Today I have a guest post from Tanya of Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog. She’s trying to spread the word about this valuable research and I’m happy to do my small part by passing it along to you. The original post is here and it is copied and pasted (with permission) below.

Picture this: You’re breastfeeding.  You notice a lump.  First maybe you think it’s a plugged duct.  But then it doesn’t go away, after many, many feedings.  You’re worried about it, so you make an appointment with your doctor, who doesn’t think it’s related to breastfeeding.  She sends you for a mammogram, but you’re told that you’ll have to have weaned for six months before the test can be done.  What do you do?*

I’ve mentioned before that I’m involved in a powerful research project based at the University of Massachusetts, and supported by the Love/Avon Army of Women breast cancer project.

I’d like to explain more about it now, and ask for your help in recruiting participants for it.

It’s probably news to most of us (it was to me) that when you make milk, cells from your milk ducts are exfoliated off in the process.  These are called epithelial cells, and they’re detectable in your milk.

Past research has demonstrated that long before we notice a lump, those epithelial cells start changing in ways that are precursors to the development of breast cancer.

Dr. Kathleen Arcaro, a UMass professor who studies breastfeeding and breast cancer risk wants to analyze those cells.  She’s been nice enough to visit a breastfeeding group I run, and answer questions about breastfeeding and breast cancer.

The primary goal of her research is to determine if it’s possible to create a non-invasive, early way of assessing our breast cancer risk through our breastmilk.  If it’s successful, it would also establish ‘molecular biomarkers’ for breast cancer risk.

An additional benefit to breastfeeding mothers is that we would not be told, as some are, to wean before a mammogram or biopsy can be done.  No more choosing between breastfeeding and a breast cancer test.  It could be as simple and sending in a milk sample to a lab!

In order to conduct this research, Dr. Kathleen Arcaro needs to find 250 women who are both lactating and scheduled for a biopsy.  To participate, you’d overnight milk samples to her lab, at no cost to you.

So if you, or someone you know, is both breastfeeding and scheduled for a biopsy, please ask them to email either me, Dr. Arcaro, or Dr. Sarah Lennington as soon as possible.  You can visit the project’s website to learn more.

If you write a blog or are in contact with lots of moms on a forum, please pass this link around!

And if you haven’t done it yet, register for the Love/Avon Army of Women.  You’ll join one million women volunteering to become part of a rich pool of women researchers can use to find the causes and prevention of breast cancer.  You can see other participating studies on the site.  Here’s a recent Today Show clip on the project.

* Mammograms can be done on lactating breasts, but they are viewed as less accurate than on non-lactating breasts.  Some doctors will do them, others require mothers to wean first.  Some send mothers for ultrasounds.

Stumble it!

UPDATE 1/31/09: This giveaway is now over and closed to new entries. Thank you!

It’s time for another round of Bloggy Giveaways. But before I discuss what I’m giving away this round, I have a little announcement about what’s coming up in the weeks ahead here at Crunchy Domestic Goddess.

UPCOMING GIVEAWAYS on Crunchy Domestic Goddess

I’ve got some GREAT GIVEAWAYS lined up for the rest of January and the month of February, and I know you’ll want to keep an eye on my blog. What better way to do that than to subscribe to my RSS feed? To show my love and appreciation for my readers, I’ll be offering several awesome giveaways including:

• a KidsKonserve waste-free lunch kit,
• recycled jewelry from Mama Goes Green,
• frozen organic dinners from The Organic Dish,
• and even a Vita-Mix Super 5200 blender!

That’s right! I told you you won’t want to miss these giveaway. I hope you’ll subscribe to my RSS feed today! :)

Now back to this Bloggy Giveaway. Thanks to Nursing Mother Supplies, I have a fun yet practical giveaway this time around that is perfect for a pregnant or nursing mom. I’m giving away one Body Silk Seamless Bra by Bravado in Cherry valued at $44.10. Finally, a nursing bra that’s not boring old white or beige and it looks super comfortable! What a fun gift to yourself for Valentine’s Day!

A nursing bra designed to just melt onto mom’s body, while seamlessly providing beautiful shape and great support. The Body Silks innovative design makes the bra ideal for any stage of pregnancy or nursing, as it will gently grow and contract to constantly support mom’s changing shape.

Some of the fantastic features of the Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra are:

• The molded foam cups are removable to give versatility, and the ability to hide nipples and breast pads
• The bra melts and molds to her body, supporting each shape in a uniquely perfect way
• Easy to use and discrete nursing clips, featuring one-handed access
• No underwire and cups that drop away fully from the breast, as recommend by health care professions

The winner can choose size small through x-large. Thanks again to Nursing Mother Supplies for this great giveaway.

WIN IT!:
To be entered to win the Body Silk Seamless Bra by Bravado, just leave me a comment and let me know if you are a pregnant or nursing mom or if you are trying to win this for a friend. (US residents only, please.) The winner will be chosen at noon Saturday, Jan. 31, using Random.org and notified via email so please be sure I have a way to get in touch with you.

Be sure to visit the other blogs participating in this round of Bloggy Giveaways. Good luck! :)

Stumble it!

If you live in the Western world, you’ve no doubt heard the catch phrases “Babies were born to be breastfed” and “Breast is Best.” Many women start out with the best of intentions for breastfeeding their new bundles of joy, but sometimes circumstances beyond their control can cause interruptions in early breastfeeding relationships. Talk of jaundice, biliruben levels and supplementing with formula are not things many parents are prepared to be confronted with just days after their child’s birth. So what should you do if you find yourself suddenly dealing with the unexpected?

After experiencing a labor and birth with my daughter that was unlike anything I had anticipated, breastfeeding seemed to be the one thing that was going in our favor. Ava came into the world as they say, born to breastfeed. Although I had a little trouble with her latch initially, with some help from a nurse we soon seemed to be well on our way. She would eagerly latch on and spend 30 to 45 minutes on each breast, nursing contentedly. Then a pediatrician (not her’s, but one in her pediatrician’s practice) told us that she was jaundice and not only did he recommend that she go under the bilirubin lights (in the form of a bili-blanket, thankfully in my hospital room), he also wanted me to supplement with formula to help flush the jaundice out of her system. Formula? But, but, but, I’m exclusively breastfeeding. We even had a note on her bassinet in the hospital saying, “I’m a breastfed baby. No artificial nipples or bottles please.” I had every intention of breastfeeding her exclusively and now it seemed that even that wouldn’t happen. Not knowing what else to do, I acquiesced and allowed my husband Jody and/or a nurse to feed her formula from a bottle, while I continued to nurse her ’round the clock. I absolutely did not want to give her a bottle myself because I wanted to avoid confusing her. I wanted Ava to know I was the one with the breasts and that those breasts were the only way she was getting nourishment from me. (Kellymom states: “If your baby is less than 3-4 weeks old, it is best to avoid the use of a bottle for a couple of reasons: regular use of a bottle instead of breastfeeding can interfere with mom’s efforts to establish a good milk supply; bottle use also increases baby’s risk of nipple confusion or flow preference.”) Little did I know that I could have given the formula to her myself actually from my breast and avoided a bottle all together had anyone at the hospital told me about something called a Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) or lactation aid. “A lactation aid consists of a container for the supplement — usually a feeding bottle with an enlarged nipple hole — and a long, thin tube leading from this container.” The tube is taped onto the woman’s breast, allowing the baby to nurse at the breast and receive expressed breast milk, formula, glucose water, etc. at the same time. So why wasn’t an SNS mentioned to me - a mother who wanted to breastfeed exclusively and obviously wanted to avoid nipple confusion that could come from introducing a bottle so early? Are other hospitals recommending SNS to breastfeeding moms?

Thankfully, Ava did not suffer from nipple confusion and took to the breast well every time (and, if you are familiar with my previous posts you know she ended up breastfeeding for a long time), but that’s not the case for everyone. Many babies who are offered a bottle before they are ready to differentiate between mom’s breast and a rubber nipple have trouble with their latch or will refuse to latch onto the breast at all.

Nell who blogs at Casual Friday Everyday gave birth to her third son Dash just two weeks ago. When her pediatrician (note: not her usual pediatrician) determined that Dash had jaundice - which was not unexpected since her other two sons had it as well - she was told he needed to go to the NICU. That news, however, came out of left field and was completely unexpected. Neither of her other kids received any special treatment for jaundice.

I almost couldn’t process what was being said. Like it wasn’t really sinking in. We walked down to the NICU with our tiny little baby - a place with a few other babies with jaundice also. They removed his clothing and began hooking him up to everything.

We set up a time that I’d be back to nurse him and my husband and I left; left our newborn baby all alone, under lights, with strangers. I cry just writing about this.

I walked back up to our floor empty handed and broken-hearted. My heart felt like it had been shattered. Like part of me was missing - well, because it was. Every single part of me wanted to run back into the NICU, grab him and run out of the hospital.

Dash also received formula from a bottle to help treat the jaundice, and Nell believes, the combination of him being taken to the NICU and use of the bottle contributed to the nipple confusion they are now trying to overcome.

This has been a particularly difficult thing for Nell because she struggled with breastfeeding issues like tongue-tie and thrush with her first two children and was determined that this time, with Dash, the breastfeeding relationship would be different.

This baby was going to be different. I was determined not to introduce a bottle to him. To avoid the nipple confusion. To nurse well into his first year, if not longer. And then unexpectedly he was put into the NICU and supplemented with a bottle. Had I been offered the option of an SNS I would have taken it in a heart beat.

Again, why wasn’t a SNS (lactation aid) offered to this breastfeeding mom? And was it really necessary for them to take a jaundice baby to the NICU?

Since leaving the hospital, Nell and Dash have also developed thrush, but she is determined to make breastfeeding work this time around and is reaching out for help.

I’m not ready to give up even though this has turned into the most difficult experience of all three.

I have reached out to the local LLL gals in my area for help. I’ve explained my problems via email and asked for a phone call. I’m going to attend the meetings for one on one help. And I’m going to try some Thrush remedies that don’t require a doctor to prescribe them.

I think Nell did one of the most important things a woman who find herself in these situations can do - reach out for help. Call another breastfeeding mom, call La Leche League, call a lactation consultant (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). Call or email someone who can point you in the right direction of the resources and support you need to help you succeed.

Carina of Greetings from the Jet Set had a difficult time getting a good breastfeeding relationship started with her son after a fill-in pediatrician, concerned that her two-day-old son was jaundiced, recommended she supplement her nursing with an ounce of formula after each feeding. The supplementation took place via bottle, her son suffered from nipple confusion and her supply dropped a great deal. After her son’s two week appointment, she sought out a lactation consultant and was able to figure out a good latch and taught how to use a SNS. “After a few weeks of that, my supply righted itself and we went on our way.” She told me on Twitter, “I tell everyone that while they are short term WORK, they yield long term results. 1-2 wks of SNS yielded 2.5 years.” That is to say that she used the SNS for one to two weeks and, as a result of the reestablished breastfeeding relationship, she was able to nurse her son for 2 1/2 years.

Carina, a self-described lactivist, also responded to a woman’s question on Yahoo on this very topic. The woman wrote, “Doctor told me that my breast milk is increasing his jaundice level, so I was told to give him formula milk and breast milk alternatively.” She asked, “how long will I be asked to give him formula milk? When will he be switched completely to breast milk?”

Carina replied, “your doctor gave you outdated advice. It is NO LONGER advised for you to stop breastfeeding and give formula.” She then quoted several articles that support her claim. The first is from Dr. Jack Newman.

Breastmilk jaundice peaks at 10-21 days, but may last for two or three months. Breastmilk jaundice is normal. Rarely, if ever, does breastfeeding need to be discontinued even for a short time. Only very occasionally is any treatment, such as phototherapy, necessary. There is not one bit of evidence that this jaundice causes any problem at all for the baby. Breastfeeding should not be discontinued “in order to make a diagnosis”. If the baby is truly doing well on breast only, there is no reason, none, to stop breastfeeding or supplement with a lactation aid, for that matter. The notion that there is something wrong with the baby being jaundiced comes from the assumption that the formula feeding baby is the standard by which we should determine how the breastfed baby should be. This manner of thinking, almost universal amongst health professionals, truly turns logic upside down. Thus, the formula feeding baby is rarely jaundiced after the first week of life, and when he is, there is usually something wrong. Therefore, the baby with so called breastmilk jaundice is a concern and “something must be done”. However, in our experience, most exclusively breastfed babies who are perfectly healthy and gaining weight well are still jaundiced at five to six weeks of life and even later. The question, in fact, should be whether or not it is normal not to be jaundiced and is this absence of jaundice something we should worry about? Do not stop breastfeeding for “breastmilk” jaundice.

According to Breastfeeding Basics:

In most cases, jaundice is a normal, possibly even beneficial process that can be managed without interrupting breastfeeding. The treatment for physiologic jaundice is more breastfeeding rather than less, and sick babies with pathologic jaundice need breastmilk even more than healthy babies. Even in rare cases where the jaundice is caused by the breastfeeding, there is no reason to wean and every reason to continue giving your baby the best possible nourishment - mother’s milk. In most cases, jaundice is a normal, possibly even beneficial process that can be managed without interrupting breastfeeding. The treatment for physiologic jaundice is more breastfeeding rather than less, and sick babies with pathologic jaundice need breastmilk even more than healthy babies. Even in rare cases where the jaundice is caused by the breastfeeding, there is no reason to wean and every reason to continue giving your baby the best possible nourishment - mother’s milk.

According to a La Leche League article:

In an article in the November 1990 issue of BREASTFEEDING ABSTRACTS, Kathi Kemper, MD, MPH, suggests that prolonged hospitalization, phototherapy, and the interruption of breastfeeding may be unnecessary and even harmful for the mother and for the infant with normal neonatal jaundice. She writes, “In the case of healthy term infants who are jaundiced, the treatment could be worse than the disease.”

So what is going on here? Why are hospitals treating jaundice this way if it’s a “normal, possibly even beneficial process?” Is the real problem that pediatricians attitudes about breastfeeding are deteriorating?

I think educating one’s self is always a good thing. Of course, it’s impossible to prepare for every possible scenario, but if a woman knows in advance that breastfeeding jaundice is a normal occurrence and isn’t always a cause for concern, then perhaps she can make better informed choices with regard to her child’s care. If she and her doctor decide that supplementation is necessary, then knowing about a SNS/lactation aid and asking for the help of a lactation consultant could be invaluable. And then, if a woman finds herself in a situation where, for whatever reason, she has trouble with breastfeeding, knowing where to look for help at the first sign of trouble is key. It’s also helpful for family and friends to know what to do (and not to do) to support a breastfeeding mother.

Lastly, there’s an eye-opening article that ties into this topic nicely on Today’s Parent called “Nursing Confidential: Breastfeeding can be one of the biggest challenges of new motherhood. Now 7,000 Today’s Parent readers tell us why.”

What was your early breastfeeding relationship like? Did you have to overcome any obstacles? How did you do it?

Cross-posted on BlogHer

Stumble it!

As I found myself watching and live Tweeting the 20/20 episode on Extreme Motherhood on ABC Friday night, I felt disappointed that once again mainstream media had let me down. It didn’t come as a complete surprise, but I really had hoped for better from them.

The show, for those of you who were occupying your time with better things (wise choice), consisted of segments on Orgasmic Birth, fake babies - women who buy Reborn dolls and treat them very much like real babies (um, yes, it was more than a little freaky), long-term (extended) breastfeeding - including a mention of 2 1/2 yr old twins still nursing (uh, what’s extreme about that?) as well as a few older children, serial surrogates, and home birth. The majority of the time seemed to be spent on the fake babies and the serial surrogates, with lesser amounts devoted to the rest. The least amount of time (and what I felt should have received the most) went to home birth.

The home birth segment had very brief interviews with Ricki Lake and Abbie Epstein (producers of Business of Being Born) and Laura Shanley (author of Unassisted Childbirth). There were no interviews with any midwives. There was no talk of the training midwives go through or the preparation that women who choose unassisted birth generally undertake. It all seemed very much focused on fear rather than offering up real information. The AMA says blah, blah, blah - nothing we haven’t heard before.

One of my main issues with the show was that it was not objective journalism at all. The correspondents spewed a lot of shock value comments instead of asking intelligent, thought-provoking questions. Maybe I’m naive to expect better from them.

Overall, I have to say I’m sorry I wasted my time watching it. I felt it was very exploitative. 20/20 gets a big ol’ Twitter Fail Whale from me. I don’t feel the show gave much, if any, useful information, except maybe some women will seek out Business of Being Born or Orgasmic Birth (which has a lot more to it than the name implies) after watching 20/20.

For those of you who are looking for some real information, you might be interested in reading my thoughts (and others’ thoughts) on orgasmic birth - Giving Birth can be good, ecstatic and even orgasmic or long-term breastfeeding Breastfeeding until age 3, 4 or 5 - more common than you think? - including a list of moms who have breastfed older children. I’ve also written about planning for a home birth and my home birth story.

Stumble it!

When my daughter was born four and a half years ago, I had no plan for how long I would breastfeed her, I just knew that I would start off breastfeeding and then go with the flow. It so happens that in our case going with the flow meant that one month shy of her fourth birthday she was still nursing (albeit only once a day), and as I would soon discover, we weren’t the only ones on this path.

I wrote my thoughts about this shortly before her fourth birthday in a post titled On Nursing a Preschooler.

I didn’t set out to nurse a preschooler, but somehow along the way, my sweet little baby grew from an infant to a toddler and eventually blossomed into a preschooler in what now seems like the blink of an eye. I am confident this won’t go on forever and when I look back on this time when she’s 10 or 20 or 30, and I look at the young woman she’s become, I am hopeful that I will feel good about the choices I made and have no regrets.

When I wrote that post I was feeling rather isolated and wondered if there were others who’d chosen (either deliberately or unintentionally) to take the long-term (a preferred alternative term to “extended”) breastfeeding route. I soon got my answer. I received 62 comments on that post. Amazingly none of them were negative and several came from women saying that they too nursed an older child and many thanked me for talking about it openly.

Lisa from The Joy of Six said, “I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve nursed mine until they stopped which has been anywhere from 14 mo to 4. Thanks for letting all those ‘closet nursing’ mommies know they aren’t alone.”

Melissa at Through My Window said: “The whole time I was nursing both of my girls past the age of 4 I always wished that I could talk about it and that more moms were willing to admit that they were nursing for a long time too. My girls only nursed at nap-time and bedtime as they became older which meant only 1-2 times/day. Of course, they are weaned now, but I have no regrets and I would absolutely nurse future children as long.”

Liesl from Come, Mommy, who was tandem nursing both her 4 1/2 year old and baby at the time, said:

Got a 4.5 year-old-nursling over here! Sometimes it is a lot to nurse two, but on the other hand, it’s one of the few times Liam will settle down for a bit. Then after he nurses, he’ll sit around and chat, and that’s when I often find out the things on his mind. And I think it’s eased his transition to brotherhood as well. Nursing a 4 year old is a very different thing than nursing a baby, and it is most definitely not for everyone, but overall I’m glad I stayed with it.

Nina (no blog listed) said:

I think it is important for those who think breast feeding a preschooler is *bad* that in many, many parts of the world this is quite normal. Only with the invasion of TVs and computers (whereby the views of more advanced countries are shown) have many moms stopped breastfeeding after about 1 year….they seem to think that the entire world is like that….

My mother was a midwife before she married my father and she very, very strongly rec. breast feeding until the child was ready to wean on his/her own….and this was back in the 50’s!

Heather at A Mama’s Blog shared with me a story from her former employer:

My old boss told me an interesting story a few years ago. He was in his 60’s at the time, and grew up in the country. He said when he went to school at lunch time the “little” boys about ages 6 and 7 would go home to nurse. There wasn’t a lot of food at that time, and the mothers also used it as a form of birth control.

I thought that was pretty interesting that just in the 1940’s, nursing a 6 and 7 year old was perfectly acceptable. Too bad we have come so far in the other direction in the last 60 years.

I also took an informal poll (if you will) on Twitter to see if others are nursing or have nursed children ages 3 and up. I was rather surprised by the number of replies I received.

• YogaLaura who blogs at Reflections on Yoga nursed her two children until they were 4 and 4 1/2 years old.
• CecilyC who owns CCSEO said, “My son nursed till he was 3 and a half. Seems perfectly natural to me!!”
• RamaMamma who writes at Possum and Bee said, “I breastfed my son until he was almost 4. Our last photo of him having a feed was in Jan ‘08, two months before his birthday.”
• EverydayYogini who blogs at Everyday Yogini nursed her daughter Clara until she was a little over 3.
• RockCandyTV founder of RockCandy.tv said she breastfed both of her kids until they were almost 4.
• GlamGranola who blogs at Crunchy with Style! nursed her son until he was 3+ and is nursing her daughter who is over 2 and showing no signs of weaning.
• CarrieLee from Natural Moms Talk Radio said her 3-year-old daughter is still nursing and her 5 1/2 year old nursed for the last time just a couple of months ago. Her other two children weaned at age 4 1/2. She wrote about her experiences of nursing through a pregnancy and tandem nursing.
• Another blogger, who chose to remain anonymous, said she nursed two of her children until they were about age 5.
• AshleeAllen, blogger of This Mama’s Nest, is in the process of weaning her 3-year-old son.
• Anaed, who blogs at Walking Barefoot on the Earth, breastfed her daughter until her 4th birthday and says that while it wasn’t always easy, the thing she enjoyed about nursing her until she was 4 was that she still had that “connection.”
• Spooky Girl from Spookiez Spot is still nursing her 3-year-old son.
• ErinEly owner of Ely Organics nursed both of her children, a daughter and a son, in the early 1990s for 4.2 years.
• ZRecsMom of the zrecs network is practicing child-led weaning and said her 4 1/2 year old daughter is “slooooowly weaning. Down to one right before bed and it lasts about four seconds total. Sometimes, not at all.”
• Sillysgood breastfed her daughter until just after her third birthday.
• Savvydoula who blogs at Savvy Doula said, “My son nursed until age 3, my daughter til age 4, and both tandem’d for 10 months.”
• Meant2beaMom who blogs at Perfectly Natural Photography said her oldest two kids were 3 when they weaned and her youngest weaned just a few months shy of his fourth birthday.

Tomorrow evening, Jan. 2, barring any late-breaking big news stories, ABC’s 20/20 is set to air an episode featuring segments on long-term (extended) breastfeeding, as well as home birth (both with and without midwives), serial surrogates (women that have numerous babies for other women), “fake babies” (life-like dolls), and orgasmic birth. I believe the title for the show is “Extreme Mothering.” You can see a preview of the breastfeeding segment, which included an interview with the mother of a 6-year-old boy who still nurses, as well as an interview with the boy, on ABC News.

Although I put together a decent little list of mothers and children who are long-term breast-feeders (and that’s without searching on the ‘net for other bloggers or celebrities - yes, there are some), there will, undoubtedly, still be those who think it is weird, gross, damaging, or just plain wrong. If you find yourself in that camp, you might want to consider the following.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Pediatricians and parents should be aware that exclusive breastfeeding is sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months of life‡ and provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection. Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child.” AAP goes on to say, “There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer.” (AAP 2005)
• The World Health Organization recommends “infants should be exclusively breastfed(1) for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health(2). Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.“
• The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that breastfeeding continue throughout the first year of life and that “Breastfeeding beyond the first year offers considerable benefits to both mother and child, and should continue as long as mutually desired.” They also note that “If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned.” (AAFP 2001)
• Former US Surgeon General Antonio Novello, MD has stated that it is a lucky baby who continues to nurse until age two.
• When to Stop Breastfeeding Your Child: A Case for Extended Nursing includes the many benefits of extended nursing
• Additionally, there are more position statements from various organizations linked up on KellyMom

But wait, there’s more. According to Summer Minor in her post Is 4 too old to be breastfed?,”Biologically, 4 years is still in the normal range for humans.”

The book Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives contains a wonderful section called “A Time to Wean: The Hominid Blueprint for a Natural Age of Weaning in Modern Human Populations.” by Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D. Dr. Dettwyler is an award winning anthropologist, professor, and breastfed her daughter until she was 4 years old. In the section Dettwyler compares various primates, including humans, to find what the biological norm would be for humans. She found that the natural age for modern humans based on our size, development, and life span is between 2.5 years and 7 years. A child still nursing at 4 years old is normal, natural, and OK.

If you find yourself long-term nursing your child, there’s a good chance that at some point you will run into criticism from others. La Leche League International has some good advice for handling criticism from family, friends or even complete strangers.

If you’re facing criticism, remember that they may simply be uninformed about the benefits of extended breastfeeding or perhaps they feel guilt about their own parenting choices. Consider responding to unwelcome comments by:

• Ignoring: walking away or changing the subject.
• Informing: sharing books, articles, or a medical professional’s thoughts on extended nursing.
• Using Humor: making a joke about the situation or yourself, not the other person.
• Acknowledging: recognizing the person’s viewpoint and asking further questions without agreeing or disagreeing
• Empathizing: being empathetic to demonstrate that you understand the other person’s feeling and meaning (Vakiener 1999).

Dr. William Sears has some advice about handling the criticism as well. Here are some things he suggests you keep in mind:

• Science is on your side.
• World opinion is on your side.
• It’s better for your health.
• It’s better for your toddler’s behavior.
• Blame it on your doctor.
• Let your child silence the critics.

For more information about each of these suggestions, visit Ask Dr. Sears: Extended Breastfeeding — Handling the Criticism.

There’s additional information about Handling Criticism about Breastfeeding at KellyMom.

Speaking of KellyMom, which is a wonderful resource for all things breastfeeding, if you are the mother of a long-term nurser and are looking for support, check out their forums. There’s a forum for nursing children ages 3 and up. There are also forums for the toddler years - ages 12-24 months and ages 24-36 months.

While I decided to focus primarily on older children in this post, many women on Twitter chimed in that they are nursing their kids to age two as well, including: Reiza at Stepping Off the Spaceship, Summer at Wired for Noise, Mom Most Traveled, Annie at PhD in Parenting, Sherri at Recovering Sociopath, and Sara (who was breast-fed herself until age 4 1/2) at Custom-Made Milk, among others.

While I’m sure some of my relatives thought my daughter would nurse “forever,” I can assure you she did not. Her last nursing was on Oct. 3, 2008, at age 4 years, 3 months and 11 days. It was mostly child-led, although I did nudge her a bit at the end. I felt that she was ready, but needed a little extra push (and I knew I was ready). It was bittersweet, but I think it went quite smoothly. I hope to write about the experience one day soon before I forget it. It is yet to be seen what my son will decide to do. As for now, he’s still going strong nursing at 25 months.

It is my hope that as a result of segments like the one on 20/20 and the fact that more women are feeling comfortable speaking out about long-term nursing (as evidenced by all of the comments and Tweets I received), that others will not feel like they need to be “closet nursers” nor feel pressured by family, friends or society in general to wean before they feel it is right for them and their child. Let’s trust our judgment to do what’s right for our child and trust the judgment of other moms to do what’s right for their child too.

Cross-posted on BlogHer. I’d love it if you’d share your comments there too! :)

Stumble it!

I know I just wrote about this topic last week, but I have more to share and wrote about it for BlogHer this week.

Last week, Lisa Belkin, parenting blogger at The NY Times, wrote about the upcoming 20/20 special on the film “Orgasmic Birth.” The topic apparently hit a nerve with many, many people as she quickly received more than 500 comments.

Many people, as to be expected, are skeptical.

Mir of Woulda Coulda Shoulda had the most humorous response I read to the idea.

As soon as I

1) Find a man with a 9-pound penis
and
2) Become drunk enough to let him put it inside me for thirty hours at a time

I’ll definitely see if those conditions can result in an orgasm.

But until then? Whatever, man.

Catherine, who blogs at Her Bad Mother, had similar feelings and said, “Me, personally …? I think that I’ll stick to getting my orgasms the old-fashioned way.”

The day after Lisa Belkin’s initial NY Times post she followed up with About that orgasmic birth… and went into a little more detail about the responses she received, the film and one of the women featured in the film.

I was not surprised at the number of comments that dismissed the possibility as a fairytale. I was very surprised at the number of women who wrote to say that they had experienced what the film explored. I was a little distressed at the hostility the first of these groups showed to the second. And I was somewhat surprised, and very pleased, to receive an e-mail from Tamra Larter, one of the subjects of the film, who had been following all the comments, and wanted to make a few of her own.

It’s really worth it to click over there to read what Ms. Larter had to say about the film and her birthing experience, but here’s a snippet.

“I hope people will see the film,” she wrote. “Then they will see that it is about much more than the title suggests. There are many choices and possibilities when it comes to birth.”

And she uses the word “orgasm” with conditions. “I never claimed to have a pain-free birth,” she wrote, “but laboring with my daughter was awesome and for the most part felt really good.” The actual “orgasmic experience” did not feel like the climax of sex, she says, but rather “sensations which were something different than sex, but similar enough I feel O.K. using the word orgasmic. It was a wonderful feeling.”

She also confessed that upon first hearing about the idea of orgasmic birth, she thought it was “gross,” “weird,” and “not possible,” but said it was before she had had any children and the only childbirth she had seen had been on TV.

After reading many comments and several blogs about this, I clicked over to the Orgasmic Birth web site, where I watched the trailer (again). The first time I watched it was many months ago and I felt a refresher was in order.

I admit that even with all of the birth videos I’ve watched in the past and my “crunchy” ways, it makes me shift uncomfortably in my seat to hear a woman making pleasurable sounds while in childbirth (or in any situation really). And yet, I see the whole “orgasmic birth” thing as being just a small piece of the film, and believe it is titled the way it is to grab our attention. (And it’s certainly worked, hasn’t it?) I still believe, as I wrote on my blog over a week ago, “that it does not appear they are not saying all women will have an orgasm or that an orgasm should even be the goal. I think the point is moreso that birth can be a good experience.”

Marsden Wagner, MD, who is interviewed in the film, makes an excellent point about childbirth saying, “It’s got to be like it is when you make love with someone. It’s got to be safe, secure and uninterrupted. And that is how you have an orgasmic birth.”

I do not want to turn this into a debate over home birth vs. hospital birth, but having had both types of births I will say I felt much more safe, secure and uninterrupted at home than I did in the hospital. Although I’m sure it’s possible, I think that for the most part, these “orgasmic births” are much more likely to occur in a birthing center or home environment than in the hospital.

I think the term “orgasmic birth” is subject to interpretation too and noticed that on the Orgasmic Birth site, in their call for birth stories they say, “Please share your ecstatic or orgasmic birth story with us.” I would never say that I had an orgasm while giving birth to my son, but the experience was amazingly intense and was one of the most empowering moments in my life. Does that mean it was an orgasmic birth? Maybe. Was it an ecstatic birth? I believe it was.

Ninotchka had an empowering birth experience as well and commented about it on my blog:

I can’t say that I had an orgasm while giving birth. But after birthing Elle right into my hand, I felt so triumphant and organically happy that I would certainly call that feeling “orgasmic.” It all happened so fast and we’d waited so long for that little sweetheart. It was a definite rush and I was absolutely elated.

I think giving birth will always conjure up different ideas and feelings for different people. No two births are exactly the same and I think that’s the way it should be. Innerbrat summed it all up nicely when she said, “The important thing here, as with everything regarding women’s health, is to give women the ownership of our own bodies, so we can make an informed, conscious decision about what’s best for us and our children; and the first and best way to be informed is to openly talk about the subject.”

ABC’s 20/20 special on Orgasmic Birth, which will also include segments on home birth (unassisted and midwife-attended) and long-term breastfeeding, is currently set to air Friday, Jan. 2, 2009.

Cross-posted on BlogHer.

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This morning President-elect Barack Obama reaffirmed his strong commitment to health care reform. The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) believes that breastfeeding is an “essential public health issue” and should be a high priority for the incoming administration. In light of this, the USBC has created a petition urging President-elect Obama to make breastfeeding a high priority. The petition is up to more than 6400 signatures and growing.

USBC points out that beyond the numerous health benefits to both mother and child, breastfeeding also provides “significant economic and environmental benefits for families, employers, and society.” According to the USBC (definitions in parentheses are mine):

Excess health care costs totaling more than $4 billion must be paid by the U.S. health care system each year to treat otitis media (middle ear infection), gastroenteritis (infection or irritation of the stomach and intestines), and necrotizing enterocolitis (an acute inflammatory disease occurring in the intestines of premature infants) – childhood diseases and conditions preventable or reduced by breastfeeding. When prevention of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions is factored in, the potential economic benefits of breastfeeding are significantly greater.

The petition calls for President-elect Obama to:

1. Instruct the Surgeon General to issue a statement in support of breastfeeding urging all sectors (governmental and non-governmental) involved in supporting women, children, and families to improve their breastfeeding policies.

2. Enact a national paid family leave policy.

3. Endorse the World Health Organization’s International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes as well as the Global Strategy for Infant & Young Child Feeding.

4. Ask the Federal Trade Commission to monitor infant formula marketing.

5. Ask the Food and Drug Administration to include labeling on powdered infant formula warning that it is not sterile and providing instructions on how to properly reconstitute it.

6. Highlight the benefits for employers of workplace breastfeeding support programs as part of your program to promote flexible work arrangements.

7. Urge all insurers to cover lactation care and support services.

8. Approve an increase in breastfeeding support funds for the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), especially to support the peer counseling program.

9. Instruct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to recommend that all hospitals achieve the Baby-Friendly designation.

10. Ensure that emergency management agencies are trained in breastfeeding support and have breastfeeding supply kits available for distribution in emergencies.

If you agree, I hope you will sign the petition too.

Also this morning President-elect Obama appointed former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and Director of the new White House Office on Health Reform.

In his remarks, Secretary-designate Daschle appealed to Americans to play an active role in health reform by signing up to lead a health care discussion — a series of meetings everyday people are hosting, in which they’ll gather ideas and report back to the Transition’s Health Policy Team. The team will then incorporate the results into its recommendations for the Obama-Biden administration. He said it’s up ordinary Americans to “share their ideas about what’s broken and how to fix it” by leading a health care discussion.

This looks like another great opportunity to impress upon the incoming administration the need to make breastfeeding a priority.

Angela White at Breastfeeding 123 remarks, “What if politicians learned of something they could do to lower health care costs yet improve infant and maternal health at the same time? Doesn’t that sound like something everyone could and should get behind?”

Marijke from Womb Within says:

Although we know about the benefits of breastfeeding and that it helps lower healthcare costs in so many ways, encouraging and offering much needed assistance to new mothers who encounter problems is still not a priority in the United States.

The government had produced a plan and came up with realistic targets, Healthy People 2010 Breastfeeding Targets, that were only met by a few states. (If you click on the Healthy People link, that gives you a pdf document report card.)

2010 is just one year away (wow, that snuck up on me!) and, according to the “breastfeeding report card,” there is still a lot of work to be done to meet the breastfeeding targets.

API Speaks, the blog of Attachment Parenting International, and Tanya at Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog are also encouraging people to sign the petition.

Heather at A Mama’s Blog recently wrote a post about melamine found in United States infant formula and then a follow-up post about the FDA’s “irresponsible” response to the melamine where they state that trace amounts of melamine are safe. She points out that beyond the health benefits, there is the added peace of mind that comes from breastfeeding because you don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals, like trace amounts of melamine, showing up in formula, as has been the case first (in larger amounts) in China and now in the United States.

It is my hope that President-elect Obama will take the petition seriously and, with the help of Tom Daschle, make the positive changes needed to create an environment where not only can we achieve our national breastfeeding targets, but women and their families can be successful in reaching their personal breastfeeding goals too.

Cross-posted on BlogHer

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Hi, readers of Crunchy Domestic Goddess. My name is Hannah and I blog at A Mother in Israel about life with my six kids, parenting, and homemaking, along with social commentary about life in Israel. I also volunteer as a breastfeeding counselor. Last week I attended a conference with breastfeeding expert Diane Wiessinger. You can read my introductory post here.

Israel, aside from being a center of international conflict, is a developed country of seven million with a high birth rate. A lactation consultant told me that in her town of 30,000, enough children are born to fill six kindergarten classes every month.

In Israel breastfeeding is the default option, at least in theory. You don’t hear much about the choice to breast or bottlefeed, and mothers are expected to nurse in the hospital. But hospital routines are rigid, and in some cases babies still sleep in the nursery at night–with the mother needing to request a wake-up call that may or may not happen. Babies often get one or more bottles in the hospital. Outside of hospitals formula companies promote their products freely, even though Israel is a signatory to the WHO Code of Marketing Substitutes.

Israeli mothers receive 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, up from 12 thanks to a recent law. Fathers can replace mothers at home after the first six weeks. Mothers also get a “nursing hour,” working one hour less daily, for an additional four months and in some cases up to a year of age. (Bottle-feeding mothers get it too.) La Leche League and other volunteer organizations are active, and the number of IBCLCs (International Board Certified Lactation Consultants) has grown exponentially, but medical professionals lack knowledge and most mothers don’t make it past a few weeks or months.

A few years ago, several babies died because one type of imported soy formula lacked Vitamin B1. This caused a temporary upswing in breastfeeding rates. Unlike in the US, nursing in public is barely an issue.

One of Wiessinger’s talks is called, “Watch Your Language.” When discussing the talk with friends, I found that moms get defensive when they hear about the risks of bottle-feeding. But by exploring the connection between language and breastfeeding, we don’t mean to chastise mothers for giving formula. Mothers are subject to many pressures and make decisions that work for their families. Mothers who wean early are the last ones we should blame.

We need to change the way our culture looks at breastfeeding. The breastfeeding rates of the United States and Israel are behind those of other western countries. Since babies and mothers are fundamentally the same, the problem must lie in the culture.

In her talk Wiessinger showed how the language used to talk about breastfeeding ultimately harms mothers and babies. We use imprecise language because we are afraid: Afraid of making Continue reading →

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It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since you tip-toed (quite literally since you were born feet first) into our lives. Having you as a part of our family is such a blessing, Julian. I love your kisses, “group hugs,” nose boops, and giggles so much.

It’s been incredible to watch your language explode over the past few months. It seems there’s nothing you can’t say these days, but my favorite words are, “I love you, Mommy,” followed closely by “cock-a-loo” (your name for chickens).

You show no fear and love to climb and swing on our tire swing. Sand and bugs are your friends.

You also love your sister Ava so much and enjoy being her shadow. I never tire of watching the two of you play together. Don’t get me wrong, you definitely have your squabbles, but the times when you lose yourselves in your imaginations together are the moments I want to make time stand still.

You are definitely exerting more of your independence over the past few months and some things we hear often from you these days are “uh-uh” and “don’t do dat.”

You still nurse on a semi-regular basis - before nap and bed and a few times throughout the day. I’m happy that you find both comfort and nourishment at the breast.

I love to watch you gallop across the room, whether you are riding a hobby horse or not. And nothing beats how cute you look when you run.

I can’t wait to see what this next year has in store for you. I know you have many grand adventures ahead as you continue to explore your world. Try not to grow too quickly, my love. I want you to grow up to be happy and healthy, but I want you to take your time for both our sakes. Please remember you will always be my baby boy.

I love you,
Mama

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Just a few frightening strange odds and ends from around the world:

• Baby formula in China tainted with melamine has resulted in the death of two children and more than 1,200 others have fallen ill with hundreds hospitalized. Melamine is a trimer of cyanamide.

  Melamine has also been found in yogurt in China.

  All the more reason I’m glad I was/am able to breastfeed my children and know exactly what they were ingesting. PhDinParenting feels similarly. Makes me think I should buy my own cow though, like my sister-in-law and family have done. If only we had the land for it (and chickens, ‘cuz by golly, I still want me some chickens).

• Dr. Phil apparently wants to make a mockery of home birth and is asking for negative home birth stories. The home birth community, rightly so in my opinion, has been in an uproar over this.From Dr. Phil’s site:
  DO YOU REGRET HAVING A HOME BIRTH?

  Did you have a child at your home?

  Did you want to have a soothing experience where you were in control and could bond with your child?

  Did it not go the way you planned?

  Do you regret having a home birth?

  Do you regret using a midwife instead of going to a hospital?

  Did you have your second child the traditional way in a hospital?

  If you or someone you know regrets having a home birth please tell us your story below.

  Be sure to be specific and include details!

  A response from the home birth community: Many of us are instead using this form to a) tell our horrible hospital stories, b) tell our great home birth stories, or c) just plain let Dr. Phil and his staff how bad we think this show concept is.

  Based on the number of emails I’ve received about this, I figure everyone under the sun is probably aware of it by now, but just in case that’s not the case, I’m passing it on. I still need to weigh in over there myself.
  

• The Corn Refiners Association has created several ads about high fructose corn syrup - watch them here - to prove that it’s “natural” and “OK in moderation.” I don’t know what your take on HFCS is (I’m against it), but if you check your labels, you’ll find it in just about everything. (Have you seen King Corn yet? Check it out.) Jody was shocked to come home with a loaf of bread the other day only to discover that it, too, had HFCS in it! For the record, the bread we usually buy from Costco does not have it.

  Anyway, there’s a great article over on BlogHer debunking the ads and sharing more information. And at 5 Minutes for Going Green, Beth writes that HFCS is the “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and brings up the environmental concerns as well.

What do you think about all of this? Kind of a lot to digest in one post, eh?

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