The Observer | UK News | Why big babies are not so healthy
Sunday January 23, 2005
The Observer
"A Chubby baby has been seen for years as the epitome of good health, but new research on the way children grow is set to overturn the belief that big is beautiful. A six-year study by the World Health Organisation into how more than 8,000 children across different continents put on weight in their first years has revealed that those given the best start in life - by being breast-fed and having non-smoking mothers - ended up significantly lighter than the optimum weights suggested by current guidelines. Child growth charts are now based largely on studies that mostly looked at babies fed on formula milk. The new work suggests that for years experts across the world have been significantly overestimating how many pounds babies should weigh.... "

A gift to remember
Family still touched by generosity of milk donations in 1984
By MARK BONNE, Rockford Register Star
"In the infancy of his life, Matt DeVries depended on the kindness of strangers. Until this week, he never fully understood the extent of their kindness. DeVries was born 21 years ago with a birth defect that kept him in the hospital and fed intravenously for three months. In that time, Matt's mother, Jacki Rose-DeVries, quit producing breast milk. When the time came to remove the IVs, no one could find a formula Matt could hold down. Enter the strangers...."

ThePittsburghChannel.com - Call 4 Action - Call 4 Action: Breast Pump Policies
POSTED: 5:45 pm EST January 19, 2005
"Women who use breast pumps to release milk do it for comfort reasons, but also to ensure that the milk is continually produced for their babies. Call 4 Action reporter Meghan Jones says employers must provide a place for working mothers to do it. However, women are on their own when they're outside their homes or offices. Tricia Gray, who works in the health care industry, uses a breast pump to express milk when she's away from her 4-month-old daughter, Cameron. A closed door and an electrical outlet is all she needs...."

DOCS HOPE THIS LADY'S BREAST MILK HELPS CURE CANCER
New York Post Online Edition: news
By SAM SMITH
"January 16, 2005 -- It's not just babies sucking down breast milk anymore. In small but growing numbers, adults are swigging it themselves hoping for a miracle cure for cancer and therapy against a host of other ailments. Based on European research showing breast milk is a potent cancer killer in the lab and beefs up immune systems of organ-transplant recipients and others, about 50 Americans pressed their doctors for milk prescriptions last year, up from nearly zero five years ago. Len Capp, 60, of South River, N.J., was one of the intrepid few. When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago, Capp's doctor wanted to operate immediately, but based on research Capp uncovered, he convinced his doctor to wait — and to write him a prescription for breast milk. 'I forced the prescription,' said Capp, who had to sign a waiver with a North Carolina milk bank to supply him with unpasteurized milk, something they typically don't do. The milk was shipped frozen overnight...."








Capp drank two breast-milk fruit shakes a day, about 8 ounces of milk."

The Globe and Mail: Study links kids' cancers to moms' exposure to pollutants
Globe and Mail, By ANDRÉ PICARD, Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - Page A17
"Most childhood cancers are likely caused by pollutants expectant mothers are exposed to during pregnancy, according to a new study. Those at greatest risk live close to busy roads and industrial areas, researchers found.In particular, they found children born of mothers living near "emission hot spots" of particular chemicals were two to four times more likely to develop leukemia and other childhood cancers before age 16. "Most childhood cancers are probably initiated by close, perinatal encounters with one or more of these high-emission sources," said George Knox, a professor emeritus at the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, U.K. Emissions that appear to raise cancer risk the most include carbon monoxide created by burning fossil fuels (notably gasoline used by vehicles) and 1,3-butadiene, also a by-product of internal combustion engines. Researchers also looked at the effect of various other industrial and environmental pollutants, including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (both of which are associated with oil burning), as well as dioxins, benzene, and benz(a)pyrene. These chemicals can be found in engine exhaust, and smokestack emissions from various industrial and refinery processes. Dr. Knox said these chemicals -- many of which have been shown to be carcinogenic in animal tests -- are likely breathed in by the mother and passed on to the baby through the placenta. But he said that "effective direct exposure in early infancy, or through breast milk, or even preconceptually, cannot be excluded...."

Cindy Lange-Kubick: Breast is best -- for babies - Lincoln Journal Star
"I love it when the word breast is slipped into a front-page headline, because it guarantees the story will be well-read. But on the off chance you missed last Friday's piece — "Supporters applaud breast-feeding bill" — I'll fill you in. If passed, LB104 would protect the right of Nebraska's mothers to breast-feed in public. It seems ridiculous that such a law would be needed, but we Americans are funny when it comes to breasts. We like our Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue breasts. And our Victoria's Secret breasts. And our giant Internet porn site breasts. We like breasts to sell Buicks and breasts to promote football games and breasts to serve us hot wings and cold beer..."

ABC 7 News - ABC 7 Medical: Breast Milk On-Line
 uesday January 11, 2005 5:50pm
Reporter: Kathy Fowler  
-WJLA Script-

Anchor:
THE PRACTICE OF WOMEN SHARING BREAST MILK IS NOTHING REALLY NEW. IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR CENTURIES.

BUT WHAT IS NEW.... IS THE PHENOMENON HERE IN THE U.S. IN WHICH WOMEN, OFTEN PERFECT STRANGERS ARE EXCHANGING BREAST MILK THROUGH THE INTERNET. ..."
"

Herald.com | 01/10/2005 | New moms need to transition back to work: "
BY AMY JOYCE
Washington Post Service

"WASHINGTON - After her son was born 14 months ago, Denise Lane-White returned to her job as a patent attorney with a bit of trepidation, like many mothers who return from maternity leave. But also like many moms, she was looking forward to getting back to work, although she knew the transition would not be simple after 12 paid weeks of maternity leave and two weeks of vacation time. "It was actually a little easier than I expected,'' she said. ``I missed the intellectual stimulation of my job. I maybe also prepared myself for being totally devastated. I was sad, and I missed my baby during the day. But it wasn't the [all]-encompassing devastation I expected.''..."

Grieving mom finds recipient for special gift
Toledo Blade
Sunday, January 9, 2005
By LUKE SHOCKMAN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
"Brenda Canada knew her baby probably would not survive but in the midst of her grief decided some good must come from her son's death. Five months before Christian was to be born, doctors told Mrs. Canada and her husband, Mike, that the child had severe kidney abnormalities and he likely would not live more than a few minutes after birth. The Wauseon-area couple began praying for a miracle but knew the odds were against them. So Mrs. Canada vowed that the death of her son, who was due to be born Christmas Day, would not prevent her from giving a special gift to someone else's baby. "We didn't want to live with any regrets," Mrs. Canada said. "We wanted to help other babies." She had heard about programs in some parts of the country that collect excess breast milk from mothers and distribute it to babies..."

Xinhua - English
Cloned cows with human genes born in Shandong
www.chinaview.cn 2005-01-08 21:16:26
"BEIJING, Jan. 8 -- Two cloned cows containing a human gene, which is an important component in breast milk, were born in east China's Shandong Province. ..."

Public Outcry Over Public Breast feeding
Jan. 6, 2005
www.waff.com
"Breastfeeding in public . . . Its literally created a public outcry.  Monday we told you about a woman who was asked to move to a private area because she was breast feeding in a public area at a Huntsville museum. Nearly 200 people have posted their opinions and the messages have been viewed by close to four-thousand people.  Some people have been for . . . others against. Amy Heflin said, "I've never been asked to leave anywhere because of feeding my baby."  Jenny Jacks works at the Earlyworks Museum...."

Yahoo! News Photos - Tsunami Impacts Children, FamiliesPhotograph: "Fauwzi, a 20-year-old tsunami survivor, breastfeeds her 2-year-old son Zikri, at a refugee center on the outskirts of Banda Aceh, Sumatra island, Indonesia, Thursday Jan. 6, 2005. " [The USBC web site has a link to UNICEF's information on infant feeding in emergencies, provided by Miriam Labbok.]

Breastfeeding Rates Need Improvement
Too Few Babies Breastfed at 6 and 12 Months, CDC Reports
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Wednesday, January 05, 2005
"Breastfeeding infants well into their first few months of life is too rare in the U.S., particularly among blacks and socially disadvantaged groups. The news comes from a CDC report that shows breastfeeding rates fall short of national goals. It's not that breastfeeding is uncommon. More than 70% of American babies have been breastfed at some point. That's close to the target set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The department's goal is to have at least 75% of mothers breastfeed their babies in the early postpartum period. The HHS also wants to have at least 50% of mothers continue breastfeeding until their babies are 5 to 6 months old...."

Vanguard Online Edition : EDUCATION: Let the milk of human kindness flow that our children may live(3)
EDUCATION: Let the milk of human kindness flow that our children may live(3)
"By ADENIKE O. GRANGE
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Being the text of an inaugural lecture delivered by Prof. Adenike Grange of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Wenesday, Dec. 1, 2004. Grange is also president of the International Paediatrics Association. The second instalment taken last week specifically addressed protein-energy malnutrition in children, and ended with a treatment of nutrients in human milk, with an explanation of degradation in quantity as the infant grows. READ ON.
Non-nutritional Factors in Breast Milk
Human milk contains many non-nutritional substances such as hormones and growth factors. Hormones in human milk include cortisol, somatostatin thyroid hormones, oxytocin, and prolactin. Growth factors include epidermal growth factor, insulin, and lactoferrin. Other substances such as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids may relate to growth. In addition, human milk contains others factors that are inducers of certain biological processes, MS. The Significance of these hormones and factors for growth patterns, however, is not understood. Breast-fed infants have lower plasma concentrations of insulin than formula-fed infants, which might result in less fat deposition and fewer adipocytes developing. The other bioactive factors that are present in breast milk might modulate growth factors that are known to inhabit adipocyte differentiation...."

WSJ.com - Mothers Who Share Breast Milk
As of Tuesday, January 4, 2005 
By SARA SCHAEFER MUÑOZ
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 4, 2005; Page D1
"Amid mounting evidence of the health benefits of breast-feeding for infants, a movement is quietly growing among parents: sharing or even selling breast milk. The idea is to provide milk for adoptive mothers and women who cannot nurse because of illness or some other reason. Instead of turning solely to infant formula to feed their children, these women are tapping into informal networks of friends, acquaintances and in some cases strangers found on the Internet. While there are milk banks where parents can purchase donated breast milk that has been pasteurized and screened for disease, infants who are very sick and cannot nurse get priority. In addition, banks require a doctor's prescription, and the milk can be very expensive -- about $100 a day...."