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Dia’s Diary

We know there are many fathers out there who want to be a part of the process but do not really know how.  Many obstetricians, pediatricians, midwives, and new parents don’t realize how critical dad’s role is in creating and supporting a successful breastfeeding environ"center"? It is imperative that fathers get education on the benefits, both short - and long-term, that breastfeeding confers. Breastfed babies become healthy children and adults -- physically, emotionally and intellectually.

Hot Off the Press! -- Breastfeeding Facts for Fathers (New Edition)

Platypus Media is excited to offer a new, revised edition of Breastfeeding Facts for Fathers. Available in English and Spanish in December!

Click here to order.

The BBC Reports 18 July 2008: Breastfeeding “Trust” Hormone Clue

Scientists have for the first time shown how a "trust" hormone is released in the brains of breastfeeding mothers. It is further proof that breastfeeding promotes the maternal bond through a biochemical process.

The team at Warwick University said the hormone oxytocin was known to be released during breastfeeding but the mechanism in the brain was unclear. Oxytocin also produces contractions during labour and causes milk to be "let down" from the mammary glands. The hormone is produced in the hypothalamus - the part of the brain that controls body temperature, thirst, hunger, anger and tiredness. It has been shown to promote feelings of trust and confidence and to reduce fear.

The study, published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology, found that in response to a baby suckling, specialised neurons in the mother’s brain start to release the hormone from the nerve endings. But surprisingly, oxytocin is also released from the part of the cell called the dendrite, which is usually the part of a neurone which receives, rather than transmits information. Using a mathematical model, the researchers worked out that this release from the dendrites allows a massive increase in communication between the neurons, coordinating a "swarm" of oxytocin factories producing intense bursts of the hormone. This is an example of an "emergent process", the scientists said - a closely coordinated action developing without a single leader, in the same as a flock of birds or insects swarms. Study leader, Professor Jianfeng Feng said: "We knew that these pulses arise because, during suckling, oxytocin neurons fire together in dramatic synchronised bursts. "But exactly how these bursts arise has been a major problem that has until now eluded explanation. "The model gives us a possible explanation of an important event in the brain that could be used to study and explain many other similar brain activities."

A spokesperson for the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) said breastfeeding for up to two years can have "significant health benefits" for mother and baby.  Full article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7513267.stm

The Breastfeeding Community Goes Viral

Co-Sleeping Book Reaches Audiences Worldwide!

Rave reviews are coming in from all over the world!  Here are some excerpts of reviews from Canada, the UK, South Africa, and even the United States, about James J. McKenna’s Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping. 

In a recent issue of Today's Parent Pregnancy & Birth, Canada's magazine for expectant parents, the book was featured with a full color photograph, and the review highlighted McKenna's "admirably balanced look at the issue" of cosleeping. "But perhaps the best thing of all about this book is that McKenna treats parents as if they are intelligent enough to fully learn the facts and make responsible decisions. It would be nice if more scientists did that."

A lengthy review of James J. McKenna's Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping appeared in the October 2007 issue of New Digest, the journal by The National Childbirth Trust. The review calls Sleeping with Your Baby "a welcome addition to the existing literature available to parents on co-sleeping with babies." McKenna's book "consolidates his work into a comprehensive and well-researched guide for parents which presents the benefits of co-sleeping in a balanced and readable way."

Pat Törngren, a childbirth and family life educator in South Africa, recommended Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping in the sidebar of her article titled, “Sleeping Like a Baby?”  Published with a color photograph of the book in the January 2008 issue of South Africa’s top-selling parenting magazine, Living and Loving, the article calls it “the book for parents who may be concerned about the safety of sleeping with their babies.”  She says, “Safe co-sleeping arrangements are described in detail, and information is given about high-risk situations where it is preferable to have baby sleeping on a separate surface (e.g. in a side-cot).”  Check out the magazine online at www.livingandloving.co.za

James A. Cox recommended James J. McKenna’s Sleeping With Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping in the Parenting Shelf of the Midwest Book Review’s February 2008 Bookwatch.  He called the book “an excellent guide to parents who are interested in sleeping with a baby,” and McKenna “an authority who considers the real benefits of co-sleeping and refutes arguments against it.”  Thanks for recommending Sleeping With Your Baby as “a pick for any library catering to parents!”

Texas Tech University’s Sleep Survey is Online!

Infant sleep is a subject near and dear to our hearts.  Here’s a chance to be part of an important study on maternal and child sleep.  The study will be amongst the first to document where and how much babies sleep, whether mothers tell others (including their health care providers) about where their baby sleeps, and whether breastfeeding mothers report more or less fatigue. The more mothers who take the survey, the stronger the data will be!

The study is overseen by Thomas W. Hale, R.Ph. Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics, and can be taken at: http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/lact/.

Breastfeeding Study Shows Most Moms Quit Early

Although 77 percent of moms nationally start to breastfeed, the new Brigham Young University study found that only 36 percent of babies are breastfed through six months, well short of the federal government's goal to hit 50 percent by 2010. The American Association of Pediatricians recommends continued breastfeeding for at least one year.

Many personal characteristics, such as a mother's age and education level, influence whether a baby is breastfed. Surprisingly, the new study found that where babies live also plays a role." We are finding that breastfeeding rates aren't just explained by the individuals who live in these areas, there's something about the areas themselves and breastfeeding," said BYU co-author John Hoffmann. The researchers arrived at this finding by matching moms' survey responses to state and metropolitan data on infant health. Unfortunately, breastfeeding rates are lowest in areas where babies' health is considered most at risk. In the Baltimore and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, which rank low on infant health scores, only 30 percent of babies are breastfed six months or more.

"Where the need is greatest, breastfeeding happens the least," Forste said. "It's a sad irony both in terms of health needs and the expense these families incur buying formula." Read the full article here.

New Study Suggests Hospitals Can Influence Breastfeeding Success

Breast milk and breastfeeding are recognized to be the ideal choices of nutrition and feeding for infants. Breastfeeding is the normal method of feeding infants, and provides many benefits to both infants and mothers.

National goals in the U.S. are a breastfeeding initiation rate of 75 percent (with an exclusive breastfeeding rate for the first 3 months of 60 percent), and continuation of 50 percent at 6 months of age (with 25 percent exclusively breastfeeding).

Dia Michels on NPR

Platypus Media founder and president, Dia L. Michels, made her national radio talk show debut recently.  On October 28, 2008, Dia was a guest on Tell Me More with Michel Martin. Tell Me More brings fresh voices and perspectives to public radio. Capturing the headlines, issues, and pleasures relevant to multicultural life in America, the daily one-hour series is aired on National Public Radio stations nationwide.  Dia participated in a 20-minute segment focused on Halloween.  The guests included Matthew Mead, author of the newly released book, Halloween Tricks and Treats, Jolene Ivey, founder of Mocha Moms, Dilcia Stephens-Medley, a Mocha Moms member, and Dia.  It gave Dia a chance to discuss parenting and science education, and reveal her secret Halloween Jell-O recipe.  You can listen to the show here.