The Lactation Lady, LLC/Colts Neck, NJ

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Mothers who suffer from asthma should be encouraged to breastfeed according to new research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-breastfeeding-lungs-idUSTRE8120EF20120203.  This article from Reuters claims that in the past evidence was inconclusive regarding the benefits of breastfeeding for asthmatic mothers, but I beg to differ.  Breastfeeding is the preferred feeding method for infants especially those with family histories of allergies (asthma is an allergy).  In fact this was one of my many reasons for choosing to breastfeed my own children.  I suffered horribly from asthma my whole life; it was only in my 30s after having my children that my asthma improved (do to healthy living choices I made and improved medical treatment).  I did not want the same experience for my little ones–breastfeeding reduces the risk of asthma and allergies and that was important to me.

Here is a quote from the article:

“I think the evidence is that breastfeeding increases lung volume, independent of if the mother is asthmatic or not,” said Dr. Wilfried Karmaus, who studies asthma at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and wasn’t involved in the new work.

“If the lung volume is increased, then you are less susceptible to get asthma,” he told Reuters Health. “It’s important even to tell asthmatic mothers to breastfeed their children.”

I read an article today regarding a lactation/pumping room that has been established at the SuperBowl–yes, you read that correctly–Football and Breastfeeding together forever, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/breastfeeding-super-bowl_n_1250902.html.  This article was a great way to start the day.  Lately it seems that women have had to fight and stand up for their rights to breastfeed in public and the workplace, often facing disparaging and ignorant remarks as a result.

Public health recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and many other health oriented organizations around the world call for exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding for at LEAST a year (2 years according to WHO and UNICEF).  We ask moms to breastfeed for their children’s health and for their health–but we don’t provide to tools or support to do it.

So it was nice to see local organizations in Indiana pulling together to support breastfeeding moms at this HUGE sporting event–LOVE IT!  What a step in the right direction.

Last week I wrote about protecting the rights of breastfeeding women in the workplace and the Federal legislation that came into effect in 2010–the pros and cons, http://thelactationlady.com/pumping-in-the-workplace/–it seems only fitting that today’s New York Times had an article about Pregnant Women and the importance of protecting their rights in the workplace, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/opinion/pregnant-and-pushed-out-of-a-job.html?_r=1

The author points out the crux of the problem, “Federal and state laws ban discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace. And amendments to the Americans With Disabilities Act require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees (including most employees with medical complications arising from pregnancies) who need them to do their jobs. But because pregnancy itself is not considered a disability, employers are not obligated to accommodate most pregnant workers in any way.”

Pregnancy is not an illness, but allowing accommodations so a woman can keep working just seem to be common sense to me.  It is a sad state of affairs when we actually need laws to protect discrimination against women and they have to be extremely detailed since we cannot rely on “culture” to do the right thing.  Laws are needed and they must specifically define rights for women who are pregnant in the workplace–just like breastfeeding, whether they are laws to protect public breastfeeding or pumping in the workplace.

The health of women and children define the “health” of a society….shouldn’t that be protected.

I just finished reading this article, http://www.additudemag.com/adhdblogs/16/9360.html in which a mother of an ADHD child describes how she has come to realize her parenting skills are often judged by other parents.  This is such a near and dear topic to me.  Not only in the case of a parent who has a child with a diagnosed disorder like ADHD or Autism but all parents feel this way at some point.

Picture the mother who is grocery shopping with a newborn and her other children in tow and someone has a tantrum (hopefully not the mom)—it does not matter what the tantrum is about—it could be about nothing, but it never fails there is always someone there to “observe” the situation and pass judgment.  Not knowing the background or the specifics–not have empathy regardless of the background or specifics does not come easy for most people.  Who knows?  Maybe the child is ill and we all know they are cranky when they are sick….or maybe that child has autism and social situations are a challenge–who are we to judge?

I am not a perfect parent and I have yet to meet that perfect parent–(those who put on the perfect parent facade are shams)—try not to pass judgement on others and be as supportive as possible–you may need the same sense of understanding and support one day.

Here is a quote from the article:

“Instead of judging parents whose children appear out of control, why not extend some empathy and compassion? To parents who don’t have an ADHD child: The next time you see a child running wild, don’t assume the parents have no control, or are bad disciplinarians. Instead, offer words of encouragement, make a comment to lighten the mood, or better yet — offer a hand. Or possibly even a cookie.”

What a lot of moms and employers do not realize is that our new healthcare regulations support mothers pumping at work (the “new” Federal regulations went into place in 2010).  Yes, there are some obvious concerns about the legislation–the most important being–does it have “teeth?”.  Meaning, if an employer is non-compliant how is the issue resolved, but we have to start somewhere.

Here is a copy of the new Federal regulations, http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.pdf.  This fact sheet was prepared by the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.  It is a great sheet for moms to provide their employers when they are planning on returning to work and need to discuss their pumping needs.

The good things about the new regulations:

1) There is a law supporting pumping in the workplace

2) Employers (who employee at least 50 employees) must provide “reasonable break time” for pumping

3) The reasonable time is defined as “as frequently as needed by the nursing mother”

4) A bathroom or non private area is NOT acceptable, “Employers are also required to provide ‘a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public’ ”

5) Although employers with less than 50 employees are not subject to the law, they have the burden of PROVING “undue hardship”

6) Although mothers will not be compensated for their pumping time, they can use regularly allotted paid break times to pump

7) The Federal regulations will not preempt State laws that may provide greater protections to the mother (however, state laws regarding pumping in the workplace are often nonexistent [such is the case here in NJ])

The cons:

1) The law only supports pumping in the work place until the infant is one year of age

2) Employers who do not have at least 50 employees are NOT subject to compliance if adherence would cause them “undue hardship”

3) “Reasonable break time” is not well defined and it puts mom in an awkward position to define/defend her pumping needs

4) There is no defined course of action or “punishment” if the employer is non-compliant

Just read this article in the Huffington Post, “The Truth About Breastfeeding.”  The author outlines 11 things she wished she had known–wished someone had told her.  It is funny and cute, and it may be true….  Do we hide the “truth” about breastfeeding and mothering, for that matter, both can be difficult, hard, rewarding and the best thing you ever do (talk about conflicting)???

It can be hard and challenging in the beginning and every time someone tells you, “if it hurts you are doing it wrong” may feel like a knife in your heart.  Is there an assumption since breastfeeding is natural, it should happen naturally?

Breastfeeding is a learned art; it takes time to get it right and you and the baby are learning at the same time.  It does get easier but as you sit there with your nipples bleeding you may not find comfort in that.

My advice–be prepared and GET HELP as soon as possible.  Don’t be afraid to reach out with questions and concerns.  Join a support group–breastfeeding/mothering support groups are a wonderful way to meet other moms going through the same thing–after all “misery loves company”–kidding aside, there is something invaluable about knowing someone else feels the same way you do and more importantly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel–meeting the moms who have gotten past that point, who are “in love” with breastfeeding who can share their “I remember when” stories.

I am a self proclaimed health food nut and this article in yesterday’s New York Times caught my eye, “Looking Inside the Twinkie.”  It was a blog interview with author Steve Ettlinger about his book, “Twinkie, Deconstructed.”  I thought this was a new book but I found it was actually published in 2007 when I looked for it on Amazon (why is the kindle version more expensive than the hardcover?).  This book looks like a good read.  We eat far too many processed foods and these foods do not hold a nutritional value for us.  Here is a great quote from yesterday’s article:

“They get hard, but they don’t spoil. I’ve got a bunch of them scattered around my office. I’ve got one from 2005 in my hand. It’s a little hard. I don’t think I’d want to eat it. It’s solid, but it hasn’t spoiled. As part of my research, I made Twinkies at home. We made cake from scratch with whole-food ingredients. It was yellow cake and cream filling from whipped cream with sugar and vanilla. It was absolutely delicious, and we devoured most of them right away. I wrapped one in plastic wrap and put it aside, and it was solid green in a week.”

What we put in our bodies is important–what we give our children to eat is even more so.

Just read a great article about how parenting can help prepare children for school–I would take it a step farther and say that parenting prepares children for life.  Unless your children are going to live like a recluse or maintain an anti-social lifestyle, teaching children to interact with others, be respectful of others, and empathetic (empathy is one of the most important traits that I want to instill in my boys) are important tools for a meaningful existence.  This article from Australia was focused on school, but I really wished they focused on the broader picture, http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/lifestyle/a/-/health/12652204/good-parenting-helps-prepare-children/

My boys and I talk about everything.  Simple things that seem so obvious to me.  For example, if you have been invited to a party, you should not talk about the invitation or party at school in front of others who may not have been invited.  It would hurt their feelings.  About how to be inclusive and not exclusive.  Treating everyone nicely.  How to mediate, how to stand up for yourself AND others.  Often we will read articles, books, or see something on TV and discuss the human reactions.  I want my boys to be caring, kind, generous, and grateful.

I would love to see more articles about topics like this with concrete ideas for parents.

I love the idea of discussing “life scenarios” with kids–what would you do?  Why? How would that make you feel?  How would that make someone else feel? Why?  Ethical solutions, empathy, and living as if you are not the only person in the world is one of the best gifts we can give our children.

Yesterday I posted information on how important it is for families who choose or need to formula feed to have the proper information on preparation.  For infants receiving powdered or concentrated formulas how to reconstitute and add water is a crucial step in formula preparation.  Not only does the water source need to be clean and pure and at the right temperature (when making powdered formula the temperature of the water needs to be at least 70 degrees Celsius), you need to add just the right amount of water.

Some families who are economically challenged may want to add more water to “stretch” the amount of formula they have out.  This practice is extremely harmful to infants and can cause severe medical complications as highlighted in this article, http://www.newswise.com/articles/infants-at-risk-from-formula-stretching

“Two-thirds of the families in the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program – which provides nutrition basics for low-income women with children – reported running out of WIC-supplied formula toward the end of most months. Among food-insecure families, 27 percent reported watering down formula or reducing feedings, a practice that can have serious health consequences for babies’ developing brains, leading to cognitive, behavioral and psychological issues.”

The governmental program, WIC, has been criticized for not supporting breastfeeding and for being the number one purchaser of formulas, but you can see from the outcomes of the recent study highlighted in the article that others can argue this supplemental program does not do enough for those families who choose or need to formula feed.  In an ideal culture where breastfeeding was the norm, where it was promoted, supported and protected by all perhaps we would not have this issue; however, for families who have chosen to use formula maybe because of challenges they face coordinating work schedules and other employment issues perhaps the supplement is not enough.