I participated in a study recently, in which the researcher was investigating the maternal cells present in breast milk. She needed fresh milk for the study, so I went to her lab to express some milk. She provided a Medela Symphony breast pump for the mothers in the study, but I found that it didn’t [...]
Melissa K. of The New Mommy Files wrote in Prioritizing to Find Balance on the Natural Parents Network My agreement with a cause does not equate to passion. I think gender-neutral parenting is important, for example, and I strive to raise my child without the pressure to fit into a stereotype. The reality is, however, [...]
I consider myself somewhat of an expert in breastfeeding. Granted, I’m a lay expert. I’m not an IBCLC or even any other kind of lactation consultant/counselor/educator/etc. I’m not a La Leche Leage leader either (though I am the treasurer for our group). But I have spent a lot of time breastfeeding and talking about breastfeeding [...]
The introduction to The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding specifies that “in addition to talking about breastfeeding, we’ll deliberately be using the word nursing because to us it means a connection that’s more than just the milk.” When people talk about the “benefits of breastfeeding,” they are often really talking about the benefits of breast milk [...]
A study was recently brought to my attention that basically advocates supplementing with formula within the first two weeks of birth in order to reduce likelihood of cow’s milk allergy. The first author of the study, in interviews by the press, stated his recommendation to breastfeed while “simply complementing it with cow’s milk early on.” [...]
I didn’t want to come back to work full-time until Munchkin was 6 months old, specifically because I wanted to make sure that I could breastfeed that long. I knew that my mother had weaned me at 7 months when she went back to school, and I had the idea that it was nearly impossible to keep up breastfeeding while being separated from your baby during the day.
