Hi all, I had a big big day at the AAP Conference today! First let me
clarify that I am serving as the on-site LC and manning (woman-ing?) the
Lactation Lounge. I am not attending these various sessions, but as I have
pediatricians in and out all day long, I am able to chat with them and
learn information that was presented at the various sessions (so you
understand this is "hear-say" but from reliable sources ;) I see many of
the same women several times a day and this is day 4, so we have some nice
discussions going. I must say that it is very reassuring to me to speak
with so many pediatricians who Get It, and really want to learn more to be
able to help their clients with all sorts of BF issues.
Also wanted to clarify that the Lactation room is funded by a grant from
Pfizer, and in-kind support from Medela, which I think means that Pfizer is
paying for the room rental fee (?) and Medela has loaned the room the two
pumps (one Symphony and one Lactina) plus many kits for both pumps. I was
hired directly from the AAP for the entire six days, and I believe it is
the AAP itself paying my salary. About half the women using the room bring
their own pumps, the other half use the pumps and kits supplied. There is
no advertising, logos, etc in the room, but a sign at the doorway notes the
support from Pfizer and Medela. The room is not near the exhibition halls
where products and merchandise are displayed and marketed, it is in a large
meeting room set up to accommodate the moms and babies along a hallway
where many sessions occur.
Some highlights of my day were: Hearing T Berry Brazelton speak early this
morning- he gave the plenary at 8:30 just as I was arriving. Mainly spoke
about his "touch points" philosophy, and teaching parents to appreciate the
special abilities of infants. He is such a great, personable speaker. I
didn't see first lady Laura Bush, but I did see a lot of security
present! She spoke of the importance of literacy and reading to young
children.
Dr. Nancy Wight came by to say hello to me, so glad to meet her in
person! Dr. Harvey Karp ("Happiest Baby", 5 S's...) came up to see me and
say hello after reading my updates here on Lactnet. (LOL!) VERY very nice
guy (I know he's reading this). I complimented him on his ability to
calmly engage in the recent discussion of his book and video here on
Lactnet and he said he found it very useful to have constructive criticism
or learn how others might interpret particular passages, and that he will
take all that into account during the next revision of his book. While he
was there, I *would not let him leave* until he swaddled up my Lactessa
teaching doll and demonstrated the 5 S's to me in person. Let me say he
had that kid wrapped up tight like a Mummy! Oy. He has the arms swaddled
down by the sides because he feels hands up by the face cause the baby to
wake herself up by pummeling the face and then rooting, and/or, when the
hands are up, baby can get out of swaddle. He also said that parents can
often get an extra hour of sleep at night if they use the swaddle and white
noise technique. Just like anything else (well, except maybe Ezzo), there
is useful information we could use (in the book and video) even if you
don't agree with everything there.
I'll leave you with four tantalizing tidbits of which I don't have more
info on:
1. Zinc. Zinc may be another mineral that SOME exclusively breastfed
babies MAY need supplemented if they are not growing or gaining weight well
at 4-8 months. I know we have discussed zinc quite a bit here on Lactnet
several years ago, to increase appetite and/or help toddlers gain
weight. More research needs to be done.
2.Fascinating tidbit (to me because it is one of my pet topics:) Cow's Milk
Protein sensitivity/allergy. (I think it was) Dr DiSanto and Karen DiSanto
IBCLC who came by to see the lactation room, and I had just minutes before,
been told by a pediatrician that in a talk, Dr DiSanto (I hope that's
right) mentioned some research indicating that it is NOT the cow's milk
protein that causes the reaction, rather, it may be the IgA produced by the
cow that is the problem. We produce IgA and give it to our babies in our
milk, but certainly not cow IgA. More research on this...
3.Jaundice. Big session on Jaundice with a case study of a baby who died
of kernicterus. The take-away message of this talk seemed to be that
Jaundice Is Dangerous and that practitioners have perhaps been too lax on
dealing with jaundice and need to be more vigilant and aggressive in
treating it. I'm sure this will generate a lot discussion
here... Hopefully this will not trickle down to adversely affect BF
(wishful thinking- more kids under bili lights, separations, temporary
removal of breastmilk?).
4. Legislation on Breastfeeding (from the Section on Breastfeeding
meeting)- many but not all states have legislation in place to protect
rights to BF in public. Some discussion about some
policy/legislation under development (nationally? or a particular state?
don't know), where it is written to protect BUT INCLUDES an upper age limit
that draws a line. Much discussion that an upper age limit is Not A Good
Thing and will harm rather than help the overall BF Support message.
I spoke with several pediatricians in to pump or nurse, who expressed (LOL)
interest in seeking more formal BF education so that they could even better
support their clients. Great stuff. One in particular I encouraged to
pursue sitting for the boards and referred her to the ILCA and IBCLE
websites. There is so much POSITIVE support and education for BF going on
here. Of course, that's because of where I'm hanging out, in the room for
nursing and pumping pediatricians... still, it's very encouraging. Over 50
visits to the lactation room again today.
Four days down, Two to go.
Tomorrow: "Virus Transmission into Breastmilk... Should We Worry?".
Nancy
Nancy Holtzman RN BSN IBCLC
Great Beginnings New Mothers Groups &
Boston Breastfeeds!
64 Ledge Hill
West Roxbury MA 02132
617.323.9977
http://www.great-beginnings.com/group.html
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
