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Alerts

Reauthorization of WIC for 2009

The Food and Nutrition Service of the US Department of Agriculture has just announced a request for public comments on the 2009 reauthorization of the WIC program. The reauthorization process provides Congress with an opportunity to examine the Federal nutrition assistance programs and consider making improvements to them. This is an important opportunity for breastfeeding advocates to submit their thoughts, experiences, and suggestions for enhancing breastfeeding support within WIC. Close to 50% of infants in the United States receive WIC benefits. This shows that much is at stake in the work to improve not only breastfeeding initiation rates but duration and exclusivity if we are to meet our national health goals.

The request for comments appeared in the May 20, 2008 issue of the Federal Register at
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-11236.pdf. Comments must be received by October 15, 2008. Please consider helping WIC do a better job by asking Congress not only to provide better funding but also to enhance how breastfeeding services are delivered.

 

Healthy People 2020

Since 1979, Healthy People has set and monitored national health objectives to meet a broad range of health needs, encourage collaborations across sectors, guide individuals toward making informed health decisions, and measure the impact of prevention efforts and activity. Every 10 years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reviews lessons learned from the past decade, along with new research, trends, and innovations and revises these national health goals.

Healthy People 2020 will reflect assessments of major risks to health and wellness, changing public health priorities, and emerging issues related to our nation's health preparedness and prevention. Public participation will shape Healthy People 2020, its purpose, goals, organization, and action plans. HHS is asking for input from communities and stakeholders through public meetings across the country and public comment periods. You can subscribe to the Healthy People listserv for the latest information on Healthy People 2020 and to receive e-mail notices of related news, events, publications, etc. See https://list.nih.gov/archives/healthypeople.html.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is convening five regional meetings to discuss the development of the framework for Healthy People 2020, the national health goals for the next decade. A sixth meeting is planned in the Washington, DC area (Bethesda, MD) to gain input from national organizations and other interested groups and individuals. You can register to attend these meetings at http://www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/regional/default.asp.

  • Atlanta, GA, March 17 – HHS Regions III and IV
  • San Francisco, CA, April 1 – HHS Regions IX and X
  • Fort Worth, TX, April 14 – HHS Regions VI and VII
  • Chicago, IL, April 30 – HHS Regions V and VIII
  • New York, NY, May 14 - HHS Regions I and II
  • Bethesda, MD, May 28 – DC Area Healthy People Stakeholders

Healthy People 2020 will be launched in two phases. The organizing framework, including the vision, mission, and overarching goals, will be issued in late 2008 or early 2009. The specific objectives, accompanied by strategies for achieving them, will be launched in 2010. You can provide feedback on various conceptual aspects and proposals for specific elements, including vision, mission, overarching goals, organizing framework, users, and implementation. Your general comments also are welcome at http://www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/comments/default.asp.

This is your chance to make your voice heard regarding what you feel is necessary to improve breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity. For information on the entire process go to: www.healthypeople.gov.

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The Breastfeeding Promotion Act

Rep Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, HR2236 in May of 2007.
It:

• amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding women from being fired or discriminated against in the workplace
• provides tax incentives for businesses that establish private, lactation areas in the workplace
• provides for a performance standard for breast pumps
• allows breastfeeding equipment to be tax deductible for families
The bill currently has 23 co-sponsors but needs at least 200 if it is to move through the legislative process. This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process where it is considered in committee and may undergo significant changes in markup sessions. The bill has been referred to the following committees:
House Ways and Means
House Energy and Commerce
House Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health
House Education and Labor
House Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Full text can be viewed at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-2236
The bill’s progress can be tracked at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2236

Advocates can help move this bill along by requesting that their congressional representative sign on and co-sponsor this bill, especially if he or she is a member of one of these committees. A quick way to write to your legislator is by visiting the Mom’s Rising website at

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=13731

where a letter can be sent by entering your name and address. The website determines who your representative is and sends the letter for you.

 

Petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The Cornucopia Institute and the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy have filed a petition with the FDA, urging them to require a label notice for all infant food products containing the DHA and ARA oils that are causing side effects in some infants. Please take a few minutes to compose a letter and send it along so that parents are made aware of the possibility of adverse effects from the use of infant formulas containing DHA and ARA. Federal agencies require hundreds of complaints before they take action.
For a sample letter and where to send it see http://cornucopia.org/index.php/take-action/
To view the petition see http://www.cornucopia.org/DHA/FDA_WarningLabel.pdf

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Petition to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The Cornucopia Institute and the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy have petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to investigate misleading advertising claims by formula manufacturers. Many parents fall prey to deceptive claims that their baby will be smarter or that DHA enhanced formulas are equivalent to human milk. This is an opportunity to inform the FTC that the ads are false and misleading and ask that they address the issue.                                                                                                                
To view the petition see http://www.cornucopia.org/DHA/FTC_Complaint.pdf                                 
To register a complaint when you see deceptive infant formula ads go to https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

News

Congress Threatens FDA With Subpoenas for Information on Approval of Infant Formula Contaminant

In a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) ­ the House Energy and Commerce Committee chair and its Investigations Subcommittee chair, demanded FDA provide information on why it ignored voluminous independent, peer-reviewed studies finding cause for concern over exposure to BPA, and instead used just two reports funded by the plastics industry when it claimed the chemical posed no risk to infants. '… it appears that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) position on BPA's safety is entirely dependent on two studies, both of which are funded by the American Plastics Council, and one of which has not been published or peer-reviewed. Given that there are dozens of published, peer-reviewed studies related to BPA, your development of critical public health policy in this manner, especially as related to infants and children, seems highly questionable,' wrote the lawmakers.

The full text of the Dingell/Stupak Letter to Commissioner von Eschenbach can be found at the Committee's website http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110-ltr.040408.FDA.ltrvonEschenbach.BPA.pdf


Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart & Playtex to go BPA-Free

According to reports from the Associated Press, retail giant Toys “R” Us plans to phase out all plastic baby bottles containing bisphenol A (BPA) from its stores by the end of the year, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. says it will stock only BPA-free bottles by early 2009. According to US News & World Report, Playtex has also committed to stop using BPA in its products. The chemical, commonly used in plastics such as those used in baby bottles, sippy cups and other children’s dishes, has increasingly raised safety concerns after rat studies have linked it to changes in behavior and the brain, premature puberty and pre-cancerous conditions in the breast and the prostate. Canada is currently considering a national ban on the use of BPA in baby bottles. To date, the National Toxicology Program in the United States has acknowledged “some concern” about the chemical’s use. For US News & World Report’s consumer guide to avoiding BPA, go to http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070808/8bisphenola.htm

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New Findings Support Breastfeeding-IQ Link

A large study published in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry finds that children who are exclusively breastfed for the first three months of life or longer score an average of nearly six points higher on IQ tests at the age of six than children who were not breastfed exclusively. The study, conducted among women from the eastern European country of Belarus, found benefits in both verbal and nonverbal intelligence. Previous studies have produced similar findings on the breastfeeding-intelligence connection, as well as finding that breastfed infants have fewer ear infections, diarrhea, allergies, rashes, hospital admissions and medical problems, compared to formula-fed babies. For the abstract, go to http://archpsyc.amaassn.org/cgi/content/short/65/5/578

 

CDC Survey: 77 Percent of New Mothers Try Breastfeeding

According to a CDC survey released last week, more than three-quarters of new mothers in the US breastfeed their infants for at least a brief period of time. The survey, part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, uses data from 434 infants. Indications are that the percentage of new mothers who try breastfeeding has steadily risen, from 60 percent in 1993-1994 to 77 percent in 2005 and 2006. The percentage of African American infants who were breastfed has increased from 36 to 65 percent during the same period, while the percentage of Hispanic breastfed infants increased from 67 to 80 percent. Rates are lowest among women who are low-income, rural, younger than age 20, unmarried and have a high school education or less. The survey did not report data on breastfeeding rates for infants six months of age and older.

Results were also not reported on rates and duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Breastfeeding was defined as ever having been breastfed or received breastmilk. To access the report of this survey, go to http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db05.htm

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The Business Case for Breastfeeding

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, has released its comprehensive resource kit to support working mothers. 

The Business Case for Breastfeeding targets multiple audience groups, including employers, human resource managers, employees, lactation consultants, and others involved in outreach with local businesses.  The kit includes 5 major components, including:  (1) The Business Case for Breastfeeding booklet; (2) Easy Steps to Supporting Breastfeeding Employees; (3) Tool Kit (including a CD-ROM with reproducible program implementation and promotion components); (4) Employees' Guide to Breastfeeding and Working; and (5) Outreach Marketing Guide (including a CD-ROM with reproducible materials that can be used in supporting working mothers and conducting outreach with businesses).

The complete kit (and three of the individual components) are available free of charge through the HRSA Information Center at 1-888-ASK-HRSA or  http://ask.hrsa.gov/SearchResults.cfm

MCHB will host a webcast on the project to provide basic information on how to use the resources on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST.  The webcast will also be archived for later retrieval.  To register visit
http://www.mchcom.com/
  
Representatives from 10 state breastfeeding coalitions were trained in January 2008 and are now conducting follow-up training for those in their state who would like to participate in the effort.  The 10 states are:

  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Indiana
  • Louisiana
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Texas
  • Utah
      

Anyone interested in this initiative is encouraged to contact their state breastfeeding coalition if they wish to participate in the training effort, or assist their state coalition with their worksite outreach program.

For more information on the project, contact Isadora Hare, Project Officer, at ihare@hrsa.gov. 

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New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s New Publication on Breastfeeding: Encouraging and Supporting Breastfeeding

City Health Information (CHI) is a publication produced by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) as a primary means of communicating public health information to the City's medical care community.

Each issue of CHI focuses on a timely public health topic and may include: descriptive data; data analysis; practice guidelines; reports from DOHMH; federal, state, and local mandates; helpful resources; and continuing medical education (CME) and continuing nursing education (CNE) activities. The publication's circulation is approximately 60,000. The recent document  entitled “Encouraging and Supporting Breastfeeding” is a CME activity that reached all physicians regardless of specialty as well as others subscribing to the publication. It serves as a wonderful template for other cities and states to follow for spreading accurate, evidence-based information on breastfeeding to health care providers, encouraging them to both promote and support breastfeeding. To read the entire document go to: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/chi/chi27-3.pdf

 

World Hall

World Hall is a new web resource that can be of real service to the breastfeeding community and beyond.  World Hall enables us to discuss policy issues, identify who can do something about them, propose actions and vote—to have our voices heard by those in positions to implement change.

This is a unique opportunity: World Hall is being launched in the breastfeeding community. Actions regarding ban the bags, breastfeeding in public, breastfeeding in the workplace, insurance coverage for lactation services and others are already posted on World Hall.  

World Hall is different than a breastfeeding listserv or blog. We will be joined in the conversation by activists in other areas allowing for cross conversation and voting, enriching all involved. Our active engagement in World Hall will raise the visibility of breastfeeding to all who are listening to and conversing on World Hall. World Hall is free and non-commercial. It was developed by students at the New England Complex Systems Institute (necsi.edu) with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is a great example of a major player that is watching the system and paying attention to the actions proposed and discussed.

Your active engagement in World Hall will help to raise the visibility of the issues we all work on every day. Please vote, add new actions, comments, and identify new issues and players. Share World Hall with others. Go to http://www.worldhall.org/breastfeeding.

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Workplace Breastfeeding Resource Kit Announced

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) has recently launched a Resource Kit focused on encouraging employers to establish, maintain and expand programs enabling their breastfeeding employees to continue breastfeeding their infants when they return to work. The Resource Kit, The Business Case for Breastfeeding, is a comprehensive product, with separate sections geared to business managers, human resource managers, employees, breastfeeding advocates, and others who are able to reach out to small, medium, and even large businesses in their communities and states. It also provides templates of letters, flyers, and posters that can be used in this effort. 

With the support of the Office of Women’s Health, DHHS, MCHB will provide training sessions on the implementation of the Resource Kit for state breastfeeding coalitions and Healthy Start sites over the course of the next three years. The first of these trainings was held in Arlington, Va. from Jan. 25-26, 2008 in conjunction with the National Conference of State Breastfeeding Coalitions sponsored by the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. For more information contact Isadora Hare at ihare@hrsa.gov.

 

APHA Adopts Comprehensive Breastfeeding Policy

During its 2007 Annual Meeting, the American Public Health Association adopted a new, comprehensive breastfeeding policy entitled, “A Call to Action on Breastfeeding: A Fundamental Public Health Issue.”  The policy was jointly submitted by the Maternal and Child Health, International Health, and Food and Nutrition Sections. The breastfeeding policy supports early and exclusive breastfeeding for six months, and continued to up to 2 years of age or longer. APHA joins all major health organizations in recommending that infants receive no other food or drink besides breast milk for the first six months of life, with continued breastfeeding for at least one to two years thereafter, with rare exceptions. The statement encourages policy-makers to provide adequate funding for breastfeeding support in the United States and foreign countries. It also supports legislation that enables women in the United States to succeed in breastfeeding, including protection for breastfeeding in the public, paid maternity leave, and worksite lactation protection. Advocates may wish to download this document and add it to the numerous other position papers to help bolster efforts to improve breastfeeding support. To view the entire policy, see:
http://www.apha.org/advocacy/policy/policysearch/default.htm?id=1360

 

FirstRight – new organization works to address
breastfeeding discrimination

The group’s purpose is to channel activist efforts into “positive, professional, and productive action.” When a mother feels she has been discriminated against while breastfeeding in public, FirstRight wants her to file an online report at http://www.firstright.org/reportdiscrimination. The group will use the information provided to determine how best to help the mother. They might contact the offending organization to educate them on the mother’s rights and breastfeeding issues. They might encourage the business to provide training to their staff. They might organize a nurse-in or coordinate a letter-writing/e-mail campaign directed to the organization. To learn more about the organization see www.firstright.org.

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National Business Group on Health

The National Business Group on Health is a non-profit organization devoted exclusively to representing large employers' perspective on national health policy issues and providing practical solutions to its members' most important health care problems.

The National Business Group on Health members are primarily Fortune 500 companies and large public sector employers who provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees, and their families. The Business Group fosters the development of a safe, high quality health care delivery system and treatments based on scientific evidence of effectiveness. A Purchaser's Guide to Clinical Preventive Services: Moving Science into Coverage is an important resource on preventive services. Developed in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Purchaser's Guide translates clinical guidelines and medical evidence, providing large employers with the information they need to select, define, and implement preventive medical benefits that include visits from IBCLCs. You can download the entire document at http://www.businessgrouphealth.org/benefitstopics/topics/purchasers/index.cfm

 

AAP Breastfeeding Newsletter

Breastfeeding: Best For Baby and Mother is the official American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) breastfeeding newsletter. Produced by the Section on Breastfeeding and the Breastfeeding Promotion in Physicians' Office Practices program, this newsletter provides updates on the breastfeeding initiatives at the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as covering other selected breastfeeding topics. Each newsletter is available as a PDF file from: http://www.aap.org/breastfeeding/new%20newsletter.cfm.

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Still Selling Out Mothers and Babies: Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes in the USA

NABA has recently published the newest US Code monitoring report entitled, Still Selling Out Mothers and Babies. The 68 page report with 304 references details the continuing violation of the Code by infant formula and bottle/nipple manufacturers in the United States. Seven pages detail tools and actions to take to address unethical marketing practices engaged in by the baby food industry. The publication can be ordered from NABA at http://www.naba-breastfeeding.org/resources.htm.

 

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Breaking the Rules: Stretching the Rules 2007

The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) published Breaking the Rules: Stretching the Rules 2007 which focuses on marketing practices of 12 baby food companies and 13 feeding bottle and artificial nipple companies. IBFAN gathered reports from 67 countries and looks at violations by company. Ordering information can be found at http://www.ibfan.org/site2005/Pages/article.php?art_id=510&iui=1.

 

Replacing Mother—Imitating Human Breast Milk in the Laboratory, from the Cornucopia Institute, details research questioning the alleged benefits of adding “novel” omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, produced in laboratories and extracted from algae and fungus, into infant formulas. The report presents research indicating that the DHA/ARA additives placed in infant formula are causing side effects in some formula-fed newborns and toddlers. Aggressive marketing campaigns by some infant formula manufacturers appear to have encouraged new mothers to give up nursing and switch to use of the questionable infant formula products. For more information and to order the report see http://cornucopia.org/index.php/replacing-mother-infant-formula-report/.

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

CDC is committed to increasing breastfeeding rates throughout the United States and to promoting optimal breastfeeding practices as a means of improving the public’s health. In order to achieve this goal, CDC is carrying out epidemiologic research and monitoring, as well as providing program funding and ongoing technical assistance in support of breastfeeding mothers, their families, communities, employers, and health care providers. Resources include Statistics on Breastfeeding Practices in the U.S. — Results from the National Immunization Survey (NIS), available August 2007 which are the most recent statistical data on breastfeeding rates in the US. This has replaced the use of Ross Mother’s Survey (data from a formula company) in determining the rates of breastfeeding in the US. Other resources include Does Breastfeeding Reduce the Risk of Pediatric Overweight?, the Breastfeeding Report Card, and crib cards to replace those supplied by formula companies. See http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/.

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Bisphenol A (BPA) in infant formula and baby bottles

 

Breastfeeding prevents many types of cancer

The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research released their recommendations to decrease an individual's risk of getting cancer. Of particular note is the recommendation for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months then continue breastfeeding with complementary foods added, to reduce cancer risk in both mother AND baby.
Recommendation Nine
(Special Populations – Recommendation One)
Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breasted
This is one of the first breastfeeding recommendations given in a cancer prevention
report, and is based on convincing evidence that breastfeeding protects both the
mother and child. The report recommends that if women are able to, they should aim to breastfeed their baby exclusively for six months, and then continue with complementary
breastfeeding after that. There is convincing evidence that breast feeding protects against pre-menopausal and post-menopausal breast cancer. There is also limited evidence that it protects against cancer of the ovary. There is also evidence that being breastfed probably protects babies from becoming overweight or obese in later life. Scientists think that breastfeeding lowers the levels of some cancer-related hormones in the mother’s body, which reduces the risk of breast cancer. At the end of breastfeeding, the body gets rid of any cells in the breast that may have DNA damage. This reduces the risk of breast cancer in the future. To obtain the entire report and the summary see www.dietandcancerreport.org

 

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New research shows DHA in infant formula has no proven benefits

Two new reviews from the Cochrane Library have shown that the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) added to infant formula do not improve the physical, neurodevelopmental, or visual outcomes in either term or preterm infants. These reviews looked at only high quality randomized clinical trials and concluded that routine supplementation could not be recommended as the data did not support the need for such supplementation with these ingredients.

Simmer K, Patole S, Rao S. Longchain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in infants born at term. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Jan 23;(1):CD000376.

Simmer K, Schulzke S, Patole S. Longchain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Jan 23;(1):CD000375.

 

New research on infant formula discharge bags

Research from Oregon has shown once again that distribution of commercial discharge bags interferes with exclusive breastfeeding. Mothers given these bags from formula companies were less likely to breastfeed exclusively for 10 weeks than women who had not received the bag. Commercial bag distribution works directly against the HP2010 goals for exclusive breastfeeding as well as the AAP’s recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. As long as these bags continue to be endorsed by hospitals, physicians, and nurses, mothers will have difficulty in achieving this medical recommendation.

Rosenberg KD, et al. Marketing infant formula through hospitals: the impact of commercial hospital discharge packs on breastfeeding. Am J Public Health 2008; 98:290-295

Another new article of interest on this same topic:
Philipp BL, et al. Distribution of industry-sponsored diaper bags from maternity facilities in Massachusetts. Breastfeeding Medicine 2007; 2:255-260

Also, check out the March/April 2008 issue of Mothering Magazine for more on Ban the Bags.
http:www.mothering.com

 

World Breastfeeding Week August 1-7, 2008

World Breastfeeding Week 2008
Mother Support: Going for the Gold

WBW logoBreastfeeding results from a reproductive health continuum for the mother to the child with no beginning or end, from generation to generation. When a practice is disrupted, it must be restored. However, restoration of the breastfeeding culture demands more resources and mobilization.
In conjunction with the Olympics next August, WBW 2008 calls for greater support for mothers in achieving the gold standard of infant feeding: breastfeeding exclusively for six months, and providing appropriate complementary foods with continued breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond.
As every country sends its best athletes to compete at these global games, it is important to remind ourselves that, in a similar fashion, a healthy young athlete can only emerge from a healthy start on life. There is no question that optimal infant and young child feeding is essential for optimal growth and development.
Supporting Mother = Supporting Her to Provide the Golden Start For Every Child!

La Leche League WBW Web site: http://www.lllusa.org/wbw/index.php.

Check out ILCA's WBW materials at http://www.ilca.org.

 

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