Monday, March 21, 2005

Thefts of baby formula spur wide investigation: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Thefts of baby formula spur wide investigation
By Jim Buynak
Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted March 21 2005
"MOUNT DORA -- What started out as a simple trespass call at a supermarket has turned out to be part of a nationwide investigation into a baby-formula theft ring. Four illegal immigrants were arrested by Mount Dora police last month on charges of stealing about $3,000 worth of baby formula from area stores. 'It really started as a trespass call from Winn-Dixie,' said Sgt. Robert Bell. 'They just wanted them out of their store' because store managers suspected the four were shoplifting...."

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Earth dads give breast milk a try - Sunday Times - Times Online
The Sunday Times - Britain
March 13, 2005
Earth dads give breast milk a try
Lois Rogers, Medical Editor
"FOR MANY men fatherhood is not quite the same unless they have shared the experience as far as possible. A survey has found that a third of modern fathers admit to tasting their wife’s or girlfriend’s breast milk. The researchers discovered that it is fairly common for fathers to drink breast milk several times, especially with subsequent children — even though they did not particularly like the taste. ..." [Only a third? - JC]

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs - Study Shows Antidepressants Safe for Nursing Mothers
Reported March 8, 2005
Study Shows Antidepressants Safe for Nursing Mothers
By Amanda Jackson, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
"ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Thirteen percent of women experience postpartum depression. Many breastfeeding women, however, elect to not take antidepressants because of fear of exposing the infant to the drug through her breast milk. Now, a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clincial Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Orlando, Fla., shows antidepressants are safe for nursing mothers to take. Researcher Amy Lee, MSc, of the University of Toronto/Hospital for Sick Children, explains that previous short-term studies suggest there is minimal exposure of the drugs to nursing infants and they are not considered a risk. However, women become confused because their doctors often warn them of antidepressant use because of the lack of long-term neurodevelopmental studies. In fact, the American Association of Pediatrics states, 'Exposure to maternal psychotropic medications through the breast milk may be of concern to the nursing infant.'..."
"
Breastfeeding 3-year-old is not a problem
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
BY DR. KENDALL SPROTT
For the Star-Ledger
"My grandson is almost 3 years old and still breastfeeding. My daughter-in-law doesn't seem to mind. She is a good mother, but I feel he's a little too old to be nursing. I've tried to gently raise the subject, but she just plays it off. I don't know if I should butt out. What do you think?
"Breast milk is the ideal food for babies and breastfeeding is the natural method of transferring the milk. Psychological advantages of breastfeeding benefit both the mother and child....Breastfeeding beyond the first year of life is not unusual and breast milk is still an excellent source of nutrition....As long as the mother feels comfortable in providing her breast, it is usually not a problem, psychologically, for either of them....The most important conclusion you made is that she is a good mother.... I suggest that you continue to be supportive and not try to discourage the activity...."
HeraldNet: Best for babies: "
Published: Tuesday, March 8, 2005
"By Debra Smith
Herald Writer
When Marlene Cooper's first child arrived, the 20-year-old mother was too stressed and overwhelmed to breast-feed. Julie Busch / The Herald
Marlene Cooper of Edmonds breast-feeds her 2-month-old daughter Domina. Cooper feels breast-feeding is beneficial for her daughter as well as their relationship. "You become a lot closer with the child. with bottle feeding you're not as close," Cooper said.The Edmonds woman was working at a fast food restaurant. The job, which she planned to return to, didn't exactly make pumping breast milk easy. Cooper, now 28, knows breast milk is better for babies and cheaper than formula. When she became pregnant with her second daughter last year she was determined to give breast-feeding a try. For Cooper, breast-feeding wasn't easy at first. She took her daughter home less than a day after she delivered. Like many babies, little Domina slept through most of her stay at the hospital, providing few opportunities for Cooper to master breast-feeding. Once she got home, Cooper's nipples cracked and bled. She sought help from a lactation specialist and learned her baby wasn't latching on properly....

"

Monday, March 07, 2005

No more baby formula? Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban hospitals from giving new moms free formula.
El Paso News and Television : KTSM-TV NewsChannel 9
Monday, March 07, 2005 — "Breastfeeding advocates say the free formula sends a contradictory message to moms who want to breast feed -- and makes it an easy alternative. They say hospitals should give out more information about breastfeeding to encourage them -- but some hospital educators say moms should abe able to make their own choices.
"Not all moms are comfortable with the breastfeeding, so some of them go towards formula, so we have to..."

Sunday, March 06, 2005

The Globe and Mail: No substitute for milk
By STEPHEN STRAUSS
Saturday, March 5, 2005 - Page F8
"One of the continuing debates in anthropology is over agriculture's effect on population growth. One line of thought argues that the arrival of agriculture triggered a population boom as a fallout of the creation of the world's first true baby food. The rationale is that when mothers were able to feed their children substances such as corn or oat gruel, the age of weaning may have fallen to as early as six months from three or four years. ...."