Ending breastfeeding

When should breastfeeding end?

Should it be dictated by the baby's age?
Should it be dictated by the baby's teeth?
Should it be decided by the baby's grandmother?
Should it be decided by your doctor?
Should it end because a particular book says to wean?
Should it end because a particular friend says to wean?

Who decides when a relationship ends?

Because that is what breastfeeding really is: a warm, loving, nurturing relationship between a mother and her baby. It is much more than just food. Listen to your baby and listen to your heart. If you are enjoying breastfeeding and if your baby is enjoying breastfeeding, there should be no rush to end it, least of all to satisfy outsiders.

Breastfeeding doesn't make you tired, it makes you release hormones that help you relax and do your job as a mother. It makes you stop and focus on your baby.

Breastfeeding doesn't tie you down, it makes you able to feed your baby anytime, anywhere. And it's a special thing that ONLY YOU can do for your baby.

Breastfeeding is what babies are supposed to do. Ask yourself if what you are doing right now is more important than nurturing your little baby? And if you weren't breastfeeding, what would you be doing with your baby right now? Sitting on the sofa cuddling? Lying on the bed stroking your baby's hair? Talking to your baby in your arms?

Brilliant picnic at the park!

What a fabulous day was had by everyone at the picnic.
Thanks to all the team who put it together, our sponsors, our entertainers and everyone who attended. We raised 250,000 yen for La Leche League projects supporting breastfeeding mothers in Japan and around Asia.

BIG DAY OUT update

Scroll down for the google map for the exact location in Yoyogi Park

Download the poster here

Japanese details available here

BIG DAY OUT PICNIC MAY 18TH

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The picnic is a 50th birthday celebration! Celebrating the volunteer work of La Leche League around the world.
50 years of mother-to-mother support for breastfeeding!

LLL's five (5) trained and accredited volunteers in Tokyo help over 600 families a year, by phone, email and in person at their monthly discussion meetings. All proceeds will go to furthering the LLL mission of providing information, education and support for all women who wish to breastfeed.

Click here for more details.

Please click on the links for our generous sponsors for this event:
Tokyo British Clinic English Doctor, full medical service
Kikokushijo Academy International School School for returnees and international students
Furla Yoga Pre-and post-natal yoga
Star photography Family portraits
Mikey the clown Magic, parties and fun!
Gymboree Play and Music for families
Notting Hill Cakes Great baked goods
Tanoshii Piero Our clowns for the picnic
Blue Sky Tokyo Baby slings and webpage hosting
Tokyo Clothing Imports Maternity and children's wear
Keyshots Photography Kerry Raftis photography
Aardvark Japan Bravado nursing bras and hand made baby shoes
Babies-O-Natural Natural baby products and cloth diapers
Montessori Friends International School

...and more.

You don't need to be breastfeeding and your kids don't need to be small to join this event. You will be supporting a worthy cause while enjoying a fun day out in a great park in central Tokyo!
If you would like to be a sponsor of this event, or to donate an item for the silent auction, please contact LLL by email
If you would like to contribute even a small amount of money to LLL, please click the button below and you will be taken directly to Paypal's secure site:

Tell your friends, bring your families, your food and your generosity and...
...BE THERE!!

LLL is also conducting an online survey about experiences of breastfeeding in Japan.
Click here to take part.

Breast milk contains stem cells

Breast milk contains stem cells
Monday, 11 February 2008
ScienceNetwork WA By Catherine Madden
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20081102-16879.html

The Perth scientist who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells is confident that within five years scientists will be harvesting them to research treatment for conditions as far-reaching as spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

But what Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting revelations about the potency of breast milk.

He believes that it not only meets all the nutritional needs of a growing infant but contains key markers that guide his or her development into adulthood.

“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,” says Dr Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia.

He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure a baby’s genetic destiny is fulfilled.

“It is setting the baby up for the perfect development,” he says. “We already know that babies who are breast fed have an IQ advantage and that there’s a raft of other health benefits. Researchers also believe that the protective effects of being breast fed continue well into adult life.

“The point is that many mothers see milks as identical – formula milk and breast milk look the same so they must be the same. But we know now that they are quite different and a lot of the effects of breast milk versus formula don’t become apparent for decades. Formula companies have focussed on matching breast milk’s nutritional qualities but formula can never provide the developmental guidance.”

It was Dr Cregan’s interest in infant health that led him to investigate the complex cellular components of human milk. “I was looking at this vast complexity of cells and I thought, ‘No one knows anything about them’.”

His hunch was that if breast milk contains all these cells, surely it has their precursors, too?

His team cultured cells from human breast milk and found a population that tested positive for the stem cell marker, nestin. Further analysis showed that a side population of the stem cells were of multiple lineages with the potential to differentiate into multiple cell types. This means the cells could potentially be “reprogrammed” to form many types of human tissue.

He presented his research at the end of January to 200 of the world’s leading experts in the field at the International Conference of the Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation in Perth.

“We have shown these cells have all the physical characteristics of stem cells. What we will do next is to see if they behave like stem cells,” he says.

If so, they promise to provide researchers with an entirely ethical means of harvesting stem cells for research without the debate that has dogged the harvesting of cells from embryos.

Further research on immune cells, which have also been found in breast milk and have already been shown to survive the baby’s digestive process, could provide a pathway to developing targets to beat certain viruses or bacteria.

MILK BANK WINS $10,000!!

Thank you to everyone who voted below.

I just got an email to say they won!!

What great news!

Spend 30 seconds...

Please spend 30 seconds today to help the Mothers Milk Bank of New England.

There is an online competition at a site called IdeaBlob. The contest allows anyone to post a business or non-profit idea and compete for $10,000, given away each month.

Money is needed for the startup of the Mothers Milk Bank of New England.
The Milk Bank needs money for 1) processing and storage equipment, 2) a "Milk Money" fund to help families whose insurance won't cover processing fees, and 3) marketing materials to get the word out about the new bank.

So, here's our chance to make a big difference today. Here's what to do:

* Go to the
Milk Bank page on IdeaBlob, and vote for this project! You have to register first and confirm by email, which doesn't take long.
* Blog or post about this wherever you can to help bring in more votes.