Does alcohol consumption
improve milk production for mothers who breastfeed their
infants? Not according to Julie A. Mennella, Ph.D., one of the
authors of a study jointly funded by the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Office of Research on
Women’s Health.
“If a mother is drinking
alcohol just to improve the quality or quantity of milk, she
needs to know that here is no evidence to support this claim,”
says Mennella. “In fact, what happens is quite the opposite, as
alcohol disrupts the hormonal milieu of lactation in a way that
may impede successful breastfeeding.”
Knowing the facts about
breastfeeding is essential to the optimal health and development
of the newborn child through the age of two years old. Getting
these facts to families across the globe is the aim of World
Breastfeeding Week (WBW), which begins Monday, Aug. 1. WBW is an
annual event that celebrates and promotes awareness of the many,
and often irreplaceable, benefits of breastfeeding.
“Mother’s milk
enhances the growth, development and well-being of infants by
providing the best possible nutrition and protection against
specific infections and allergies and these benefits are
strongest when exclusive breastfeeding is practiced for the
first six months of life,” says J. Nick Baird, M.D., director of
the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).
WBW marks the beginning of
Breastfeeding Awareness Month (August) in Ohio.
This year’s WBW theme,
Breastfeeding and Family Foods: Loving and Healthy, focuses
on how to appropriately feed children other foods while
breastfeeding is continued. The American Academy of Pediatrics
recommends infants be exclusively breastfed for six months and
that breastfeeding should continue until the infant is at least
one year old.
“Breast milk
continues to be an important source of nourishment for children
after the first six months when appropriate complementary foods
start to be added to an infant’s diet,” says Baird.
Breastfeeding
Awareness Month offers the Athens community an opportunity to
promote exclusive breastfeeding for six months, with the
addition of healthy, properly prepared, complementary family
foods after baby’s first six months, as the cornerstone of a
healthy family diet.
Research has
shown that breastfeeding enhances intellectual development and
decreases the risk of obesity. The January 1998 edition of
Pediatrics contained a study that showed children breastfed
for eight months or longer had higher IQ test scores and
performed better in high school than those not breastfed. The
February 2004 edition of Pediatrics reported
breastfeeding reduces the risk of obesity in non-Hispanic
whites.
Public health
clinics in Ohio, including all Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
clinics, have trained staff that can provide research-based,
culturally sensitive information about breastfeeding and
introducing complementary foods.
“Eating habits
develop at the family table,” says Mary McPherson, R.N., C.,
Child and Family Health Services perinatal project coordinator
for Community Service Programs.
“Feeding infants
and young children healthy, properly prepared, complementary
family foods while breastfeeding continues can lay the
foundation of good health and development for a lifetime.
“We must provide
Ohio mothers-to-be and their families with enough information to
make informed choices about feeding infants and young children.
Once the decision to breastfeed has been made, we must provide a
supportive environment to encourage the continuation of
breastfeeding. Ultimately, our whole society will benefit from
having healthier mothers, babies and children.
“Breast milk is
the most perfect food for babies,” says McPherson.
During WBW, OU-COM’s
Department of Social Medicine and Community Service Programs,
Athens La Leche League, Athens-Perry WIC, O’Bleness Memorial
Hospital, Ohio University’s School of Human and Consumer
Services and University Medical Associates, with the support of
ODH, are co-sponsoring local public service events that promote
awareness of the importance and benefits of breastfeeding. These
events begin Aug. 1.
Aug. 1–7
World
Breastfeeding Week banner will be displayed across Court Street
Wednesday,
Aug. 3
“World
Breastfeeding Week”
Live from
Studio B,
12:30 p.m.–1 p.m., hosted by Jackie Wolf, Ph.D., OU-COM
associate professor of social medicine, with guest, Michele
Biddlestone, O’Bleness Memorial Hospital lactation consultant
WOUB (1340 AM)
Monday, Aug.
8, and
Tuesday, Aug. 9
OU-COM’s
Family Health Radio® will air segments
on the importance of breastfeeding
WOUB (1340 AM)
8:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.
WOUB (91.3 FM)
7:35 a.m.
WCVJ (90.9 FM)
12:15 p.m.
WLOH (1320 AM)
10:10 a.m.
WMOA (1490 AM)
9:45 a.m.
WAIS (770 AM)
12:25 p.m.
WMCO (90.7 FM)
8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
WCLT (1430 AM)
10:31 a.m. and 2:31 p.m.
WHIZ (1240 AM)
3:45 p.m.
Wednesday,
Aug. 10
Open House,
Noon–3 p.m.
Family Health
Care and Athens County Women, Infants and Children
88 North Plains
Road, Suite 1
Plains, Ohio
(740) 594-8143
Thursday, Aug.
11
“Breastfeeding
and Family Foods”
Health Matters,
10 a.m., hosted by Nancy Schell, OU-COM Community Service
Programs coordinator, with guest Susan Klingelhafer, WIC
breastfeeding expert
WATH (970 AM)
WIC and the
Athens County Breastfeeding Advocacy Group are making
informational bookmarks and lists of books and videos about
breastfeeding available in libraries and bookstores during the
month. Also, the Family Medicine newspaper column
(available in local newspapers) by Martha Simpson, D.O.,
associate professor of family medicine, will feature the topic,
“Breastfed babies are healthier both physically and mentally,”
during WBW.
For more
information about breastfeeding, please call the “Help Me Grow”
Helpline at (800) 755-GROW or McPherson at (740) 593-2481.
Internet resources are available at www.breastfeeding.com,
www.who.int/child-adolescenthealth/nutrition/complementary.htm,
www.linkagesproject.org/publications/index.php,
www.ncbi.lm.nih.gov and
www.ibreastfeeding.com.
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