Breast Pumps - an Airport Security Risk?

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Last week, Jenny Kwan, a BC MLA* was denied boarding an Air Canada flight with her breast pump in tow.  She had travelled with her pump many times before, as she is prone to mastitis and has a meticulous schedule, however she also had her young son with her at the time.  Apparently a breast pump sans baby is a "security risk" according to the airline.  You can read the full story here.

There are many reasons to pump.  The majority of these reasons are still relevant if you are separated from your baby and perhaps even moreso.  Therefore, the fact that security "became anxious" because there was no baby tagging along with said breast pump is ludicrous!  Of course she didn't have here baby with her.  She was travelling for the day to an NDP caucus meeting in Kamloops and needed to pump BECAUSE HER BABY WOULDN'T BE THERE TO EMPTY HER BREASTS!  Does anyone else find this as ridiculous as I do?  Use your common sense people!

Security's only suggestions were to check the pump as regular baggage (however she feared running back to check-in would cause her to miss her flight), or to leave the ice packs behind.  I guess they are ignorant of the fact that breast milk can only be stored at room temperature for up to 4 hours.  What good is a breast pump without the means to store the milk?  And was it therefore the ice packs that were the real problem not the pump?

I think perhaps the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the body responsible for security at Canadian airports, needs to educate themselves about breastfeeding, pumping and the working mother!

Have you ever travelled by air with your breast pump?  With or without your baby?  In your carry-on or checked luggage?  Tell me your stories and share your opinions.

Filed under: In the News by Wendy
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Breastfeeding Protects You and Your Baby Against Disease

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

I think today's moms and moms-to-be are aware that benefits exist for themselves and their babies when they choose to breastfeed, however, I stumbled across this post from The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog (one of my faves) which has an excerpt from a 2007 US Department of Health and Human Services meta-analysis with actual percentages - très cool (and I'm not even French!)

Breastfeeding reduces babies' risk of the following diseases as noted below:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS):  36%
Type 1 Diabetes:  19-27%
Type 2 Diabetes:  39%
Leukemia (acute lymphocytic):  19%
Leukemia (acute myelogenous):  15%
Asthma:  27%
Gastrointestinal infections: 64%
Lower respiratory tract diseases:  72%
Atopic dermatitis:  42%
Acute otitis media:  50%

Breastfeeding reduces mothers' risk of the following diseases as noted below:

Type 2 Diabetes:  4-12%
Ovarian Cancer:  21%
Breast Cancer:  28%

OR if you want to see the flip side...it seems to have more impact:

Artificial feeding increases babies' risk of the following diseases as noted below:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): 56%
Type 1 Diabetes: 23-37%
Type 2 Diabetes: 64%
Leukemia (acute lymphocytic) : 23%
Leukemia (acute myelogenous): 18%
Asthma: 37%
Gastrointestinal infections: 178%
Lower respiratory tract diseases: 257%
Atopic dermatitis: 72%
Acute otitis media: 100%

Artificial feeding increases mothers' risk of the following diseases as noted below:

Type 2 Diabetes: 4-14%
Ovarian cancer: 27%
Breast cancer: 39%

You should be aware of the fact that this is NOT a complete list.  Breastfeeding protects against many more diseases and scientists continue to do research around this topic.  Enough said - BREAST IS BEST - always has been, always will be!

Do these numbers surprise you?  alarm you?  make you even happier that you are/did/plan to breastfeed(ing)?  Tell me what you think.

Filed under: Breast is Best by Wendy
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Sneak a Peek at Our Classic Collection II Fabrics!

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Well it's official!  The fabrics are on order and we are SOOOO excited!  The Classic Collection II is due to arrive this Spring and we can hardly wait!  We are currently booking our model and sourcing accessories to style the photo shoot which is inspired by a famous movie.  We had waaaay too much fun on the Fabulous 50's shoot - breast pumps and all - and can't wait to work with Claire Reid again.

    
           Forget Me Not                         Snowy Leopard                         Verry Cherry

Oh and by the way, we haven't given away the store here.  There is a 4th print that you will just have to WAIT to see.  And it is absolutely going to be our Best Seller!

Tell us what you think...

Filed under: Inside Snugabell by Wendy
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Will "Too Much" Pumping Curtail the Progress We Have Made?

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

Subscribe to the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog to get great articles like this one delivered to your inbox.

Jill Lepore wrote this article for The New Yorker magazine.  I felt it was a very interesting and thought-provoking piece talking about, among other things, the increase in pumping in our culture and the possibility of it having a negative affect on the progress we have made with women's rights to breastfeed in public.

National Public Radio interviewed Jill Lepore on the same subject.

Tell me what you think and leave a comment over at Motherwear too!

Filed under: Pumping by Wendy
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Little Black Dots on your PumpEase™

Friday, January 16th, 2009

If you ever find little black dots on your PumpEase™, don't fret!  These little black dots would be found near the horn openings - they are not dirt and they are not holes!  "Well then... what are they?" you ask.

During production, our manufacturer uses a felt pen to mark the location of the horn openings.  Normally drillholes (small holes in the fabric) are used for this type of marking in the factory, however we have opted for the felt pen to preserve the integrity of the fabric in light of the fact that the horn openings are one of the most important areas of our product.  This felt pen washes out in an instant!  If you touch it with water, it will "bleed" immediately and change to a purple color.  Dabbing it with (I use cold) water a few times, front and back, and then tamping with a paper towel removes the dot in its entirety.  Or you can just let your washing machine do all the work for you.

Just thought you'd like to know!  I will try to post some pictures of the infamous black dots soon!

Filed under: Customer Service by Wendy
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