What I'm Reading This Week

Here's some of the blog posts and news articles I've been reading and thinking about this week. Feel free to link me to anything you've loved as well!

Why do black moms die more often in childbirth? From Women's eNews:
(WOMENSENEWS)--It's been called a conundrum. A mystery. A disgrace. A national crisis. But when you ask why black women in the United States die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth at three to four times the rate of other ethnic/racial groups, the answer is usually the same: "We simply don't know."


How much milk should you expect to pump? From Nancy Morhbacher at Breastfeeding Reporter:
Do you ever second-guess your milk production after pumping? Do you compare it with the volume of milk your friend or neighbor pumps? Do you compare it with the milk you pumped for a previous baby? Before you start to worry, you first need to know how much pumped milk is average. Many mothers discover—to their surprise—that when they compare their own pumping experience with the norm, they’re doing just fine. Take a deep breath and read on.


36 Black-Owned Etsy Stores from Huffington Post:
OK so Black Friday is way past over, but you may still need to do some holiday shopping for your loved ones. Here's a great list of black-owned Etsy shops you can support. Most are women, many are moms. I love the cute stuff in IkdKids' shop, including a sling for your little girl to wear her dolls in. Lots more links in the comments, as well as on this post, 800+ Creative Black Women You Can Support.


Going for a Non-Stress Test/Biophysical Profile from Navelgazing Midwife:
This is a fantastic post on how to level the playing field if your pregnancy is going past dates or if there are any concerns about the baby and your OB or midwife requires you to get an NST and biophysical profile ultrasound. As Barbara states, "When going for an NST/BPP, a little preparation can help you make sure you are hydrated and the baby will be as active as possible before being hooked up to the monitors. This is not to fool the doctor, but to set yourself up for success. If, after following this regimen, the baby or amniotic fluid still shows there is something amiss, you will know you did your part to make sure both were as normal as possible. "

Rethinking Pelvic Typologies and the Human Birth Mechanism from Current Anthropology (2003):
A conversation popped up in my Twitter timeline on whether or not freebirthing (or unassisted childbirth or UC) was smart or asinine. I'll admit I am pretty much against UC, but I understand why some women do it. For many, there really is no "choice" involved. If you've had a C-section and live in a state that outlaws midwives from caring for you and prevents you from using a birth center, you are typically forced to have another C-section because the number of OBs who will consider VBAC is so low. From what I am hearing and reading this is changing slowly, but many mothers live in places where they have few options. I remembered that I had read an article that explained why humans need help during birth and why, unlike our mammalian cousins, we don't birth solo. Fascinating read if you've got the time and are interested (hat tip to Sol for finding the link!)

What have you been reading this week?

Friday 5: February 18th

I'm feeling nostalgic and I've read some wonderful posts this week so I've decided to bring back the Friday 5. Here's what you need to check out this week.

Nursing in Captivity: On Bethenny, Gorillas, and Why It Really Does Take a Village.....on Dou-La-La. Anne doesn't nearly update her blog enough, but when she does? Pure genius. This post really gets to the heart of why nursing in public is so important, not just for the individual, but in order to transform society.

Michelle Bachmann Targets Michelle Obama's Breastfeeding Initiative.....on The Root. When I first saw Bachmann's quotes come across my inbox, I was so shocked and disgusted. I thought about blogging about it, but I was too angry. This is an even post that beautifully states why her statements were so offensive.

A Single Stream of Breastmilk.... on breastfeedingarts. A wonderful reminder that, although it sometimes looks like young, single, childless folks are having more fun, there is really nothing better than being a mom.

Shadeism.......This short documentary is an introduction to "shadeism," or the discrimination that exists between lighter and darker-skinned people of color. If you're not familiar with this topic, it is definitely worth watching. Look out for a scene with breastfeeding around the 16:00 mark.

Breastfeeding in Disaster....Sustainable Mothering. An absolutely gut-wrenching photo and article about a dark time in our country's history. A reminder of the horrific conditions under which many women are breastfeeding their babies all over the world.

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Friday 5

I have skipped a few weeks of the Friday 5! My apologies, things were hectic and I was also out of town. Hopefully these 5 will make up for it.


Remember the Breastfeeding Challenge? Toronto won with 372 moms breastfeeding at the same time.

A group of Florida moms is providing breast milk for a baby whose mother passed away.

The International Breast Milk Project is providing breast milk to typhoon victims in the Philippines.

Mali has 48 "baby friendly" hospitals. The US has about 80.

Breastfeeding mothers can exercise to offset bone density lost while lactating.


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Friday 5

Welcome to the latest edition of the Friday 5. Enjoy!

Ana Ortiz, one of the stars of Ugly Betty, is breastfeeding her daughter in between filming scenes for the show. Imagine that, a workplace that's supportive of employees breastfeeding!

Multinationals in Vietnam sell baby formula so aggressively that they often break laws designed to promote breastfeeding.

In case you need a reminder: Nestle are the Bad Boys of Business.

Gossip Girl Kelly Rutherford has taken her ex to court for refusing to bring her baby to set to nurse, and stressing her out and affecting her milk supply.

A Danish study shows a link between toxin levels in mother's milk and testicular cancer in boys.



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Friday 5

Happy Friday! Thank goodness for holidays and a week that flew by. Here are some interesting breastfeeding stories in the news this week.


A Swedish dad is pumping 'round-the-clock in hopes of bringing in a full milk supply to breastfeed future children. He will be pumping in public and says if folk don't like it, that's their problem.


An article about the (Not So) Secret War Against Breastfeeding.

Oh, looky, another woman harassed for nursing in public! Seems she wasn't being "discreet" enough.

Totes/Isotoner fired a woman for taking "unauthorized pumping breaks" and the Ohio State Supreme Court sided with the company. Guess what brand of umbrellas I'll never buy again?

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has designated dozens of rooms on campus as lactation spaces. Students will never be more than a 5-10 minute walk from a private place to pump!





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Friday 5

Happy Friday, ya'll. Although World Breastfeeding Week is long gone, the whole month of August is dedicated to nursing as it's Breastfeeding Awareness Month. This week's Firday 5 is dedicated to the women of color who are movers & shakers in the breastfeeding world.

1. Kathi Barber
Kathi is the author of The Black Woman's Guide to Breastfeeding and the founder of the African-American Breastfeeding Alliance. She is a board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) who also blogs for Mothering in her spare time.

2. Micky Jones
Micky Jones is also an IBCLC, a Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis Instructor, a Certified Lactation Educator and a bunch of other acronyms that mean she works with and cares for moms and babies. Micky's blog, Mocha Milk, was the inspiration for Blacktating. Although she doesn't update much anymore, I can hardly be mad, as she's helping moms with pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding at 9 Months & Beyond, her business in middle Tennessee.

3. Mishawn Purnell-O'Neal
Mishawn has a Master's degree in Public Health and is the author of several books, including a breastfeeding book for kids, The Wonders of Mothers Milk. Mishawn is also the founder of Breastfeeding America, an organization created to address the gaps in information and education about breastfeeding in the black community.

4. Kiddada Ramey
Founder of the Black Mother's Breastfeeding Association, Kiddada has created a monthly breastfeeding support club for mothers in the Detroit area, presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine's annual meeting and was also a keynote speaker at a recent conference in Chicago that looked at ways to reduce disparities in breastfeeding rates. In addition to her work supporting breastfeeding, Kiddada is also a teacher and reading specialist.

5. Kimberley Traylor
Kimberley Traylor has a Master's degree in Human Development, is a lactation specialist, former WIC breastfeeding peer counselor, doula and founder of theVillage, which provides breastfeeding clinics, doula services, support groups and workshops for moms in Houston, TX.


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Friday 5

Happy Friday, all! After a rough week plagued with plugged ducts, mastitis and a sinus infection, I'm finally back in working order and ready for the weekend! Here are some articles that provide some food for thought about breastfeeding.


-Breastfeeding in Burkina Faso: how grandparents affect breastfeeding rates.

-Improving breastfeeding rates in the black community: what we're doing and how we can improve.

-Men can breastfeed and apparently do so often in Central Africa.

-African woman throw away colostrum because it's "dirty."

-Pollutants in breast milk may be more complicated than we previously thought.



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Friday 5

It's Friday, August 7th and it's the last day of World Breastfeeding Week. Did you find a way to celebrate? Here are the latest breastfeeding-related stories making waves in the news.


People are up in arms over a doll that allows little girls to pretend to breastfeed.

A new sculpture features Angelina Jolie breastfeeding twins in the football hold while nude (picture available).

A couple received a $115 ticket for parking in a no-standing zone so the wife could nurse their baby. Maybe if nursing in public were more accepted, she wouldn't have felt the need to hide in the car?

Sentencing begins today for the woman charged with child neglect for allegedly breastfeeding her baby while drunk. For a more nuanced look at the case and the charges, please visit Jake Marcus' blog.

Uh oh, the IRS may be coming after breastfeeding moms!



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Friday 5

Happy Friday, everyone. Here are some interesting stories about breastfeeding in the news this week.


A British teen has created a new t-shirt to promote breastfeeding.

Hand expression appears to help moms of preemies produce more milk than breast pumps alone. You don't say!

IRS to mastectomy moms: no tax relief for baby formula

Did Babies R Us use price gouging tactics to ensure your breast pump would be expensive?

Breastfeeding is now a civil right under Washington state law.




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Friday 5

Wow, what a busy week! Here some feel-good stories about breastfeeding I've encountered the past few days.

Glamourmom is donating 200 nursing bra tanks to an NYC non-profit in honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month.

A children's hospital has donated a breast pump to a zoo so that an elephant can be sure to get his mother's milk.

A woman whose twins benefited from donor breast milk is now the Executive Director of a milk bank in Austin.

David Sedaris? Still obsessed with breast milk.....but getting over it.

Mother & Baby, a British parenting magazine, will feature a nursing mother on the August cover. A first for the magazine and the UK!



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Friday 5

Happy 4th of July everyone! We'll be celebrating the holiday in style at Disney World and I hope you all have a happy, fun & safe holiday. Here's the Friday 5.


How they do it in West Africa: breastfeeding in public is OK anytime, anywhere.

A new pump called a Freemie looks...interesting.

Why formula is too much for tiny tummies.

Is the PSTI in breast milk what protects newborns' intestines?

Would you sell your breast milk?











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Friday 5

If money were no object, what would your breastfeeding-related splurges be? Here are my Top 5.

1. Medela Freestyle Pump
I am one of those moms who doesn't respond well to the pump, so when I returned to work after having my son, it was a struggle to keep up with his demands. I was renting a hospital-grade pump and had to pump at least 6 times per day in order to make enough milk for my son the following day. It was a lot of pressure. I have heard good things about the Freestyle, but the best part for me would be the ability to be completely hands-free as well as mobile while pumping.

2. Condessa Nursing Bras & Underwear
I was a big cheapskate when it came to buying nursing bras. My nighttime bras were from Target and I got all of my daytime bras from an outlet store in my area that sold Playtex bras for around $9 each. The nursing bras from Condessa are truly lingerie--gorgeous, sexy, silky--but also completely functional and, most importantly, underwire-free! I mean, how beautiful is this? Hot, hot, hot!


3. Ergo Baby Carrier
I love my sling and I used it on my son until he was about a year old, but I REALLY love the look of the Ergo and how easy it seems to use. I always wanted to carry my son on my back, plus hands-free nursing is always a bonus. I don't think I've ever heard a bad thing about the Ergo and I've heard raves from other breastfeeding moms.

4. Japanese Weekend nursing nightgown
I never bought myself a real nursing nightgown, I just wore a huge gown and kept the top buttons open for easy access in the middle of the night. But the nightgowns from Japanese Weekend are so purty and since they're made of soft jersey, look so comfy.

5.Milkies Milk Savers
I was never a huge leaker, but when I did leak, I always HATED that all of that milk was going to waste. Enter the Milkies Milk Saver, a slim pouch that slips into your bra and catches leaking milk. It's not exactly cheap at about $50 for a pair, but if it helps to keep you from having to buy formula, it's worth every penny!


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Friday 5

Happy Friday, everyone. Here are some interesting stories on breast milk that were in the news this week.

David Sedaris is looking for stories about breast milk. David Sedaris & breast milk: two great things that go better together!

A South Carolina mom donated 106 ounces of breast milk to the International Breast Milk Project, which provides breast milk to infants in Africa.

Meanwhile, mothers in Australia have to get breast milk on the black market.

A Swedish study shows that mother's milk may have less toxins in it than in the 90s.

Scientists are milking mice for all of the human milk protein they've got.


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Friday 5

I love short work-weeks! Friday seemed to come so fast. Today's Friday 5 is dedicated to celebrity breastfeeding quotes. I love it when celebs talk nursing, and I found some quotes recently that I had never heard before.


"There's just so much I can't eat because she's sensitive. I eat really bland food - chicken noodle soup, vegetables, fish. I had to cut out milk, no tomatoes, no lettuce. You think you have to cut everything out when you're pregnant, but you really have to cut everything out when you're breastfeeding."
-Nicole Richie, on having to use an elimination diet while nursing daughter, Harlow


"[I breastfed him] a good 18 months. That baby never even saw a bottle. He went everywhere with me — premieres, award shows. I would just find a back room and hook him up."
-Jada Pinkett Smith on nursing son Jaden


"I was pregnant for nine months and breastfeeding for two years. My body was completely hijacked; for all the best reasons, but for that time it wasn't mine. So once that was all over, I got to rediscover my body. I had all these new curves and I loved them!"
-Nelly Furtado, on sensuality post-baby


"With my son, I only breastfed for 1 month — this was because my son did not take to the breast well. He was given a bottle in the hospital, due to me needing rest, and then when I went to breastfeed he was not used to the milk coming in slower. I fought through it for a month but then my milk started drying up. My daughter never got a bottle, she took to the breast right away. "
-Ione Rucker Jamison, wife of NBA star Antwan Jamison, on how supplementation can cause breastfeeding problems.


"I pushed and the baby was out in four minutes. It must have been the easiest birth. She was checked out and I was breastfeeding. It was that quick. I don’t think my mum even had time to cry. Phoenix had been asleep and was woken up by her newborn sister crying."
-"Scary Spice" Mel B on her easy birth and easy breastfeeding relationship with daughter Angel.





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Friday 5

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has some wonderful Memorial Day weekend plans to look forward to. Let's get into the Friday 5.


So now breastfeeding at a public pool violates the policy against food & drink? Insert huge eyeroll here.

LactoMama to the rescue! Why breastfeeding made Kimberly Seals Allers feel like a superhero.

Kids who pretend to nurse their dolls scare prudes.

Some black celebrities talk about why they did or did not breastfeed.

Mothering Magazine fail?


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Friday 5

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you've got some weekend plans to look forward to. Let's get into the Friday 5.

Join the One Million Campaign and sign the petition asking world leaders to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

In the UK? There will be a Nestle protest tomorrow in Croydon at their headquarters.

Marijuana is passed through breast milk, so please don't smoke pot and nurse!

The new Ameda Purely Yours pump gets a thumbs up from the Celebrity Baby Blog.

Breastfeeding gets a shout-out (again!) on the Colbert Report.


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Friday 5

This week's Friday 5 is dedicated to my fellow breastfeeding bloggers and some of their amazing recent posts. If you're not reading them already, you should be.

Emily at Adventures in [Crunchy] Parenthood spells out the connection between WIC and breastfeeding rates for low income women.

Heather at It's All About the Hat hosted a "This is What Nursing a Toddler Looks Like" Carnival.

Birth Lactation: Breastfeeding, bottle-feeding & somewhere in the middle...guilt
Melodie from Breastfeeding Moms Unite discusses the truth about breastfeeding and breast implants.

PhD in Parenting: Breastfeeding Nazis no more.


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Friday 5

A new study reveals why formula-fed babies are fatter than breastfed babies: formula has too much protein.

An added bonus for breastfeeding moms: breastfeeding reduces the risk of heart disease.

More adventures in cooking with breast milk.

Is breastfeeding really free? A study shows that if you breastfeed more, you earn less(have a feeling we'll be revisiting this one!)

If you haven't already, give the US Dept. of Health & Human Services your opinions on how to promote and support breastfeeding. You can read what others have said so far here.



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Friday 5

Happy Friday, folks.

A new company has created a "green" breast pump that is meant to be used by multiple users.

Another "duh" study: breastfeeding blocks infant pain during vaccinations.

Dr. Acaro still needs women who are nursing and have had a breast biopsy for her study on whether cells in breast milk can detect breast cancer.

Parents magazine is at it again. Read up on the latest and then give them a piece of your mind.

Dr. Jay Gordon vs AAP: Round 1.


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Friday 5

TGIF! Let's get into the Friday 5!

1. WIC has expanded its eligibility requirements so that more pregnant and nursing moms can qualify. If you need help providing for your kids, go here and apply. Remember, breastfeeding moms get extra food from WIC.

2. Case closed: breast is best.

3. Outlaws no more! Breastfeeding moms get legal protection to nurse in public in Massachussetts.

4. Is the workplace the new Babies R Us? It would sure make breastfeeding a lot easier!

5. If you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #bfing to connect with other breastfeeding moms.

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