Breast Feeding

Haiti Aid : Stop Sending Breast Milk!

In a misguided attempt to help the Haitian earthquake recovery effort, apparently a lot of new moms have been sending their breast milk over for infants that have been orphaned by the tragic happening, in a response to what they thought was a call for breast milk from whoever could spare it.  They thought or understood wrong though, the Red Cross has just put out a message to all breast milk donors to please stop sending their breast milk as it cannot be used to help the children over there.

The well meaning problem started when breast feeding advocate groups, perhaps even more than one, issues statements out to their members  to please send any excess breast milk they had to Haiti so that it could be used to feed the children that were abandoned by parents who dies in the earthquake or were perhaps critically injured in the quake.  But a Red Cross spokesperson said he is completely sure that they don’t need the breast milk, and in fact, never requested it from organizations or individuals, so they are unsure how this rumor started in the first place, or if it was just autonomous on the parts of do gooders who’s heart was in the right place.

However, they don’ t need and cannot use donated breast milk, and so it is actually causing more harm than good when they get it, as there is already so much confusion over there.  Actually, this isn’t the only overwhelming response they’ve had, but there are so many people that want to go over there to help that they have had to turn people away and ask them to stay away, as the overcrowding will just cause more confusion, and volunteering would just cause more pandemonium, so they are asking people to just send money, nothing else at this time, money is the best thing you can do for the Haitians right now.

So, even if you have five bucks to give, that’s awesome.  I know right now that it’s hard to give up even a cent because so many people are in tight spots financially, so by all means if you are in a difficult financial position, you should be using your financial resources on your family and yourself, but if you have a little to spare, this is the perfect opportunity to help folks in need out. And it’s tax deductible because it’s a charitable organization, which is great.

How Long is Your Breast Milk Good For?

Many new mothers, or even second time mothers, or third or so on, are a little confused about how long they really can keep their breast milk in the refrigerator with it still being good, aka not spoiled, retaining all of it’s nutritional value with fresh vitamins, minerals and nutrients, and not beginning to degrade (rot) or grow any sort of potentially harmful bacteria.  Many think that breast milk can be refrigerated for up to 5-8 days in the fridge without going bad, but they still prefer to keep it in the fridge for only two to three days at the most, to give their babies the freshest and most nutrient dense milk possible.

Of course, there is also the option of freezing the breast milk, and many mothers do that as well.  The biggest concern, and the reasons that most guidelines exist is not for the nutritional value being compromised if the breast milk sits around for too long before being used, being exposed to the air which naturally degrades any food object, but mostly it focused on the harm that bacterial growth might do to an infant if it grew on the milk, and so the guidelines were put in place.

However, new studies, based on the impact of time in the fridge storage on the nutritional value of the breast milk is now available. And what’s the verdict on how long you can store your breast milk in at least a below 40 degree refrigeration device without it losing any of its nutritional punch for your little bundle of joy?  The verdicts is about 4 days.

The final verdict on the composition of the milk being held intact was a period of 4 days, which is 96 hours. If the milk is in the fridge longer than that, it may start to lose some of the beneficial vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and potentially the antibodies that are passed to the child, so the recommendation if you want to maintain that maximum freshness and wholesome value of your breast milk, then try to use it within 4 days of pumping it.  This way, you can ensure that your child is getting the best nutritional benefits from your milk for their continued brain and organ development.

Heck, you could have a baby genius on our hands if you keep feeding them this super baby stuff

Why the Breasts Enlarge During Pregnancy

Pregnancy produces so many changes in a woman’s body that it’s difficult to list all of them, especially since different women experience the symptoms of pregnancy with such different stories.  While one woman may have morning sickness pretty much as soon as the pregnancy incepts, another may never have morning sickness. While one may have breast tenderness from the first day, another may not have it until way later in her first trimester, or even in her second or third.  However, most women will experience some degree of breast enlargement during their pregnancy, and it most likely will occur during her first trimester.

Engorgement of the breasts may not occur fully until later on in the pregnancy, however, many women at least experience the soreness and tenderness, which most describe as similar to the changes in their breasts they often feel with premenstrual syndrome, where their breasts become sore and enlarged due to hormonal changes. The reason that the breasts enlarge during pregnancy is that the body essentially is preparing the woman’s breasts for breast feeding hew newborn infant when the child comes out to meet the world.

The hormonal changes that make that happen actually make the breasts feel tender and sore, and many women report that they can see their veins and blood vessels much more easily in their breasts, especially if their skin is more on the fair side. I’m one of those women, when I am pms’ing, I can definitely see my veins much more in my breasts, especially if I’m pretty pale at the time. This is also due to hormonal changes that push the vessels closer to the skin’s surface.

Another thing that happens to a pregnant woman’s breasts is that over time she will start to notice the nipple and the areola, the darker area around the nipple that is different in size depending on the woman, will start to turn a little darker, and often times the nipples will stiffen and stick out a little more.  This may perhaps be nature’s way of helping an infant, who can’t see very far, be self guided toward the nipple to feed from it.

The enlarging of the breasts pretty much continues all the way through the pregnancy, and after the pregnancy as well, especially if a woman is breast feeding and her breasts have become engorged with milk.  She will usually notice that her breasts go down in size as soon as the milk begins to dry up and her newborn has stopped feeding. Mother nature is truly amazing when you think about it, it’s quite a process!

Breast Feeding’s Health Benefits?

There may be some health benefits to breast feeding for women that were not fully realized or appreciated before, which may also help women decide to breast feed a little more readily. First, there are the obvious drawbacks to breast feeding for the women who do choose to breast feed. First, it is a very large undertaking for women. You have to pump your breast milk out every few hours for a long time when you’re breast feeding, and this can obviously put a substantial dent in your life’s carefree ways.  You also have to worry about your breasts sagging after you breast feed.

This is one of the largest reasons that women, after breast feeding, decided to either under go breast enlargement surgery, or they look for breast implant alternatives to help them again fill out the “deflation” of their breasts that occurs when the breasts go back down to their normal size after their done feeding baby for that time.

Then, there are the obvious, and glaring benefits to breastfeeding. First, there is the biggest one, which is that your child gets an immense benefit from drinking your breast milk instead of formula. Some research has shown that children who are breast fed are not only much stronger and develop faster, but their brains may also benefit from this early boost to development, and there are the obvious benefits to their immune system since woman’s breast milk passes valuable antibodies over to the child – less antibodies for the child to have to produce on their own at that young age.

Now, women are also going to have another thing to consider when thinking about breast vs. bottle feeding.  They may have lower long term risks of both diabetes and heart health risks.  This is huge, because women who bottle feed showed a higher likelihood toward these types of diseases. It’s not clear whether this is directly linked to actual breast feeding or other lifestyle factors of these women, but it certainly is another reason to consider breast feeding your child.

Baby Suffocates Breast Feeding

This is probably the most unfortunate story I’ve ever heard related to breast feeding, although I doubt this is the fist time this has happened.  A mother riding a plane on a long trip apparently was nursing a 4 week old baby on her breast when she fell asleep. Apparently when she woke up, the infant had suffocated and was not responding. Although efforts were made to resuscitate the small infant, they were unsuccessful, and an attempt to administer emergency measures on the child after turning the plane around were also unsuccessful.

It was reported that a doctor was on board and tried to revive the baby with no luck.  In this unfortunate incident, my heart definitely goes out to the mother who must be devastated at her loss and inevitably what she probably feels is partly her role in the infant’s death. An autopsy report is pending, and they will investigate whether the child perhaps had any pre existing health conditions that may have contributed to it’s death.

It’s hard to imagine how a baby can be suffocated by a breast, so it does make me wonder whether the child did have some sort of other unknown health issue that contributed as a factor in it’s unfortunate death.  All I can think of is the poor family (the woman is of Egyptian descent) who is probably devastated right now and wondering why this has happened to them.  I wonder if they  will actually report on what the findings in the autopsy are or not, seeing as though stories like this seem to disappear from the news fairly quickly, while things like Tiger Wood’s strange car accident story will linger for weeks.

Bebe Gloton, a Breast Feeding Doll?

Well, Spanish toy manufacturers Berjuan have certainly raise some hackles
by introducing a new, and very interesting, and of course very
controversial doll for little girls to play with that actually simulates
the breast feeding experience for little girls. I know, a little creepy, am
I right of am I wrong?  That was my first inclination about this doll,
because breast feeding is perceived as such an adult thing, and thinking of
a little girl having a doll at her breast is just kind of wrong to be
honest.

But then I thought maybe I should be more open minded and foresake my
naturally more American, inhibited ways with such taboos, and think about
the positives of such a seemingly odd product for girls.  Could it actually
be good for them, maybe teach them or plant in their minds that they should
breast feed when they are old enough to have children of their own?

Or could it be slightly brain washing and encourage premature motherhood
and promote teen pregnancy?  While I don’t see why this doll would promote
teen or early or wedlock pregnancy any more than a regular doll, since all
dolls are basically preying on a young girl’s desire to have a little baby
to take care of, I do think it’s a bit too mature of a subject to introduce
at such a young age.

However, that being said, do I think it might do some good and perhaps
change the percentages of mothers who currently breast feed here in the US,
and make for healthier, more boosted immune systems in babies around the US
as a result of more breast feeding?

Perhaps it might, but I think that’s still an adult decision, no matter if
a woman had a breast feeding baby as a child. By the way, the name of the
baby doll who breast feeds actually means gluttonous baby. Kind of a funny
name too, if you ask me!  The reviews from parents were a little mixed, but
most felt it was actually inappropriate for such young girls and they would
not buy it for their child.

Breast Feeding Moms Need More Support

Breast feeding is definitely something that benefits a baby and child in their formative years.  It’s been documented over and over how much stronger breast feeding can make a child’s immune system, since the mother passes over valuable antibodies to her child through her breast milk.  It also has been noted that breast feeding your baby may enhance it’s brain, motor skill and cognitive development, which is further enticing proof for new moms to breast feed their infants, even though it often comes with several challenges and basically makes a new mom a slave to pumping every three hours, breasts that can be painful and sore, and a host of other issues that can happen to new and not so new moms.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, recommends actually that new mothers breast feed their infants over bottle feeding them formula that is inferior, as much as it tries not to be, to natural mother’s breast milk.  They recommend that a new mother start breast feeding her child within one hour of birth and continue for a year at least, if not more, depending on how quickly the mother’s milk begins to dry up and how much milk she is producing, since children tend to eat a lot more as they grow.

In fact, they recommend that a child ingest breast milk and ONLY breast milk for at least the first six months of life, forgoing all water, other fluids and any kind of foods since this is still most beneficial from a purity standpoint.  However, even with all these excellent recommendations, new moms often give up out of frustration on breast feeding within the first few months of having their baby.  They often suffer from soreness, difficulty in keeping up with the rigorous schedule, difficulty in getting the baby to latch on and keep hold of the breast for breast feeding, and other problems that make it too hard to continue.

Education and support from hospitals could help ease this burden on breastfeeding women.  I know from observing several of my friends who breast fed that it takes a lot of hard work and determination, and it’s often frustrating for them to actually follow through with it all the way because it does place a great burden on their bodies.  If they had more education and more help to make it easier, lots more women would probably be able to follow through with the recommendations of the WHO, making for healthier, better developed babies with better immune systems, which may translate into a healthier adult.