saudi adult breastfeeding

I don’t like to call another culture weird…but this is just weird.

The strict Wahhabi version of Islam that governs modern Saudi Arabia forbids women from mixing with men who are not relatives; however, if a woman breastfed a male child before he was 2 years old, when he grows into a man, she is permitted to come into contact with him with her face uncovered, because he is considered a relative.  It is not uncommon for sisters, for example, to breastfeed their nephews so they and their daughters will not have to cover their faces in front of them later in life. The custom is called being a “breast milk sibling.”

Well, a fatwa was recently issued stating that women who come into regular contact with men who aren’t related to them — such as colleagues or acquaintances — ought to give them their breast milk so they will be considered relatives, in order to establish “maternal relations” and preclude the possibility of sexual contact.

One sheik says the milk should be given in a glass; another says the man should suckle directly from the woman’s breasts.

Um.  What?

Read the full article here.

breastfeeding fun facts

It’s time for another installment of Breastfeeding Fun Facts!

Today’s facts come from Pamela Wiggins’ useful little book Why Should I Nurse My Baby?

1. Breastfed babies have stronger and straighter teeth.  They probably won’t need braces.

2. A mother’s milk helps to promote better vision for her baby.

3. Because of the special way they suck on the breast, breastfed babies have fewer speech problems.

world breastfeeding week

It’s World Breastfeeding Week 2010!

This year, the focus is on 10 steps to successful breastfeeding, with more emphasis on the role that healthcare providers play in a mother’s success at breastfeeding.

The 10 steps are as follows:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they should be separated from their infants.
6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk unless medically indicated.
7. Practice rooming-in — allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

Learn more at the website: worldbreastfeedingweek.org.

if breastfeeding is creepy, then i’m a creep

There’s a great article in The Telegraph condemning (albeit gently) Kathryn Blundell’s article in Mother & Baby, wherein she stated she bottle fed her babies because: “I wanted my body back … and some wine,” and she wanted her breasts: “on my chest, rather than dangling round my stomach.”  She also called breastfeeding “creepy.”

Rowan Pelling, the author of the Telegraph article, says that in the Western world, “the porn and fashion industries have conspired to strip the bosom of its maternal function.”  This is probably an oversimplification of the problem, but it’s certainly a starting point.

Now, the question remains, how do we fix it?

the breastaurant

I found a very funny t-shirt for your little one!

These t-shirts and onesies say:

Dine-in or pump-out service

Fresh MILK on tap

OPEN 24 hrs

THE BREASTAURANT

EAT-AT-MOM’S!

Always Fresh. Always Delicious.

Mom’s milk is the breast!

PLUS — bloggers get free shipping and 15 percent off!  Buy yours here.

And, for all you event planners out there, I also found a very cool site called Mom’s Breastaurant that, according to their website, “provides a tent that offers shelter from the elements and a calm environment away from the distractions of the event, equipped with a changing table and comfortable chairs to sit and feed the small people. We run fans or space heaters to keep the tent comfortable, offer moms a snack and drink, and provide a small table and chairs for older siblings to sit and be occupied with crayons and paper or clay. We offer the service for free to event attendees, and to event organizers, asking only for space to set up and access to electricity (and shade, if possible). MB subsists on donations, sponsorships, and sales of merchandise such as logo shirts and onesies, slings and wraps for baby wearing, and nursing necklaces.”

Help support this awesome non-profit organization by starting a chapter or donating!

breastfeeding fun facts

It seems no matter how much I read about breast milk and breastfeeding, I’m always finding something new.  Here are some interesting tidbits I’ve read lately:

1. After a baby is born, the temperature of the mother’s breasts rises in order to regulate the baby’s body temperature, and as the baby is warmed, the breasts slowly cool back down.  This is one of the reasons skin-to-skin contact is so important immediately after birth.

2. If a mother experiences pain when trying to get the baby to latch on, it’s usually because the baby is latching incorrectly.  But taking the baby off the breast and trying over and over to latch him on properly can increase pain and frustration for mother and baby — and I can attest to this one from experience!  Instead, try to fix the latch that you have as best you can by pushing the baby’s bottom into your body with your forearm. The baby’s head is tipped back so the nose is in “sniffing position.”  If necessary, you might try gently pulling down the baby’s chin so he has more of the breast in his mouth.

a poem

An excerpt from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.”

And he said:

Your children are not your children,
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but are not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and
He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
So he loves also the bow that is stable.

a little inspiration

I met an incredible woman this weekend.  She has a 17-month-old daughter.  When she was nine weeks pregnant, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.  She underwent two surgeries during her second trimester, but she couldn’t have any additional treatments while she was pregnant.

After the baby was born, she put off radiation treatments because she wanted to breastfeed her daughter.  She wasn’t trying to make a statement or go on a crusade; she just knew it was the best thing she could do for her baby.

She breastfed for seven months, when she and her family made the decision to wean the baby and start her radiation treatment.  Right now, she looks great, and she feels great — and baby is doing fabulous — so we’re praying for a full recovery!

another missed opportunity

We watched the movie “Legion” a couple of nights ago.  Aside from a couple of good thriller scenes (all of which were shown in the trailer), it was a lousy film — bad acting, worse writing — but we expected as much.  I would try to explain the plot to you, but it literally didn’t make any sense.

The biggest bummer was that a baby was born in the movie — a perfect opportunity to show a mother breastfeeding!  But of course not.  I guess I shouldn’t expect too much, especially considering that the baby was apparently not attached to the mother by an umbilical cord (another character caught the baby as he was born, wrapped him in a blanket, and walked away), there was no after-birth, and shortly after giving birth, the mother climbed a mountain.

Maybe next time, Hollywood.

cast iron

My dear friend Koren, who was my natural birth coach, gave me a great idea for getting more iron into the Goose — a cast iron skillet!  I’ve always wanted one, and now seems like the perfect time.