Lea Mock, one of New Life’s birth doulas was a guest on KPFT’s Whole Mother Show this morning! You can listen to it by going to: http://archive.kpft.org (click on the Whole Mother show for Feb. 5). We were invited with a few other parents from Houston’s Chapter of Attachment Parenting International to discuss the benefits of wearing your baby in a sling/baby carrier. Check it out!
It’s October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know that breastfeeding can reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer? Check out the story below, it talks about a recent study that found moms can cut their risk of breast cancer by up to 59%.
That’s right, it is World Breastfeeding Week. Yipee! So, New Life will be giving back to the community double time this week. On Saturday, we will be teaching a free Breastfeeding Basics Class at Nurtured Family, and will then head to Babies R Us for a Q & A Session about Breastfeeding, as part of their World Breastfeeding Event! See our community calendar for details.
And, to bring your more info on World Breastfeeding Week, who has initiated it, and it’s goals, I’ve included a press release from The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action below. See you on Saturday!
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2010, 1-7 August 2010
Towards A Baby-Friendly World
From 1-7 August 2010, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), and breastfeeding advocates in more than 170 countries worldwide will be celebrating World Breastfeeding Week for the 19th year with the theme “Breastfeeding: Just 10 Steps. The Research shows that the best feeding option globally is the initiation of breastfeeding within the first half hour of life, exclusive breastfeeding for a full six months and continued breastfeeding through the second year or beyond. Breastfeeding improves short and long term maternal and child health; and thus contribute to the attainment of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY and 5 IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH, to which many countries and agencies are committed. UNICEF recently noted that the reduction of child deaths from 13 million globally in 1990 to 8.8 million in 20081 is partly due to the adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding. More and more studies have shown that implementation of the Ten Steps with continued postnatal support contributes to increased breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding at the local, national and global levels. 2,3,4
Today, an estimated 28% of all maternity facilities in the world have at some point implemented the Ten Steps which has contributed to an encouraging increase in breastfeeding rates despite aggressive commercial promotion of infant formula and feeding bottles. However this is a far cry from the original goal of ALL maternity facilities practising the Ten Steps by 1995 as stated in the Innocenti Declaration (1990) on the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding which had outlined what countries should do to support breastfeeding.
In 2005, fifteen years after the original Innocenti Declaration, the Innocenti+15 Declaration had called upon individuals, health care professionals, communities, governments and multilateral, bilateral organisations and international financial institutions to ensure that all women can succeed in breastfeeding.
In 2007, UNICEF and WHO completed an update and revision of the Baby-Friendly materials which acknowledge new research and experience, and suggest new approaches to Baby-Friendly beyond the maternity hospital in other health settings and in the community.
Action at community level is particularly important since globally only 56% of women deliver their babies in a health facility, (only 33% in the least developed countries) and they may be discharged within a day or two. Women need ongoing support in the community whether they deliver in hospital or at home.
Whilst rates of exclusive breastfeeding have increased in many countries, there has been stagnation or decrease in some, partly because reduced political support for BFHI and poor compliance with the Ten Steps in BFHI certified facilities.
Recent studies have shown that with more of the Ten Steps in place, the more likely women are to achieve their breastfeeding goals.5 This confirms that importance for every maternity, hospital, clinic and community to strive to increase the number of steps in place, even if they cannot achieve all ten steps immediately. Therefore every step counts!
Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should:
‘Let’s join hands in taking the reliable Ten Steps to making this world a Baby-Friendly World!’
For further information contact Julianna Lim Abdullah, IBCLC, International WBW Coordinator
Tel: (604) 658 4816 Fax: (604) 657 2655 Email: wbw@waba.org.my Website: www.waba.org.my and www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of individuals and organisations concerned with the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding worldwide based on the Innocenti Declarations, the Ten Links for Nurturing the Future and the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Its core partners are International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), La Leche League International (LLLI), International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), Wellstart International and Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM). WABA is in consultative status with UNICEF and an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) l WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia l Tel: 60-4-6584 816 l Fax: 60-4-6572 655 l Email: wbw@waba.org.my l Website: www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org and www.waba.org.my
References:
1 UNICEF State of the Worlds Children 2010
2 Merten S, Dratva J, Ackermann-Liebrich U: Do baby-friendly hospitals influence breastfeeding duration on a national level? Pediatrics 2005, 116(5);e702-708
3 Abrahams SW, Labbok M. Exploring the Impact of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative on Trends in Exclusive Breastfeeding, Int Breastfeed J, 2009 Oct 29;4(1):11
4 Saadeh R and Casanovas M, Implementing and Revitalising the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 2009, 30(2)p S225-9
5 Declerq E, Labbok MH, Sakala C, O’Hara M. The impact of hospital practices on women’s likelihood of fulfilling their intention to exclusively breastfeed. Am J Pub
Health 2009 May; 99(5):929.
Press release can be viewed at: http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/pdf/wbw2010pr.pdf .
DONA’s Doula International, a quarterly publication, has grabbed the attention of many doulas with its headline article titled, “Is PITOCIN Associated with Childhood AUTISM?”, written by Karen Michney-Heipp. The article takes a close look at a possible link between childhood autism and Pitocin used to induce or augment labors. According to the article, most research suggests that there is both genetic predisposition to autism, as well as an environmental trigger that causes it. Apparently, Pitocin has been a suspected trigger for over ten years now. The CDC says there may be a link, and the World Health Organization (WHO) says there is.
The article explains that “oxytocin is called the love hormone by many sources” because it is associated with love and forming emotional bonds. Pitocin is a synthetic form of oxytocin, “made from pituitary glands of cattle”, that is used to augment or induce labors. The article says,
since autistic disorders produce the inability to make or maintain affectionate bonds or have normal social relationships, one cannot help but wonder if there is a causal relationship between these disorders and exogenous sources of an artificial form of oxytocin. Perhaps flooding the immature body of the fetus (especially boy babies [noting that autism is more prevalent in boys]) with this gender-specific hormone from animals somehow interferes with the eventual function of these psychological systems.
Michney-Heipp goes onto say, researchers agree that the immature oxytocin system of a fetus is in a “critical period” at the time of birth. We can only wonder how high a level of Pitocin may affect it. It is also mentioned that when a mother is induced with Pitocin, her pelvis does not accommodate the baby’s head in the same way, causing a lot more cranial pressure, which causes “the nervous system and cranial nerves to be compromised”.
It is also noted that oxytocin is being used therapeutically in nasal sprays for autistic adults, and that generally autistic people have low oxytocin levels. Michney-Heipp also notes the absence of childhood autism in the homebirth community, a place where Pitocin is not used to augment or induce labors.
While there is not, by any means, enough information available yet to conclusively say that Pitocin used during labor is a trigger for childhood autism, there is enough to warrant further research into the link, as well as a closer look at today’s common obstetrical practices. Especially considering the percentage of Pitocin use on laboring women in the Houston area hospitals reach into the high nineties. Historically, there have been obstetrical practices that were thought to be safe, but later found out to be dangerous. X-rays were a standard procedure while a woman was pregnant to measure the pelvic outlet; it was later found to cause childhood cancer. Or the use of the drug Thalidomide in the 50’s and 60’s, prescribed to women to relieve morning sickness or to be used as a sedative, which was later found to cause severe birth defects, including missing and extra appendages. Or what about the overuse of Cytotec in the 90’s, which caused uterine rupture in many women, some of which did not survive. Is Pitocin going to be the next one on this list? Makes you wonder, huh?
If you want to read the article mentioned above yourself, it is Volume 18, Issue 2, page 12-15 of Doula International.
Our Nation’s soaring cesarean rates have made headlines again. CNN recently published an article titled Five Ways to Avoid a C-Section. The list in short is:
To see the full article, click here: Five Ways to Avoid a C-Section
And since we are on the subject, did you know there have been major clinical studies that have shown that the support doula reduces a woman’s risk of cesarean by 26%. That’s right, 26!
Last Monday, a new study was released analysing the benefits of breastfeeding. Currently, only 12% of mothers follow the governments recommendation to exclusively breastfeed babies for the first six months of life. The cost of this shockingly low statistic is estimated to cost our country $13 billion, and even more unfortunately, the lives of 900 babies per year. Risks of formula feeding to a baby include: stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, childhood leukemia, and later in life, obesity. Also, mothers that do not breastfeed are at greater risk for ovarian and breast cancers.
In the article listed below, Pediatrician Larry Gray of the University of Chicago says ”it’s reasonable to strive for 90 percent compliance” with our governments recommendation. It should also be noted that the risks of formula feeding have been known for many years. So, why are our breastfeeding rates so low? Some attribute it to lack of education and support for mothers, others to the maternity care system and outdated hospital policies.
Some of the things I believe would greatly increase our country’s breastfeeding rates include:
It is the job of our generation to ensure that breastfeeding becomes the norm. We owe it to our children. Not only do they deserve the best start in life by being breastfed themselves, but when it comes time for them to bear babies of their own, they deserve to have a community that views breastfeeding as the natural, normal way to feed a child.
See the news story mentioned above here:
Breast-feeding could save lives, money:
Cost-analysis study shows profound health benefits
Holy Family Birth Center in Weslaco, TX
Here is a link to story about Holy Family Birth Center, an example of how the Midwifery Model of Care saves lives and reduces health care costs. Enjoy!
Simple Approach Could Save Lives: Oldest Birth Center in Texas Shows the Way
