Category Archives: Science News
Science You Can Use: How many babies start solids before 4 months, and why? The CDC told us this week.
“My pediatrician told me at our 4 month appointment, ‘if you don’t start her on solids before 6 months, she’ll never learn how to eat!’” “Upon recommendations from WIC and my doctor I tried giving her baby food at four … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/27/2013
Science You Can Use: New study says breastfeeding is not associated with obesity risk. Let’s take a closer look.
Have you heard the news that a recent study found that breastfeeding is not associated with lowered risk of childhood obesity? But you may also have heard that breastfeeding protects against obesity. In fact, the Surgeon General writes that not … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/21/2013
Science You Can Use: Can skin-to-skin and laid-back breastfeeding help older, non-latching babies?
We all know about the importance of skin-to-skin contact in the early hours and days of breastfeeding. But a new study from Sweden takes a look at a different question: can skin-to-skin contact and a laid back position resolve severe latching-on … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/14/2013
Science You Can Use: Anxious after baby? New study says anxiety is common and associated with shorter breastfeeding duration.
Did you struggle with postpartum anxiety? Were you assessed for postpartum depression and wonder why your anxiety was overlooked? And did anxiety affect your breastfeeding relationship? You might be interested in a new study published in Pediatrics that has shown … Continue reading
Last revised on 03/13/2013
Science You Can Use: For sexual assault survivors, does breastfeeding affect depression and sleep?
An area of breastfeeding that gets little attention - but impacts an astoundingly large number of women - is the experience of sexual abuse survivors. When I spoke with Penny Simkin, author of When Survivors Give Birth, for a podcast … Continue reading
Last revised on 02/18/2013
Science You Can Use: Racial gaps narrowing in breastfeeding rates
The CDC’s announcement today of its updated breastfeeding statistics by race contained some especially good news for the “breastfeeding gap” between African American mothers and mothers of other races. First, there is good news across the board. The CDC reports … Continue reading
Last revised on 02/08/2013
Science You Can Use: Think donor milk is expensive? Wait ’til you see the alternative.
As Neil Patrick Harris declared on a late night talk show a few years ago, pasteurized donor breastmilk doesn’t come cheap. At the time he was purchasing it directly for his daughter who had some gastrointestinal problems. “It cost more … Continue reading
Last revised on
Science You Can Use: Could your blood pressure medication be causing breastfeeding pain?
A recent case study has raised an interesting issue: For women with a vascular condition called Raynaud’s phenomenon, could taking a certain blood pressure medication - Labetalol - cause breastfeeding pain?* This article told the story of a woman in … Continue reading
Last revised on 02/05/2013
Science You Can Use: What should moms know about weight loss surgery and breastfeeding?
Did you or someone you know have weight loss surgery? An estimated 84% of weight loss surgeries are performed on women of childbearing age, and weight loss surgery is on the rise, so questions about its implications for breastfeeding are … Continue reading
Last revised on 01/28/2013
Science You Can Use: Breastfeeding may reduce ovarian cancer risk by up to 91%, finds new study.
One in 72 American women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer sometime during their lives. It’s a hard disease to detect, and is the most deadly of all gynecological cancers. So prevention of ovarian cancer is especially important. Past research … Continue reading
Last revised on 01/16/2013
Join our fight to Beat the Booby Traps!
