Category Archives: Empower
Booby Traps Series: Babies with special needs face special Booby Traps
Moms of babies with special needs often face extra challenges to meet their breastfeeding goals. But in addition to these challenges, they may also encounter a number of Booby Traps. Any barrier to breastfeeding is a shame, but it’s particularly … Continue reading
Last revised on 05/09/2013
Booby Traps Series: Why don’t we get better breastfeeding care from our nurses?
At a conference last year, I heard a nurse speaking about the importance of helping mothers with breastfeeding. “If you were a nurse,” she said, “and you knew for a fact that 80% of your patients were going to have … Continue reading
Last revised on 04/30/2013
Science You Can Use: Really? Breastfeeding for a year or more = iron deficiency
Have you breastfed a baby past the one year mark? If so, a new study in Pediatrics, which found an association between breastfeeding for a year or more and iron deficiency, might have you a bit alarmed.* We thought it … Continue reading
Last revised on 04/16/2013
Science You Can Use: Moms in “First Food Deserts” are hard pressed to breastfeed
Have you heard the term “food desert?” It means an area where people have little or no access to grocery stores that offer fresh and affordable foods needed to maintain a healthy diet. The food that is for sale in … Continue reading
Last revised on
Science You Can Use: Yes! The first evidence that reforming pediatric breastfeeding care works.
We all know that breastfeeding support in hospitals is important. But we also know that the need for support doesn’t end at hospital discharge. If anything, the show is just beginning. Much of the current emphasis at reforming breastfeeding policies … Continue reading
Last revised on 04/09/2013
Science You Can Use: How many babies start solids before 4 months, and why? The CDC told us this week.
“My pediatrician told me at our 4 month appointment, ‘if you don’t start her on solids before 6 months, she’ll never learn how to eat!’” “Upon recommendations from WIC and my doctor I tried giving her baby food at four … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/27/2013
Science You Can Use: New study says breastfeeding is not associated with obesity risk. Let’s take a closer look.
Have you heard the news that a recent study found that breastfeeding is not associated with lowered risk of childhood obesity? But you may also have heard that breastfeeding protects against obesity. In fact, the Surgeon General writes that not … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/21/2013
Science You Can Use: Can skin-to-skin and laid-back breastfeeding help older, non-latching babies?
We all know about the importance of skin-to-skin contact in the early hours and days of breastfeeding. But a new study from Sweden takes a look at a different question: can skin-to-skin contact and a laid back position resolve severe latching-on … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/14/2013
Science You Can Use: Anxious after baby? New study says anxiety is common and associated with shorter breastfeeding duration.
Did you struggle with postpartum anxiety? Were you assessed for postpartum depression and wonder why your anxiety was overlooked? And did anxiety affect your breastfeeding relationship? You might be interested in a new study published in Pediatrics that has shown … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/13/2013
Science You Can Use: For sexual assault survivors, does breastfeeding affect depression and sleep?
An area of breastfeeding that gets little attention - but impacts an astoundingly large number of women - is the experience of sexual abuse survivors. When I spoke with Penny Simkin, author of When Survivors Give Birth, for a podcast … Continue reading
Last revised on 02/18/2013
