Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths: December 2011

Friday, 23 December 2011

While the wall is closed..

If you need breastfeeding support over the next few days you can:

check this page and see if your issue/ problem is already covered there.

visit one of the following websites to search for information:

http://abm.me.uk/ (association of breastfeeding mothers)

http://www.llli.org/ (la leche league)

http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk (breastfeeding network)

http://www.nct.org.uk/parenting/feeding (national childbirth trust)

http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/ (website of Jack Newman)

http://www.kellymom.com (helpful website run by a lactation consultant)

call one of the following helplines:

Breastfeeding Network 0300 100 0210

La Leche League 0845 120 2918

NCT Breastfeeding Helpline 0300 330 0771

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers 08444 122 949

try one of the following facebook groups: the Analytical Armadillo, Breastfeeders Connect, the Leaky Boob, Nurtured Child.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Win an Ardo Calypso Breastpump!

I'm really happy to be able to post the question for our Ardo Calypso breastpump giveaway ~ someone will be winning themselves a great pump in the new year!

More about Ardo and the pump itself is here.

To be in with a chance of winning, work out the answer to the following question by visiting the Ardo website:

What is the technology called on the Calypso which gives you complete protection from contamination?

A/ Optiflow

B/ VacuuSeal

C/ Upgrade Set

Post your answer (A,B, or C) in comments below, or email it to bcboobies@hotmail.co.uk .

We'll draw the winner on January 1st 2012.

NB - With apologies to group members from further afield, this giveaway is open to members from the UK and Republic of Ireland only.

Sunday, 18 December 2011

Saturday, 17 December 2011

Recently I was asked to take part in a photo-shoot for a breastfeeding calendar. It wasn't being organised by me, but by a really vibrant and eclectic group of women from another town. I was delighted to be asked to take part, and it was a fun day. The calendar was to consist of a mixture of cute baby pictures, lovely skin to skin shots, mums playing with their babies, snippets of breastfeeding information and details about the local peer support service, as well as some breastfeeding pictures. The concept, organisation, and execution came entirely from the mums themselves.

The local council gave their support to the project, and the government agency tasked with dealing with public health issues here suggested they would like to come on board and even offered to give some financial support. That was - until they saw the pictures - some of which showed ACTUAL breasts, breastfeeding.

Now in fairness, I wasn't privy to all the interactions, but one thing seems plain to me. The government body who is supposed to be helping to promote breastfeeding and healthy living within our community won't give it's backing to visible breastfeeding.
They apparently described the images as 'too graphic'.
It seems they want to promote breastfeeding, but only if you do it discreetly. They decided to pull their support for the project and this necessitated the removal of the information about the local peer supporters.

Amongst the calendar pictures there are 1 (maybe 2 if you squint) visible nipples. Nipples being used for their intended purpose - feeding babies. Shocking, I'm sure you'll agree, and something Northern Ireland just isn't ready for - apparently.

And yet - as @goodythegood pointed out to me on Twitter - Northern Ireland IS ready for this:

As much as I applaud the DOE for their uncompromising approach towards tackling the chaos on our roads, HOW ON EARTH is it possible for our society to be OK with these graphic ads but NOT OK with the sight of a baby feeding at the breast?

The infant feeding Survey 2010 showed that only 64% of mothers ever put their newborn to their breast. That's an increase of only 1% on the 2005 survey. Dreadfully low breastfeeding initiation rates and hardly any sign of improvement over the last 5 years.

On the other hand, the deliberately shocking and provocative series of road traffic adverts from the DOE have helped to reduce road deaths here to their lowest level since 1931.

I'm not trying to suggest we all get out there and bare our chests publicly in an effort to force everyone to watch us feeding our babies so that we we can normalise infant feeding here - but it was a BREASTFEEDING CALENDAR for God's sake!

If YOU don't mind seeing a nipple being used for feeding a baby, and would like to support the calendar, then click here.

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and all good things for 2012

Monday, 5 December 2011

DBM Festive Giveaway ~ Win an Ardo Calypso Breastpump!

So excited :)

The nice people at Ardo UK are giving us one of their lovely new Calypso breast pumps to give away when we reach 6,000 'likes' on the Facebook group!

Unlike almost all other breast pump manufacturers (including Medela, Avent, Lansinoh, Tommy Tippee, Breastflow & more), Ardo are in full compliance with the WHO Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. This really matters when it comes to protecting breastfeeding. As you can see, Ardo are in competition with some serious brand heavyweights when it comes to breast pumps, and they're a relative newcomer to the UK market. However, unlike these other companies they have put their commitment to the WHO code at the heart of their company philosophy.

To learn more about Code, what it does and why it matters, click here. Ardo have this to say about the WHO code:

'ARDO is in compliance with the WHO Code and strongly promotes breastfeeding - ARDO is your responsible partner when working with the WHO International Code. As producers of breastfeeding aids, we support the practice of breastfeeding with products of highest quality and functionality. Our nursing aids offer solutions to breastfeeding difficulties, and treat this natural process in a holistic and effective manner. Thus, compliance with the WHO Code is of the utmost importance to us.'

Not all breast pumps are created equal as this blog post shows. All Ardo's pumps have a 'closed' system which makes them the safest type of pump you can buy. Other very popular models have an 'open' design which means that - sadly - contamination is a real possibility. All Ardo pumps can be safely used by more than one person, (using replacement attachments). This means they can be sold on with a clear conscience once your pumping days are over! The Calypso is guaranteed for 400 hours or two years. That's a lot of worry-free expressing!

The Calypso can also be easily converted for use as a double breast pump. Double pumping helps to maximise milk removal and stimulates more prolactin than expressing just one breast at a time. It also cuts the time it takes to pump in half! The Calypso therefore enables you to choose between double and single pumping depending on your needs. It's easily portable, has a good range of suction and frequency settings, works on battery mode or mains electricity AND it's by far the quietest breast pump I've ever used. When I was looking to buy a new pump to use after the birth of my second child this was the one I chose. I consider it an ethical, safe, everyday pump which is good value for money and should suit the needs of a majority of breastfeeding mums.

You can read independent reviews of this pump here.

So how would you like to win one? :)

When we reach 6,000 'likes' on the Facebook group I'll post the multiple choice question. We'll draw the winner on January 1st 2012.

So get sharing and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

PLEASE NOTE: Unfortunately this competition is open to DBM members living in the UK or Republic of Ireland ONLY

DISCLAIMER: I have not received any payment or other inducement/ freebie of any kind to write this piece.