Two news items came across my virtual desk this morning: The first made me cranky: > The hazards of breastfeeding > Mother's milk is best for a baby, but it's not a mother's only option > Dr. Barry Dworkin > The Ottawa Citizen > The American and Canadian pediatric societies advocate breastfeeding for the > first 12 months of life. Health care professionals universally support this > recommendation. Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for newborns and > infants. > > In my practice, I observe many mothers equating breastfeeding to their > competency to be good mothers. This narrowed perspective -- the dependency > upon one aspect of newborn care -- can be damaging to the mother's well-being. > There can be tremendous guilt if breastfeeding does not go well, their baby is > not gaining weight, not latching properly, or their technique is poor. > > The stress from these problems can in themselves make matters worse. He goes on to say he's never heard of nipple confusion and that babies with a poor latch need to supplement with formula. http://makeashorterlink.com/?P6095274 The second made me smile: > Peers help new mothers with breastfeeding problems > By HELEN BRANSWELL -- Canadian Press > TORONTO (CP) -- Programs that match new mothers with women who have > successfully breastfed can increase the length of time the new moms breastfeed > their babies, a new study suggests. > First-time mothers paired with a peer volunteer were 2.5 times more likely to > breastfeed to three months than women who did not receive peer support, > principal author Cindy-Lee Dennis showed in her doctoral thesis, which was > published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. > "It didn't decrease the number of problems but it helped the mothers to cope," > Dennis said Monday. <snip> http://www.canoe.ca/Health0201/08_breastfeeding-cp.html -- Jodine Chase Lactnet lurker by night, news analyst by day. *********************************************** 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