A group of mothers on Facebook have formed the Association of Informed Mothers - AIM. This group was initially created to write a submission to Health Canada in response to their draft document "Nutrition for Healty Term Infants: birth to 6 months". This document will replace the current Canadian Guidelines that are in place, and while they have made some excelent changes, some areas of the draft document were very poorly worded, or incorrect. The following is AIM's submission to Health Canada and we would like to invite everyone who agrees with our document to sign your name to the bottom of it as an interested member of the public. If you wish to have your name added to the submission please go to the facebook note HERE and comment with your name, city and province. this document will only be open for signatures till 9pm this evening. so please feel free to share it out on your groups etc to spread the word!
A huge thank you to all the moms who poured their heart and soul into this document!
Dani
********************************************
The Association of Informed Mothers (hereafter called AIM) is a stakeholder group of mothers who support and advocate for mothers' rights to make fully informed choices for the health and well-being of both themselves and their families. To do this, mothers need access to information that is in the spirit of full disclosure and is provided free of influence by organizations, third parties, or persons that hold a conflict of interest. It is AIM's belief that Health Canada is responsible to provide information to the citizens of Canada that comply with these points.
AIM fully supports INFACT Canada's submission to Health Canada's Committee reviewing the guidelines for "Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants". AIM strongly believes that INFACT Canada's submission is of great value to the Health Canada Committee, as the information it provides is accurate, does not create a conflict of interest and is well researched. (A copy of INFACT Canada's submission is included at the end of this document).
AIM also fully supports UNICEF's submission to the Health Canada Committee. Health Canada has agreed to follow the World Health Organization's (WHO) infant feeding recommendations, and therefore any statement made by Health Canada should be aligned with UNICEF's submission (A copy of UNICEF's submission is included at the end of this document).
The following is a list of AIM's key concerns with Health Canada's draft document "Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants - birth to six months". AIM has specified a list of changes to be made to the document. These changes are required for the draft document, in order to provide the information parents need to make fully informed decisions for their family.
1. The language of the Health Canada draft document needs to be changed to reflect the normalcy of breastfeeding. Statements such as "the benefits of breastfeeding" should be changed to "risks of artificial feeding methods" or "the importance of breastfeeding". Breastfeeding is the biological norm for all human children, referring to its outcome as "benefits" implies it is outside and/or above the norm. For further information of the use of language and its effects on normalizing breastfeeding, please refer to the article "Watch your Language", written by Diane Weissinger, Journal of Human Lactation, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1996.
2. It is legally and ethically advisable for Health Canada to omit statement #5: "Commercial infant formulas are the only acceptable alternative to breastmilk." from these guidelines. To make such statements is unethical, inadvisable, and untrue. The inclusion of statement 5 directly contradicts Health Canada's acknowledgement and public acceptance of the WHO Infant feeding guidelines, which state that "For those few health situations where infants cannot, or should not, be breastfed, the choice of the best alternative – expressed breast milk from an infant’s own mother, breast milk from a healthy wet-nurse or a human-milk bank, or a breast-milk substitute fed with a cup,which is a safer method than a feeding bottle and teat – depending on individual circumstances."apps.who.int/gb/archive/pdf_files/WHA55/ea5515.pdf
Statement #5 is also contrary to UNICEF's recommendations for infant feeding, and undermines the use of donated and banked breastmilk.
Currently, several provinces are researching the creation of milk banks, and the Canadian Paediatric Society is calling for the development of milk banks across Canada. The use of donor milk, whether through formal or informal channels, is vitally important to the health of infants whose mothers are not able to exclusively breastfeed, and is fully supported by WHO. It is the recommendation of AIM that Health Canada develop guidelines to address the use of donor milk, outlining the risks and benefits of using donor milk vs infant formula, and provide the information necessary for parents to make fully informed decisions about feeding their infants.
3. Health Canada should remove all sections in the draft document that discuss the use of artificial breastmilk substitutes. Those sections addressing commercial infant formulas should be made into a separate document or included in an appendix on the use of artificial feeding methods and products. Full disclosure of information about the risks of using commercial infant formulas and safe feeding methods is imperative in order for parents to be fully informed when making infant feeding decisions. By placing nutritional information about infant formulas side by side with breastfeeding, Health Canada is creating the false impression that they are equal and interchangeable methods for feeding infants. This is untrue, misleading, and does not meet the principle of full disclosure, nor does it give parents the proper information upon which to base their decisions.
4. We submit that Health Canada should make its stance clear by making an official statement affirming that Canada is both a signatory to, and is compliant with, the World Health Organization International Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent resolutions.
The Government of Canada is a signatory to the International Code for the Marketing of Artificial Breastmilk Substitutes and as such is required to pass legislation which provides for the enforcement of all provisions of the Code. Health Canada not only has a responsibility to remind all levels of government of this requirement, but also to ensure that all health care and related facilities within Canada are compliant with the Code. To ensure this compliance, Health Canada must immediately inform all physicians, nurses and health care facility administrators of the full range of provisions of the Code. Upon completion of dissemination of this information Health Canada must ensure that all professionals and facilities in Canada meet the requirements of the Code. INFACT can assist in this matter through the provision of information and resources.
On May 21st, 2011 it will be 30 years since Canada and 118 other countries signed the WHO Code, yet the Canadian government continues to refuse to pass legislation to protect and enforce the Code.
5. The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is integral to ensuring mothers and babies are provided with the minimal support and information needed to begin their breastfeeding relationship at birth. The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) should be fully endorsed by Health Canada. All Canadian hospitals should be informed of all BFHI recommendations and should be striving to attain BFHI status by a set date. BFHI should be recognized by Health Canada as the minimum requirement, not a luxury.
6. The Health Canada draft document should focus on the need for better breastfeeding and lactation education for all medical professionals (doctors, nurses, midwives etc.), and any personnel that come into regular contact with new mothers (social workers, etc). Health Canada should also advise provincial and territorial health policy makers that breastfeeding support and education at these levels are seriously lacking, and that this lack of education negatively impacts the ability of medical professionals to support mother and baby dyads. Health professionals who are unable to provide educated lactation support should be advised that mothers must be referred to professionals that are fully trained, rather than giving misleading and/or inaccurate advice that is detrimental to breastfeeding success.
7. The statement made in the draft document: "4. In Canada, all infants need supplemental vitamin D. " is incorrect and misleading. Health Canada cannot accurately state that ALL infants need to be supplemented with Vitamin D. Instead, AIM recommends that Health Canada set up prenatal maternal testing for Vitamin D levels. If mothers are shown to be deficient in Vitamin D, prenatal supplementation has been shown to optimize vitamin D levels in infants. Canadian mothers are at higher risk of being Vitamin D deficient due to northern latitude and long winters with little sun exposure. Therefore, it is the recommendation of AIM that Canadian mothers be advised by Health Canada to take a Vitamin D supplement along with folic acid to ensure infant health after birth.
8. AIM does not agree with the current American Academy of Paediatrics recommendation that breastfed infants should be supplemented with iron. Breastmilk has been proven to contain adequate iron to support infant health, except in cases of severe maternal anemia. It is AIM's recommendation that Health Canada encourage prenatal testing to address maternal anemia before birth.
9. The statement by Health Canada in section 2.7: "The impact of cesarean birth on breastfeeding appears to have changed over time. In most cases today, cesarean birth does not impede breastfeeding" is incorrect and needs to be removed. There is no evidence to support this statement, and strong evidence to contradict it. Health Canada needs to set up separate guidelines that examine and make recommendations about medical interventions during pregnancy and childbirth such as chemical inductions, the routine use of IVs, epidurals, invasive testing and pain medications during labour, the use of surgical interventions, such as forceps/vacuum extractions and cesarean sections, and early cord clamping and their effect on maternal and fetal outcomes, with special attention given to breastfeeding initiation and longevity . Perinatal practices are one of the most powerful indicators of long term breastfeeding success and are therefore vitally important considerations.
10. In section 9 the Draft Document states that "9. At six months, infants need complementary foods along with continued breastfeeding to meet their nutrient needs". This statement gives the impression that breastmilk is no longer adequate after 6 months and that it suddenly loses it's ability to nourish an infant at this time. This is inaccurate. It should also be noted that not all infants are ready for or require complementary foods at a set age, i.e. 6 months. A statement that "Infants should not be given complementary foods before 6 months, but after that time introduction solids may begin" would be preferable.
It is the opinion of AIM that the committee responsible for these guidelines is lacking oversight by the public and should include members that are involved in stakeholder groups or members of the general public who are interested in the outcomes of the draft document and Health Canada's new guidelines.
Currently breastfeeding initiation rates in Canada are excellent. However, by 3-6 months the percentage of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their babies drops radically. This extreme drop in breastfeeding rates directly affects the health and wellbeing of mother-baby dyads and is an accurate indicator of the lack of information and lactation support currently available to families across Canada. It should be noted that the recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding to six months is often undermined or outright ignored by health care professionals who encourage or recommend or demand supplementation with infant formula before the baby has even been released from hospital. Evidence-based information and education provided to parents and health-care professionals is integral to the increase of long-term breastfeeding rates in Canada. As members of AIM, and as mothers, we have a vested interest in increasing breastfeeding information and education available to healthcare providers and families across Canada. We therefore respectfully request that Health Canada review our submission and make the changes necessary to bring Canada in line with the World Health Organization, and to maintain its place as a key player in the forefront of worldwide health.
We thank you for the opportunity to provide our recommendations. We would like to be included as a stakeholder in any future consultation on these or similar guidelines.
Association of Informed Mothers
Danielle Arnold
Brantford ON
Showing posts with label donated breast milk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label donated breast milk. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Introducing: Human Milk for Human Babies- formerly Eats on Feets Global
In a grand announcement a few months ago, the Toronto Star published an article "Pediatricians call for breast milk banks across Canada". Applause, yes applause. It's a wonderful thing that the media has jumped on the band wagon and is making public announcements like this, I mean, any publicity is good publicity KWIM? Horray for Breastmilk!But I have to admit that it irks me. Mothers and Doctors, like Dr. Jack Newman, have been crying out for Milk Banks for Years- YEARS!!!! Not only that, but Canada does have a Milk Bank in Vancouver BC... a milk bank that they have been trying to close down for years!! I wrote an article on the topic just a couple of months ago: Canada Needs Milk Banks!!!
Yes, there is absolutely no doubt that Canada needs Milk Banks, and lots of them. But if they are run like the BC Womens Hospital Milk Bank, keeping the liquid gold just for themselves, then how will that help babies in need in outlying communities? And what about those "babies in need"? The article in the Toronto Star yesterday states:
The milk, which would be pasteurized with the same heating method dairies use, would go mainly to two groups of infants, Unger says.“There would be the really, really pre-term babies, the extremely low birth weight babies,” she says. “The other group of babies are the group who need surgery on their bowels.”
While no one would argue that these fragile infants desperately need breastmilk, ALL babies deserve breastmilk. What about babies who's mothers are not physiologically capable of producing enough milk to exclusively breastfeeding their babies? What about other fragile babies? What about older infants that are absolutely reliant on breastmilk to survive? Infants like Anaya who are extremely ill and intolerant of ANYTHING except breastmilk?
ALL BABIES DESERVE BREASTMILK!
Breastfeeding is NOT best, Breastfeeding is Normal. But what if you are one of the (Hypothesized) 3% of women who are physically unable to produce enough milk to exclusively nurse their babies? What if you have done everything possible to build and boost your milk supply.... and you still can't produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed your baby? What then?
For many mothers they had only one option... until now. NOW there is a global movement going on, a movement to get breastmilk to every baby in need through milk donations. It's called Milk Sharing.
Right here in Ontario there are currently no milk banks. So for a baby to receive breastmilk, the only way is from their mother, or through donations from other breastfeeding mothers. Hence the launch of "Human Milk 4 Human Babies". We are here to help families that need milk, find families that are willing to donate milk.
Originally we started a global breastmilk sharing network called "Eats on Feets Global" back in Oct 2010. Breastfeeding and childbirth activist Emma Kwasnica decided to launch a global network to help mothers who needed breastmilk find mothers who had breastmilk to spare. In the summer of 2010 a Phoenix based midwife Shell Walker started a local community page on Facebook dedicated to milk sharing. Emma, an advocate for informed choice, who was already connecting people around the globe who wanted to share milk via her personal profile page, approached Shell and asked to use her name "Eats on Feets" for the Global milk sharing network. Permission was granted by Shell and Emma launched Eats On Feets GLOBAL. This network grew quickly to over 100 communities spanning the globe.
Last week Eats On Feets GLOBAL changed its name to Human Milk 4 Human Babies Global Network. Within hours, donors and recipients were making matches on HM4HB. There are now 275 volunteers administering over 100 community pages in 42 countries. Donors and recipients are using the network to make matches literally every hour of every day. For more information about the changes to the Global networks name please click HERE
Milk Sharing is not a new fad. Milk sharing is as old as the human race and is still practised in societies where breastfeeding is the social norm. Mothers have been nursing other babies since the beginning of time and babies have thrived. All across the world mothers are forming impromptu "villages", caring and nurturing their children together, caring for and helping each other, and nursing each others babies in an effort to provide healthy human food in a nurturing manner when it's needed.
Every baby deserves human milk, we can't state that enough. Sometimes we need to all pull together to make sure that no baby is left behind. Cows milk for baby cows, Human milk for baby humans. It's really that simple.
If you are a mom with a baby in need of breastmilk come to Human Milk For Human Babies and you'll find moms with milk to give. If you're a mom that has breastmilk to give, come to HM4HB and you will find a mother in need of your generous donation. It's all about getting Human Milk to Human Babies!!!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
"Lets analyze a milk share study"
WE are currently editing this blog post- sorry for the inconvenience, I'll have it back up asap!!!!!!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Australia and Breastfeeding/milk sharing in the news!
Here are two of the latest news stories out of Australia- both mention "eats on feets" and openly talk about milk sharing, cross nursing and wet nursing!
The first is an article from News.com.au - The Herald Nov 2 2010
The first is an article from News.com.au - The Herald Nov 2 2010
HERE to read the entire article
Introducing "HM4HB", formerly Eats of Feets Global milk sharing network.
But I have to admit that it irks me. Mothers and Doctors, like Dr. Jack Newman, have been crying out for Milk Banks for Years- YEARS!!!! Not only that, but Canada does have a Milk Bank in Vancouver BC... a milk bank that they have been trying to close down for years!! I wrote an article on the topic just a couple of months ago: Canada Needs Milk Banks!!!
Yes, there is absolutely no doubt that Canada needs Milk Banks, and lots of them. But if they are run like the BC Womens Hospital Milk Bank, keeping the liquid gold just for themselves, then how will that help babies in need in outlying communities? And what about those "babies in need"? The article in the Toronto Star yesterday states:
The milk, which would be pasteurized with the same heating method dairies use, would go mainly to two groups of infants, Unger says.While no one would argue that these fragile infants desperately need breastmilk, ALL babies deserve breastmilk. What about babies who's mothers are not physiologically capable of producing enough milk to exclusively breastfeeding their babies? What about other fragile babies? What about older infants that are absolutely reliant on breastmilk to survive? Infants like Anaya who are extremely ill and intolerant of ANYTHING except breastmilk?
“There would be the really, really pre-term babies, the extremely low birth weight babies,” she says. “The other group of babies are the group who need surgery on their bowels.”
Breastfeeding is NOT best, Breastfeeding is Normal. But what if you are one of the (Hypothesized) 3% of women who are physically unable to produce enough milk to exclusively nurse their babies? What if you have done everything possible to build and boost your milk supply.... and you still can't produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed your baby? What then?
For many mothers they had only one option... until now. NOW there is a global movement going on, a movement to get breastmilk to every baby in need through milk donations. It's called Milk Sharing.
Right here in Ontario there are currently no milk banks. So for a baby to receive breastmilk, the only way is from their mother, or through donations from other breastfeeding mothers. Hence the launch of "Human Milk 4 Human Babies". We are here to help families that need milk, find families that are willing to donate milk.
Originally we started a global breastmilk sharing network called "Eats on Feets Global" back in Oct 2010. Breastfeeding and childbirth activist Emma Kwasnica decided to launch a global network to help mothers who needed breastmilk find mothers who had breastmilk to spare. In the summer of 2010 a Phoenix based midwife Shell Walker started a local community page on Facebook dedicated to milk sharing. Emma, an advocate for informed choice, who was already connecting people around the globe who wanted to share milk via her personal profile page, approached Shell and asked to use her name "Eats on Feets" for the Global milk sharing network. Permission was granted by Shell and Emma launched Eats On Feets GLOBAL. This network grew quickly to over 100 communities spanning the globe.
Last week Eats On Feets GLOBAL changed its name to Human Milk 4 Human Babies Global Network. Within hours, donors and recipients were making matches on HM4HB. There are now 275 volunteers administering over 100 community pages in 42 countries. Donors and recipients are using the network to make matches literally every hour of every day. For more information about the changes to the Global networks name please click HERE
Milk Sharing is not a new fad. Milk sharing is as old as the human race and is still practised in societies where breastfeeding is the social norm. Mothers have been nursing other babies since the beginning of time and babies have thrived. All across the world mothers are forming impromptu "villages", caring and nurturing their children together, caring for and helping each other, and nursing each others babies in an effort to provide healthy human food in a nurturing manner when it's needed.
Every baby deserves human milk, we can't state that enough. Sometimes we need to all pull together to make sure that no baby is left behind. Cows milk for baby cows, Human milk for baby humans. It's really that simple.
If you are a mom with a baby in need of breastmilk come to Human Milk For Human Babies and you'll find moms with milk to give. If you're a mom that has breastmilk to give, come to HM4HB and you will find a mother in need of your generous donation. It's all about getting Human Milk to Human Babies!!!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Milk for Baby Jayden
This is an amazing story of baby Jayden who is alive today because of the generous moms who've donated their breastmilk. Please forward this story to as many people as possible- especially if you are in the Michigan area.
Jayden was born cocaine and alcohol addicted, with congenital syphilis, at 31 weeks gestation. She had no skin on the palms of her hands or feet and had to have skin grafts. They could find no formula that Jayden could tolerate well, but settled on the one that she had the "least severe reaction to."
When she was about eight weeks old, she was assigned a foster parent, who came to do kangaroo care with her for eight days before she took her home. Jayden was completely blind and profoundly deaf, and would need to be accustomed to "mom's" smell and touch before they sent her home. When she went home, she was the most critical discharge they have ever had from that NICU, which routinely sees the sickest of babies. Basically, with tears in their eyes, the nurses sent Jayden home to die. Jayden was insulin dependant (with critically unstable blood sugars, typically either below 60 or above 400), on oxygen 24 hours a day, and set off her apnea monitor 6-10 times a day. In order to set off a monitor, she would have to not breathe for many seconds at a time. She had gained and lost the same three ounces since birth, and was no more than four and a half pounds.
Her foster mother asked over and over again of anybody who had authority why this baby couldn't be on breastmilk, shouldn't this baby be on breast milk, what did she have to do to get this baby on breastmilk? Over and over, she was basically told that this was a medicaid baby and that the state wouldn't PAY for banked milk (which costs a minimum of 4 dollars an ounce, and has been pasteurized) for a MEDICAID baby. Finally, one day, when Jayden was literally activly dying, an infectious disease doctor looked at her foster mom (who is a friend of mine because of foster work and doula work) and said, "I won't tell you NOT to give her breastmilk. We know that it would give her the best chance!" So, we got her some frozen breastmilk.
With her first bottle of human milk, Jayden's blood sugar regulated. She is typically somewhere around 120 now. Within the first three weeks, she regained her sight and hearing. Her new pediatrician says that when somebody is actively dying their brain will shut off all non-essential functions--and hearing and sight are non-essential functions. The first week on breastmilk she started to only set off her apnea monitor during the night's deepest sleep...and only then typically once a night. Within three weeks, they took it off of her completely, because she just didn't set it off any more. The first week she gained and KEPT ON four ounces. The next week three. The next week SEVEN. At this point, the new pediatrician put her arms around the Foster Mom's shoulders and said, "If you hadn't given that baby human milk when you did, she would be dead today. You are a hero." Eight weeks later she had gained nearly four pounds. When she was nearly nine and a half months old she was eleven and a half pounds! We now have full cooperation with her new pediatrician and the state to give her donated human milk, no questions asked.
We have tried her on formula again, and on "extra calories" breastmilk boosters several times, to see what would happen should we run out of breastmilk. The baby immediately goes into crisis again. Formula is NOT okay. She is showing strong allergies to cow's milk proteins, soy proteins, and corn and corn derivatives, which pretty much eliminates every form of artificial milk we have available.
Through testing when she was about ten months old, we are sure that the syphilis is completely eradicated. The doctors thought that perhaps she was born without a pituitary gland, because she is so small (personally, since the child didn't gain and keep on an ounce until she was 3.5 mos old, and then had a TON of healing to do, the growth--or lack thereof-- always made sense to me). However, we have found out that she does indeed have a fully working pituitary gland...but is one of 18 people in the world right now who was born without a pancreas. This makes a little more sense, as she was not digesting as much of the milk as she could have been. She is working with an ND, and has started to have success with some of the allergies she has, especially to digestive enzymes (which she will need to take forever to properly digest her food). When we get her non-allergic to those, we will start to work on food allergies. At this point, they are so severe that the baby will not be able to start solids until she has been treated, as she gets deathly ill from anything that is not human milk, even now at 17 mos old. (She is now 17 pounds!!)
Jayden is now crawling, sitting herself up, standing in the middle of the room by herself, and creeping on objects! Since she was deaf for the first three and a half months of her life, her progress with making sounds is "age appropriate," and her ambulation is more than appropriate for her adjusted age, as well. She has gone from a baby on Death's Door, to a toddler who is working to be a normal child, whose only "disability" to speak of will be an insulin pump! But to keep her well, we need human milk. She cannot tolerate anything else yet. We know that this could be affected by the enzyme issues, but also have a strong suspicion that it has a lot to do with the drugs and infections that were in her system when she was born, and the damage done by the high fructose corn syrup and other inflammatory factors in the formula for the first months of her life on top of the other damage that was already there at birth.
The foster mom particiaptes in "milk share" which is an online community of pumpers who donate for the cost of supplies. However, if we can get donated milk from our immediate community, this would make life a lot simpler! We have drop points in in Troy on Wednesdays, as well as in Livonia, Lake Orion, and if we could get a driver from Lansing to bring milk in the direction of Livonia, Lake Orion or Auburn Hills, we could have a drop point in Lansing as well. We have donations of bottles from evenflo and ameda, so if you want to pump but cannot afford to supply bags, we have bottles to use instead (and that will keep the used bags out of the landfill, as well!). If you have the ability to spend the money, you could also buy evenflo bottles to use (please mark your bottles with masking tape, with your initials, your drop point, and the date pumped).
Jayden cannot tolerate homemade formulas made of goat milk or other kinds of human milk substitutes.
Please, if you or somebody you know who is breastfeeding would be willing to continue to save a baby's life, she, her foster mother, the family who has agreed to adopt her and all the people who have come to love Jayden would be eternally grateful!
Please go to the web page set up for donations of breastmilk for Jayden
Our Little Miracle, and How Breastmilk is Saving Her Life
Jayden at 10 weeks. Blind and Deaf.
Jayden was born cocaine and alcohol addicted, with congenital syphilis, at 31 weeks gestation. She had no skin on the palms of her hands or feet and had to have skin grafts. They could find no formula that Jayden could tolerate well, but settled on the one that she had the "least severe reaction to."When she was about eight weeks old, she was assigned a foster parent, who came to do kangaroo care with her for eight days before she took her home. Jayden was completely blind and profoundly deaf, and would need to be accustomed to "mom's" smell and touch before they sent her home. When she went home, she was the most critical discharge they have ever had from that NICU, which routinely sees the sickest of babies. Basically, with tears in their eyes, the nurses sent Jayden home to die. Jayden was insulin dependant (with critically unstable blood sugars, typically either below 60 or above 400), on oxygen 24 hours a day, and set off her apnea monitor 6-10 times a day. In order to set off a monitor, she would have to not breathe for many seconds at a time. She had gained and lost the same three ounces since birth, and was no more than four and a half pounds.
Her foster mother asked over and over again of anybody who had authority why this baby couldn't be on breastmilk, shouldn't this baby be on breast milk, what did she have to do to get this baby on breastmilk? Over and over, she was basically told that this was a medicaid baby and that the state wouldn't PAY for banked milk (which costs a minimum of 4 dollars an ounce, and has been pasteurized) for a MEDICAID baby. Finally, one day, when Jayden was literally activly dying, an infectious disease doctor looked at her foster mom (who is a friend of mine because of foster work and doula work) and said, "I won't tell you NOT to give her breastmilk. We know that it would give her the best chance!" So, we got her some frozen breastmilk.
With her first bottle of human milk, Jayden's blood sugar regulated. She is typically somewhere around 120 now. Within the first three weeks, she regained her sight and hearing. Her new pediatrician says that when somebody is actively dying their brain will shut off all non-essential functions--and hearing and sight are non-essential functions. The first week on breastmilk she started to only set off her apnea monitor during the night's deepest sleep...and only then typically once a night. Within three weeks, they took it off of her completely, because she just didn't set it off any more. The first week she gained and KEPT ON four ounces. The next week three. The next week SEVEN. At this point, the new pediatrician put her arms around the Foster Mom's shoulders and said, "If you hadn't given that baby human milk when you did, she would be dead today. You are a hero." Eight weeks later she had gained nearly four pounds. When she was nearly nine and a half months old she was eleven and a half pounds! We now have full cooperation with her new pediatrician and the state to give her donated human milk, no questions asked.
After about six weeks on human milk.
We have tried her on formula again, and on "extra calories" breastmilk boosters several times, to see what would happen should we run out of breastmilk. The baby immediately goes into crisis again. Formula is NOT okay. She is showing strong allergies to cow's milk proteins, soy proteins, and corn and corn derivatives, which pretty much eliminates every form of artificial milk we have available. Through testing when she was about ten months old, we are sure that the syphilis is completely eradicated. The doctors thought that perhaps she was born without a pituitary gland, because she is so small (personally, since the child didn't gain and keep on an ounce until she was 3.5 mos old, and then had a TON of healing to do, the growth--or lack thereof-- always made sense to me). However, we have found out that she does indeed have a fully working pituitary gland...but is one of 18 people in the world right now who was born without a pancreas. This makes a little more sense, as she was not digesting as much of the milk as she could have been. She is working with an ND, and has started to have success with some of the allergies she has, especially to digestive enzymes (which she will need to take forever to properly digest her food). When we get her non-allergic to those, we will start to work on food allergies. At this point, they are so severe that the baby will not be able to start solids until she has been treated, as she gets deathly ill from anything that is not human milk, even now at 17 mos old. (She is now 17 pounds!!)
16 Months, and now she's pulling to standing and creeping. :)
Jayden is now crawling, sitting herself up, standing in the middle of the room by herself, and creeping on objects! Since she was deaf for the first three and a half months of her life, her progress with making sounds is "age appropriate," and her ambulation is more than appropriate for her adjusted age, as well. She has gone from a baby on Death's Door, to a toddler who is working to be a normal child, whose only "disability" to speak of will be an insulin pump! But to keep her well, we need human milk. She cannot tolerate anything else yet. We know that this could be affected by the enzyme issues, but also have a strong suspicion that it has a lot to do with the drugs and infections that were in her system when she was born, and the damage done by the high fructose corn syrup and other inflammatory factors in the formula for the first months of her life on top of the other damage that was already there at birth.The foster mom particiaptes in "milk share" which is an online community of pumpers who donate for the cost of supplies. However, if we can get donated milk from our immediate community, this would make life a lot simpler! We have drop points in in Troy on Wednesdays, as well as in Livonia, Lake Orion, and if we could get a driver from Lansing to bring milk in the direction of Livonia, Lake Orion or Auburn Hills, we could have a drop point in Lansing as well. We have donations of bottles from evenflo and ameda, so if you want to pump but cannot afford to supply bags, we have bottles to use instead (and that will keep the used bags out of the landfill, as well!). If you have the ability to spend the money, you could also buy evenflo bottles to use (please mark your bottles with masking tape, with your initials, your drop point, and the date pumped).
Jayden cannot tolerate homemade formulas made of goat milk or other kinds of human milk substitutes.
Please, if you or somebody you know who is breastfeeding would be willing to continue to save a baby's life, she, her foster mother, the family who has agreed to adopt her and all the people who have come to love Jayden would be eternally grateful!
Please go to the web page set up for donations of breastmilk for Jayden
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Canada Needs Milk Banks!!!
Our government likes to spout off that they are oh so supportive of breastfeeding and in some ways they are. In Canada women can get a total of 12 months of maternity leave, our Rights to breastfeed in public is protected by law, and mothers are legally allowed to pump/nurse at work. It all sounds so wonderful, yet the reality is that none of this type of so called "Breastfeeding Support" costs our government a thing. We pay into our EI (employment insurance) premiums- many of us for years and years. Upholding a womans Right to breastfeed in public also costs our government nothing. So if our Government is soooooo supportive of breastfeeding, then where's the cash?
I've been ranting and talking about the lack of breastfeeding support in this country for several years. Words are very pretty, and let's face it politicians seems to know all the pretty words, but words don't put breastmilk into little tummies!
Never mind the fact that there is no standardized training for medical personnel in Breastfeeding and lactation.
Never mind the fact that there is no government support to encourage hospitals to attain "Baby Friendly" status
Never mind the fact that the government quietly keeps cutting back and closing breastfeeding support systems/groups cross the country
Never mind the fact that the politicians are lying SOB's that would sell their own mother if they thought it would net them a profit (opps! did I say that out loud?)
Lets talk about milk banks. Did you know that Canada has one lone milk bank (located in Vancouver BC)? Did you know that they have closed it or attempted to close it down several times over the years due to funding cut backs and that the only reason it's still running is because every time they attempt to close it again, the public goes wild and organizes mass protests and gets the media involved? Then as soon as it's all quiet.... they try to close it down again!!! Did you know that the milk processed at the BC Womens Hospital Milk Bank is only used for patients of the hospital, and that any milk shipped elsewhere is sold to the recipient?
What would the reaction be if blood banks suddenly started selling the donated blood to people in desperate need? I think that the media would have a heyday and that the government would be forced to step in and make sure that the DONATED blood was made available to ALL those in need of it.
To those in NEED. Like those tiny preemie babies, those babies born with serious medical issues, and those babies born to mothers who cannot produce their own breastmilk- they NEED breastmilk. Women all around this country are asking where they can donate their milk, asking if there is anyone that needs the sometimes hundreds of ounces of breastmilk that they have pumped and saved. We are willing, we are able...... yet the government refuses to acknowledge the need or the necessity. Sometimes the mothers of these babies are lucky and they have a support network in place that allows them to reach out to the breastfeeding community and accept private donations, but the reality for most mothers with infants in need is that they just have to make do with whatever is available through their hospital. Babies that could of been saved if they'd been fed breastmilk die. Because our Government does not support breastfeeding... or at least they don't if it's going to cost them anything.
Apparently the lives of this countries youngest citizens don't matter.
I've been ranting and talking about the lack of breastfeeding support in this country for several years. Words are very pretty, and let's face it politicians seems to know all the pretty words, but words don't put breastmilk into little tummies!
Never mind the fact that there is no standardized training for medical personnel in Breastfeeding and lactation.
Never mind the fact that there is no government support to encourage hospitals to attain "Baby Friendly" status
Never mind the fact that the government quietly keeps cutting back and closing breastfeeding support systems/groups cross the country
Never mind the fact that the politicians are lying SOB's that would sell their own mother if they thought it would net them a profit (opps! did I say that out loud?)
Lets talk about milk banks. Did you know that Canada has one lone milk bank (located in Vancouver BC)? Did you know that they have closed it or attempted to close it down several times over the years due to funding cut backs and that the only reason it's still running is because every time they attempt to close it again, the public goes wild and organizes mass protests and gets the media involved? Then as soon as it's all quiet.... they try to close it down again!!! Did you know that the milk processed at the BC Womens Hospital Milk Bank is only used for patients of the hospital, and that any milk shipped elsewhere is sold to the recipient?
WOW!!! isn't that supportive of our government? It's said that actions speak louder than words, so I'd say that all their pretty words don't mean jack shit when compared to their actions.
BC Women's Milk Bank
The BC Women’s Milk Bank has operated for over thirty years. It provides pasteurized donor milk to high risk and ill children when their mothers are not able to provide enough breast milk. The pasteurized donor milk is provided with a doctor’s or midwife’s prescription. A processing fee is charged for recipients outside of BC Children’s & BC Women’s Hospitals.
What would the reaction be if blood banks suddenly started selling the donated blood to people in desperate need? I think that the media would have a heyday and that the government would be forced to step in and make sure that the DONATED blood was made available to ALL those in need of it.
To those in NEED. Like those tiny preemie babies, those babies born with serious medical issues, and those babies born to mothers who cannot produce their own breastmilk- they NEED breastmilk. Women all around this country are asking where they can donate their milk, asking if there is anyone that needs the sometimes hundreds of ounces of breastmilk that they have pumped and saved. We are willing, we are able...... yet the government refuses to acknowledge the need or the necessity. Sometimes the mothers of these babies are lucky and they have a support network in place that allows them to reach out to the breastfeeding community and accept private donations, but the reality for most mothers with infants in need is that they just have to make do with whatever is available through their hospital. Babies that could of been saved if they'd been fed breastmilk die. Because our Government does not support breastfeeding... or at least they don't if it's going to cost them anything.
Apparently the lives of this countries youngest citizens don't matter.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Does Haiti Need Our Milk?
Kathy Abbott of "The Curious Lactivist" has vocalized a question that I know many many of us are asking ourselves today. Does Haiti Need our Breastmilk or not?!?
Several news articles have been released stating that Infant Formula is NOT to be sent to Haiti, that the WHO, Unicef and Save the Children are saying that these Haitian babies are in need of breastmilk. After these announcements lactating mothers and milk banks over North America immediately scrambled and came together- pulling in a 1000 oz of fully screened donated breastmilk within 24 hours!! They not only gathered the donated milk, but within 48 hours the frozen liquid gold was on board the USS Comfort- a US ship in Haiti acting as a neonatal unit to many of Haiti's premature and seriously injured and ill babies.....
And yet this shipment was met with snide remarks: “I’m 100 percent sure we didn’t ask for that.” Said Lt. David Shark from the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. He told the press that the idea of distributing human milk was an “unfeasible and unsafe intervention”.
EXACTLY!!!!! So they would rather feed these traumatized, sick and injured babies "Ready to use formula" ..... might I point out to the fine Dr. Mangasaryan that even if the formula is premixed and ready to use.... what are they suppose to do with the bottles after they've been used? How are they to sterilize them? The reason they are using "ready to use" formula is because they cant' guarantee clean water to mix powdered formula- they still need clean water to sterilize a bottle and nipple to get it ready for the next batch of formula for the next baby.
In the mean time, frozen breastmilk is sitting in a freezer on the USS Comfort feeding NO babies while the so called professionals debate ethics about donated breastmilk...... and babies starve across the country. It boggles the mind.
....Apparently we learned absolutely nothing from Katrina.
HERE to read The Curious Lactivists entire article
Several news articles have been released stating that Infant Formula is NOT to be sent to Haiti, that the WHO, Unicef and Save the Children are saying that these Haitian babies are in need of breastmilk. After these announcements lactating mothers and milk banks over North America immediately scrambled and came together- pulling in a 1000 oz of fully screened donated breastmilk within 24 hours!! They not only gathered the donated milk, but within 48 hours the frozen liquid gold was on board the USS Comfort- a US ship in Haiti acting as a neonatal unit to many of Haiti's premature and seriously injured and ill babies.....
And yet this shipment was met with snide remarks: “I’m 100 percent sure we didn’t ask for that.” Said Lt. David Shark from the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. He told the press that the idea of distributing human milk was an “unfeasible and unsafe intervention”.
The problem according to Lt. Shark was the “huge logical constraints”. Specifically he pointed out that there was a “lack of cold chain supply, and no clear guidance on ethical issues, breast milk screening, and continuity of supply.” Even Dr. Nune Mangasaryan senior advisor on infant nutrition for UNICEF agreed. “At this point it’s not the recommended way of assisting Haiti. … the systems needed to transport [breast milk] and to deliver it in the country, are not ready at this point. You have to have quite a significant number of freezers, you have to have electricity, and you have to be able to transport it from one part of the country to another. [With the current level of devastation] at this point, donating breast milk isn’t preferable.”
But I have to wonder, if the same helicopter had arrived with a donation of human blood, would the response had been the same? Blood donations also have to be screened, and protected by a “cold chain”. Would lack of freezers, electricity, and transport issues been enough reason for them to turn away two coolers of donated blood? Of course not, there is no viable substitute for human blood. But we live in a culture where infant formula is considered a “safe” alternative to breast milk.
How sad that even the good Dr. Mangasaryan from UNICEF considers infant formula preferable to donated milk. “ At this point what we recommend for them is ready-to-use infant formula, that’s already in a liquid form, meaning no risk of contamination by mixing powdered formula with water, for example. It’s already ready-to-use, and there are certain numbers already available in the country.” It is safe, and it is already available. Why use the real thing when we have a more convenient alternative?
EXACTLY!!!!! So they would rather feed these traumatized, sick and injured babies "Ready to use formula" ..... might I point out to the fine Dr. Mangasaryan that even if the formula is premixed and ready to use.... what are they suppose to do with the bottles after they've been used? How are they to sterilize them? The reason they are using "ready to use" formula is because they cant' guarantee clean water to mix powdered formula- they still need clean water to sterilize a bottle and nipple to get it ready for the next batch of formula for the next baby.
In the mean time, frozen breastmilk is sitting in a freezer on the USS Comfort feeding NO babies while the so called professionals debate ethics about donated breastmilk...... and babies starve across the country. It boggles the mind.
....Apparently we learned absolutely nothing from Katrina.
HERE to read The Curious Lactivists entire article
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Mum’s victory in breast milk donor battle
Victory is sweet... but the fact that it was such an arduous and emotional battle is a pathetic commentary on our times. For ANY medical establishment to claim that there "is no evidence there was any benefit in giving [breast]milk to babies born after 29 weeks for more than the first few weeks of life."..... it boggles the mind that any of these doctors are even allowed to retain their medical licences, not to mention haven't been charged for making gross false statements and deliberately misleading patients. But for this family, they have overcome yet another huge hurdle and can now maybe relax a bit and enjoy the Christmas season with their family.
Mum’s victory in breast milk donor battle
Sue Carr-December 14, 2009
A MUM who was refused donor milk for her premature baby despite fighting breast cancer has had the decision overturned.
Dawn Hockey was 12 weeks pregnant with her second child when she was diagnosed with cancer in June.
Defying the odds and surviving two bouts of chemotherapy, baby Alex was born seven weeks early on November 1, weighing 4lbs 10oz.
But although doctors agreed to provide donor breast milk until Dawn could feed Alex herself, the 28-year-old – who also had a single mastectomy – was left devastated when bosses at Stepping Hill Hospital, in Stockport, said they were stopping the donations.
They claimed there was no evidence there was any benefit in giving milk to babies born after 29 weeks for more than the first few weeks of life.
As reported in the M.E.N. last week, Dawn, of North Road, Glossop, who is married to Michael and also has a 15-month-old son William, decided to
appeal the decision.
But after transferring from Stepping Hill to Tameside Hospital, primary care trust bosses in Tameside and Glossop decided in her favour and will supply donor milk until Dawn can breastfeed, when her chemotherapy ends in March.
Dawn said: “It’s such a relief, it’s amazing. I’m over the moon.
HERE to read the entire article
Monday, December 14, 2009
Mom in UK needs Breastmilk and support asap
I read this story yesterday and my heart just broke. This a mom who needs support and help for herself and her little baby- but it looks like the British health authorities are stalling and may actually withhold what her baby desperately needs: Breastmilk.
If you are in the UK and have any means to help, PLEASE do what you can! Because when the governments are asses, then it's up to us moms to step up to the plate and do what WE can to help a fellow mother in need.
Cancer Mum in Baby milk plea
If you are in the UK and have any means to help, PLEASE do what you can! Because when the governments are asses, then it's up to us moms to step up to the plate and do what WE can to help a fellow mother in need.
Cancer Mum in Baby milk plea
A YOUNG mum who was diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant is appealing against a decision to stop giving donated breast milk to her premature baby.
Dawn Hockey, 28, was 12 weeks pregnant with her second child when she received the devastating news in June this year.
Defying the odds and surviving two bouts of chemotherapy, baby Alex was born on 1 November – seven weeks early – weighing 4lbs 10oz....
..."I had to stop breastfeeding William (her 15 month old son) which was heartbreaking enough and the agreement was that Alex could be on donated breast milk until I could take over when I finish my treatment in April.
"I can’t feed him, not while I’m on chemotherapy.
"He has been exposed to two doses of chemotherapy in the womb, we don’t know what damage that has done to him, and there are things in breast milk that strengthen your immune system, not in formula.
"This is our argument, this is what he needs."
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