Survey of Mothers' Sleep & Fatigue

Survey of Mothers' Sleep & Fatigue
by Dr. Kathleen Kendall Tackett and Dr. Thomas Hale

You are eligible to participate in this study if you currently have a baby or child 12 months of age or younger.

In this survey, they will be asking you some detailed questions about how well you and your baby sleep, where members of your family usually sleep, and how tired you feel on most days. They will also ask you some questions about things that can interfere with sleep. There are very few studies on this important topic, and they will use the results for a research study.

Click HERE for the survey.

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Press release

Toll From Tainted Chinese Formula Climbs to 53,000; Producer Received Complaints in 2007

New Rochelle, NY, September 25, 2008 – The number of infants in China who have fallen ill as a result of formula tainted by melamine, has reached 53,000 and is responsible for the deaths of at least three infants. (New York Times, September 24, 2008)

A report released by the Xinhua News Agency indicates the Sanlu Group, the producer of the tainted formula, had received consumer complaints about their product as early as December 2007, and repeatedly made efforts to hide information about possible contamination. Melamine, a chemical compound used mainly as a fire retardant, has been identified as the contaminant in the formula which has now led to the recall of Chinese-made dairy products in China and other parts of Asia as well.

In response to these continuing reports of tainted Chinese baby formula, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine urges public agencies worldwide to renew education and support for breastfeeding. The tragic and unnecessary deaths of infants in China , and the sickening of thousands of others, remind us of a truth health experts have long understood: with extremely rare exceptions, breastmilk is unquestionably the safest method of infant feeding. Much attention has been focused lately on ways in which food and other supply chains in China should be more carefully monitored and regulated, a problem which has proven to be ubiquitous, deeply engrained in the Chinese economy, and thus far highly unmanageable.

In the case of infant feeding, however, very little has been said about what would appear to be the most effective long-term strategy to protect infants against future feeding catastrophes, namely, the promotion of breastfeeding. The melamine scandal, together with the terribly catastrophic earthquake that ravaged so many Chinese communities last May, should have demonstrated to China and to the entire world that breastfeeding is a practice that all societies should cherish, safeguard, and promote. This stark reminder of the potential dangers of artificial milk, underscores the importance of promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding worldwide.

Dr. Caroline Chantry, President of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, pointed out “ China is not the first, or only country to fall prey to contaminated baby formula. But we must make it the last. And we do know how.”

According to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), a recent decline in funding world-wide for public education and training of health professionals to support breastfeeding, has resulted in a decline of hospitals implementing the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. The Initiative incorporates ten steps for successful breastfeeding, and forbids the unethical promotion of beastmilk substitutes in health facilities. And the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine continues to promote professional education through its conferences, publications, and its peer-reviewed journal Breastfeeding Medicine.

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is a worldwide organization of physicians dedicated to the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding and human lactation through education, research, and advocacy. An independent, self-sustaining, international physician organization and the only organization of its kind, ABM ’s mission is to unite members of various medical specialties through physician education, expansion of knowledge in breastfeeding science and human lactation, facilitation of optimal breastfeeding practices, and encouragement of the exchange of information among organizations.

Melamine and breastfeeding

From Dr Thomas Hale, author of Medications and mother's milk

"I've also been asked by a couple of mother about breastfeeding and
melamine. This is what I've replied.

No one knows the correct answer to this because here has been no
research done on melamine and breastfeeding. Thus all anyone can do is
give an educated guess. Research, however,shows consistently that even
in a polluted world, breastfeeding offers advantages that outweigh the
risk of ingesting possible contaminants. Indeed, the benefits of
breastfeeding may prove to be essential to compensate for and outweigh
the risks of toxic effects from the environment. In other words even
when small amounts of toxins get into the breast milk medical problems
are not found in the babies.

For example breastfeeding helps to diminish toxins bad effects. Here
are some facts:

Toxins increase the risk of developing some cancers. True, but the
evidence shows that breastfeeding babies have a lower risk of some
cancers than artificially fed babies.

Toxins may interfere with neurological function and learning abilities.
True, but the evidence shows that children who were breastfed do better
on neurological and intelligence tests than artificially fed children,
and the longer they are breastfed, the better they do.

Toxins may interfere with immunity. True, but the evidence shows that
infants who are breastfed have better and more mature immunity than
artificially fed infants, and that this better immunity carries on much
longer than the length of time the infant or child is breastfed.

I hope this puts your mind at ease and you can continue to enjoy your
breastfeeding relationship."

Tainted milk kills babies in China

It is such a tragedy that so many babies in China have been affected by the tainted milk powder. While the parents, companies and government point fingers and argue, where is the mention of BREASTFEEDING? Where is the talk of the reasons so many babies are not getting milk from their own mothers?

I wish the headlines of the newspapers in China (and the rest of the world) would read

BREASTFEEDING: THE ONLY SAFE WAY TO FEED YOUR BABY

Why risk your baby's health?
Why would you NOT breastfeed?

Can you really trust ANY milk manufacturer more than your own breasts?