WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY :: Parents Say Hospital's Baby Formula Led To Daughter's Brain Damage
"(LOUISVILLE, November 5th, 2004) -- It seems as innocent as the mouths it is fed to: powdered infant baby formula. But WAVE 3 has uncovered evidence powdered formula could lead to serious health problems -- even death -- in some infants. One local family is now suing University of Louisville Hospital because of what happened to their daughter. WAVE 3 Investigator Eric Flack has the exclusive story. From the day she was born, Ashley Hill has been her mother's best friend. "I talk to her every day and I tell her how special she is," said her mom, Rhonda Smith. To her father, Bert Hill, Ashley is daddy's little girl. "I mean when she came out, we was in tears," he said. Ashley was born 9 weeks premature in December of 1999. She weighed just one pound, 13 ounces. But after two months in the neo-natal intensive care unit at University of Louisville Hospital, Rhonda Smith says her daughter went home in good condition. Her parents thought Ashley's struggles were over. But they were just beginning. Ashley, now four years old, may never walk, talk or feed herself. The result of severe brain damage caused by meningitis she got days after leaving the hospital. Her parents blame University Hospital for what happened. "They robbed her of her life," Rhonda Smith said. A baby gift pack given to them by the hospital contained powdered baby formula. "She was on the powdered formula when she got sick," Smith said. Now, Attorney Nick Stein says there was clear cut evidence before Ashley was born, that bacteria in powdered formula can cause serious illness, including meningitis, in babies with weak immune systems..."

Protective Role of Human Milk for Preemies Unclear
Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage
Fri 26 November, 2004 17:27
By Megan Rauscher
"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Currently available research findings do not provide conclusive evidence that feeding very low birth weight (VLBW) premature babies human milk offers significant protection against infection. The belief that human milk feeding will help ward of infection in these vulnerable infants is one of the chief reasons for advocating the practice, clinicians from the UK note in the Archives of Diseases of Childhood Neonatal Edition. 'However, using human milk to feed premature babies is much more difficult than using a formula, so this practice needs to be evidence based,' Dr. S. Andrew Spencer from University Hospital of North Staffordshire, told Reuters Health."..."

Six-organ transplant a rare chance at life
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 25, 2004
"For the smallest babies, it often signals the beginning of a slow and painful death, one marked by increasingly desperate surgeries to remove dead tissue from their bowels. Until a few years ago, Natalia's story would have ended after her fifth surgery, when there was no more bowel left to remove, when her liver finally gave way...." [This is an interesting story - an infant's fight with pre-maturity and necrotizing enterocolitis. She received a multi-organ transplant and is being nourished by her mother's milk. The article includes a quote from the transplant surgeon who says human milk is the best option after transplant. - JC]

Moms Fight to Breastfeed in Public: "Moms Fight to Breastfeed in Public
Run Date: 11/22/04
By Juhie Bhatia
WeNews correspondent
(WOMENSENEWS)--The first time Lorig Charkoudian was asked to cover up was in early July, as she nursed her 14-month-old daughter in a Maryland Starbucks. Only one other customer was in the coffee shop, and Charkoudian had her back to him. Still, a Starbucks employee asked her to cover her daughter's face with a blanket or suggested she nurse in the bathroom. No one had complained, he said, he was just being pro-active.
..."

BABY MILK BUG SCARE

Nov 20 2004
Daily Record
"NEWBORN children should not be fed powdered baby milk because it often contains a deadly bug, health experts warned yesterday. The European Food Safety Agency advised mums should use liquid formula milk for the first four weeks of life if breastfeeding was not possible. They say the powdered milk can contain a bacterium which causes meningitis or severe gut problems. Older babies can fight off the infection but newborns and premature to..."

Democrat & Chronicle:
(November 20, 2004) — Dr. Ruth A. Lawrence was unlike many women in the 1950s — she had a full-time job, and a prestigious one at that.
But she tried to never let it get in the way of raising her nine (that's right, nine) children. I was very careful to do my share to never dump my children on somebody else, to make as many or more cookies for PTA meetings, do as much or more car pooling. I never, ever let somebody think I wasn't doing my share," said Lawrence, who is still working at the University of Rochester Medical Center as a professor of pediatrics...."

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Breastfeeding bill gains approval: "MSPs have passed a bill making it illegal to bar women from breastfeeding their babies in public. They voted by 103-13 to make it an offence to stop anyone feeding milk to children under two in public or in family-friendly licensed premises. The Breastfeeding (Scotland) Bill received wide support and was passed on Thursday afternoon.... "

Baby care controversy
WXYZ: Investigations
Steve Wilson
Nov 15, 2004
"Some local churches are using the popular Baby-Wise books by Gary Ezzo as a teaching aid in preparation for parenting. Ezzo is not a doctor, has no formal training in child development, and some say this advice is downright dangerous. Doctors at Children’s Hospital in Detroit are among those far and wide who oppose the Ezzo program, specifically his advice to impose a very strict schedule for infant feeding and his advice parents just ignore the screams of their hungry newborns to force them onto the schedule. "It is dangerous to do it the way he describes," Pediatrician Dr. Rosemary Shy says of Ezzo's technique. "It puts these babies at risk for jaundice, at risk for dehydration, and at risk for failing to thrive, all of which we’ve seen."..." [This is a link to a Real Video report - JC]

AP Wire | 11/13/2004 | Police say child got drugs from breast milk
Associated Press
"FORT WORTH, Texas - A mother of six has been indicted on a charge of recklessly causing serious bodily injury to a child by passing drug-tainted breast milk to her 14-month-old daughter. 'I think a Tarrant County jury will probably be outraged by this and will be glad to have a chance to litigate it,' prosecutor Mitch Poe told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for its Saturday editions. 'Hopefully, this will send a strong message to nursing mothers to stop doing drugs.'Corrina Annette Richardson, 35, remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Saturday morning with bail set at $10,000. She was indicted Wednesday...."

Martek Receives Adverse Ruling on European DHA/ARA Oil Blends Patent; Validity of Patent Will Be Unaffected During Appeal Process
Martek Receives Adverse Ruling on European DHA/ARA Oil Blends Patent; Validity of Patent Will Be Unaffected During Appeal Process
Friday November 12, 7:56 am ET
"COLUMBIA, Md., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Martek Biosciences Corporation (Nasdaq: MATK - News) today announced that its European DHA/ARA Oil Blends Patent was revoked in a proceeding that was held in Munich, Germany by the European Patent Office on November 11, 2004. The hearing was the result of challenges made by two potential competitors of the Company. The Company intends, within the next few days, to file an appeal that will automatically reinstate the patent so that it will remain in force during the appeal process. The appeal process is anticipated to exceed two years. The Company believes that it has substantive grounds for the appeal and intends to vigorously pursue the matter...."

Nestle Launches NESTLE(R) GOOD START(R) Supreme Soy DHA & ARA
Thursday November 11, 1:08 pm ET
"GLENDALE, Calif., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- As soy products continue to move more mainstream in the diet of Americans, Nestle USA, part of Nestle S.A., a world leader in infant nutrition, announces the national launch of a soy version of the popular infant formula NESTLE GOOD START Supreme DHA & ARA. Though experts agree breastmilk is best, moms who cannot or choose not to breastfeed will be comforted to know that now there is complete iron-fortified nutrition in a milk-free, lactose-free formula that uniquely combines both Supreme Soy Proteins specially designed to be easy-to-digest and DHA& ARA for healthy brain and eye development...."

Edinburgh Student Newspaper : News : Deceit and malpractice at Nestlé debate
Deceit and malpractice at Nestlé debate
"With the ‘Freedom of Choice’ motion due to be voted on at the AGM this Wednesday, representatives from Nestlé and Baby Milk Action came together last week to debate, argue and accuse. Nestlé is one of the world’s largest multinational food companies, with an annual turnover of £39 billion, and the largest share of the baby food market. Baby Milk Action is the United Kingdom member of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), a pressure group formed to fight against “baby food marketing malpractice.”

Debate
The debate took place on Wednesday in the David Hume Tower with Hilary Parsons, Head of Corporate Affairs of Nestlé UK, and Mike Brady, Baby Milk Action’s Campaigns and Network Coordinator, representing the two camps. There is currently a boycott in all EUSA venues on Nestlé products, yet this could be repealed on Wednesday if there is enough favourable student support. The central issue concerns Nestlé’s ‘aggressive marketing’ of its breast milk substitutes in the developing world...."

Plant's baby formula called 'filthy': "
Louie Gilot
El Paso Times
Nov. 02, 2004
"An El Paso manufacturer allegedly relabeled animal feed containing dirt and flies as baby formula and shipped it to be sold in Mexico. The Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit against Milky Way Traders Inc., of 115 Montoya Lane in El Paso, for allegedly buying dried milk intended for use as animal feed only, mixing and packaging it 'under filthy conditions,' and selling the product as infant formula to Mexican food manufacturers, court documents read. 'We are committed to protecting the health and safety of Texas children, and when a Texas company acts recklessly so as to endanger infants of families in Mexico we will take prompt action to stop it,' Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a written statement released Monday...."

KFOXTV.com - News - Contaminated Baby Formula Found In El Paso Warehouse
"Shipments of a contaminated infant formula are stopped here in El Paso. Monday Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott secured an emergency restraining order against Milky Way Traders to stop shipments to Mexico...."

Yahoo! News - 'Superbug' Can Be Passed on in Breast Milk
Health - Reuters
By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - "Breast milk has been identified as the source of the 'superbug' known as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) In two outbreaks among newborns in Los Angeles. Dr. Dawn M Terashita, of the LA County Health Department described the cases in Washington DC at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit are a "vulnerable population," she told Reuters Health. MRSA outbreaks are common in newborn nurseries, and the main way the infection is spread is thought to be person-to-person via hand contact...."

Yahoo! News - 'Superbug' Can Be Passed on in Breast Milk
Health - Reuters
By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - "Breast milk has been identified as the source of the 'superbug' known as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) In two outbreaks among newborns in Los Angeles. Dr. Dawn M Terashita, of the LA County Health Department described the cases in Washington DC at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit are a "vulnerable population," she told Reuters Health. MRSA outbreaks are common in newborn nurseries, and the main way the infection is spread is thought to be person-to-person via hand contact...."

Premature Help
QuadCity Times
Features: Health
Last Updated: 10:33 pm, Sunday, October 31st, 2004
By Rachelle Treiber
"In a freezer at University Hospitals in Iowa City sit hundreds of bottles of breast milk,  each donated from a breast-feeding mother — and each with the potential to help save the life of a premature baby. At the Iowa City research hospital, and in other neonatal intensive care units across the country, critically ill preemies fight to survive.
Some, as tiny as 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, could fit into the palm of an adult hand. Kelli Odom, Davenport, comforts her premature newborn, Maysun, at University Hospitals in Iowa City...."