Breast Feeding

Gisele Bundchen Breast Feeding Comment Controversy

Supermodel and definitely multi millionaire Gisele Bundchen, who just may have the perceived “dream life” being married to football superstar Tom Brady and having good looks that money can’t buy but that people will pay for, has crossed a line in many women’s minds with her recent comments about breast feeding.

In a magazine interview, apparently the supermodel turned mom of a little infant boy, made some comments that every new mother should have to breast feed her child, and said something to the effect that there should be a law that says you have to breast feed your child for at least the first six months of their lives.  She also made comments about how formula is full of chemicals and she’d never want to do that to her baby.

She is definitely entitled to her opinion, and it’s kind of a shame that people come under fire for saying what they feel, but you know these comments caused a firestorm because they came off as judgmental toward women with babies who just simply can’t breast feed. There are a myriad of reasons women cannot breast feed, it’s not just simple choice sometimes.

Women with jobs that work long hours whose employers aren’t all that patient with pumping several times a day, for example, are definite deterrents to breast feeding. Also, there are issues with extreme pain experienced by some women with breast feeding and the issues that can crop up simply with that alone.  Of course women were upset, and Gisele had to clarify her comments.

I think women were upset because someone who makes millions of dollars and has every luxury at her disposal to breast feed, pump and nurture her child, made these comments. I can understand that. But let’s also give her a break, she is entitled to her opinion, even if you or I don’t like the way it “sounds”.

I guess I just feel like everyone has to be afraid to speak their mind these days. Sure, there are comments you wish people wouldn’t make, but isn’t that what the US is all about -free speach without fear of getting harassed for it?

Cancer Killing Breast Milk?

It is widely known now that the benefits of breast feeding an infant far outweigh the benefits of breast feeding your baby with formula. Babies get all kinds of nutrition through breast milk. Not only that, they get to build up their immune system more effectively and quickly because breast milk provides them with the antibodies that their adult mother has already had a lifetime of opportunity to build up by getting sick and making them with her own body.

Well, breast milk, the wondrous gift that mother nature endowed us with to feed our babies and nourish their growing bodies, apparently also has the effect of killing many different types of cancer cells according to a new study. The natural compound that the breasts make in milk has been dubbed HAMLET (I’ll spare you the long explanation for this acronym).

The compound has been shown to be lethal to cancer cells, up to about 40 types thus far, flushing them out of the body through natural excretory processes., And the really cool thing is that unlike toxic cancer treatments out there currently, which kill both health and cancer cells, this natural compound kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact.

The first human studies for this are under way, and the only results available show that it seems to be somewhat effective against bladder cancer cells. Hopefully this will prove effective against several other types of cancer cells, and we can actually start using something that is A.) naturally derived and B.) not toxic to normal, healthy cells like chemotherapy is. ‘

How ironic would it be if these HAMLET compounds were actually effective at killing breast cancer cells? Now that would be poetic justice. Here’s to crossing our fingers that this potentially nontoxic treatment becomes something that is viable for cancer patients as therapy.

Breastfeeding in Public – How Do You Feel?

One of the best things that a mother can do for its baby is to breastfeed. Breastfeeding is more than a lifestyle choice – it is an important health choice. But there is one problem, breastfeeding in public.

Most of the women and mothers think that it is embarrassing, uncomfortable and unsafe. This is not a problem at all. Maybe it is a bit awkward because hungry babies are not very patient, and can’t wait for the mother to find just the right place for feeding.

You need to feed your baby when it is hungry, and that could be anytime, anyhow, anywhere. What many people do not know is that breastfeeding in public is legal in every state.

But, under the new health care bill, breastfeeding mothers will have a place in every business that will give them somewhere to nurse their children. Therefore, mothers, you can be pleased to hear that the bill extends a right to breastfeed your baby everywhere!

Breast feeding in many countries is very common, most of them already have such a law, but some don’t.  Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world. It can take a while to get comfortable with doing it in public.

The main reason for the discomfort is probably the taboo against revealing one’s breasts around other people. If you feel that others might be uncomfortable with your nursing, there are ways to nurse discreetly.

There are many mommy-friendly options available in public (such as nursing rooms). Some shopping centers and larger stores are starting to offer separate rooms that allow privacy for nursing mothers.

Breastfeeding is simply a local custom that can be done in public and should be accepted by many people. This means you can nurse your baby anywhere that you are allowed to be with your baby.

Many mothers choose to stay home, but this is not an adequate solution. A mother does not need to “hide” or go somewhere more private. You do not need to hide at home because you are breastfeeding.

Many moms are nervous about feeding their babies in public. The first thing they should know is that they are doing what is best for its baby and what is natural! Mothers shouldn’t ever feel intimidated about breastfeeding in public. In fact, they should be very proud!

The benefits of breastfeeding are well-recognized. It is healthy for the baby because it helps prevent diseases, infections and allergies.
Every mother should protect its right and feel free to breastfeed in public, and we should respect them!

Hispanic Women Breast Feed More?

Breast feeding has enjoyed quite a nice resurgence over the past decade.  What with all the press about natural this and natural that, and how much we have learned about the tangible benefits that breast feeding can give our youngsters when it comes to everything from immunity to development, it’s no wonder that more and more women are turning to this method of feeding their little ones.

Bottle feeding was still enjoying quite a bit of popularity when I was a child. My sister and I were both bottle fed, and I think we turned out ok, aside from me having asthma, we don’t really have a weak immune system or lesser intelligence, so I think some of the claims may be questionable.  However, I do believe that breast feeding serves as a huge bonding element between mother and infant,and provides a baby with a sense of security like no other, so if I were to ever have children, then I would almost definitely be breast feeding, knowing what I know today.

Apparently Hispanic mothers win the breast feeding frequency contest when it comes to which groups of women tend to go for breast feeding their kids more out of black and white women.  The news for us Americans isn’t so good.

I guess that Hispanic women, the longer they are in the states and further east culture, not only do their eating habits become worse (yikes, what’s that say about us?!), but they are also more likely to adopt using formula to feed their babies and ok with it. In the Hispanic culture though, breast feeding is very wide spread, and accepted as the best method for feeding your baby.

Another benefit to babies that are breast fed, in addition to the idea that breast feeding helps babies build antibodies more quickly and also may help with their development and even their intelligence factors, is that babies who are breast fed are also less likely to become overweight and put on weight as quickly as babies who are bottle fed.

I’m honestly not sure how valid all of this research is, since it was based on phone interviews with women who had recently had babies, but it probably does show the general proclivity of the hispanic culture to breast feed their children.  It’s interesting that Hispanic women actually chose to adopt bottle feeding more readily when they came over here to the US, because I barely know anyone who has not breast fed their bambinos over here, it seems like every new mom I know breast feeds!

Breast Milk in the News

I’d like to consider myself a somewhat progressive thinker in a lot of areas. For example, I support diversity, I support gay marriage, the right to choose when it comes to abortions and what we do with our bodies, I believe in stem cell research, and I’m pretty much all around nonjudgmental when it comes to a lot of issues that would make a lot of people squeamish or simply get up on their high horse on a moral or ethical grounds. I’m a pretty open book that way.

However, when it comes to this story out of a trendy Chelsea neighborhood, I’m not so sure I’m as liberally minded as I thought.  Apparently a chef at a Chelsea New York bistro got the idea in his head to make cheese out of his wife’s breast milk. His wife and him were new parents, and he blogged about how funny it would be if he made the cheese from his wife’s breast milk. Well, some people actually asked him to do it, so he ended up making the cheese.

It’s funny if I think about my distaste for this idea, and the cringe that it sends up my spine just even imagining what the cheese might taste like, what it’s texture might feel like in my mouth, and what it may look like even, especially since I’m an avid cheese eater of the cow and goat variety.

In fact, I love cheese!  When I think about it coming form a human’s body though, that thought somehow makes me cringe at the thought of eating it.  But why, I drink milk that comes from cows, so how is that different – it comes from a teet just like it does in a human?!

In other news that involves breast milk (hey, the mammaries have been in the news lately, what can I say?), a Kentucky woman supposedly has been charged with assaulting an officer because she squirted breast milk in the (female) officer’s face. The woman was arrested intoxicated, so I’m sure she was a classy lady to begin with.  But is this considered assault? Really?  I don’t see how a little breast milk in the face can be considered assault – besides maybe an assault on your pride…

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.