Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Parents warned crying policy was wrong (August 27, 2004)By Medical Writer JILL PENGELLEY
news.com.au
August 27, 2004
"PARENTS who ignore a baby's crying are setting the child up for a lifetime of insecurity and stress, says a child health consultant. Melbourne author Pinky McKay will speak out against 'controlled crying' at an Adelaide midwifery conference tomorrow. The practice, advocated by Child and Youth Health during the 1990s, involves leaving a baby to cry for increasingly longer periods before providing comfort....The Australasian Midwifery Expo, to be held at the Festival Theatre, will also hear arguments for and against "co-sleeping". ..."

Monday, August 30, 2004

Cargill enters joint venture
The Business Journal (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
5:19 PM CDT Monday- 2004-08-30
"Minnetonka-based Cargill Inc. will enter the arachidonic acid (ARA) business through a joint venture with Wuhan Alking Bioengineering Co. Ltd., a Chinese company that serves the infant formula business...."
Oregon: Number 1 In Nursing
Mothering Magazine -- News Bulletins August 2004
"Exclusive breastfeeding (no supplemental solids or liquids) has a new national champion. A recent federal study shows Oregon is the only state where more than 26 percent of mothers are exclusively breastfeeding their infants at six months of age. 'This is positive health news for Oregon,' says Donalda Dodson, manager of child and family health programs for the state..."

Saturday, August 28, 2004

STUFF : HEALTH - STORY : New Zealand's leading news and information website
28 August 2004
"Food safety officials say they won't recall the batch of infant formula which killed a Waikato baby last month. The premature baby died after being fed infant formula in Waikato Hospital, made up from powder contaminated with a bacterium, Enterobacter sakazakii. A spokesman for the hospital, Waikato District Health Board (DHB) neonatal specialist Phil Weston, yesterday declined to disclose what infant formula brand was contaminated, its batch number, or details of its packaging 'as there are contractual and statutory obligations that need to be considered'."

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Scoop: Powdered milk warning labels must be mandatory: "Powdered milk warning labels must be mandatory
Friday, 27 August 2004, 11:39 am
Press Release: Green Party


Powdered milk warning labels must be mandatory

Green MP Sue Kedgley is calling for mandatory warning labels on powdered milk formula in the wake of the tragedy at Waikato Hospital’s neonatal unit, where a premature baby died after being infected by bacteria believed to have come from a powdered milk formula.

“Parents must be given adequate information about the risks of powdered infant formula so they can avoid feeding it to newborn infants and opt for breastfeeding or ready made liquid formula instead,” said Ms Kedgley, the Green Party’s Safe Food spokesperson."
tvnz.co.nz | NEWS | HEALTH | Warning over powdered formula issued
TV.NZ.co.nz
August 26, 2004
"Health and food safety officials have issued strong warnings about using powdered milk formula following the death of a premature baby in Waikato. Officials say the baby's death was linked to a bacteria called Enterobacter sakazakii which can be found in the environment and in low levels in infant formula. Dr Pat Tuohy from the Health Ministry says the six week premature baby developed an infection, which was treated at the time, but depsite the prompt treatment the baby developed meningitis and died...."

Monday, August 23, 2004

Study: Oregon a leader in breast-feeding rates; Only state with more than 25 percent, feds say

From Bend.com news sources
Last Updated: Monday, August 23, 2004 1:12 PM
Reference Code: PR-17490
"August 23 - A new federal study shows Oregon is a leader in breastfeeding rates, according to public health officials in the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS). The survey, conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that Oregon was the only state to have more than 25 percent of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their infants at six months of age...."

Friday, August 20, 2004

Breastfeeding Benefits
NBC Newschannel 6
August 20, 2004
"August has been declared world breast feeding month - a chance for health officials to pass on information about breastfeeding your baby. From physical to mental well-being, experts say there are lots of reasons for mothers to breast feed their children. Jeremy Couchexplains why so many doctors say new mothers should latch on to the idea. Breastfeeding is no longer considered to be a lifestyle choice, but a significant health and medical choice for both mother and baby...."

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Baby formula plant grows in 80th year
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
By Myron Kukla
The Grand Rapids Press
"ZEELAND -- West Michigan's strong dairy industry brought Mead Johnson &Co. to the area in 1924 to provide the company with a ready supply of milk for its powdered infant formula. Mead Johnson Nutritionals on Tuesday celebrated eight decades of making baby formula from its plant on Main Street in Zeeland with an anniversary party and building dedication for a new $20 million formula drying facility. Zeeland Mayor Les Hoogland said the company is part of the history and growth of the city...." [I wonder what the breastfeeding rate is in Zeeland... - JC]

Monday, August 16, 2004

Mom's milk isn't better for brains of some premature babies
Medical News Today
August 17, 2004
"Contrary to the results suggested by earlier studies, mother's breast milk may not provide significant help to the brain development of very low birth weight preterm babies, according to new research in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioural Pediatrics. The study by Lydia Furman, M.D., of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland and colleagues found that other influences such as health problems at birth, and social factors such as the mother's race, marriage and education were more important in predicing any mental and motor development problems among the infants...."

Thursday, August 12, 2004

news@nature.com - WHO to define ideal for child growth
Published online: 11 August 2004;
Helen Pearson
"The World Health Organization (WHO) is rewriting the rulebook on how fast and fat children should grow. Their new healthy growth guidelines, due to be released next year, should help fight malnutrition and obesity. At present, health workers worldwide judge whether babies and children are growing fast enough based on standard curves of height and weight drawn up in the 1970s. The figures were calculated by collecting data on US children, who were mainly fed infant formula...."
Migrants tell tale of horror

By MARINA JIMÉNEZ and COLIN FREEZE
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
"A boatload of starving migrants from the Dominican Republic resorted to drinking breast milk and eating human flesh on an ill-fated crossing to Puerto Rico that left at least 40 people dead, according to some survivors and rescuers...."
Australia to open breast milk bank to help babies
Agence France-Presse
Melbourne, August 12
"Australia's first breast milk bank will open for business next year to meet a growing demand from ageing mothers and premature babies, the centre's founder said Thursday. Lactation consultant Margaret Callaghan said the private clinic will offer pasteurised breast milk to hospitals treating newborns and to mothers who cannot produce enough milk...."

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

CTV.ca | Anti-depressants may put unborn babies at risk
CTV.ca News Staff
"Women who take some anti-depressant drugs late during their pregnancies may be putting their babies at risk, Health Canada is warning. The department issued an advisory Monday about the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) anti-depressants. The drugs include: bupropion (Zyban, whether used for depression or for smoking cessation); fluoxetine (Prozac); paroxetine (Paxil); citalopram (Celexa); venlafaxine (Effexor); fluvoxamine (Luvox); mirtazapine; and sertraline. Pregnant women should consult their doctor but should not discontinue the drugs abruptly, since this can also lead to intense side effects. 'Untreated depression in moms can be very dangerous -- more suicide ideas, more suicide attempts, more post-partum depression,' said Dr. Gideon Koren....Health Canada says newborns may be adversely affected when pregnant women take the drugs during the third trimester of pregnancy. The babies can develop complications at birth requiring prolonged hospitalization, breathing support and tube feeding...."

Monday, August 09, 2004

AP Wire | 08/08/2004 | Ohio hospital close to establishing state's first breast milk bank
Akron Beacon Journal
Associated Press
Sunday, August 8, 2004
"COLUMBUS, Ohio - A 3-pound baby boy born prematurely at Grant Medical Center lacked the reflexes to nurse from his mother, who was also struggling to produce milk. Little Tristan Casto needed the enzymes and hormones found only in human milk to ward off infection and to grow bigger and healthier. The hospital had frozen milk shipped from a Texas milk bank, which was fed to Tristan through a stomach tube. He is now healthy, his mother said. Soon, Grant Medical Center plans to have the state's first milk bank, so milk won't need to be shipped frozen, overnight from other states for babies like Tristan...."

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Few Mothers Meet Breastfeeding Goals, Study Shows

Few Mothers Meet Breastfeeding Goals, Study Shows
Thu Aug 5, 2004 10:55 AM ET
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Only 14 percent of U.S. mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for the minimum recommended six months, according to government data released on Thursday. New state-by-state statistics show that Oregon has the highest rate of mothers meeting the minimum standards, but even there just 25 percent are able to give their babies breast milk and nothing else for six months, the report shows...."
Mums unite for national breast fest
National - www.theage.com.au
August 5, 2004 - 5:12PM
"Mothers and babies across Australia will embark on a feeding frenzy tomorrow in an effort to reclaim a world record for simultaneous breastfeeding. Breast Fest 2004 coordinator Lee King, who is also a director of the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA), said the event would be held in eight major venues and other regional centres across the country, starting at noon (AEST). 'We will be setting a new world record for the most women breastfeeding simultaneously across Australia,' she said. 'But also we are hoping to break the world record for the most women breastfeeding simultaneously in the one venue. The latter record was set by 787 mums and babies in Adelaide in 1999, but a group in the United States beat it by 343 in 2002, she said...."

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Seeking a formula to protect infants from AIDS
August 4, 2004
BY SANDRA GUY SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
"Researchers are fighting two unfortunate realities in their efforts to stop AIDS in Africa. First, the ravages of disease there have become too routine to make the daily news headlines. About 70 percent of the world's 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS and 90 percent of the world's HIV/AIDS-infected children live in sub-Saharan Africa. Second, most medical products aimed at fighting AIDS, including vaccines, condoms and therapeutic drugs, must be given away to the poor in Africa. There's no profit potential from developing and making free products, and thus no interest from venture capitalists. Undaunted, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are pursuing a potential solution to the problem of AIDS being transmitted by infected mothers to their infants during breast-feeding. The problem is critical in sub-Saharan Africa because most women cannot afford infant formula, and even if they could, many infants fed formula have died because of contaminated water."
Drowning in expectations
Cheryl Rosenberg Neubert
The Orange County Register
Aug. 4, 2004 12:00 AM
"Of course I was going to breast-feed. There I would sit, ensconced in my light blue glider rocker, a halo of soft light surrounding me as my baby nursed at my breast. I’d smile beatifically at him, satisfied in my womanly ability to provide the perfect nourishment for my beautiful boy. Then my son Sawyer was born, and as fast as you can say flatnipplesnomilkpoorsuck, my idyllic image was shattered like the wail of a hungry infant breaks a quiet night. The most natural thing in the world seemed completely impossible. I could not feed my child. What was wrong with me?..."

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Scoop: Call to Protect Breastfeeding Workers
Wednesday, 4 August 2004, 10:38 am
Press Release: New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
"Women returning to work after having a child should have their right to continue breastfeeding protected by law, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today, marking World Breastfeeding Week. Employers had been slow to voluntarily introduce breastfeeding breaks, so the CTU supported a legislated right to breastfeeding breaks and facilities upon return to work...."

Sunday, August 01, 2004

100 Million to go to Victims of Baby-Formula Tragedy

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News
17:25 Aug 01, '04 / 14 Av 5764
"Humana, the German parent company of baby-formula distributor Remedia, has agreed to pay $100 million to the 17 families of children who died or whose health suffered as a result of a vitamin-deficient soy-based baby formula. Israel's Channel 2 television station reported that the damages would be the largest ever paid in Israel's history...."
Breastfeeding at work - newsleader.com
By Maria Longley/staff
mlongley@newsleader.com
"Tricia LaGrua nurses her 3-month-old son Braddock. LaGrua, a clinical social worker, returned to work part-time after she had her first child, Gabriel, now 2, and would pump milk between clients. She has decided to stay home longer after having Braddock. Spending the first six weeks at home with a new baby is tough work. But for moms who want to continue breastfeeding on the job, the thought of going back to work can be as daunting as anticipating labor pain. Will my boss and co-workers understand my need to pump, or if possible, nurse (especially if my boss is a man)? Where can I find a private spot to pump at work? Can I make enough time to pump Once she's started, a nursing mom has to feed her child or pump regularly to maintain her milk supply, so making arrangements early can mean the difference between many months of breastfeeding and giving up in frustration Jenny Deegan had to overcome several challenges when she went back to work as a line supervisor at DuPont, now Invista. She was breastfeeding her son Tyler, now 5...."
Petition seeks legal protection for breastfeeding
Stuff.co.nz
02 August 2004

"An Auckland woman has launched a petition calling for a law to protect rights for breastfeeding in public. Liz Weatherly said she was upset after having to withdraw her son from a childcare centre because staff objected to her breastfeeding the toddler in the cloakroom. Ms Weatherly said in a statement today there was no legal protection in New Zealand for women who experienced hostility or discrimination because they were breastfeeding. 'Young children need to be fed frequently and this means mothers often have to feed in public places...."