Breastfeeding is the First Line of Defense in a Disaster

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

The United States Breastfeeding Committee issued the below updated press release today.  Please donate milk via an HMBANA milk bank (and that includes our milk bank here in Vancouver, BC) and/or continue to donate funds to HELP HAITI!  Here at Snugabell Mom & Baby Gear we are proud to donate $2.00 from every PumpEase sold to Doctors Without Borders until February 14th (which will then be matched dollar for dollar by the Canadian Government).

January 27, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATED STATEMENT:

Breastfeeding is the First Line of Defense in a Disaster

Washington, DC--The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), International Lactation Consultant Association/United States Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA/USLCA), and La Leche League International (LLLI) strongly affirm the importance of breastfeeding in emergency situations, and call on relief workers and health care providers serving victims of disasters to protect, promote, and support mothers to breastfeed their babies. During an emergency, breastfeeding mothers provide their infants with safe food and water and disease protection that maximize their chances of survival.

This week, the International Milk Bank Project and Quick International Courier coordinated a shipment of milk from the HMBANA member banks to supplement a mother's own milk for the premature, medically fragile, and orphaned infants aboard the U.S. Navy ship Comfort stationed off the coast of Haiti. This milk will help this small group of infants. In this highly unusual circumstance the infrastructure associated with the Comfort's resources allows U.S. sourced donor milk to help fragile Haitian babies.

Donor milk, however, is not a solution for the large number of infants and young children affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Members of the public who wish to promote the survival of mothers and babies in Haiti can donate money to the following organizations: UNICEF, Save the Children Alliance, World Vision, and Action Against Hunger. These organizations are using best practice to aid both breastfed and non-breastfed infants. Members of the public can be confident that donations to these organizations will support breastfeeding and help save the lives of babies.

Interventions to protect infants include supporting mothers to initiate and continue exclusive breastfeeding, relactation for mothers who have ceased breastfeeding, and finding wet nurses for motherless or separated babies. Every effort should be made to minimize the number of infants and young children who do not have access to breastfeeding. Artificially fed infants require intensive support from aid organizations including infant formula, clean water, soap, a stove, fuel, education, and medical support. This is not an easy endeavor. Formula feeding is extremely risky in emergency conditions and artificially fed infants are vulnerable to the biggest killers of children in emergencies: diarrhea and pneumonia.

As stated by UNICEF and WHO, no donations of infant formula or powdered milk should be sent to the Haiti emergency. Such donations are difficult to manage logistically, actively detract from the aid effort, and put infant's lives at risk. Distribution of infant formula should only occur in a strictly controlled manner. Stress does not prevent women from making milk for their babies, and breastfeeding women should not be given any infant formula or powdered milk.

There are ongoing needs in the U.S. for human milk for premature and other extremely ill infants because of the protection it provides from diseases and infections. If a mother is unable to provide her own milk to her premature or sick infant, donor human milk is often requested from a human milk bank. American mothers can help their compatriots who find themselves in need of breast milk for their sick baby by donating to a milk bank that is a member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.

For more information about donating milk to a milk bank, contact HMBANA at www.hmbana.org. Additional information for relief workers and health care professionals can be provided from the United States Breastfeeding Committee at www.usbreastfeeding.org, ILCA/USLCA at www.ilca.org or www.uslca.org, or La Leche League International at www.llli.org. A list of regional milk banks is available on the HMBANA Web site at www.hmbana.org/index/locations.

USBC is an organization of organizations. Opinions expressed by USBC are not necessarily the position of all member organizations and opinions expressed by USBC member organization representatives are not necessarily the position of USBC.

United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC)

The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is an independent nonprofit coalition of 41 nationally influential professional, educational, and governmental organizations. Representing over half a million concerned professionals and the families they serve, USBC and its member organizations share a common mission to improve the Nation's health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. For more information about USBC, visit www.usbreastfeeding.org.

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________________________________________

United States Breastfeeding Committee

2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: 202/367-1132

Fax: 202/367-2132

E-mail: office@usbreastfeeding.org

Web: www.usbreastfeeding.org

Have you donated to the relief effort in Haiti?  If so, tell us to which organization you donated and why you chose that particular one.  If you have any other thoughts about what is happening in Haiti, please share.

Filed under: In the News by Wendy Armbruster Bell
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Meet Pumps 4 Mums - Our Exclusive UK Retailer

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

I recently had the opportunity to interview Richard and Janette Cassidy, owners of Pumps 4 Mums - the exclusive retailer of PumpEase in the UK.  I have to admit, I kinda liked writing the interview questions, so this may become a regular feature on our blog (I'm just nosy is all).  Please read on to find out more about this amazing couple running this amazing company.  I was wow-ed (and I don't wow easily).

Wendy:  How long have you been in business selling breast pumps?

Richard:  We are into our 3rd year of selling breastpumps.

Wendy:  Have you always been in the same location?

Richard:  We've always been located in 'The Midlands'.  Currently, we live in Aldridge - a town on the edge of England's 'Black Country'.

Wendy:  How did you come about being in this business?

Richard:  By accident! Jeanette's first experience of pumping was with our daughter Alexandra. Alexandra had been born 8 weeks early due to mum's pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, and spent a long time in special care. She was unable to feed normally, therefore Jeanette expressed in hospital but later managed to establish breastfeeding. On returning to work, Jeanette expressed at home. She was already an experienced NHS nurse, but her experiences in hospital motivated her to train for an additional Health Visitor qualification where her practice was more 'baby' orientated. More recently, Jeanette retired from her role within the NHS for health reasons. Having recently given birth to our 2nd daughter, Jeanette suffered quite badly with PND. I had already formed the company and was buying and selling bankrupt stock. We first became an Ameda agent for no reason other than so that Jeanette had something to do.

Wendy:  What is your company mission/vision?

Richard:  To be the best at what we do. We don't mis-sell, we try to establish exactly what it is that the mum is trying to achieve by owning a pump. When a customer calls us with a problem, I reassure them that I'm glad they bought their product from us because we will help them. If it's physiological, Jeanette will take charge, if it's mechanical I'll get it sorted - fast.

Wendy:  How is the breastfeeding culture in the UK? Is breastfeeding encouraged? What about breastfeeding in public?

Richard:  At present in England, mothers do not yet have an absolute legal right to breastfeed in public. However, a mother who is nursing a baby of 6 months or less cannot be asked to leave an establishment. New laws (The Equalities Bill) are making their way through parliament and should come into force in October this year.

"Discriminating against a woman breastfeeding in public has been unlawful (under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) for more than 30 years, however, this Bill makes it explicit that it is unlawful to force breastfeeding mothers and their babies out of places like cafes, shops and public transport."  Source:  babyfriendly.org

Jeanette thinks that breastfeeding culture is changing for the better, with more shops and public places offering breastfeeding areas, as opposed to directing mums towards the nearest toilet!

Wendy:  What are the breastfeeding initiation rates in the UK? Are they increasing?

Richard:  There are more breast feeding clinics, supoort groups, helplines and breastfeeding counsellors/infant feeding coordinators than there have ever been, however, it remains that a majority of UK mums have given up by the time the baby is 8 weeks old.

Wendy:  What does Pumps4Mums do to promote breastfeeding?

Richard:  Most mothers who call us have already made their decision to use a pump to help them continue to breastfeed.

Wendy:  How long do moms get for maternity leave in the UK?

Richard:  Statutory entitlement to maternity pay is 39 weeks. The earliest one can claim is 11 weeks before due date, although many mums choose to start their maternity leave much later.

Wendy:  What is the best part of what you do?

Richard:  Probably when we've helped a mum whose milk had stopped to re-establish a supply.

Wendy:  Tell me about your family. How old are your child(ren) and if older, do they help out with the business?

Richard:  Our children are 13 (sometimes helps with the packing) and 4 (she answers the phone occasionally and she knows she's not supposed to)!

Wendy:  Is there anything else you would like to add?

Richard:  Yes - I'm really sorry to have taken so long to do this!

Richard, your answers were definitely worth waiting for and I can honestly tell you that I am very proud to have you and Janette representing PumpEase "across the pond".  The way in which you conduct your business aligns perfectly with Snugabell Mom & Baby Gear's corporate vision.

Did you enjoy hearing about one of our retailers?  Would you like to see more interviews in the future?  Leave a comment below and tell us about it!

Filed under: Inside Snugabell by Wendy
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Single-Use, Ready-to-Serve, Formula-Filled Baby Bottles - a "Green" Idea?

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

A few months ago, I stumbled across a press release entitled "Ready Made Inc. debuts new disposable baby bottle prototype at Smart Baby Expo."

And I quote, "The new biodegradable paper based design was a major selling point for parents who are concerned with the environmental impact of plastics and the threat of Bisphenol-A in plastic baby products."

You have GOT to be kidding me.  Talk about a green wash!  How on earth can this company tout this DISPOSABLE, FORMULA-FILLED bottle as "green" (and keep a straight face).

Now that 2010 has arrived, this product is going to be hitting the shelves, or to quote the manufacturer, "will be sold in stores throughout the US and be available to global humanitarian markets" (excuse me while I vomit).  And so I thought I had better make you aware of it...

My colleague Diane Sam of MoBoleez summed up the carbon footprint of infant formula production quite nicely in a recent blog post:

"Think about all the consumption of natural resources, landfill space, etc. that goes into the production, packaging and delivery of formula, a completely derived and unnatural product that, with adequate support and education, should be very rarely required. Consider this quote:

"If every child in America were bottle-fed, almost 86,000 tons of tin would be needed to produce 550 million cans for one year's worth of formula. If every mother in Great Britain breastfed, 3000 tons of paper (used for formula labels) would be saved in a year. But the formula is not the only problem. Bottles and nipples require plastic, glass, rubber, and silicone; production of these materials can be resource-intensive and often leads to end-products that are not-recyclable. All these products use natural resources, cause pollution in their manufacture and distribution, and create trash in their packaging, promotion, and disposal."

Source:  "Mother Nature Loves Breastmilk" by Dia Michels

Plastic bottles and nipples are rarely recycled, take over 200 years to break down, fill up landfills and when burned, release toxic pollutants into our air... that we breathe... that our babies breathe.

Then, let's talk about the dairy industry. Most breastmilk substitutes are made from cows milk. The biological equivalent of walking up to a cow in a field and sucking on her tit. The mass factories that produce this milk contribute to a polluted environment in a myriad of ways. Here's a few:

• Cows excretion and flatulance produce 100 million tons of methane every year, which equals 20% of the earths total emissions. (Methane is the second most problematic gaseous contribution to the greenhouse effect and global warming).
• The fertilizers used to grow feed for dairy cows pollute rivers and groundwaters.
• The ammonia from cow pastures and slurry tanks cause acid rain.
• The clearing of land for pasture means deforestation, an increase in greenhouse gases, the destruction of animal and plant species and erosion of the soil. For example, each kilogram of baby milk produced in Mexico "costs" 12.5 square meters of rainforest.

Think Soy is better? Even the production of soy based formulas are detrimental to the environment:

• Soy formulas require just as much natural resources and energy to produce and package.
• In Brazil, forests are cleared and burned to create soy plantations. The soya beans are then used to feed cattle and as the base for soy based formulas.
• The growing of soy beans requires a high input of fertilizers and irrigation."

Source:  Breastmilk: A World Resource by Andrew Radford

Sadly, according to Ready Made Inc, 85% of consumers surveyed at the Smart Baby Expo, a consumer trade show, said that they look forward to using the Ready Made bottle, with 20% of them stating that they would use them DAILY no matter what brand of formula came inside!    Good GAWD people - the last thing we need is more disposables in our landfills!  I mean convenience is one thing, but convenience to the point of drowning our planet in garbage is certainly another!

What I find most disturbing however, is that this bottle is also being targeted towards the developing world - to prevent the spread of HIV no less!  Ready Made states in their press release that, "One-third of children in Africa with the AIDS virus contracted the disease from breastfeeding."

This is NOT TRUE.

According to Wikipedia, "The transmission of the virus from the mother to the child can occur in utero during the last weeks of pregnancy and at childbirth. In the absence of treatment, the transmission rate between a mother and her child during pregnancy, labor and delivery is 25%.  However, when the mother takes antiretroviral therapy and gives birth by caesarean section, the rate of transmission is just 1%. The risk of infection is influenced by the viral load of the mother at birth, with the higher the viral load, the higher the risk. Breastfeeding also increases the risk of transmission by about 4%.

4%. Four percent. Not 33-1/3%. Not one-third. FOUR PERCENT.  I guess they just got there numbers mixed-up there, right?

They might as well just climb into bed with Nestlé as far as I'm concerned.  And I won't be the least bit surprised if the brand of formula that indeed ends up in those bottles IS Nestlé!

The truth is, on December 1, 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) updated their HIV recommendations on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.  Tanya from Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog explains...

"In the past, it's been the recommendation that women who are HIV positive not breastfeed as long as formula feeding is "acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe".

Many women in developing countries don't have access to clean water, much less the resources to purchase formula, and not breastfeeding puts their infants at a high risk of death and disease. In one recent study of 14 developing countries, not breastfeeding resulted in over 325 deaths per 1,000 births compared to 35 deaths per 1,000 births among breastfed babies.

That's why breastfeeding, even though it may mean that a child becomes infected with HIV, is considered safer than not breastfeeding in much of the developing world. Both feeding options carry significant risks, but a child is far likelier to die early in life if he is not breastfed.

So, until today, the recommendation has been that women in developing countries feed their babies breastmilk substitutes only if it is "acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe." Otherwise, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended during the first six months of life, to be discontinued as soon as is feasible thereafter.

This has been a really difficult recommendation to follow, for several reasons. Exclusive breastfeeding (considered the safest method) is relatively rare. Weaning from exclusive breastfeeding to no breastfeeding at six months, as you can imagine, is extremely difficult. And women face significant stigma when not breastfeeding. Unlike the US, many developing countries never lost the "breastfeeding culture", and not breastfeeding is considered a give away that a woman is HIV positive.

But recent research has shown that when HIV positive mothers take antiretroviral drugs while breastfeeding, it reduces the risk of transmission dramatically. Access to ARVs has increased significantly in recent years. Accordingly, the WHO has changed its recommendation:

WHO now recommends that breastfeeding continue until the infant is 12 months of age, provided the HIV-positive mother or baby is taking ARVs during that period. This will reduce the risk of HIV transmission and improve the infant's chance of survival.

"In the new recommendations, we are sending a clear message that breastfeeding is a good option for every baby, even those with HIV-positive mothers, when they have access to ARVs", said Daisy Mafubelu, WHO's Assistant Director General for Family and Community Health."

I for one would NEVER buy a disposable baby bottle.  If people say that it would be convenient "on occasion" to use such a product, then I say it wouldn't be too inconvenient "on occasion" to use a reusable and recyclable BPA-free plastic or better yet, glass baby bottle and wash it and dry it and use it again and again and again.  And then I would pass it on to another mom.  I really have a hard time throwing anything in the garbage.  I donate clothing and household items that we no longer need or want; I have made the switch to LunaPads reusable menstrual products and the Diva Cup; we are avid recyclers and composters; we use reusable grocery bags and stainless steel water bottles; we buy organic as much as we can; and the list goes on and on... Then you hear about a company like Ready Made and it undermines you and everyone else that is trying to make a difference in our society... in our world.

And now that I'm researching this further, I've found many other companies selling pre-sterilized, single-use, disposable baby bottles - albeit not filled with formula - such as Steribottle and Vital Baby, to name just two.  I had to stop searching as I kept finding more and more!

I also had to laugh that the Vital Baby bottle was labeled "from 0 months" and yet had a fast flow nipple.  And then parents wonder why the baby has "reflux".  But I digress...

Please know that I am not attacking mothers that formula feed, whether it is by choice or by necessity.  Rather, I am upset with companies like Ready Made that skew the facts and bring questionable products to market all in the name of the allmighty dollar.  They simply don't care about anything else than their bottom line, but try to make you believe that they are being socially responsible.  If they really want to help the HIV pandemic, why don't they develop a truly green product and then donate a percentage of their profits to purchase the ARVs that these HIV positive mothers so desperately need?  Nestle?  Did you hear that?

So tell me how you feel about single-use baby bottles, either empty or filled with formula.  Tell me what you think about these companies that attempt to green wash us.  Tell me all about what you're thinking.  (And if you see the Ready Made bottles in stores, please let me know!)

Filed under: In the News by Wendy
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