Best for Babes

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

Of course by now you’ve (we hope) gotten the message that breastfeeding is the safest, healthiest way to feed a baby. But every day research shows how beneficial breastfeeding is for moms, too! A new study reveals that women who don’t breastfeed increase their risk of becoming diabetic-even one month makes a difference. Further proof that, when it comes to breastfeeding, every ounce counts and some breastfeeding is always better than none!

We know that the World Health Organization currently recommends that mothers who are HIV positive should breastfeed if they are on antiretrovirals. New research points out that these mothers should avoid Vitamin A supplements because they have the ability to increase the amount of HIV that is excreted in breast milk.

44 pounds on breast milk alone? That is what a mother in China claims about her 10-month-old son who has been nicknamed “Michelin Baby.” Doctors are worried about the baby’s weight gain, particularly since he was born at an aver 7 1/2 pounds. So tell us, does this look like an exclusively breastfed baby? Was your baby a chunker too?

As moms, we face the same challenges and “booby traps” when it comes to breastfeeding, but there are some barriers that are culture specific and can affect breastfeeding rates for minority moms. One of these is the issue of “las dos,” literally “the two” or “both,” short-hand for mixed feeding in Latino communities. A new ad campaign created by the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition, with a little help from one blogger’s husband, aims to counter a common belief among Latina women that feeding by breast and bottle is healthier than exclusive breastfeeding. If you work in breastfeeding support, you can purchase the posters for your office.

There have been several grass roots breastfeeding awareness campaigns produced by health departments around the country. Remember the campaign from Marin County, CA where life-sized cut outs of breastfeeding moms were placed around the city? Now Racine, WI is getting in on the action, with the “We’re Better Together” awareness campaign. This week, 17 life-size photographs of nine women breastfeeding their babies will be placed throughout the community, including City Hall and the public library.

This week on our Facebook Fan Page we asked what off-label uses you’ve found for your breast milk and you were overheard saying…

Christine Lewitke Marasco: Infant acne - pink eye - minor cuts + scrapes

Amy Anderson: Sexual lubrication

Lish Burton: My husband would get terrible burns when he worked in a foundry, the burns I put milk on healed much faster. He also said they hurt less once I put the milk on!

Tawny Thompson: I put it on a cotton ball and use it as makeup remover! Works on all kinds of mascara, lipstick, and eyeliners.