posted
CT, yes, I have gone through several bottles of Gentian Violet. It worked much better than even the powefrul anti-fangals, like Diflucan, for us.
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posted
The sad thing is that the case is strong enough on its own merits. I think there was a lot of behind-the-scene politics on this one. The outcome is good, but I wonder about what went on behind it.
Nonetheless, I could be totally wrong about the studies. I will have to look to be sure.
Unfortunately, dpr, looks like yeast is developing resistance to GV too. Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
I wonder about the statistics too. Obviously poverty plays a big part of it.....we (as a society) need to be doing more to help lower income mothers and babies. I mean, no baby should have to live in an environment where they are exposed to roach feces and rat bites.
But, I think any of these mothers who do breastfeed, may up their babies chances due to the increased immune factors.
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posted
CT, I've thrown up more in the past month and a half than the previous ten years combined. There's definitely something going around.
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posted
My wife tried hard to breastfeed both our kids after they were born. And I so wanted her to be able to. We both did everything in our power to let her breastfeed, even renting a powerful pump from the hospital so I could do the feeding at night. But she needed adequate sleep every night--and even just getting up to pump and letting me (or one of our moms) take care of the baby through the night was too much. And when both kids were just a couple of weeks old, she ended up having to take medication that was just too dangerous for breastfeeding.
I am an advocate of breastfeeding, even though I have personally fed hundreds of bottles of formula to both of my kids.
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quote:And when both kids were just a couple of weeks old, she ended up having to take medication that was just too dangerous for breastfeeding.
I worry that this might happen to me when I have kids. I could probably last through the gestation period without antidepressants, but for years after that... I just don't know.
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A must read for anyone remotely interested in the topic- it covers socioeconomics, the history of formula, health, commercialism, advertising, government, big business, grassroots advocacy . . .
posted
Given the reference to the airline incident in the article, the most ironic thing to me is that when Matt was 4 months old, we flew from Florida to Philly to visit the family and had the following experience. When I started breastfeeding the boy, the elderly gentleman in the next seat looked over and said, "You must be a great mother to take care of your baby so well." I always made it a habit to feed Matt as we were landing (he was a lap passenger), to keep his ears cleared.
I was lucky in that I almost always had positive reactions from people around me regarding breastfeeding.
posted
It occurs to me that perhaps we need to be more aggressive in marketing breastfeeding.
When I went in to the doctor for the first time because I was pregnant, I got a bag of stuff. There was a book and other info from the doctor's office, and several samples of prenatal vitamins. But the bag was from a formula company. The diaper changer pad from the formula company. Packets of advertising.
What if breastfeeding advocates started putting together their own bags for the doctor's offices to use? And then for the hospitals? There would be lots of good information about breastfeeding. Contacts with LLL and good lactation consultants.
Really. We can't just wish people would know more. We have to be proactive about it.
We need to arrange positive educational meetings with nursing staff.
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posted
When I transfered to my new doctor, the receptionist asked if I intended to breastfeed, and gave me a copy of The New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding (a 120 page book with illustrations, a chart to keep track of feedings/diapers, a troubleshooting guide, etc., very helpful), along with a list of breastfeeding support resources in the area, etc.
I agree they ought to do more, though.
And there were some commercials that were supposed to run on tv, but they got first censored, then their run time was limited, because the formula companies lobbied very hard against them.
posted
There's so little money to be made in breastfeeding. Selling formula, on the other hand, is making a lot of people very wealthy. I imagine that's what's driving the diaper bags stuffed with merchandise that they give you at the hospital.
I must say I appreciated all the free samples and the coupons for formula that came with both our babies. We didn't think we would use them either time, but they ended up coming in handy. I can't stand how much formula costs, but when it's a necessity, any freebies are very welcome. We even signed up with the Similac and Enfamil member's clubs just so they would keep sending us coupons.
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posted
There's a distinct lack of funding for this kind of thing - there are immediate profits in the formula industry, but there not a breastfeeding industry. Advocacy must be publicly funded then, which means it's competing with the fifty thousand other good causes out there.
Added: Jinx, afr.
[ February 08, 2005, 12:14 PM: Message edited by: Lady Jane ]
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posted
You see, I hate it when people are aggressive about breastfeeding, which is why I avoided La Leche League. I read "A Nursing Mother's Companion" instead.
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posted
Elizabeth, I think it's most peoples natural tendency to rebel against anything that they perceive as being forced on them. Both of my daughters were primarily formual fed, and I personally think they've turned out better than everyone else's children... Posts: 1480 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
Elizabeth, at the clinic my daughter goes to, they seem surprised every time I remind them that my daughter is still breastfed. While I've never been to La Leche League because I feel that they're a little too forceful for me, a little bit of a bigger push might help some of the moms at the clinic we attend realize that breastfeeding is better for their baby and them if they can manage it, for as long as they can manage it, and not abandon the idea before they start. (I've spent a lot of time talking to mothers in the waiting room who never started because "I was going to have to go back to work in a month and a half anyway, and there was no point"; while I respect that decision, I think with a little more education and support, some of them at least might have tried it at least for a month and a half, which is better than nothing!)
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Such a bag would be no more forceful, I believe, than the information the formula companies hand out. Why would one be more offensive than the other? I think providing such bags would be a practical thing for local groups to engage in.
I, myself, went only to one LLL meeting and decided it wasn't for me. But I'm not one to be primarily motivated by group situations either.
Posts: 3495 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
AFR hits the nail on the head. Money is a big issue in the promotion of breastfeeding.
Formula is big business, and formula companies work hard to maintain their market share, giving away freebies to doctors, hospitals, clinics, and patients. They give lip service to the positive benefits of breastfeeding, while subtly undermining the process - if every woman breastfed her baby - or even if a majority of women breastfed their babies - the formula companies would go out of business. (And dispite what you may have heard, it is the extremely rare woman who cannot breastfeed her baby with the proper help and support).
For more on this topic, check out the book Milk, Money and Madness. It's an eye opener (as is The Politics of Breastfeeding, mentioned above by Shan).
There is not a similar financial backing for the promotion of breastfeeding because, let's face it, no one can make money on it. Additionally, many breastfeeding promotion projects end up being watered down due to the influence of industry.
posted
Getting such a bag into use would consist of three general steps:
1. Funding
Mainly, you need funding for the materials in the bag and the bag itself. This can likely be obtained through various organizations, particularly grant giving ones, and in kind donations (local printers are a good place to go to about getting printing donated). If any "freebies" are being provided, funding for those (or in kind donation) must be discovered.
2. Volunteers
Volunteers are needed to put the bags together and to prepare the information on the materials in the bag (and what the bag will look like). The latter should be done in a two step process, first someone/a group who decide what information/viewpoints/ideas will be conveyed, and then someone/a group who does the layout and design involved. There's likely a local graphic designer who would be happy to contribute.
3. Lobbying
Getting the bag into the offices. The following strategy would likely be effective: going into the office with a sample bag (and more out in the vehicle if they're interested right away), talking to the receptionist first for a bit and setting an appointment to talk with the doctors (or whoever in the office would make the decision). At the appointment, talk to them about just wanting to ensure people have information about the option, a little small talk about the health benefits of breast feeding, and inform them about how their name and logo will go on a page on the website for being kind enough to give out these bags.
Maintenance:
sort of an additional step, and very necessary. As mentioned in 3, there should be a website. Doesn't have to be very complex, though it could be used to coordinate efforts. Basically an info page, a page listing doctor's offices distributing the bag, and a page of links to more information would be all that's necessary. This website is necessary because it needs to be in the material available so that when people tell other people about the effort, they can go "oh, just go to . . . . and it has all the information".
Also, you need to have loose checks on that doctor's offices really are distributing the bags. When people say they got a bag, ask them where, and notice if you never hear from someone getting a bag there. Just generally keep one's eyes and ears open.
There needs to be a system in place for getting doctors more bags when they need them. When a doctor's office agrees to carry bags, drop off a nice, laminated info sheet with what to do (basically, "email us at _____ for more bags", plus some other contact info). Stop by at the predicted interval the office will need more bags (just ask them about how many they estimate they'll go through in a month, and divide into however many you drop off) and ask if they need more or will soon.
There needs to be a system for updating the bag. Someone who keeps up on developments in research and such should review the information in the bag regularly (something like every 2 months) for accuracy. Partly for this reason the bag should avoid mentioning "current" dates -- that way they never have to be updated. Basically, don't put 2005 (or whichever year) in the graphics.
Every 6 months or a year the bag should undergo a more thorough review and revision. Doesn't have to be too elaborate, but should be thorough and inclusionary (get comments from some of the doctors distributing the bag, for instance). The more stakeholders that can be involved, the more buy in and the more legitimacy the effort will have.
As part of the maintenance effort, new and reliable funding will have to be continually sought.
You may have guessed I put some thought into social activism and the dissemination of information .
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posted
Ela, just because I know some women who are members, and they tend to be what I'd call "breastfeeding Nazis"; they are the people who give me guff for supplementing Emma at all, saying that if I was doing it right, I wouldn't need to, when in every generation for the past 5, I know there has been one child who needed additional supplementation.
Anyway, if I had had a problem nursing, I wouldn't have had a problem going to LLL for help. However, I am not into a support group for something I personally don't need support in, who will tell me what to do and all.
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posted
I would loce to see bags like that too. I have often wondered why some of the companies like Medela and Motherwear don't get together with LLL, etc and do this? I mean, if you're like me, and need "specialty" nursing bras, of if you're going back to work and are pumping, there is some money to be made.
The most I have seen in promotion is the little card with a Lansinoh sample my MW gives out.
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posted
Yeah, I can think of lots of things that could go in such a bag: coupons for nursing bra/attire savings, Tums samples and coupons, LLL pamphlets, Avent, Medela, etc. coupons and brochures and even some sample breastmilk storage bags, disposable nursing pads, a "guide to healthy eating for nursing mothers", etc.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
You're right. A company that sells breast pumps might have some success doing a bag for mothers. Maybe drop some lanolin in, some pads, and some good information about breastfeeding, plus some brochures for breast pumps and nursing bras/accessories. Teamed up with a breastfeeding organization, it might be pretty effective.
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Medela and Ameda, the breast pump companies, both have excellent information sheets on a variety of breastfeeding topics that can be obtained by health care professionals and hospitals and handed out to new mother. (We had Medela sheets in the mother baby unit where I worked as a nurse, and I often handed out the sheets to moms, though they were not routinely used by all of the staff.) Much of this information now appears to be available at the websites of those breast pump companies.
I know that when I worked as a lactation consultant in private practice we used to hand out information of this type regularly. Motherwear provided their handout information to us in large quantities for free, and Medela and Ameda gave it free to retailers when requested with an order of their products for resale(we sold and rented breast pumps and related items) . Lansinoh also makes samples of their hypoallergenic lanolin available to both professionals and volunteers who counsel breastfeeding moms.
The thing to do would be to make your local hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers aware of this information by providing samples and talking it up. Often you can get local donors to help finance such projects. Also, in some communities, interested professional and laypeople participate in Breastfeeding Task forces, with the goal of promoting breastfeeding in their communities.
Just some ideas for those who might be interested.
[ February 08, 2005, 04:17 PM: Message edited by: Ela ]
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posted
I just want to add that a lot of promotion activities are going on, but they are not equally visible in all communities, and can often be overshadowed by the promotion of formula and other profit-making products.
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posted
I'm sorry, I should have been more clear. I think the "breast feeding bags" idea is great, I just didn't like the LLL book. I preferred "A Nursing Mother's Companion." I appreciate all the organization does/has done for women! I think the most important resource for women is other women, and the more clumped an area is in breastfeeding, the more success breastfeding has. (As "DPR County" proves)(what thread werewe having this discussion in? It was not a breastfeeding thread)
DPR, how lucky am I to live 20 minutes away from the old Motherwear outlet? We would go and get bras and shirts for a few bucks each. Now, they have gone retail, I believe.
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posted
I remember when Motherwear was a brand new company with only a few items sold by mail, all of which pretty much had a homemade look. (I still have some of those items.)
That was a long time ago. Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
Elizabeth, I also adored Nursing Mother's Companion. Which is heartily endorsed by La Leche (and I thought was published by them but apparently not).
Small books containing the first two chapters of the book are included by many hospitals here as part of the going-home pack (along with all the formula samples and such).
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posted
Liz, I forget now! But I still LOL at "dpr county" .
One thing I took advantage of from Motherwear, was an an employer,I used some of the "Breastfeeding Welcome Here" items. I have only hd one employee besides myself have a baby since I took my job, but since my arena is the nursery , I like having a big sign that lets any mom who enters know, if she does not fell comfortable nursing elsewhere at the church, there is a comfy chair, privacy, and water awaiting her here.
(unfortunately, all these nifty accomodations, paired with my personality type, make it al so easy for me to return to work with a 9 day old in a sling).
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quote:You see, I hate it when people are aggressive about breastfeeding, which is why I avoided La Leche League. I read "A Nursing Mother's Companion" instead.
I did not breastfeed any of my children. There were reasons for that, and no it wasn't convenience. I discussed it with my doctor before hand, we talked pros and cons, I watched several videos he gave me on breast feeding, I attended the breast feeding prenatal class, I really wanted to make it work, but we decided it would not.
I was so hurt by the way I was treated in the hospital, I cried for days. When a friend of mine had her baby, and started breast feeding, then wound up having to stop, I went to her house and held her while she wept. Why? Because when she called for advice, she was told all kinds of reasons why she had to keep breast feeding, and when they called to check on her again, and she said she'd given her screaming baby a bottle and now that baby was sleeping peacefully, she was yelled at. Yelled at. Accused of abusing her child. They actually said the words "You realize this is a form of child abuse?" Told her she must not care about her child's brain development, and didn't care if her kid was stupid or not.
The pro-breastfeeding crowd has made me so upset and angry in the past I have a hard time staying calm when it's discussed. I wish with all my heart that Ela had been in the hospital when I was there, because from our conversations, she is, I can say, the first person I've ever met associated with La Leche League that I didn't want to hit.
I will never forget how I was treated, and believe me I wrote a letter to the hospital complaining. Then, 8 years later when I was pregnant with my twins and in a multiples class, our instructor (a nurse at the hospital) asked if we were going to breast feed or not and I said no. I then told her I had little respect for the nurses and the LLL workers at the hospital and she said, "Oh, you've had run-ins with the breast nazis too. You wouldn't believe the number of complaints we get."
That's ridiculous. No woman should go through what my friend and I did. If LLL wants to encourage breast-feeding, they should stop being cruel to people who wind up making other choices. It gives them a bad name, and then a pregnant woman isn't as likely to listen to them, because she hears horror stories from people like me.
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posted
I'm so sorry, Belle. But I have to say, everyone I've met from LLL has been the exact same way. Maybe it's different in different regions, but I have heard women who are not breastfeeding get chewed out for it. A woman who has just had a baby does not need that.
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posted
I am sorry to hear that both of you, Belle and KQ, have had bad experiences with La Leche League. That is unfortunate. La Leche League is a good organization, overall, and has some excellent breastfeeding information. I know many women who have been helped by them.
[ February 09, 2005, 12:48 AM: Message edited by: Ela ]
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posted
I breastfed all of my children and it was overall a very positive experience. I was very lucky in that while nursing my first child, I didn't have any major issues (other than her wanting to eat all the time). When my second came along, I had cracked bleeding nipples and we both got severe thrush, so I had a harder time of it, but since I'd had such a positive experience the first time, I knew what it *should* be like, so I was able to get through it. If I'd had that experience the first time, I doubt I would have stuck it out to be honest.
I've had two experiences with LLL. The first was when I had my issues with my second child. I called the number I was given at the hospital, and the member encouraged me and it was great. My major concern was whether the blood from my cracked nipples was a hazard to my baby, and was assured it wasn't. Of course, the advice today might be very different, as this was before AIDS and the bloodborne disease awareness we have today.
The second exposure I had to LLL was when my second was about 6 months old. I went with a couple of pregnant friends who had not been able to breastfeed with previous babies and really wanted to this time. I was less than impressed. It was a big b*tch-fest and very unorganized.
I never had any reason to deal with LLL after that, so I don't have any other impressions. I was grateful for the support I got when I had problems, but I was pretty put off by some of the attitudes I saw in the members at the meeting I attended.
My youngest daughter asked me about breastfeeding the other day. She of course has no memory of me nursing, though all of my older children certainly do. She asked why I did it. These were the reasons I gave:
I'm lazy, and it's a lot easier to nurse than to deal with bottles and all that jazz.
I liked the fact that I couldn't delegate it. I was the only one who could feed my child, so I had to have a break every couple of hours.
Of course, as a scientist, I listed all of the health benefits of breastfeeding... natural immunity, perfectly balanced food, beneficial to mom in returning to pre-pregnancy fitness etc.
Because I had so many children, I was either pregnant or nursing for more than 10 years, and there was a cost to that. When I finally weaned my youngest, it was a pleasure to be able to eat whatever I wanted, to wear dresses that buttoned up the back, to be able to take medications for minor illnesses without guilt. But I wouldn't trade those precious moments I had with my babies for anything.
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posted
I just talked to my sister, who said that her father-in-law recently asked how long she planned to nurse her 5 month old. Before my sis could answer, he said, "Because I really hope you're going to keep nursing her. I just saw something on TV that said you really should nurse babies till they're at least 6 months old."
I like what Ela said about needing the proper help and encouragement. I nursed my son till he was 16 months old with nary a problem. I stopped breastfeeding my daughter at 6 weeks under the advice of a dr. because he said I didn't have enough milk. Oh, what I wouldn't give to go back in time! I was under a terrible amount of stress and weighed only 98 pounds (6 weeks after giving birth!) and the dr. never asked a single time about my nutrition. I truly feel that had I had proper help and encouragement that I could have continued nursing.
quote:My major concern was whether the blood from my cracked nipples was a hazard to my baby, and was assured it wasn't. Of course, the advice today might be very different, as this was before AIDS and the bloodborne disease awareness we have today.
It wouldn't be a problem unless you had a bloodborne disease, in which case you most likely wouldn't be breastfeeding anyway.
[ February 08, 2005, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: Ela ]
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posted
3 minute activism looked interesting. There are actually quite a few advocacy groups out there.
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quote: would like you to know that the vast majority of La Leche League Leaders are not like that - and I have met many over the years.
Forgive me Ela, but you can't say that. Because they would never have occasion to treat you that way - so you have no idea how they talk to mothers like me.
I am telling you, I've heard it so many times, it's not just a coincidence. And, it's unfortunate, because it hurts your organization's reputation in a big way.
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posted
You know - I had horrendous problems nursing Nathan early on - he had a suck-swallow disorder on top of the other problems that landed him in intensive care so many times during his first year of life.
The lactationists and the support groups (including LLL) were peopled by thoughtful, gentle, caring individuals. The only problems I ever encountered were from:
1. An untrained male nurse, 2. A doctor that didn't like breastfeeding, 3. My family with their perpetual comments that were negative and disparaging.
I had no idea if I would nurse Nathan or not when I was pregnant, and the information flow on both sides of the fence was pretty overwhelming.
What I do know (from personal experience) and from coaching, is that respectful, supportive people honor and assist the moms in whatever way works best for them.
What I know from years of research is that formula is big business, with a HUGE investment in assuring that women don't feel competent or free to nurse. Nursing is a skill that is taught and learned - it is not instinctive.
The two can co-exist.
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posted
There was an interesting theory I heard of on the radio that would support the idea that there are skills that need to be taught for nursing.
Basically, it was that women may have longer lifespans than men in order to support their daughters. The natural lifespan of a woman corresponds to about the time her daughter (should she have one) would go into menopause.
Women whose mothers were still alive tended to have more children than women whose mothers had died during or before their natural childbearing years.
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, I like having a big sign that lets any mom who enters know, if she does not fell comfortable nursing elsewhere at the church, there is a comfy chair, privacy, and water awaiting her here.
