Best for Babes

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By Elita of Blacktating.com; for the Best for Babes Foundation ©2010

It’s such an exciting time for Best for Babes! Not only did you help us win a $20,000 donation from Chase, but we’ve also just announced a new campaign to help promote breastfeeding: BYOBoobz Parties! BYOBoobz will provide a “house party” kit filled with goodies to empower moms and help them avoid the “booby traps.” These parties will create a peer support group for moms, while giving them the information necessary to make the best infant feeding choices possible. We can’t wait to have you hosting BYOBoobz parties across the country! BYOBoobz will be launched this fall.

The Department of Labor has created a new fact sheet that provides more information on the new law requiring employers to provide time and a space for moms to pump at work. The new requirements went into effect March 23, 2010 and covers moms until their babies are 1.

Bethenny Frankel is the epitome of the busy, breastfeeding, working & pumping mom. This week she talked about balancing motherhood with work on her People blog, saying she is fortunate to have the kind of schedule that allows her to come home and breastfeed Bryn and get in a snuggle.

Did you catch this funny blog post from Design Mom on having lopsided breasts? After breast surgery compromised her milk ducts in one breast, all of her kids have eventually refused to nurse on that side, leaving her with only one breast to work with. As strange as it sounds, it is completely possible to nourish a baby with only breast, as that side will compensate.

New research shows that breastfeeding predicts the risk of childhood obesity. According to the study, breastfeeding significantly reduced the likelihood of obesity in kids whose mothers are diabetic. Since diabetic women are much more likely to have obese children, this is very significant. The authors of the study say breastfeeding made a difference, regardless of the mother’s weight and women with diabetes should be encouraged to breastfeed.

A new study also showed how different foods can affect your baby’s gut. The researchers found that while being breastfed, the bacteria in a baby’s stomach contained numerous genes for breaking down milk sugars. When the baby was given formula and peas, there was great upheaval in the gut. The only other thing that caused the same change was a round of antibiotics!

This week I’d like to shine the Blog Spotlight on an interesting poll up on the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog, based on a question in the newest edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. Would you rather feed your baby breast milk from a bottle, or feed your baby at the breast with formula? Is the milk the most important thing, or is the nursing relationship? Which would you choose?