Link Round-up: World Breastfeeding Week 2012

Here are a couple of links from this past week's world celebration of breastfeeding!

I really like Donna's (Banned from Baby Showers) post on why Breastfeeding would be the one topic she'd preach on, if she had to pick only one platform. She lists why this issue, over intactivism or natural birth, because of the multitude of benefits that you can't get any other way (and a few personal reasons).

Both Annie from PhD in Parenting and Rebecca from Public Health Doula wrote about the controversy over NY Mayor Bloomgberg's Latch On campaign to implement Baby Friendly hospital practices in NYC. Basically, there has been a lot of misunderstanding about why he wants the formula to be regulated more tightly in hospitals, and commentators have been up in arms about how babies are going to go hungry. What it's really about is changing staff practices such as limiting staff access to formula, not advertise formula, and not give free formula samples. Annie's post describes why this is important for moms who want to breastfeed, and Rebecca explains what this really looks like when a hospital follows these practices and how it does not harm women who want to formula-feed.

An article at Women's E-News on why Lactation Consultants need to Diversify:

"Black women often find it easier to speak to my black lactation consultants or nurses. They understand each other from a cultural perspective and can relate to them in a different way than they are able to relate to me," says Sylvia Edwards, manager of lactation services at the University of Alabama Birmingham hospital and co-chair of the Alabama Breastfeeding Coalition.

The Huffington Post blog - World Breastfeeding Week Sucks According to this Lactation Consultant:

I really hate World Breastfeeding Week because much of the media takes it as an opportunity to attack those who wish to support mothers who breastfeed rather than celebrate their efforts to improve infant feeding. Every year I hope I will not have to read more faux feminist manifestos that denigrate the value of women who enjoy their care-giving roles.

A new bill in Israel states that "hospitals will now have to purchase formula by tender and that the formula provided to mothers who choose not to breastfeed will NOT be limited to one specific brand."

The blog of the International Lactation Consultant Association posted each day this week on a breastfeeding in a different country - Breastfeeding in Papua New Guinea, Hmong Women in California, Breastfeeding in Ireland, and Donor Milk for Babies in Canada