Chayn, I could not agree more heartily. There are so many problems with this it makes you wonder if it's World Breastfeeding Week, the old joke. In terms of education and social change, the possibilities of doing harm spreading this story far outweigh the possibilities of doing good. The greatest problem is the emphasis on breastfeeding and breast milk as deficient -- in this case, Vitamin D but the overall idea of "deficiency" has broader implications. Breastfeeding is also a lousy cardio workout, but then again, it was never meant to replace a good brisk walk. Yeah, it burns a few calories for mom and contributes to a healthier heart down the road for baby but would we bill it as a great reason to skip a lifetime of balanced nutrition and regular exercise? Saying breast milk is deficient in Vitamin D is a laughable way to bypass the primary function of human milk and the ongoing adaptation of breastfeeding in the mother-child relationship. Here in the US, African American women have the lowest breastfeeding rates (and, last I heard, the highest breast cancer rates). How will this message be heard in circles of African American women? The truth is more complicated than this message. People with a history in sunny climates inherit a protective skin pigment that is healthy and adaptive for that climate. If a dark skinned person moves to a less-sunny area and is told to stay indoors and use sun screen and eat different foods... well, let's just say Mother Nature is wise but not as fast as current technological and social changes. Skin color and the composition of human milk cannot change as fast as a boat or plane can move families or as fast as a PSA can change behavior. Breastfeeding adapts but contemporary migration patterns require super-natural adaptation. Blanket recommendations are helpful in some ways but can also be patronizing to mothers and others making important choices, one child at a time. The original decision by the AAP to recommend a Vitamin D supplement for all breastfeeding mothers was in part based on a reluctance to single out families of color for "special treatment." How helpful is it for mothers of Swedish descent farming in southern Utah to receive the same recommendation as Sudanese mothers computer programming in the heart of Seattle? There is enough human fallibility to go around the world at least a few times. Maybe this family's physician failed to communicate the particular needs of this child. Maybe the local La Leche League Leader hasn't kept up her breastfeeding education. Or maybe a busy mother didn't catch the details. Maybe a well-child take-home went unread. Maybe a new mother heard from a light-skinned friend who attends LLL meetings that "breastfeeding is complete." Which it is. Breastfeeding remains the normal springboard for the mother-child relationship, regardless of how mothers challenge that norm by hopping planes, eating junk food, and living a technologically mind-bending life. As in so many areas of life, incomplete information does not lead to truly informed choices. As for the inclusion of La Leche League among the forces that allegedly led this mother and family astray, let me cite this from the LLLI website: ............................ Media Release: La Leche League International Encourages Mothers to Recognize Importance of Vitamin D FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Information: Jane Crouse, PRManager at llli.org (847) 519-7730, Ext. 271. (October 16, 2008) Schaumburg, IL - La Leche League International encourages all mothers to recognize the importance of vitamin D to the health of their children. Recent research shows that due to current lifestyles, breastfeeding mothers may not have enough vitamin D in their own bodies to pass to their infants through breastmilk. In October 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that infants receive 400 IU a day of vitamin D, beginning in the first few days of life. Children who do not receive enough vitamin D are at risk for rickets and increased risk for infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Vitamin D is mainly acquired through exposure to sunlight and secondarily through food. Research shows that the adoption of indoor lifestyles and the use of sunscreen have seriously depleted vitamin D in most women. The ability to acquire adequate amounts of vitamin D through sunlight depends on skin color and geographic location. Dark-skinned people can require up to six times the amount of sunlight as light-skinned people. People living near the equator can obtain vitamin D for 12 months of the year while those living in northern and southern climates may only absorb vitamin D for six or fewer months of the year. For many years, La Leche League International has offered the research-based recommendation that exclusively breastfed babies received all the vitamin D necessary through mother’s milk. Health care professionals now have a better understanding of the function of vitamin D and the amounts required, and the newest research shows this is only true when mothers themselves have enough vitamin D. Statistics indicate that a large percentage of women do not have adequate amounts of vitamin D in their bodies. La Leche League International acknowledges that breastfeeding mothers who have adequate amounts of vitamin D in their bodies can successfully provide enough vitamin D to their children through breastmilk. It is recommended that pregnant and nursing mothers obtain adequate vitamin D or supplement as necessary. Health care providers may recommend that women who are unsure of their vitamin D status undergo a simple blood test before choosing not to supplement. Parents or health care providers who want more information on rickets, vitamin D in human milk, or other information on breastfeeding issues may call La Leche League International at (847) 519-7730 or visit our Web site at www.llli.org. ............................ Searching the LLLI website you will see a number of articles and references to the issues surrounding the importance of Vitamin D, and the particulars of acquiring adequate levels for both mothers and children. I have volunteered my time with La Leche League International since 1993. In my capacity as a local Leader and as the Area Professional Liaison for Utah, I continually address Vitamin D (and many other issues) as areas in which it is important to consider the individual case, keep up with the research, and consult with the family's health care providers. La Leche League is the birthplace of the lactation profession. Ask Linda Smith, a grand midwife guiding that birth. I've been singing for years that breastfeeding happens in that place where biology and culture come together. The ways of biology and culture continue to fascinate us as they play upon the breastfeeding relationship. We can't isolate "the milk" or any one "breastfeeding law" as the secret be-all or end-all. The reason Coach Smith's rules and Diane Weissinger's common sense breastfeeding and the truths so many of us on this list re-discover have such resonance is that they all come back to one thing. Breastfeeding is a fluid everchanging relationship, We call it a mothering journey, a dance, a bio-cultural process, and everything we say and will say is true. From the beginning to the present, La Leche League has revolved around a basic premise of giving the baby back to the mother. It is her life, her baby, her biology and philosophy and music, and it is her choices that comprise her unique mothering path. I am quite aware that LLL gets the shaft in popular culture. I think all of us should watch our language in this area as well. Just as LLL has taken a lot of misplaced hits from some with no personal experience with the organization, in recent years the lactation profession is dodging the same arrows. At one point LLL was the only target. Now as the lactation profession grows more circles around that bullseye, IBCLCs find themselves increasingly in the center. We need to draw together as women and men, mothers and fathers, citizens, lactation professionals, organizations, and coalitions for an ever-stronger lactation community. In this heartbreaking case of a breastfeeding child with rickets, a family was abused. Several factors led to the situation. I hate to see attention paid to this case in a way that pits us against one another. It isn't the fault of the mother or the doctor or the LLLL. If there was failure, it was a failure of community. Susan Johnson MFA, IBCLC Professional Liaison for La Leche League of Utah http://www.llli.org/ Leader, La Leche League of Salt Lake City http://lllofslc.wordpress.com/ Community Nonprofit Representative, Utah Breastfeeding Coalition http://www.utahbreastfeeding.org/ _______________ I am not sure what we are supposed to do with this. Reading this would leave you with several conclusions, the most obvious one being that breastfeeding puts your child at risk for rickets. I would not want to be posting this all over the place with out some breastfeeding friendly suggestions to go with it. I'm interested in what others think of this (besides how unspeakably awful it is to both the baby and parents that they have been seperated) Thanks, Chayn IBCLC in Israel********************************** *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome