'Must Read' Articles Well Worth the Read
The articles below are worth reading; they are both interesting and include invaluable information. Enjoy!
January 30, 2010
The Controversy Over Milk Bank Donations to Haiti's Babies
Jacmel, Haiti (AP Photo/Ryan Remiorz, The Canadian Press)
Earlier this week, a call went out across the U.S. asking for nursing mothers to donate extra breast milk to feed orphaned, sick or premature babies left vulnerable by the earthquake in Haiti. But now, experts are cautioning that the donations are not needed, or even worse, causing a diversion of resources that should be used to help victims.
The call for breast milk donations
Bloggers and news reporters around the U.S. sent out an urgent request for lactating women to donate their milk. The collected milk was to be sent to a U.S. Navy ship assisting rescue efforts in Haiti, the "Comfort."
No facilities to handle more breast milk donations
The problem arose when rescue personnel on the ground in Haiti realized that there were no more facilities to store donated milk, nor the infrastructure to distribute it to where it might be needed
Don't stop donating, just realize it isn't for Haiti
Despite the fact that rescue workers in Haiti can't utilize human breast milk donations right now, don't let that stop you from considering donating milk if you were thinking about it. There are plenty of premature, sick and orphaned babies in the U.S. and Canada that desperately need milk to help them survive and donations have recently been at a low supply level.
Other ways to help Haitian babies
The priority now, according to a joint press release by The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), International Lactation Consultant Association/United States Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA/USLCA), and La Leche League International (LLLI), is helping mothers in Haiti feed or continue feeding their own infants with breast milk. This will help avoid malnutrition in these babies and avoid problems associated with finding uncontaminated water to make formula. The organizations UNICEF, Save the Children Alliance, World Vision, and Action Against Hunger have all been named as groups working on the ground in Haiti to assist nursing mothers to help them breast feed their infants. Monetary donations to these organizations will help Haitian mothers provide healthy breast milk to their children. For more information on milk banks and donating breast milk to babies in need, see the article What is milk banking.
November 1, 2009
A Treasure Left Behind By Cynthia Wilson
This is my
story after adopting now two beautiful baby boys.
Our second adoptive child we picked up from the hospital only 2
days old. Sean is 16
months and James is 3 months old.
This story is about James.
It
was a sunny Friday afternoon when we received a life changing phone
call. "Hello, we have a
fragile 6 pound Cocaine positive baby boy we are trying to find a home
for, would your family be interested?"
Tears immediately began welling up in my eyes.
I began to speak without thinking..."Yes!" I said,
"when
can we pick him up?" Less
than 2 hours later we put this precious little child into the back
seat of our van. The car
seat overwhelmed his tiny bent body. He hardly made a sound.
It was as if he had fallen from heaven's gate into our lives.
Looking into his big brown eyes I wondered how anyone could leave him
behind? I'm sure his
mother must have thought of what was best for him and put her feelings
aside for his well being. He
left the cold sterile hospital with nothing, not even a name to call
his own.
Suddenly a new race was set before us.
It was to spoil this beautiful baby boy with adorable clothes
and soft warm blankets. But
first a name of honor for this little one.
Finally after a night of debating back and forth my husband and
other two children decided upon the name of James Aaron.
Some have said this child is so lucky to have a family like ours.
I beg to differ. For
we are the lucky ones. He
has blessed out lives with his love, his delightful laughter and his
heartwarming smiles that have literally brought tears to our eyes at
times.
What joy we now experience after 3 years of disappointing lost
adoptions. Our hopes
would soar high until that crushing phone call to hear "I'm sorry
but they have chosen someone else for this child" This always seemed
to be the case in the private adoptions we were involved in.
Finally we decided to try a different direction.
This new avenue is called foster care / adoption.
We now have 2 beautiful adopted boys, Sean and James.
They will now grow up with my other 2 children, Daniel and
Brittany. These boys will
have double the hugs, double the kisses and double the love with our
family. My husband and I now have the privilege of sharing our lives
with these children who hold so much love in their hearts for one
another. Truly, what a
great treasure and heritage we have found in them.
October 5, 2009
Three "Must Read" articles were released today which have very important information. Please take the time to read each:
Breastfeeding was comparable
in lowering risk to taking the estrogen-blocking drug Tamoxifin for
five years, the study authors said in this article from the Baltimore
Sun:
Protect babies from SIDS ...Mothers feel responsible for babies' sleep. 'Peaceful Parenting' shares what to do in:
There is an epidemic of "fever phobia'. Read in the Huffington Post why a fever is your friend - believe it or not..nature IS right!!August 12, 2009
Among women with a first-degree family history of breast cancer, breast-feeding
is associated with a significantly decreased risk of premenopausal breast cancer, according to a study published in the Aug.
10/24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
August 5, 2009
BREASTFEEDING: A VITAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE
United States Breastfeeding Committee Recognizes Breastfeeding Awareness Month 2009
Washington, DC--During
the first week of August, the United States Breastfeeding Committee
(USBC) proudly joins organizations from more than 120 countries to
celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. The theme of World Breastfeeding
Week 2009 is Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response. Are You Ready? This
year's focus aims to draw attention to the vital role that
breastfeeding plays in emergencies worldwide and to stress the need for
active protection and support of breastfeeding before and during
emergencies.
USBC
Chair Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, RD, IBCLC, affirms that breastfeeding
is the most important way to protect infants from a host of significant
acute and chronic diseases and is therefore especially critical in
emergency situations where electricity, fuel, and clean water are not
available and risk of disease is high. "Research is clear," says Dr.
Meek, "that even under ideal circumstances breastfeeding helps protect
infants from illnesses such as ear infections, respiratory infections,
and diarrhea. Infants and children are especially vulnerable in an
emergency--nearly 95% of infant and child deaths in emergencies result
from diarrhea due to contaminated water and an unsanitary environment.
Breastfed babies receive a healthy, reliable food source full of
antibodies--properties that provide protection from disease. Breast
milk is the safest and most convenient food in an emergency."
USBC
encourages all mothers who are currently breastfeeding to continue for
as long as possible to protect their infants from infection and
disease, and strongly encourages pregnant women to breastfeed once
their infant is born. Health care providers and emergency relief
workers are urged to assist women to continue breastfeeding their
infants during emergencies.
According
to Meek, this can include measures as simple as providing a safe and
private area for women to breastfeed and receive counseling in large
shelter environments, and helping women access the support of lactation
consultants and other breastfeeding experts in the community.
Physicians, lactation consultants, or other trained health care workers
can help women who chose not to breastfeed or who have stopped
breastfeeding to re-establish milk production, if desired.
The
USBC is an organization of organizations. Opinions expressed by USBC
are not necessarily the position of all member organizations and
opinions expressed by USBC member organization representatives are not
necessarily the position of USBC.
United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC)
The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is an independent
nonprofit coalition of 41 nationally influential professional,
educational, and governmental organizations. Representing over half a
million concerned professionals and the families they serve, USBC and
its member organizations share a common mission to improve the Nation's
health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support
breastfeeding. For more information about USBC, visit www.usbreastfeeding.org. ###
These 2 articles are "partner" articles from Oprah's March 2009 O Magazine, I just discovered them.
Breastfed Babies are Best Fed Babies®!
