Tuesday, August 2nd, 12:06 pm PDT, KVMR will air Vanessa Lowe's World Breastfeeding Week special in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.

Tune in to www.kvmr.org (adjust time to your local time zone) or in northern California, 89.5/105.1 FM. 

“Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy” is an independently produced hour-long radio documentary.  It features the voices of fourteen women who have breastfed their children between one and four years.  Half of the women reside in the San Francisco Bay Area and half in New York City.  Some of the major topics covered include:  dealing with judgment and criticism, public nursing, benefits and challenges, changes in perception, weaning, nursing while working, and support. Also featured is commentary from Dr. Nigel Rollins, of the World Health Organization, Dr. Jay Gordon, a Fellow of the American Association of Pediatrics, and Dr. Katherine Dettwyler, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Delaware.

Extended breastfeeding (breastfeeding past one year) is arguably among the most heated and controversial child rearing choices, occupying an emotionally fraught landscape along with co-sleeping, sleep training and discipline.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months, and then for at least a year, or as long as is mutually desirable.  The World Health Organization recommends that a mother breastfeed her child for at least two years.  The recommendations are based on countless studies showing significant health benefits of breastfeeding for babies and children, as well as for mothers.  However, science and societal views don’t always align.

Because of the potential for judgment about the basic merits of their parenting, many mothers keep quiet about the joys, frustrations, challenges, and struggles of nursing their kids past babyhood.  This can lead to mothers feeling isolated and unsupported.  It is this lack of support, in addition to the fear of public criticism that leads many mothers to wean before they and their children are ready.

The goal of this radio documentary is to stimulate dialogue about breastfeeding past one year in the United States.  In addition, it aims to educate mothers, family members, and health care practitioners about the benefits and challenges of breastfeeding past infancy.

“Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy” was produced by Vanessa Lowe, whose background includes a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, as well as four years as host of a radio show on KWMR, a community radio station in Point Reyes Station, CA.  She is a musician and songwriter, and has released four records, with a fifth due for release in 2011.  She is the mother of a five-year-old son.

Kent Sparling, a Bay Area composer, sound designer and re-recording mixer associated with George Lucas' Skywalker Sound, completed the final editing and mixing of “Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy”.

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