a shame that all Medela replacement bottle/ flange units couldn't be modified to include a space for something similar to the membrane cap, therefore enabling all pumps to be 'closed'? Surely something like that would be a doddle for a company like Medela? Such a simple adaptation that I wonder why it is reserved for only the 'Symphony'?

[ETA: Another high-end Medela pump, the Lactina, which is frequently used in hospitals, works on a 'piston system' (it's not a diaphragm pump like the Swing). This piston can be taken apart and sterilised, so it's different again and I think milk is very unlikely to come into contact with the unit itself. For a definitive answer about whether the system is 'closed' though, you'd need to contact the manufacturer.]

Speaking personally, I would never sell or lend my Medela Swing pump to anyone (that's why I destroyed it this morning!) - and in future I will ensure that I only recommend a closed system pump to my friends.

What's more - I'll ensure that any pump I do recommend is made by a company who are fully WHO code compliant, such as ARDO, Hygeia, or Ameda (although Ameda are now owned by a company which isn't code compliant). Sadly, Medela are not, neither are Avent, Tommy Tippee, NUK, Nuby, or Chicco (and others). You can find out more about which companies choose not to comply with the code here.

You don't have to pay a fortune for a closed system pump.

For the record, I'm sharing this blog as 'information' - because it is topical and because I was asked to. Information such as this might be particularly relevant to milk-sharing mums or to someone donating to a milk bank. I think it's also relevant if you're thinking of buying or selling a second hand Swing pump. It's obvious that I used my Swing pump quite happily and with no obvious ill-effects for at least a year - BUT - I didn't share it, and I never donated or shared milk with another mum.

If your child is eating solids or sucking on whatever they find on the floor, you may feel there is no need to sterilise at all. In fact there is a lot of conflicting information about sterilising floating about, and some of it will only apply if you're formula feeding, as breast milk has antibacterial properties of it's own. However, if you were looking after a vulnerable child or milk-sharing you might want to think carefully about what kind of pump you use, and opt for one which can be completely sterilised throughout.

At the end of the day it's down to each individual mother to make her own decision based on all the available information. An interesting piece by Nancy Mohrbacher (IBCLC) concerning used breast pumps is here.

Competition Winners!

2011-08-01T15:58:00.001+01:00

Here we are... All the entrants names in the 'hat'!

M was napping so I hope you don't mind but my wonderful other half picked the winners this time ;)

First place went to Jessica. She will receive a personalised portrait of her and her breastfed baby, drawn from a photograph. The winner of the coloured drawing is Olga, and the gorgeous black and white portrait is going to Kathryn.

Congratulations to all the winners - please email me at bcboobies@hotmail.co.uk so we can sort out your prizes!

Just one more thing..... Lorraine was desperate to win one of the drawings, and I'm so sorry lady, but the draw didn't favour you today! However, maybe if everyone wishes her a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY it will take some of the sting out of it?

Thanks again to all who entered, and especially thank you to the lovely KristyRanson, Artist and Photographer for providing the prizes!

To take a look at Kristy's work and see what these lucky mums have won, click here.

xo anne

DBM Competition #3

2011-07-17T16:23:00.000+01:00

The GORGEOUS pictures below have been donated to the group by Kristy Ranson - an English photographer, artist and breastfeeding mother herself - to be offered as runners-up prizes in our third DBM competition!

The first prize will be a personalised portrait drawn by Kristy from a photo provided by the competition winner! I can't honestly think of a better way to remember or celebrate such a special time in the life of a mother and her young child - the winner will be a very lucky lady indeed!

If you'd like to have a look at Kristy's other work her website is here, and she has a facebook page here.

The pictures are mounted on card but are not framed. Sizes vary.

The question for this competion is another 'multiple ~~guess~~ choice'. It may seem a bit of an odd one for a group such as ours but it's relevant information for all mums, be they bottle feeding or breast feeding!

Q ~ How often do UNICEF, WHO, AAP and the Department of Health recommend you should feed a baby who receives formula milk?

a) every 3 hours

b) every 4 hours

c) on 'cue' (demand feeding)

Please leave your answer along with any comments below. I will draw the winner on 1st August. The competition is open worldwide and I will pay the postage (within reason!).

Huge thanks to Kristy for supplying the beautiful pictures and I for one can't wait to see what she comes up with for the winner!

www.boobbaby.co.uk

www.expressyourselfmums.co.uk

http://www.kjransonphotography.co.uk/home

www.lactivist.co.uk

www.les-marguerites.fr

www.more4mums.co.uk

Housekeeping!

2011-06-30T19:39:00.000+01:00

Dear All,

I need to let you know that at some point tomorrow, for just over two weeks, I'm going 'off duty'... We're taking some time out to enjoy our remaining time as a family of three. My daughter is going to build sandcastles, ("not small sandcastles, BIG sandcastles!"), and my fat tummy and I are going to sit nearby and admire them. I may even read a book or two...

I started this blog and the related Facebook group just about a year ago now, at the start of July 2011 (the exact date escapes me!). I never imagined that just a year later tens of thousands of people would have visited this blog, shared posts, or that there'd be over 4,000 members in the Facebook community. It has been incredible to see how the group has grown, to hear from people who say they've been supported to breastfeed by it - (makes me quite emotional to think about that!) - and to watch as small (but significant) changes take place in the real world as a result of our combined myth-busting efforts!

Since I'm going to be 'out of circulation' for a little while, I've taken the decision to shut the group's wall to posts until I get back. I'm sorry to do this, but it's just not fair in my opinion to ask one person (Julie) to run everything single-handedly.

This means that (sadly!) you won't be able to post questions to the group until the wall is re-opened. I'm acutely aware that the ability to post questions on the wall is a very important part of what goes on here at DBM, but I think the facility can only be offered when enough admins are available.

Bear with me though - I have another lovely competition in the pipeline for when I return ;)

In the meantime, here's a reminder of some alternative sources of breastfeeding information and support:

Facebook: Breastfeeding related groups & pages:

The Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (on Facebook)

The Breastfeeding Network (on Facebook)

The Analytical Armadillo

Lactivist

The Funny-Shaped Woman

The Leaky Boob

Kellymom (on Facebook)

Breastfeeding support - UK

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM):

'Ring our counselling helpline on 08444 122 949 to speak to one of our fully trained Breastfeeding Counsellors for breastfeeding support and information.'

La Leche League of Great Britain (LLLGB): 'Breastfeeding questions or difficulties? No problem! You can contact a La Leche League Leader via our telephone helpline and get the information and support that can make all the difference. ' 0845 120 2918

National Breastfeeding Helpline: 'This service will work alongside services provided by the NHS, in the same way as we work alongside the NHS in Primary Care Trusts and hospitals.' 0300 100 0212

Breastfeeding Network Supporterline: 0300 100 0210

National Childbirth Trust (NCT): Breastfeeding helpline: 0300 330 0771

UNITED STATES:

If you're in the US, you can find information about your local La Leche League chapter by searching here: http://www.llli.org/webus.html 'If you are unable to find a Group or Leader near you, 24-hour breastfeeding help is available toll-free in the US from the LLL Breastfeeding Helpline-US at 877-4-LALECHE (877-452-5324).'

http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/finding-support-and-information/national-breastfeeding-helpline.cfm 1-800-994-9662

　

OTHER COUNTRIES:

Use this link to search for LLL information for your country

　

***REMEMBER - NEVER BE SCARED TO ASK FOR HELP!
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION!***

*PLEASE NOTE - the various resources listed here are for your information only, and their inclusion should not be interpreted as endorsement.

　

The Guardian, The Press Complaints Commission, and WHY I GAVE UP....

2011-06-23T15:53:00.139+01:00

I thought I'd better put something on the blog about the recent 'clarification' from the Guardian regards this piece which they published in April entitled:

'Doctor Doctor I plan to mix feed my baby,
will she get all the immune system benefits if I do?'

** BTW - I understand totally if you don't feel particularly inclined to read the minutiae of the incredibly tedious complaint process, so please feel free to skip most of this post! However, I'd love it if you'd cast your eye to the section in red at the bottom, because I need your help!**

My complaint (which was made via the PCC website and further clarified in two emails) centered around the advice given in response to a question about breastfeeding from a mum who had a 4 week old baby and an older child. In a very brief reply, the doctor managed to state a surprising number of 'breastfeeding myths' as fact. I don't know how many other people also complained about the piece or took part in similar correspondence to what follows below (please let me know if you did!). My original complaint took issue with the following statements:

1/ 'Immune benefits cross over in the first few weeks' (those with a sharp eye will note that in the online version the word 'significant' has now been added to the online version, however, it was missing from the original, more on that later). It is well-known that breastfeeding gives a child's immature immune system substantial support for as long as breastfeeding continues.

2/ 'you have done enough on that basis already'. I felt that this sentence implied that there was no point in continuing to breastfeed since she had already breastfed for 4 weeks.

3/ 'have you thought about expressing breast milk [...]? This will save time'. As most breastfeeding mums will attest, a baby who is breastfeeding well will drain the breast far more efficiently than any breast pump.

So - to cut a very long story slightly shorter, there were several to-ings and fro-ings via the PCC about my complaint. I responded to points made by the Guardian and they responded to one or two of mine (but by no means all..). The Guardian stated that the mother who had received the advice was very satisfied with it - indeed they published a letter from her saying how happy she was. They also stated that the doctor had been attempting in his reply to help her to feel 'less guilty' about stopping breastfeeding.

In their response to my original complaint The Guardian quoted the WHO and LLLI in regards to colostrum, including the following phrase:

'The colostrum gradually changes to mature milk during the first two weeks after birth. During this transition, the concentrations of the antibodies in your milk decrease, but your milk volume greatly increases. The disease-fighting properties of human milk do not disappear with the colostrum. In fact, as long as your baby receives your milk, he will receive immunological protection against many different viruses and bacteria'

(I suspect that it was on the basis of the above quote (which backs up part of my complaint...) that they elected to change the wording of the article to include the word 'significant')

'in the interests of resolving this complaint, we would be happy to amend Dr Smith’s article by prefacing the first sentence with the word “significant”, so it reads: “Significant immune benefits cross over. . .”. Otherwise we do not regard this part of his response as regarding remedy.'

Problem is, I think that even with the inclusion of the word 'significant' before this sentence, the implication of the sentence remains that most of the 'job is done' by the colostrum. As breastfeeding mums who have nursed their children through illness (never mind the science!) can attest, this is total rubbish. Therefore the answer to the question 'will she get all the immune system benefits if I do?', is actually/ factually 'no'...

The newspaper explained that the doctor responding had sought opinions from a colleague and a midwife about his intended response, and both had agreed that it was appropriate. This actually worries me even more! Three separate Health Care Professionals apparently felt that his reply was factually accurate despite it being hugely misleading in several areas. I guess this might not come as a great surprise to many people who have sought assistance with a breastfeeding problem from their GP, or who have been reassurred by a midwife that the baby's 'latch' is fine despite their bleeding nipples... It really does serve as a reminder that many GP's and even some trusted midwives are NOT breastfeeding experts! Their training simply doesn't require them to be!

The newspaper's response continued to address one of the other points I made in my original complaint - concerning the assertion that expressing breastmilk would save the mother time...

'Dr Smith’s suggestion that expressing milk will save the mother time seems to us to be perfectly reasonable in the context of her letter. The length of time a baby takes to feed varies hugely (anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes per breast perhaps), with Bupa suggesting “as a rough guide, each feed may be 10 to 20 minutes per breast, but every baby is different so it may be longer.”

http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/b/breastfeeding

The time taken to express will also vary greatly but with an electric pump in can be as quick as 10 minutes per breast. Given that this mum refers to “the long time it takes to breastfeed” her baby (and this is the reason she wants to mix-feed), this is a reasonable suggestion for the doctor to make and we see no reason to correct this point.'

Ah yes, BUPA - those well-known breastfeeding experts.....

As you can imagine, I did respond (in great detail!) to their response. Here is part of that response:

'The La Leche League (who the Guardian referenced in their response to you) have this to say on the subject of expressing breastmilk:

'Express in a comfortable setting; avoid distractions or interruptions. Take your phone off the hook and ask those around you not to disturb you while expressing. If you're at home with older children, distract them with an activity that doesn't require your full attention'
http://www.llli.org/nb/nbjulaug07p168.html

This being the case, I fail to see how such advice is going to be of assistance to a mother whose primary reason for contacting the doctor was apparently a problem amusing her older child? Perhaps a suggestion to nurse the smaller baby whilst wearing a sling would have been more helpful since it would at least have left the mother's hands free?

QUOTE: 'the doctor suggests expressing in response to the idea that breastfeeds are taking a long time. 'Given that this mum refers to “the long time it takes to breastfeed” her baby (and this is the reason she wants to mix-feed), this is a reasonable suggestion for the doctor to make and we see no reason to correct this point.'

Perhaps the doctor is not aware that extended feeding sessions often occur when milk transfer is poor? The primary suggestion of someone with a good understanding of breastfeeding would be to suggest consulting a breastfeeding professional in order to establish whether there is an underlying problem affecting milk transfer.

By failing to suggest this I believe the doctor and the Guardian newspaper let both the questioner and readers down and showed a poor understanding of breastfeeding. A baby who is breastfeeding efficiently will usually consume a larger quantity of milk than a pump can extract. To quote an internationally recognised expert in breastfeeding, Dr Jack Newman 'a pump is not as efficient as a well-latched baby and so a baby who breastfeeds well is the best pump'. http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Expressing%20Milk.asp

There is also the possibility of an undetected medical issue underpinning the poor milk transfer (for example an undiagnosed tongue tie) and the doctor failed to suggest a referral which may have helped to resolve the problem swiftly.

In addition, women who express milk often report a belief that they have a supply problem, when in fact they do not. They frequently get disheartened when they find they cannot fill a bottle quickly.

'if you cannot pump a lot, this does not mean your milk production is low. Do not pump to find out how much you are producing. This is an inefficient way to judge milk supply and often results in emptier breasts for baby to feed.' http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Expressing%20Milk.asp

Many people just don't 'get on' with expressing. If this mother were to find she was unable to express much milk (which is often the case even for women with an excellent milk supply), her confidence could be further diminished and breastfeeding would be even more likely to cease. For this reason I feel the doctor would have been kinder to make a referral to a breastfeeding expert in order to avoid reducing this mother's confidence further.

I appreciate that the mother concerned wrote to the doctor thanking him for his advice. However, it is possible that an even better outcome for this individual and her baby might have been acheived, and certainly I still feel that the newspaper printed some very misleading information about breastfeeding to it's wider readership with this response.'

My next contact from the PCC made it clear that the Guardian wished to address none of these other points - points which I still feel are entirely valid. The Guardian clearly felt that their offer to include the word 'significant' should be enough to make the 'crazy breastfeeding woman' disappear... ;) The PCC's next email to me also suggested that the PCC was not going to push them to clarify these points. I'm afraid once it became apparent that my other points were going to be ignored (unless I went to the committee) I told the PCC that I would resolve the matter there. Yup, I rolled over. I gave up.

My reason? I simply don't believe the PCC take their responsibilities regards the health issues connected to infant feeding, seriously. I don't believe some doctors do either. I don't think my complaint would have been taken seriously by the PCC committee under the current guidelines. The PCC ARE going to put something on their website about this correction/ clarification. Wording to be decided. However nothing will really change that much I'm sure about, but at least it's something.

I also gave up because I'm also a mum with a 2 year old to take care of and a sizeable bump. It takes time and energy to chase complaints in this way. The folks at the Guardian and the PCC get paid to spend time dealing with these things, I don't. You can prossibly begin to see how much effort went into making a complaint about what was a very short piece - not even 'headline news'. Now imagine trying to counter every piece of misinformation churned out and printed every day through the current system...

Remember this? I didn't even attempt to address the amount of guff which was printed by the press in the light of the BMJ 'review' in January - perhaps now you can understand why.

Until the PCC agree to change their editorial guidelines to offer protection against misinformation such as this I believe efforts such as mine are simply drops in the ocean. Frankly a bit pointless! I feel fobbed-off, and despite getting a small change made I pretty much was fobbed off.... It's ok, I can take it ;)

Here's what we've ended up with:

OK - so it's better, (and apparently this sort of correction is something of a 'first'...) However, it's still going to make - pardon me - sod all difference at the end of the day!

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't make the effort to complain (far from it - I'd love it if the PCC and OFCOM were getting a letter a day about inaccurate breastfeeding information!), but I do think we need to start changing the way we campaign about this issue.

From one of the emails I sent to the PCC during our discourse:

'I wonder if you might consider that this is not an isolated situation, poor breastfeeding advice and information is very common in the press. Were it to be poor advice about another health-related issue I believe the press would take greater care with their standards of accuracy.'

From this post:

'persons of colour, religious groups, homosexuals, and other minority groups are protected from irresponsible reporting in the press by special guidelines. [...]
People are naturally coloured, they are naturally gay or straight, people are also naturally breastfed. It is the norm. It shouldn't need to defend itself but it does. It's still OK to bash breastfeeding and breastfeeding mums. It's ok to lie about breastfeeding facts and call breastfeeding advocates names. It happens all the time with impunity. But WHY? Why is it still ok to do this?

Actually, it's not ok.. I believe the press has gone beyond criticising 'bullies' and is now on dangerous ground. Ground that actually puts mothers and their babies at a considerable disadvantage. [...] Despite the fact that some newspapers will now print 'balance' pieces and perhaps even have to print retractions, they KNOW that the headline was worth it. It's the headlines that people remember.
Perhaps some of you will think that by comparing breastfeeding mums to other minority groups I'm exaggerating. Imagine if someone was thrown off a bus for wearing a turban? Or if a gay man felt so intimidated that they went to eat their dinner in a toilet? These things happen to breastfeeding mums - and if you breastfeed for long enough, the chances are that you will - sadly - have a negative experience associated with it eventually. Racism still exists in the UK, but it is tolerated far less than it used to be, and the press do not inflame it. Imagine if they were allowed to - what sort of headlines do you think the Daily Mail would print?
I would like to see the media forced to stop their sensationalist headlines and treat the topic with the care that it deserves. All mothers and their babies deserve respect and access to good information. I believe that issues related to infant feeding deserve the same respect given to other issues'

I want to make something crystal clear. I didn't complain to the PCC because a mum didn't want to keep on breastfeeding her baby and I 'disapproved'! My only desire is that mums be allowed to make properly informed decisions. Properly supported decisions based on a breadth of sound information. Even though this doctor was giving personalised advice to one individual, that advice was being read by thousands of others - and I believe that he should have borne this in mind when responding.

It is not fair to assume that judging the quality of information in circulation is the same as judging other mums for the decisions they make. Totally not the case.  Mums are all doing their best - I'm just not convinced that society currently does it's best to support them.

I am, however, absolutely certain that mums who do try to breastfeed are swimming against the 'social tide', and I think it's high time that the press and some medics stopped making it harder!

I don't know exactly the means by which we can campaign for 'special consideration' for breastfeeding in the press and on tv - however I have asked the PCC for their advice on this. I will let you know what they say. I have also drawn their attention to OUR PETITION, which currently stands at just over 1,200 signatures. It needs more!

In the meantime I do have a request:

If you have had negative experiences in public whilst breastfeeding, or if (perhaps as a result of misinformation in the press or from a medic) you have come under pressure to wean off the breast, I'd like to hear from you.  If you feel you have been marginalised or discriminated against because of breastfeeding I'd like to hear from you.  If you have experienced prejudice (perhaps at work) because of your decision to breastfeed, I'd like to hear from you.

I'd like you to put a few words together (short is fine!) detailing your experience and send it to bcboobies@hotmail.co.uk

I won't be able to reply to you all (I know that for sure!) and I have no idea when or how these testimonies will come in useful, but I have a feeling that we are going to need a 'body of evidence' to show how this issue really affects breastfeeding mums and new mums in order to take the campaign forward. I want to be able to prove - should it be necessary - that breastfeeding mums are a minority group who experience some marginalisation within our society. I'm going to put the testimonies 'on file' to be used at some point in the future.  To understand why these testimonies might be important in bringing about change, take a look at this webpage under 'protecting the vulnerable'. I consider breastfeeding mums (especially new ones!) and their babies to be extremely 'vulnerable'!

I don't believe we can tackle the huge amount of misinformation in the media by writing letters to the PCC and OFCOM. The system itself needs to change. It has changed before, and I hope it can again.

*please note, all bolds/ italics are mine.