10 Steps for Effective Pumping

Whether you are going back to work, trying to increase your milk supply, or just need a little break from your baby, there are some great strategies for ways to maximize your pumping session(s). While your baby is usually your most efficient 'milk extractor', there are some definite tricks to help get your milk out with a pump. Denise Altman offers some amazing tips for pumping in this article. Hopefully these tips will help to make your pumping session(s) quick, easy, and painless!

Enjoy the article: Ten Steps for Effective Pumping

I’m Sick! Should I Continue to Breastfeed?

Many moms will ask me if they should continue to breastfeed when they have a cold or the flu. The answer is: ABSOLUTELY! Whether it be a mild virus, a bacterial infection, the flu, mastistis, you name it, the best thing you can do for your baby is to continue to breastfeed.

By the time your symptoms begin to appear, you have already been contagious for several days, therefore your baby has already been exposed to your illness. Since you started to come down with your illness, your body has been creating antibodies to fight off this illness. These antibodies, which are specific to your illness, have been transmitted to your baby through your breast milk and will continue to protect your baby throughout the entire time your body is fighting your illness. If your baby does happen to catch what you have, most likely it will not be nearly as severe as what you are dealing with. How amazing is that?

So if you find yourself feeling under the weather, wash your hands often, stay hydrated, breastfeed often, and stay away from medications (such as antihistamines) that may increase your risk for lowering your milk supply.

For more information about medications that are safe to take while breastfeeding, check out LactMed or call your local Lactation Consultant.

The Breastfeeding Mom’s Most Important Cheerleader

When I teach my prenatal breastfeeding classes, I often rate my success as a teacher by how well I am perceived by the significant other who attends the class with the pregnant mom. If a dad comes up to me and thanks me for the great class, I know that I have done my job. You see, if the pregnant mom signed up for the prenatal breastfeeding class, she has already made up her mind that she plans to breastfeed her child(ren). The significant other usually attends the class to show his/her support for the pregnant soon-to-be mom. This support is absolutely imperative in the mom's success to reach her breastfeeding goals. A mom needs her cheerleaders….significant others, friends, family members, yahoo-group friends, etc. …. to help her feel successful as a mother. Motherhood if challenging, especially the first time around; which is why we need our cheerleaders. If breastfeeding poses some challenges, it is this cheerleader who can either provide support and build confidence or slowly begin to offer that the mom give up.

This is why my prenatal breastfeeding class focuses more on creating support systems than positioning and latch. Lactation consultants can help to fix positioning and latch, but the cheerleaders are the ones who give the mom strength to meet her personal breastfeeding goals. It is the cheerleader who brings the mom water during the night and makes sure she eats enough healthy food throughout the day. It is the cheerleader who rubs mom's back and massages her shoulders as she feeds her baby 8 or more times in a 24 hr. period for the first few months of life. Again, it is the cheerleader who makes all the difference.

Wondering how to be the best cheerleader for a new mom? Here's your list to follow:

1. Before breastfeeding challenges arise, have a list of lactation consultants, La Leche League leaders, and breastfeeding support groups that you can contact to get help, if needed.
2. Breastfeeding a baby can take up a large portion of the day and night. Offer to help make dinner and take care of the home so mom can focus on getting breastfeeding off to a great start.
3. Find your own special ways to bond with the baby: snuggle after feedings to help the baby's milk digest more easily, hold the baby skin-to-skin, sing to the baby….these are just a few.
4. Discuss with mom what her breastfeeding goals are and do everything you can to support her and these goals.
5. Be proud to be a cheerleader! You role is irreplaceable!

The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding

FACT SHEET

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding outlines steps that can be taken to remove some of the obstacles faced by women who want to breastfeed their babies.

How many American women breastfeed their babies?

• Three out of four mothers (75%) in the U.S. start out breastfeeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2010 Breastfeeding Report Card.
  
• At the end of six months, breastfeeding rates fall to 43%, and only 13% of babies are exclusively breastfed.
  
• Among African-American babies, the rates are significantly lower, 58% start out breastfeeding, and 28% breastfeed at six months, with 8% exclusively breastfed at six months.
  
• The Healthy People 2020 objectives for breastfeeding are: 82% ever breastfed, 61% at 6 months, and 34% at 1 year.
  

What are the health benefits of breastfeeding?

• Breastfeeding protects babies from infections and illnesses that include diarrhea, ear infections and pneumonia.
  
• Breastfed babies are less likely to develop asthma.
  
• Children who are breastfed for six months are less likely to become obese.
  
• Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
  
• Mothers who breastfeed have a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
  

What are the economic benefits of breastfeeding?

• Families who follow optimal breastfeeding practices can save between $1,200–$1,500 in expenditures on infant formula in the first year alone.
  
• A study published last year in the journal Pediatrics estimated that if 90% of U.S. families followed guidelines to breastfeed exclusively for six months, the U.S. would annually save $13 billion from reduced medical and other costs.
  
• For both employers and employees, better infant health means fewer health insurance claims, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity.
  
• Mutual of Omaha found that health care costs for newborns are three times lower for babies whose mothers participate in the company's employee maternity and lactation program.
  

What obstacles do mothers encounter when they attempt to breastfeed?

• Lack of experience or understanding among family members of how best to support mothers and babies.
  
• Not enough opportunities to communicate with other breastfeeding mothers.
  
• Lack of up-to-date instruction and information from health care professionals.
  
• Hospital practices that make it hard to get started with successful breastfeeding.
  
• Lack of accommodation to breastfeed or express milk at the workplace.
  

What can the health care community do?

• More hospitals can incorporate the recommendations of UNICEF/WHO's Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
  
• Provide breastfeeding education for health clinicians who care for women and children.
  
• Ensure access to International Board Certified Lactation Consultants.
  

What can employers do?

• Start and maintain high-quality lactation support programs for employees.
  
• Provide clean places for mothers to breastfeed.
  
• Work toward establishing paid maternity leave for employed mothers.
  

What can community leaders do?

• Strengthen programs that provide mother-to-mother support and peer counseling.
  
• Use community organizations to promote and support breastfeeding.
  

What can families and friends of mothers do?

• Give mothers the support and encouragement they need to breastfeed.
  
• Take advantage of programs to educate fathers and grandmothers about breastfeeding.
  

What can policymakers do?

• Support small nonprofit organizations that promote breastfeeding in African-American communities.
  
• Support compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
  
• Increase funding of high-quality research on breastfeeding.
  
• Support better tracking of breastfeeding rates as well as factors that affect breastfeeding.
  

To order a printed copy of The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, call 1-800-CDC-INFO begin_of_the_skype_highlighting or email cdcinfo@cdc.gov and reference the publication title. For a downloadable copy, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov.

Supporting the Sisterhood Part 2

In my quest to provide healthy, quick, and easy recipes to new mamas, here is the second installment with a fabulous easy recipe for homemade pizza dough. I love this recipe because it is so easy to include a plethora of vegetables to spice up the flavor and add to the health benefits. Think broccoli, red peppers, spinach, etc. Prepare the dough in the morning (when babies like to sleep the most) and roll, add toppings, and bake for dinner (when babies tend to be the most fussy). Add a salad and you have a full, healthy meal! Enjoy!

Ashley Treadwell's Easiest Pizza Dough Ever:

4 cups of flour (I use 1 c whole wheat and 3 cup white)
2 1/4 tsp (or one packet) yeast
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 3/4 cup warm water

Add all dry ingredients to food processor and pulse to mix. Turn processor on and add olive oil. Add water slowly until dough forms a ball (you may not use all the water)
Let rest for 2 minutes.
Process for an additional 30 seconds.
Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until elastic and smooth (1-5 min). Put into oiled bowl and cover with saran wrap and leave to rise - 1-2 hours (or all day).

When you are ready to cook the pizza, divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll the dough, on a floured surface, into a circle. Add jarred sauce and pre-shredded cheese.

To cook: place pizza dough of a floured cookie sheet or pizza stone. Precook dough at 425 for 5-10 minutes. Then add the toppings and bane for an additional 10 minutes or so.

Supporting the Sisterhood

As a mom of a new baby, or a mom with any small-aged children, it can sometimes feel impossible to have any energy left to create a homemade meal. However, the best way to support your health, and your children's health, is with non-processed, homemade, healthy meals. So where can you find recipes for these meals? From the sisterhood! Here is your first recipe. I will be collecting recipes over the next few weeks and posting weekly on my blog, so that you will have a one-stop resource of quick, easy, healthy meals you can make to support your health and sanity. Enjoy!

If you have any to add to the collection, please feel free to post!

Baked Chicken and White Beans

From: Liz Ingle

2 large or 4 small chicken breasts (soaked in marinade for at least 1 hour)

1 can of Great Northern White Beans, rinsed and drained

½ small brown onion, diced

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon, plus ½ tsp. olive oil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon water

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

For marinade:

½ cup lite Italian dressing

½ teaspoon salt

¼ dry white wine

Directions:

For Chicken: Combine ingredients for marinade in a Ziploc bag, whisk together and add chicken to bag. Soak for at least an hour or up to overnight. Preheat oven to 365 degrees, add chicken to baking dish with a small portion of the marinade, cover with foil and bake for 30 min or until juice in chicken runs clear.

For Beans: In a medium saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and sauté until translucent. Add drained canned beans; stir to mix onions and beans. Add remaining olive oil and water. Heat ingredients together for a couple minutes, then reduce heat to low. Add the vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cover and let simmer on low until beans are soft and warm, approximately 5 – 10 min. Add additional water if needed (bean mixture should be moist so as not to burn in the pan).

Book Recommendations for New Moms

Over the past 5 years, I have been collecting books to help guide my lactation consultant practice, as well as my own journey through motherhood. My passion for practicing holistically has really grown, since I have seen such a benefit of using herbs, homeopathy, acupuncture, and better nutrition with my own family. I hope that you will find a useful resource in this book list to help you along in your own journey.

Breastfeeding:

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by Diane Wiessinger, Diana West, and Teresa Pitman

Everything you wanted to know about breastfeeding, from prenatal to weaning. This book is easy to read, incredibly informative, and has great web and LLLI resources.

The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk by Diana West and Lisa Marasco

Find the cause of your low milk supply; discover effective ways to make more milk; learn how to keep up your milk supply.

Mother Food by Hilary Jacobson

Food and herbs that promote milk production and a mother's health, with special sections on colic, allergy, depression, weight loss, and low milk supply.

Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and caring for twins and more by Karen Kerkhoff Gromada

A guide to breastfeeding and raising multiples, while maintaining individuality and family.

Sleep:

The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program by Polly Moore, Ph.D.

Teaches parents how to follow their babies' natural sleep rhythms for better night and naps.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

Gentle ways to help your baby sleep through the night.

Maternal Health:

Natural Health after Birth: the Complete Guide to Postpartum Wellness by Aviva Jill Romm

Herbs, nutrition, yoga and practical wisdom to help moms through the postpartum years.

Mothering the New Mother by Sally Placksin

A support and resource guide to mother's feeling and needs after childbirth.

After the Baby's Birth by Robin Lim

A practical guide to postpartum health, focusing on natural and holistic practices.

Infant/Toddler/Child Health:

Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Jill Romm

A guide to herbal remedies, nutrition, and health for your child's ailments.

The Holistic Baby Guide by Randall Neustaedter, OMD

A holistic approach to alternative care for common health problems of newborns, infants, and toddlers.

Child Health Guide by Randall Neustaedter, OMD

A holistic pediatrics guide for parents. Learn how to build a strong immune system, feed your child, and treat ailments at home without drugs.

Happy Baby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months by Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP and Amy Marlow, MPH, RD, CDN

A guide to healthy, green living with your newborn through toddler.

The Vaccine Book by Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP

Tools to help parents make informed decisions about each childhood vaccine.