Alcohol and breastfeeding

Seasonal Indulgences:
You may well get questions about alcohol at this time of year. Here is useful information –

• alcohol passes freely in and out of b/milk
• it takes 2-3 hours for alcohol in one serving of beer or wine to be eliminated from an 8.5 stone woman
• it takes 13 hours for alcohol from the end of a session of drinking to be eliminated from a 8.5 stone woman
• babies are not put off by alcoholic taste
• alcohol doesn’t make babies sleep more, it can produce changes in baby’s sleep pattern which may mean less sleep overall
• alcohol peaks in b/milk 30-60 minutes after drinking on empty stomach, peaks 60-90 minutes if drunk with food

The effects of alcohol on baby are directly related to the amount a mum consumes,
therefore the occasional drink, or regular light drinking (1 or less drinks daily) present no harm to a nursing baby. Tip for mums – consider the timing of your breastfeed: have a good b/feed, then have your drink to give time for a gap between drinking and the next nursing.
All of this information is also to be considered in relation to the age of the baby – newborns with more immature livers are more susceptible than an older baby who may go a little longer between feeds or also be on solids.
Caffeine and theobromine in chocolate (similar to caffeine in its effects) may cause symptoms of over-stimulation – wide-eyed, fussy, active, alert, but moderate consumption doesn’t usually cause any problems for b/fed babies. So do enjoy your choccy!
Nicotine is a different story, although even here you have to be a pretty heavy smoker (more than 20 daily) for this to cause significant problems for breastfeeding. So it’s always better to breastfeed than not, even if you do smoke. Nicotine does reduce prolactin levels, the milk-making hormone, which results in the creamy portion of the milk being almost 20% less in the milk of smokers. If a mum is using nicotine gum, she’s cautioned to leave 2-3 hours after using a gum product before breastfeeding because the gum produces variable levels of nicotine plasma, whereas nicotine levels are more consistently lower for patch users. Women who smoke are at greater risk of developing breast abscess.
All of this sounds a bit of a kill-joy, but don’t let it be! – enjoy the odd drink, munch on the goodies, watch out that you’re not doing too much just because it’s Christmas (always a risk for mastitis), and feed the baby!

Festive fever

Hi everyone

I enjoyed seeing you at the last meeting and hearing all your plans and ideas for enjoying / surviving the Christmas holidays. I vere from the no sugar approach to the laissez faire approach from day to day as Christmas madness sets in.

As we talked about at the meeting; looking out for our own needs (for quiet space, for a supportive phone call with a sympathetic friend, for regular slow burning snacks) together with those of our baby or child (not missing or postponing feeds, giving quiet time when needed, respecting a child's rhythms within the chaos) is the aim over the Christmas holidays, but however hard we try, we sometimes get blown off course and it is easy to miss a feed or go a little longer between them and find a blocked duct has developed. If this happens, remember to act quickly by resting, applying heat and feeding frequently. This seemingly simple approach is very effective in avoiding mastitis if done soon enough. More information can be found at: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/mastitis.html

As well as mastitis calls to the LLL Helpline at the time of year, we leaders are expecting calls from mums who are dealing with conflicting advice from family members or friends that they see over the holidays, and whose mothering approaches may differ from our own. If you are feeling less than supported, or would like ideas on how to deflect criticism over the Christmas turkey, then check out: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/criticism.html

Keep checking the blog for the upcoming new meeting titles, dates and NEW locations. These will also all be in the newsletter which will come out early in the New Year.

I look forward to seeing you in January and hearing your festive tales. Charlie x

There's a breastfed baby in your life

It was great to see you at the last meeting about making way for the breastfed baby in your life and to hear your tips for how to fit eating, shopping and having a bit of time for ourselves into life with a breastfed baby.

The book Baby Wisdom by Deborah Jackson has lots of ideas for how parents around the world manage a baby's needs whilst getting on with their lives, and it is easy to dip in and out of if you have only a little time.

Thanks to all of you who donated and shopped for La Leche, and with a few additional sales at the last meeting, our fundraising total is now nearly £140!

Fundraiser update

Thank you to everyone who donated so generously to our Fundraiser last Saturday. It was also great to see so many of you on the day. With your help we managed to raise over £100! We are really pleased with this amount, especially because there was so much else happening on that day that the sale was a bit quieter than usual.

There are still some lovely baby clothes left over and a few maternity clothes too, so these will be on sale at the next meeting at my house on Wed 14 October.

Forthcoming fundraiser

Everyone is invited to a fundraiser for La Leche League on Saturday 12 September, 10am to 2pm, at a Car Boot Sale at The Southville Centre, Beauley Rd, Southville. All profits will go to support LLL Bristol. So we need your help - have a clear out and pass on to us any items that we could sell (clothes, toys, books, household things etc) or make us up your favourite recipe - everything you can give us will be very much appreciated!

Anything you have to donate can be dropped off beforehand at either Charlie's house (39 Hamilton Rd, Southville) or April's house (53 Zetland Rd, off Gloucester Rd) or you can bring things along on the day of the sale.

The La Leche League table will be in the Beauley Room, which is behind the main hall. We hope to see you there!

shared lunch

Dear Ladies,

It's almost time to go for me :(

My last meeting will be 8th of July. We thought it would be nice for having a shared lunch after the meeting. So bring something to share with the other mums and babies/ children.

Coby

Welcome Charlie!!

We've got another leader! Charlie welcome to the group of Bristol leaders. Well done and we hope you enjoy your "new" function.

growing charts

Dear ladies,

I've spoken with some mums about the new growing charts and I've promissed them to put them on the website.

UK-WHO Growth Charts: Early Years
The new UK-WHO growth charts for children from birth to 4 years of age are now available. The charts have been developed as a project undertaken within the Science and Research Department led by Professor Charlotte Wright from University of Glasgow and funded by the Department of Health.
The charts are available in an A4 format and as 6 separate charts for insertion in the Personal Child Heatlh Record (PCHR). There is also a new specialist low birthweight A4 chart for births from 23 weeks gestation .

http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/Research/UK-WHO-Growth-Charts

Coby

national breastfeeding awareness week.

National Breastfeeding Awareness Week 10 -16 May 2009

Breastfeeding: every day makes a difference to your baby

The theme of National Breastfeeding Awareness Week this year is support, and the strapline , ‘Breastfeeding: every day makes a difference to your baby’, reflects the message that each day a woman continues to breastfeed is another day her child receives important health benefits from its mother. If women receive support - whether it be from a friend or family member, a health professional, or volunteer breastfeeding supporter, they are likely to breastfeed for longer.

Research indicates breastmilk gives babies all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life and helps protect them from infection and diseases such as gastro-intestinal infections, ear infections, urine infections, eczema and obesity in later childhood. Mothers also benefit from breastfeeding. It can reduce the risk of against ovarian cancer, breast cancer and weak bones later in life.

During National Breastfeeding Awareness Week the new UK-World Health Organisation growth charts are being introduced to England for the first time, providing accurate guidance on child growth. The charts, which have been developed for the Department of Health by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health will offer important reassurance for parents of breastfed babies, and will replace current charts that were based on predominately formula fed babies. The new charts will help parents and healthcare professionals identify children at risk of obesity at an early age. The charts are based on measurements of over 7000 children worldwide – selected because they were growing up in healthy circumstances: breast fed children of non smoking mothers, not living in poverty. Research has shown that breastfed babies exhibit a more desirable pattern of growth and are associated with healthier outcomes, including being less likely to become obese in later life.

Features of the new growth charts include a height predictor and a chart specifically for premature infants. For the first time, they will also include parent friendly instructions. In addition to the new growth charts, the Department of Health is extending Breast Buddy, an initiative introduced last year which encourages women to breastfeed for longer by encouraging them to nominate a buddy from within their circle of friends and family to provide practical and emotional support. This is part of the Department of Health’s campaign to address the inequalities that exist in infant feeding practices.

La Leche League GB supports National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. La Leche League is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organisation which, for over 50 years, has been dedicated to providing education, information and mother-to-mother support and encouragement to women who want to breastfeed.

LLL Leaders are mothers who have themselves breastfed for 12 months or longer. They provide telephone counselling, email support and local group meetings. They have leaflets on a wide range of breastfeeding questions, information on more unusual situations, access to a Medical Advisory Panel and can often lend out books covering various aspects of pregnancy and child care.

LLL's national telephone helpline (0845 120 2 918 ) connects mothers directly to an accredited Leader, while the organisation' s website (http://www. laleche.org. uk/) includes an online help form to which an individual Leader responds to help each mother directly with her concerns. All our Leaders are volunteers and work from their own homes while looking after their own families.

Breastfeeding awareness week

Breastfeeding Awareness Week Get Together

Every year since 1993 the Department of Health has run the Breastfeeding Awareness Week to raise awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding, increase social acceptance of breastfeeding and promote support for breastfeeding. This year it will run from Sunday 10 to Sunday 17 May. If you would like to know more about it check out the NHS website: http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/en/fe/page.asp?n1=5&n2=13 or http://tinyurl.com/cvxgvd

We will be celebrating with a gathering in Greville Smythe Park in Southville (Ashton Road, close to North Street) on Tuesday 12 May from 2-4pm. Please come and join us, bring your friends and family and a snack to share if you would like to. If the weather is questionable, then check the website or the yahoo group for further instructions.

A new leader!

We've got a new leader among us! Her name is Vicky, congratulations and well done!!

a taste of the newsletter

The Newsletter

Charlie is busy working on The Newsletter which will come out with May's eletter. If you have any stories about experiences in feeding with special circumstances, birth announcements and other local breastfeeding news do let Charlie know either at one of the meetings or by email, call one of the leaders for her email adres.


Baby Led Weaning Survey
If you would like to help out with some research at the University of Nottingham on Baby Led Weaning please email Dr Ellen Townsend (call on of the leaderrs for her email adres). She is looking for parents of children (currently 20-72 months) who have been weaned using Baby Led Weaning to complete a questionnaires on their experience of BLW and their child's food preferences.


News from the Bristol Precious Drops Campaign - April Whincop
The Bristol Precious Drops campaign organised a zip ride into the Avon Gorge on 28th March. I did it as well as my son Ralph! It was pretty scary stepping off into a very big and high space, and I did fly down at 30 mph - but I'm very proud of myself for doing it! Big congratulations to the Infant Feeding Team at Southmead and Eva Fernandes at Born - as well as lots of others - for doing such a lot of organisation to make the day possible. Let's hope lots of money has been raised for the future milk bank unit.


Ed note: Well done April and Ralph! We are now seeing a more adventurous side of you we didn't know existed!

Breastfeeding Awareness Week
Breastfeeding Awareness Week is the second week of May, but as yet we have no firm plans as we are still discussing a venue. We will let you know in the next eletter what we are doing in time to be able to make plans to participate.

If you are interested in the whole newsletter, please join the yahoogroup for free, at the left side of this website.

101 reasons to breastfeed

Tomorrow it will be our first meeting of this year Yeh!! I really like the topic this time "how breastfeeding helps mothers". This will be our first meeting at Samanta's house, I hope you all can find it. We will talk a bit about the 101 reasons to breastfeed. It's a long list but its an amazing list. They should make a TV program about it, saying that have a look at the next link.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcjKeDyTZP8

I don't know this person and haven't watch the rest of her movies, its only this one I know I love it.

Coby

happy new year!

dear all,

First a happy new year! I hope you all had a great time!

For me this is my last year in the UK, I'm a bit sad about it, because we have a great time in Bristol. But it would be nice too see our family a bit more often. Anyway!

The new spring letter is out, with new dates and venues! Check before you go! If you don't know where to go, give me a call and I'll help you. If you haven't signed up yet for the newsletter, this might be the right time, it only cost you a couple minutes. Click in the left corner and the rest will follow!

X Coby