Milkface Nursingwear Inc

What's new and on my mind at milkface

Saturday, February 17, 2007

We're in the Globe!

Check us out in Canada's national newspaper where we were interviewed for an article about how nursing has become cool ;)

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Very puzzling

I haven't wrapped my head around this yet - I just heard about a new product called MilkScreen. It's designed to test breastmilk for alcohol. Huh?, you say. Yep, that was my first reaction, too. It seems that North American women are so reckless that they can't tell when they've had too much to drink and it might be better to feed their baby pumped milk. Haven't they heard of the no-cost alternative? If you feel the effects of alcohol, so will your baby. If you don't, they won't so go ahead and nurse.

This product disturbs me on many levels but I think the most upsetting one is this - what message is it sending? That we need to avoid anything less than optimal while nursing? That formula is better than breastmilk after we've had one glass of wine? Breastfeeding is a very human act and humans are imperfect. And the beauty of it is that Mother Nature was well aware of this when she created breastfeeding - the milk of a well-fed, healthy woman does not differ appreciably from that of a malnourished woman in a third world country. Similarly having a few glasses of wine with dinner or a beer on a Sunday afternoon is not going to affect your milk enough to make it a smarter move to use formula for that feeding. It gives too much weight to the idea that mom must be perfect for her breastmilk to have worth, and anything less than perfect may harm her baby. A prime example of how marketing trumps common sense!

Here's some info from www.kellymom.com about the effects of alcohol on breastfeeding:

Breastfeeding and Alcohol
By Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC

Guidelines
Current research says that occasional use of alcohol (1-2 drinks) is not harmful to the nursing baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs classifies alcohol (ethanol) as a “Maternal Medication Usually Compatible With Breastfeeding.”
Many experts recommend against drinking more than 1-2 drinks per week.
It is recommended that nursing moms avoid breastfeeding during and for 2-3 hours after drinking (Hale 2002).
There is no need to pump & dump milk after drinking alcohol, other than for mom's comfort -- pumping & dumping does not speed the elimination of alcohol from the milk.
Alcohol does not increase milk production, and has been shown to inhibit let-down and decrease milk production (see below).
If you're away from your baby, try to pump as often as baby usually nurses (this is to maintain milk supply, not because of the alcohol). At the very least, pump or hand express whenever you feel uncomfortably full - this will help you to avoid plugged ducts and mastitis.
In general, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk. Alcohol peaks in mom's blood and milk approximately 1/2-1 hour after drinking (but there is considerable variation from person to person, depending upon how much food was eaten in the same time period, mom's body weight and percentage of body fat, etc.). Alcohol does not accumulate in breastmilk, but leaves the milk as it leaves the blood; so when your blood alcohol levels are back down, so are your milk alcohol levels.
Always keep in mind the baby's age when considering the effect of alcohol. A newborn has a very immature liver, so minute amounts of alcohol would be more of a burden. Up until around 3 months of age, infants detoxify alcohol at around half the rate of an adult. An older baby or toddler can metabolize the alcohol more quickly.

Pork steps up to the table...

and does the right thing! Yay to the National Pork Board - they have dropped the lawsuit about Jenn at the Lactivist and have apologized for insulting breastfeeding moms everywhere. They are also taking up a collection among employees to make a donation to the Mother's Milk Bank in Ohio. Nice to see a big corporation acting so ethically!

Friday, February 02, 2007

Oh my! Big pork takes on WAHM blogger and gets more than they bargained for!

This fascinating story can be read in full at the Lactivist blog here. Basically, the US National Pork Board is taking issue with the blogger selling a shirt on CafePress with the parody "The Other White Milk." Cute, right?!

As a trademark holder myself, I completely understand why you need to defend your trademark and would have no problem if that was all they were doing...but check out this passage from the c&d letter from the attorneys:

"In addition, your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of the National Pork Board's mark in light of your apparent attempt to promote the use of breastmilk beyond merely for infant consumption, such as with the following slogans on your website in close proximity to the slogan "The Other White Milk." "Dairy Diva," "Nursing, Nature's Own Breast Enhancement," "Eat at Mom's, fast-fresh-from the breast," and "My Milk is the Breast."

Promote the use of breastmilk beyond merely for infant consumption?!! Tarnish the good reputation of pork?!! Ick. First of all, breastmilk is not only for infant consumption, it's recommended up to a minimum of 2 years and secondly, what exactly are they implying? It's so off-putting and they need to be held accountable for that paragraph. All this to shut down a woman who raises money for breastmilk banks and who raises awareness for breastfeeding in general. Double ick.

Feeling icked out too? Let them know. I am.